Vistara launches daily non-stop Mumbai-Muscat flights on its A320

Radhika Bansal

13 Dec 2022

Full service carrier Vistara on Monday, December 12 launched daily, non-stop flights from Mumbai to Muscat, a move that will see the airline expand its footprint in the lucrative Middle East region. The inaugural flight departed from Mumbai at 2000 hours (IST) and arrived in Muscat at 2135 hours.

Muscat is the fourth destination in the Gulf region for Vistara, a joint venture between the Tata Group and Singapore Airlines.

Vistara launches daily non-stop Mumbai-Muscat flights on its A320

The airline said there had been a consistent rise in passenger volumes and demand from the Gulf countries, paving the way for the airline to bolster its presence in the region. The airline further stated that it is the only carrier to offer the choice of premium economy class on this route, in addition to business and economy classes. This will be a daily service on the airline's Airbus A320.

https://twitter.com/airvistara/status/1602364120833015808

ALSO READ - Vistara to commence flights between Mumbai and Muscat on its A320neo aircraft

The schedule of flights, effective December 12, will be Mumbai-Muscat (flight UK 0233) daily at 20:00 hrs and Muscat-Mumbai (flight UK 0234) daily at 22:55 hrs.

ALSO READ - Vistara inaugurates daily non-stop flight between Mumbai and Abu Dhabi

Muscat is the third Gulf city (Abu Dhabi and Jeddah being the other two) that Vistara has added to its network in the last four months. Vistara also operates daily flights from Dubai to/from Mumbai.

“The launch of operations to Muscat is in line with our goal to steadily enhance our footprint in the Middle East. The firm bilateral relationship and robust cultural and economic ties between India and states in the Gulf region have given great impetus to our growth plans, and our successful business on the other Middle Eastern routes is a testament to that. We are excited to bring India’s finest full-service carrier to Muscat with daily connectivity from Mumbai and are confident that Vistara with its award-winning product and services will be a much-preferred carrier on this route as well.”

Vinod Kannan, CEO, Vistara

Apart from the middle east region, Vistara is also aiming to bolster connectivity to the South Asian region as well. Recently, it launched 4x weekly direct flights between Pune and Singapore.

The airline has a fleet of 54 aircraft, including 41 Airbus A320s, five Airbus A321neo, five Boeing B737-800NG and three Boeing B787-9 Dreamliner aircraft.

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"Point of call" not granted to Foreign Carriers for Non-Metro Airports

Sakshi Jain

13 Dec 2022

The govt. is refusing to allow any non-metro airport as a new “point of call” for passenger operations, given the enormous imbalance in favour of these carriers.

The minister of state for civil aviation, V K Singh, stated in a written response that the government has a policy of encouraging expanded international operations by Indian carriers from non-metro points, either directly or through their own domestic and international operations.

The minister added that under the terms of bilateral air services agreements reached by India with other nations, Indian-authorised carriers are permitted to mount scheduled operations to/from any airport to international locations.

Indian-authorised carriers are permitted to mount scheduled operations to/from any airport to international locations

According to him, air services agreements are bilateral in nature and reciprocity is upheld in such contracts. He also said that in the past, because multiple points of call were granted to foreign nations, an imbalance was created whereby foreign carriers had access to various points in India while Indian carriers only have access to one or two points.

Accordingly, the government has taken note of the effects of giving foreign carriers unrestricted access to Indian airports on the domestic aviation ecosystem and has made the deliberate decision to not grant any non-metro airport as a new point of call to any foreign carrier for operating passenger services. This is in the interest of the Indian aviation ecosystem, the minister said.

Jyotiraditya M. Scindia, the minister of civil aviation, stated in the Lok Sabha on December 8 that Coimbatore has been designated as a "point of call" for Sharjah, Dubai, Singapore, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Coimbatore Airport has been designated as a "point of call" for Sharjah, Dubai, Singapore, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

In response to a query from Pollachi MP K. Shanmugasundaram, who brought up the issue of Coimbatore International Airport's poor international connectivity, Mr Scindia stated that at the moment, Coimbatore airport has connectivity to Singapore and Sharjah on 10 and 14 weekly frequencies, respectively.

The designated carriers of Singapore, Sri Lanka, Dubai, Sharjah, the U.K., and the U.S. can already use Coimbatore as a point of call.

The Central government now does not permit any non-metro airport as a new point of call to any foreign carrier due to the considerable imbalance in the number of points of call in favour of foreign carriers.

Last year in November, Retd Gen V.K. Singh asked whether the government will review the then bilateral policy facilitating foreign airlines to Kannur International Airport in Kerala. The airport was commissioned in December 2018.

Kannur International Airport was commissioned in December 2018

Also read: Foreign carriers will not be granted new Non-Metro Airport slots

The ministry was asked by the Kerala government to allow international airlines to use the Kannur airport. Additionally, the state administration pushed for the airport to be included in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Open Sky Policy.

The Junior Aviation Minister added that there was intense public pressure to resume regular international flights.

A similar situation has emerged this year. In the past, because multiple “points of call” were granted to foreign nations, an imbalance was created whereby foreign carriers had access to various points in India while Indian airlines only had access to one or two points.

(With inputs from The Hindu)

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Air India to finalise deal of 50 B737 MAX for Air India Express

Radhika Bansal

13 Dec 2022

Tata Group-owned Air India is close to finalising a deal with US aircraft maker Boeing for 50 narrow-body Boeing 737 MAX planes for its international budget arm Air India Express, according to sources.

The sources familiar with the development said the deal will be part of a large aircraft order that Air India has been discussing with Boeing Co and Airbus SE since the beginning of this fiscal. Loss-making Air India, which was taken over by the Tata group in January this year, plans to triple its fleet over the next five years.

As part of consolidating its airline business, the Tata group has also announced the merger of its domestic budget arm AirAsia India, which operates the Airbus A320 fleet, with Air India Express. Currently, Air India Express has 24 Boeing 737 planes in its fleet.

The sources said that a meeting between Air India and Boeing officials is also likely to take place to further discuss the aircraft deal. "Air India has almost finalised the deal with Boeing to acquire 50 Boeing 737 MAX planes for Air India Express," one of the sources said.

Air India declined to comment. According to the sources, Air India has been discussing this deal with Boeing for quite some time now and these aircraft were earlier to be delivered to China. The airline is expecting to get a significant discount for these planes, they added.

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and the rising number of cases in China, Chinese authorities have put in place various curbs, including on travel, as a result of which many of the country's carriers are going slow on their fleet expansion.

Last month, Air India Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Campbell Wilson said the airline is in discussions with Boeing, Airbus and engine manufacturers for a "historic" order of next-generation aircraft. On December 11, media reports said that Air India was close to placing an order for some 500 planes with Boeing and Airbus.

An Air India official said the discussions for the large aircraft order are still in progress and the quantum of the order has not been decided yet. The order for new planes by Air India is likely to be announced in the coming weeks, the official added.

On December 8, Air India announced plans to refurbish its legacy wide-body fleet, comprising 40 Boeing planes, at an investment of over USD 400 million (about INR 3,295 crore). The company has mandated London-based product design companies JPA Design and Trendworks to assist with the cabin interior design elements of the refurbishment exercise.

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DGCA issues the highest number of Commercial Pilot Licenses in 2022 in the last decade

Radhika Bansal

13 Dec 2022

Aviation regulator DGCA issued 1,081 commercial pilot licenses in 2022, which is the highest for any year in the last decade, according to official data. The record issuance of Commercial Pilot Licenses (CPLs) also comes at a time when the country's civil aviation sector is recovering at a fast pace after being hit by the coronavirus pandemic and the domestic air traffic is inching towards the pre-pandemic level.

A senior official at the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) told PTI that 1,081 CPLs have been issued in 2022 till December 6 and the number is likely to cross 1,100 by the year-end. This is also the highest for any year since 2011, as per the data. In 2014, the number of CPLs issued stood at 896 while the count was at 862 in 2021.

ALSO READ - Covid wreaked havoc on the airline industry, but not on pilots’ dreams as most CPL issued this year

DGCA issues the highest number of Commercial Pilot Licenses in 2022 in the last decade

In 2015, the CPLs issued declined to 394 and rose to 537 in 2016. Further, it increased to 552 in 2017 and 640 in 2018. The data showed that in 2019, the number of CPLs touched 744 before declining to 578 in 2020. The count of CPLs issued stood at 823, 654 and 591 in 2011, 2012 and 2013, respectively.

An individual is eligible to apply for CPL after completing at least 200 hours of flying and fulfilling other conditions. Besides, the individual has to clear theory papers and once successful, the CPL is given for five years subject to complying with various requirements.

ALSO READ - India requires 1,000+ pilots per year but training facilities lacking

An increase in the number of Flying Training Organisations (FTOs) and most of them working on two shifts are helping pilot aspirants to clock more flying hours. Also, the license application process is online through the regulator's eGCA platform, the official said.

Currently, there are around 240 planes for training activities at various flying training organisations.

DGCA issues three types of licenses -- CPL, Air Transport Pilot License (ATPL) and Private Pilot License (PPL). While CPL allows a pilot to start flying as a co-pilot, ATPL permits a pilot to be the commander. PPL is issued for operating private planes.

According to the data from the DGCA, as many as 657 ATPLs have been issued this year till December 6. There are 34 flying training organisations in the country. Currently, there are around 240 planes for training activities at various flying training organisations. Mostly two and four-seater Cessna aircraft are used for flying training activities. The training of a pilot, including flying training, before he or she applies for the CPL is estimated to cost up to INR 50 lakh.

DGCA has issued more than 25,000 pilot licenses till now and there are estimated to be 11,000 to 12,000 active pilots. Out of them, 9,000 to 10,000 pilots are operating commercial planes.

As airlines look to increase capacity, they are starting to invest in pilot development programs.

As airlines look to increase capacity, they are starting to invest in pilot development programs. Nearly all major airlines now offer Cadet Programs, including IndiGo, SpiceJet, Air India, and others, which opens the door to securing loans as well. Indeed, a shortage of pilots can be a huge issue for airlines, grounding planes and forcing them to seek foreign talent at much higher costs.

The uptick in licenses tracks with the growth in India's active commercial fleet. With new players like Akasa joining the market and Air India investing hundreds of millions into new planes, pilots will be in high demand, along with other technical crew members.

On December 10, domestic airlines carried more than 4.14 lakh passengers, as per the latest data from the civil aviation ministry. Also, airlines, including the newly-launched Akasa Air, are expanding their operations amid rising travel demand. 

ALSO READ - Indian aviation sector to employ 1 lakh people directly in the next 2 years

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Airnova's Vertiport network intends to connect France's major cities

Prashant-prabhakar

13 Dec 2022

Airnova, a vertiport firm based in Bordeaux, France, has launched a €3 million (US$3.2 million) funding effort in order to create what might be the first vertiport network connecting all of France's major cities. The company's creator has already invested €500,000 (US$527,000) in the concept and is currently in talks with angel investors and investment firms about additional funding.

In 2020, Airnova created a unique vertiport design which was then approved for the French territory in April 2022 by INPI, the French institute for intellectual property rights. An extension to the rest of Europe is currently under approval- said Laurent Mathiolon, CEO and founder of Airnova

Mathiolon, who has a civil engineering degree, has managed construction, real estate, and land development projects for over 35 years through his other company Aqprim.

Airnova's vertiports are built for multi-modal operations such as freight and last-mile delivery, passenger transport, and civil security activities including firefighting and air ambulance.

Each of Airnova's urban vertiports will feature two landing pads and two parking stations for logistics operations and rapid battery charging, occupying a 1,000-square-meter footprint (10,700 square feet).

airnova

The vertiports will be built to give eVTOL aircraft access to a range of power sources, such as electric charging stations or, when the technology becomes available, hydrogen charging stations. Backup batteries can be deployed near parking lots as well.

The landing surfaces, according to Mathiolon, are meant to accommodate aircraft weighing up to eight tons, and a modest elevation is intended to improve eVTOL landing performance by decreasing venturi and ground effects. According to him, this structure will also allow for simpler access to the underside of the eVTOLs for logistics and battery repair operations. Airnova worked with eVTOL firms including Volocopter and Airbus, as well as various helicopter operators, to create its vertiport design.

AI and robots will be at the forefront of operations

At each Airnova peak, a tiny control tower staffed by qualified workers will be constructed, and a set of artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted cameras will support drone sky controllers in monitoring each aircraft's landing and takeoff.

airnova

Airnova is currently working on eVTOL passenger screening systems with the French company Dassault Systèmes. The vertiport will also use automation to manage passenger boarding, such as validating tickets and granting passengers access to the boarding area. A supervisor will validate each step remotely.

To assure safety, advanced technology like as facial recognition, light detection and ranging (LiDAR), 3D screening, and artificial intelligence (AI) will be deployed. said Mathiolon.

Airnova proposes to develop vertiginous ground infrastructure dubbed VertiStations, ideally outside of cities and near logistics centers, in addition to three major types of vertiport designs.

Getting started

Airnova intends to construct peaks as early as 2023, with an initial focus on France's main cities like Bordeaux, Nantes, and Toulouse.

Mathiolon said a one-way trip from Bordeaux to Toulouse, which might take about two hours by train or three hours by car at peak times, would now be completed in less than an hour by eVTOL.

A mayor and other local authorities in the Paris area have urged Airnova to create eVTOL vertiports for the 2024 Olympic Games.

SOURCE : airnova.immo | verticalmag

COVER : airnova

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Air India close to placing landmark orders for 500 jetliners

Radhika Bansal

12 Dec 2022

Air India is close to placing landmark orders for as many as 500 jetliners worth tens of billions of dollars from both Airbus and Boeing as it carves out an ambitious renaissance under the Tata Group conglomerate, industry sources said on Sunday.

The orders include as many as 400 narrow-body jets and 100 or more wide-bodies, including dozens of Airbus A350s and Boeing 787s and 777s, they said, speaking on condition of anonymity as finishing touches are placed on the mammoth deal in coming days.

Such a deal could top $100 billion dollars at list prices, including any options, and rank among the biggest by a single airline in volume terms, overshadowing a combined order for 460 Airbus and Boeing jets from American Airlines over a decade ago.

Even after significant expected discounts, the deal would be worth tens of billions of dollars and cap a volatile year for plane giants whose jets are again in demand after the pandemic, but who face mounting industrial and environmental pressures.

It would also allow Airbus to secure a home for some A350 production slots initially earmarked for Russia's Aeroflot and now left open because of war-related sanctions against Moscow.

Airbus and Boeing declined to comment. Tata Group-owned Air India did not respond to a request for comment.

China last week delivered its first C919 jetliner but is at least a decade away from competing on such a scale, experts say.

The potential blockbuster order comes days after Tata announced the merger of Air India with Vistara, a joint-venture with Singapore Airlines, to create a bigger full-service carrier and strengthen its presence in domestic and international skies.

That deal gives Tata a fleet of 218 aircraft, cementing Air India as the country's largest international carrier and second largest in the domestic market after leader IndiGo.

Buying debt-ridden Air India has also given Tata access to valuable flying rights and landing slots, especially to destinations in the United States and Europe.

HURDLES TO GROWTH

Air India's maharajah mascot was once synonymous with lavishly decorated planes and stellar service but its reputation declined in the mid-2000s as financial troubles mounted.

Founded by JRD Tata in 1932, Air India was nationalised in 1953. Tata regained control in January and has since been working to revive its reputation as a world-class airline.

The order reflects a strategy to re-capture a solid share of trips between India's large overseas diaspora and cities such as Delhi and Mumbai, dominated by foreign rivals such as Emirates.

Air India also wants to win a bigger share of regional international traffic and the domestic market, setting up a battle on both fronts with IndiGo.

Delivered over the next decade, the 500 jets would replace and expand fleets in the world's fastest-growing air travel market, while contributing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's goal of expanding the economy to $5 trillion.

But experts warn many hurdles stand in the way of Air India's ambition to recover a strong global position, including frail domestic infrastructure, pilot shortages and the threat of tough competition with established Gulf and other carriers.

It may also struggle to get the medium-haul Airbus A321neos being ordered for the Air India-Vistara tie-up as quickly as it would like, with the European planemaker sold out until 2028 or beyond.

One industry source said new Boeing 737 MAXs will most likely go to Air India Express, the company's budget operator which could be renamed.

Insiders say plane and engine makers have been clamouring at Air India's door for months, with new Chief Executive Campbell Wilson refusing to rush the make-or-break fleet decision.

Reuters reported in July that Air India was taking more time to study Airbus A350s and Boeing wide-body 787 and 777 models, on top of a probable mixed order for smaller single-aisle jets.

Last month, Campbell confirmed talks to "greatly expand" Air India's fleet over the next five years and said, "At the risk of gross understatement, the investment will be substantial."

(With Inputs from Reuters)

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