Tatas likely to offer a stake to Singapore Airlines, for Air India - Vistara merger

Tata Sons, the controlling entity of Air India, Vistara and AirAsia India, is looking to merge the three carriers under a unified Air India banner. To make it work, the Tatas are likely to offer Singapore Airlines (SIA), its joint venture partner in Vistara, a stake in Air India.

The stake offer has been accepted “in-principal” by SIA, which holds a 49% share in Vistara parent Tata SIA Airlines, an ET report on September 23 quoted top executives as saying. Discussions are on between N Chandrasekaran, chairman of both the Tata Group and Air India, and SIA’s executives.

N Chandrasekaran, Tata Sons chairman, had earlier stated that the group's airline businesses are operating on thin margins, and must be consolidated to ensure operational efficiencies and keep control of costs.

A stake in Air India may be offered to Singapore Airlines for the AI-Vistara merger

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Tata Sons and SIA did not respond to queries, the report said. Sources, however, said while SIA could agree to the merge, any financial infusion into Air India was unlikely as the airline is focused on getting its business back on track.

Earlier this year, Singapore Airlines had asked the Tatas to wait for some time before taking any decisions about the merger. Both the Tatas and SIA have discussed such possibilities, and SIA had reportedly even agreed to join the Tata bid for Air India but, because of the pandemic, decided to back out.

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Earlier this week, it was reported that the Tata Group had started an exercise to evaluate options to consolidate AirAsia India and Vistara under Air India. The goal is to bring operational synergies among the three airlines under its umbrella.

If the Air India-Vistara merger goes through, it will make the second-largest airline in the country, behind IndiGo.

If the Air India-Vistara merger goes through, it will make the second-largest airline in the country, behind IndiGo. The Tata Group is also merging the other airline in its fold, AirAsia India, with Air India Express, Air India's no-frills brand that flies primarily to West Asian and Southeast Asian destinations.

The merger proposal received the Competition Commission of India’s nod in June. Tata Sons holds a majority 83.67% stake in AirAsia India. Its holding in Vistara stands at 51%.

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Air India CEO and MD Campbell Wilson have set up a team under the airline's director of operations RS Sandhu to conduct the evaluation and submit a plan within one year. The plan is to achieve consolidation of AirAsia India into Air India Express over one year, while also targeting to bring all of the group's airline businesses under the Air India umbrella by 2024.

The merger of Air India Express and AirAsia India will start with integrating information technology and passenger booking systems

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Air India, which has been the national carrier for several decades, also enjoys an excellent recall value with travellers in India and overseas. With Vistara and AirAsia having recently commenced international operations, using the brand name 'Air India' would most certainly benefit them.

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Sources have said that the merger of Air India Express and AirAsia India will start with integrating information technology and passenger booking systems. The Air India Express system is likely to be moved to AirAsia India’s system, which is said to be better in all aspects. Issues like cabin crew dress and branding are still being discussed at various levels.

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IndiGo is planning a significant ramp-up of international operations in the coming months. India’s largest airline by domestic market share currently operates about 1,600 daily flights of which 150 are international.

The budget carrier is looking at launching flights within 6-7 hours flying time from the four metros starting mid-2024 when the Airbus A321 XLRs (extra long range) start joining its fleet.

IndiGo plans a significant ramp-up in international operations & broadens its horizon - Pieter Elbers

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Pieter Elbers, former KLM president who took over as IndiGo CEO recently, said “As of now we operate 160 weekly flights between India and the UAE" on Thursday when the airline launched a daily Mumbai-Ras Al Khaimah. The Emirate is IndiGo’s 100th destination in its network.

“What IndiGo has built in the last 16 years is incredible. It flies to 74 domestic and 26 international destinations with a total of 375 city pairs. We will further grow our network with more international connectivity and destinations. The first priority is to broaden our horizon."Pieter Elbers, CEO, IndiGo

Till the A321XLRs join the fleet, IndiGo will expand its network in nearby regions using the aircraft it currently operates. Flights to Bangladesh will be doubled. China will be back on the network when it opens for foreign travellers.

The budget carrier is looking at launching flights within 6-7 hours flying time from the four metros starting mid-2024 when the Airbus A321 XLRs (extra long range) start joining its fleet.

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“We will stay true to our (policy) of being punctual and ensuring affordable fares. The growth potential for Indian aviation is massive. As of now, only about 7.5% of Indians fly by air. Only 6% of Indians have a passport. Even a single percentage point increase in this will lead to a massive jump in travel."Vinay Malhotra, Head of Global Sales, IndiGo

Asked about the coming competition from Tata Group airlines led by Air India, Elbers said: “Competition is good (for the sector). It will lead to higher service standards. India is marching forward. At the end of the day, there are only 2 or 3 seat types you can buy, but the biggest differentiator will be people. People is where IndiGo has made a big difference for the last 16 years."

The Emirate is IndiGo’s 100th destination in its network.

IndiGo says the Ras Al Khaimah flights launched on Thursday, September 22 are “designed to cater to business and leisure travellers who are constantly on the lookout for new and affordable options.”

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The UAE has 35 lakh Indians living and working there. The Dubai-based Emirates had recently sought an increase in flying rights to India.

(With Inputs from The Times of India)

Air India, AirAsia India and Vistara (Tata Group Airlines) joined hands with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research - Indian Institute of Petroleum (CSIR-IIP) on Thursday to collaborate and work together on the research, development and deployment of sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs).

Sustainable Aviation Fuel is made from sustainable resources, such as forestry and agricultural waste and used cooking oil and can be blended with fossil jet fuel to reduce emissions. It is a 'drop-in' fuel, meaning it can be added with no changes needed to the aircraft.

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“The collaboration on Sustainable Aviation Fuels is being coordinated by Tata Sustainability Group (TSG) working closely with the Tata Airline Companies and CSIR-IIP. The Tata Group recently outlined a transformative vision on sustainability which envisages the Group becoming Net Zero by 2045. The Tata group has been ranked as the top.” A spokesperson said.

CSIR - Indian Institute of Petroleum is located in Dehradun and is dedicated to R&D in the hydrocarbon sector. Its charter is to provide competitive and sustainable technologies and products to meet the requirements of the ever-growing energy sector and develop capacity and capability in new energy areas such as bio, hydrogen and solar energy and their innovative combination.

The TSG serves as a centre of excellence and a nodal resource on sustainability for Tata group companies.

While Indian carriers lag behind their global peers in SAf use, efforts are being made to produce the biofuel locally. In March, SpiceJet and GMR group partnered with Boeing and a clutch of French companies, respectively, to explore the development of SAF.

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In February, IndiGo used a 10% blend of SAF in the delivery flight of its Airbus A320 from France. The armed forces, too, are taking sustainability initiatives. The Indian Air Force plans to operate its AN-32 aircraft with a 10% SAF blend in the next six months. A biofuel plant is also being set up by Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemical Limited and is expected to be complete by 2024.

While Indian carriers lag behind their global peers in SAf use, efforts are being made to produce the biofuel locally.

According to IATA, the aviation industry's net-zero carbon emissions target is focused on delivering a maximum reduction in emissions at source, with the adoption of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) contributing around 65% of the reduction in emissions, in addition to innovative new propulsion technologies, and other efficiency improvements.

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The impact of the continued use of petroleum-derived fuel for aviation is considerable with greenhouse gas and carbon emissions being of significant concern across the globe. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions from its operations by 2050 in line with the objectives of the Paris agreement to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Chinese carrier Xiamen Airlines will renew and grow its fleet with forty Airbus A320neo family aircraft. The order is significant in that Xiamen has been a Boeing only operator so far and has orders for the MAX 8.

The news was announced on September 22 by its parent airline, China Southern Airlines, which bought 96 A320neo family aircraft itself in July. The order would be valued at USD4.8 billion based on list prices of between USD105 and USD136 million per aircraft.

The airline currently has only Boeing-built aircraft in its fleet.

The 40 jets will be delivered between 2024 and 2027, said China Southern Airlines, which owns 55% of Xiamen Airlines, in a stock exchange filing on 22 September.

Xiamen Airlines, which will become Airbus’s newest Chinese customer, says the order will “help [it] ensure the safety of its strategic development, continue to promote the structural adjustment of its fleet”.

Xiamen Airlines normally operates around 350 domestic and international routes, a network that covers the whole of China and a lot of Southeast and Northeast Asia and even covers Europe, America and Oceania.

Xiamen Airlines is an all-Boeing operator and flies 737s and 787s.

As of January 2020, the size of Xiamen Airlines’ fleet reached 206 airplanes with an average age of 6 years, making it one of the youngest fleets in the world.

The Chinese domestic market is one of the largest in the world (representing about 20% of world traffic) and both Airbus and Boeing have been competing for years to dominate the short- and medium-haul segment with more than 150 seats.

Xiamen Airlines adds the 40 A320neo families to its fleet.

The A320neo Family incorporates new generation engines and Sharklets, which together deliver more than 25 per cent fuel and CO2 savings, as well as a 50 per cent noise reduction.

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The aircraft also features Airbus’ Airspace interior, which brings the latest cabin technology to the A320 Family to deliver the most comfortable flight conditions for passengers.

At the end of August 2022, the total number of A320neo Family firm orders reached over 8,500 from more than 130 customers worldwide.

As India’s telecom operators prepare to launch 5G services, the country’s aviation safety regulator has written to the telecom department concerned about potential interference of the 5G C-Band spectrum with aircraft radio altimeters.

A radio altimeter is an instrument that provides direct information about the altitude above the ground for various aircraft systems. The main concern of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) stems from the fact that these altimeters as well as part of the 5G telecom services operate in the C band.

For telecom service providers, C-Band offers a great place to deploy 5G services, ensuring coverage as well as higher bandwidth, resulting in faster internet speeds. For aircraft operations, the use of altimeters in this range ensures very accurate measurements of the aircraft’s altitude.

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The radio altimeter antennas are installed on the bottom of the aircraft.

"The DGCA is working in close coordination with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and has apprised it of its concerns over likely interference of 5G C-Band spectrum with aircraft radio altimeters."A senior government official said.

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These red flags are based on concerns raised by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) over the last year since telecom operators in the US, such as AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile etc, began rolling out 5G services. In the US, an agreement between the FAA and the telecom operators resulted in a delay in the rollout of 5G services in the C-Band near airports that were assessed to be difficult for pilots to make visual approaches.

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The radio altimeters pick up the faintest signals reflected off the ground in the assigned frequencies to achieve highly accurate results.

“Now we have auctioned C-Band spectrum within the frequency starting from 3.3 GHz to three.6 GHz (in India). Plane radio altimeters primarily use frequencies starting from 4.2-4.4 GHz. So, there’s a vital 500 MHz hole between the 2 frequency ranges."An official from DoT said.

The official mentioned the difficulty within the US grew to become vital as a result of operators there are deploying 5G companies within the 3.7-3.98 GHz frequencies, which is nearer to the radio altimeter frequencies.

United Airlines boss warned 5g rollout could be 'catastrophic'.

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Earlier this 12 months, Air India needed to cancel a few of its flights to the US as airways globally scrambled to reschedule flights amid considerations that the rollout of 5G cell companies within the US may doubtlessly intrude with plane navigation methods.

During the last 12 months, the FAA has issued several directives to airlines to put in sure filters or modify their tools to make sure that 5G airwaves don’t intrude with their navigation methods.

Touted to contribute about 2-3% of global CO2 emissions, the aviation industry produces around one billion tonnes of carbon dioxide annually on a global scale, which is equivalent to what Japan, the third-largest economy in the world, produces.

Air travel is technologically based on outdated practices, when compared to the fact that many governments are controlling emissions from cars and trucks, such as by gradually phase-out internal combustion engines and moving to electric vehicles. Except for a break during the COVID-19 pandemic, annual increases in aircraft emissions have averaged 2.5% over the past 20 years.

The industry's influence on global warming is expected to surpass that of its whole history, which dates back to the Wright Brothers' pioneering flights in the early 1900s, over the next 30 years.

Representative | NPR

All emission sectors must decarbonize and show routes to net zero emissions in the second half of the 21st century if global warming is to be kept far below 2 °C (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2018). International aviation is frequently excluded from reduction targets, such as those in the Paris Agreement, as it is generally regarded as a "hard to abate" industry (UK Climate Change Committee 2020, Grewe et al 2021)

Climatic effects of aircraft

Before the epidemic, aircraft engines burnt more than 1 billion litres of fuel each day from 2016 to 2019. They produce up to 15.14 g of NOx, 1.2 g of SO2, 3.16 kg of CO2, 1.23 kg of water vapour, and 0.03 g of black carbon (soot) per kg of fuel.

Representative | NASA Climate Change

Nitrogen oxides react in the atmosphere, changing the radiative balance of other gases such as stratospheric water vapour (H2O), ozone, and methane (CH4). This has an indirect effect on climate. This additional net warming effect is brought on by these non-CO2 emissions.

The biggest unknown is cloud formation, a rapidly changing element with enormous uncertainties. According to certain simulations, "contrail cirrus" may have contributed to warming up until 2018 almost twice as much as CO2 from the aircraft industry. Due to these additional consequences, biofuels may not completely solve the climate problem even if they replace traditional jet fuels and lower CO2 emissions.

NATURE

Does it end there? Perhaps not.

This brings up a second major issue related to investment planning. Governments and corporations can't attempt to treat the patient if the diagnosis isn't apparent. If contrail cirrus turns out to be a significant issue, then alternatives to clean fuels, such as other propulsion systems and possibly rerouting planes, will need to be considered.

Since certain atmospheric conditions are required for the formation of contrail cirrus, changes to flight times, altitudes, and routes could theoretically be important. The aviation industry must exert greater independent effort to reduce climate impacts if carbon offsets do not genuinely offset at scale or if the use of clean fuels does not increase.

The limited vision of airlines/stakeholders

Representative | Dezeen

Airlines frequently have very slim profit margins. Airports face concerns of stranded costs as a result of quick technological advancements while trying to recoup the cost of significant infrastructure investments. Additionally, every time they create a completely original plane, like the Boeing 787 or the Airbus A380, aircraft makers "bet the company." Large companies that are concerned with risk and cost are in charge of many parts of the aviation industry. The least disruptive technology options are what they seek.

The way forward

Sustainable aviation fuels may play a significant role, but much more funding is required for choices that are not now economically feasible, such as electric or hydrogen-powered aircraft, which may prove to be successful methods for cutting emissions and minimising contrails. Those solutions are unlikely to emerge from the mainstream industry due to their disruptive nature.

Contrails and Cirrus Clouds | Representative | KQED

Fuel economy will be important, but it is unlikely to significantly lower emissions. The industry already has financial incentives to get more passenger miles out of each tonne of expensive jet fuel, but improvement rates are unlikely to be much higher than 1% annually.

Representative

A more broad experimental strategy is required, one that makes investments in a range of response options, such as energy, hydrogen, and cleaner, more scalable fuel alternatives. Europe would likely be at the forefront of it because its climate regulations are already robust and credible and because European governments can support financially and technologically hazardous ventures.

The European air traffic management system is focusing on determining which routes are best for the environment since shorter routes with fewer delays can reduce the demand for fuel and new routes can reduce contrail creation.

The initiative by Norway to develop a market for short-haul electric aircraft is a good illustration of a partnership between businesses and governments that aims to invest in disruptive technologies. Many of the airports in Norway, a small nation divided by fjords and mountains, are built for quick takeoffs and landings and have proximity to one another.

As a result, Norway makes an ideal test location for electric aircraft, and since few of these routes are economically viable, the government can stipulate in bidding specifications that zero-emission flights be included.

Norwegian Wideroe (WF, Bodo) is set to become the world's first commercial operator of a wholly electrically-powered commuter aircraft as it aims to take delivery of its first TECNAM P-Volt by 2026 | ch-aviation

Furthermore, research is crucial to advancing our understanding of topics like contrails and chemical interactions in the atmosphere, which will allow the aviation sector to move forward with more assurance. Understanding how various propulsion systems affect the climate through atmospheric chemistry needs to be improved, as does the theory and measurement of how aviation generates contrails, cirrus, and other induced cloud changes.

For instance, hydrogen-fueled aircraft may release H2 gas into the atmosphere during production and transport while continuing to emit nitrogen oxides and contrails, both of which may have unknowable effects on the climate.

It is impossible to reduce aircraft emissions by merely installing new pollution-capturing equipment. The ability to create adequate quantities of clean aircraft fuel could prove to be unachievable.

And in an industry that is particularly concerned with safety, weight, and space, addressing the additional climatic consequences of aircraft beyond CO2, such as contrails, may necessitate overhauling engines, airframes, and onboard storage. Several million different parts make up a conventional aeroplane. Air traffic control and ground handling procedures are likewise closely entwined with commercial aviation, making it challenging to design and implement significant changes.

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The Airbus A380 ZEROe Hydrogen Flight demonstrator | Representative | Business Insider

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The risks that aviation encounters must be taken carefully. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is holding its triennial assembly this month in Montreal, Canada, and a top priority on the agenda is reducing the sector's contribution to global warming. An industry-wide target for reducing emissions in keeping with the objectives of the Paris climate agreement will be negotiated by ministers from 193 countries.

SOURCE(s)

COVER: BBC