Vistara on verge of overtaking SpiceJet to gain the top spot in market share of Indian aviation

The market share of Indian airlines in the Indian aviation sector has seen a shift over the last year as the competition has heated up in a scenario of less demand and more supply.

While the domestic civil aviation traffic crossed the pre-pandemic levels of around 4 lakh daily air passengers, the numbers have not been able to hold. Currently, the traffic is holding at around 70 to 75% of the pre-pandemic levels.

With new players like Akasa Air and Jet Airways 2.0 ready to start operations, there is a cutthroat competition to gain the top spot in the market share of Indian aviation.

The market share of Indian airlines in the Indian aviation sector has seen a shift over the last year as the competition has heated up in a scenario of less demand and more supply.

In this background, the airlines in India, whether full-service or low-cost carriers have tried to engage as many passengers as possible to develop a decent revenue environment.

In terms of fleet size among Indian airlines, IndiGo leads with 283 airplanes, followed by Air India at 116 aircraft, SpiceJet at 87 aircraft, Go FIRST at 57 planes, Vistara at 56 aircraft, AirAsia India at 28 planes and Alliance Air at 19 aircraft.

Vistara, the joint venture between Singapore Airlines and Tata Group, has emerged as an outperformer in the race as its market share has risen to 9.4% in June as compared to 8.6% in May 2022 and 7.2% in June 2021. This is Vistara’s second-best performance as the highest market share for the airline was at 9.7%, which was secured in February 2022.

Vistara is on verge of overtaking SpiceJet to gain the top spot in the market share of Indian aviation

SpiceJet, which witnessed a spike in technical snags over the last two months, saw a drop in market share in June to 9.5% from 10% in May. On a yearly comparison, the airline had a market share of 9% in June 2021.

IndiGo, the largest Indian carrier, has shown an increase in its market share in June at 56.9%, up from 55.6% in May 2022 and also rising on year from 54.7% in June 2021.

ALSO READ - Global airline executives believe that only Tatas can revive and increase the market share of Air India

For the other Tata airline, Air India, the ride has been rather bumpy in terms of market share. While the airline has seen a bit of an increase in market share from 7.2% in May to 7.5% in June, the drop has been significant as compared to 10.2% in January 2022 and 10.6% as of December 2021.

Airlines in India, whether full-service or low-cost carriers have tried to engage as many passengers as possible to develop a decent revenue environment.

The third airline under the Tata umbrella, AirAsia India, witnessed a drop in its market share to 5.6% in June from 6% in May. However, on a yearly comparison, the airline has shown an improvement in market share from 3.4% in June 2021.

ALSO READ - Go First grounds over a fifth of its fleet due to delayed deliveries of engines by Pratt & Whitney

Go First, the airline which is struggling to utilise its full fleet size due to delays in engine deliveries for its A320neos, also saw an impact in market share. It fell to 9.5% in June from 11.1% in May 2022. However, the share has increased from 8.3% in June 2021.

(With Inputs from CNBC TV18)

In an effort to strengthen India's regional connectivity, Star Air, the aviation vertical of Sanjay Ghodawat Group, announced the regional carrier has signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) for two Embraer E175 aircraft with Nordic Aviation Capital (NAC), one of the largest Regional Aircraft Lessors in the world.

The deal was announced during a press event organized by Embraer at the Farnborough International Airshow, UK, in presence of senior officials from Embraer and Star Air.

With unparalleled potential, India's regional sectors are one of the fastest growing aviation markets in the world. Star Air is striving to establish a fleet of Embraer aircraft that will improve regional connectivity.

Star Air to lease 2 Embraer E175 aircraft from Nordic Aviation Capital

Offering the right capacity at affordable fares, Star Air pledges to support the growing demand across India as the airline prepares for the Ministry of Civil Aviation's plans to build 100 airports.

Eager to welcome the E175 to the Indian skies, the E175 has no middle seats and provides best-in-class legroom with comfortable seating arrangements.

"After witnessing a strong recovery in air travel, we are excited to partner with Embraer as we constantly aim at Connecting Real India and make travel accessible, reliable, and affordable. As the fastest-growing Indian regional airline, we are excited to touch new horizons and explore the skies with great vigour. The E175 aircraft will not only add flexibility and efficiency to our network but will also strengthen our customer relations as we provide them with an unparalleled flying experience." Shrenik Ghodawat, Director, Star Air

With a flying range of 2,200 nautical miles, Star Air is set to fly longer, faster, and smoother. Currently operating in 18 destinations across India, the airline is all geared up to grow and expand its regional presence.

As part of the statement, Star Air has also announced that pending the signing of the lease agreement, the airline is confident of starting E175 operations by November 2022.

The deal was announced during a press event organized by Embraer at the Farnborough International Airshow, UK, in presence of senior officials from Embraer and Star Air.

Currently, the airline operates scheduled flights using its 5 ERJ-145 in addition to a handful of Airbus Helicopters to connect 18 Indian destinations focusing mainly on tier 2 and tier 3 cities.

These include Ahmedabad, Ajmer (Kishangarh), Bengaluru, Belagavi, Delhi (Hindon), Hubballi, Indore, Jodhpur, Kalaburagi, Mumbai, Nashik, Surat, Tirupati, Jamnagar, Hyderabad, Nagpur, Bhuj and Bidar.

Star Air’s E145s can carry 50 passengers in a 1-2 all-economy seating configuration. All five airframes have been operated by other airlines in the past and are nearly 16.5 years old on average.

Star Air’s E145s can carry 50 passengers in a 1-2 all-economy seating configuration.

The E175 is also the most sold E-jet with orders at 840 E175s at the end of 2021. Of these 693 have been delivered and a backlog of 147 remained as of December 31, 2021. The E175 has a range of 4074kms.

Sanjay Ghodawat Group (SGG) is a prominent Indian business conglomerate that has a presence in various high-value business verticals. Aviation, Consumer Products, Education, Energy, Mining, Realty, Retail, and Textiles are some of its key business domains.

If Star Air’s deal goes through, NAC will have signed a second Indian airline customer. The regional aircraft lessor has leased nine DHC Dash 8-Q400 aircraft to low-cost airline SpiceJet.

Star Air is an Indian regional airline that started operations in 2019 with Banglore’s Kempegowda International Airport (BLR) as its hub.

Deliveries to SpiceJet started in late 2016 and continued for about a year. All but one of the nine airframes have been listed as active.

Days leading up to the 2022 Farnborough International Airshow have been quite good for Nordic Aviation Capital. The lessor made deals for 15 airframes in one week, a month after its exit from the Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization.

Star Air is an Indian regional airline that started operations in 2019 with Banglore’s Kempegowda International Airport (BLR) as its hub.

The airline has been consistently carrying about 20,000 passengers per month.

The carrier operates flights under the Indian government’s UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik or ‘Let the common citizens of the country fly’) scheme, wherein operators are incentivized by the government to connect under-served regional airports.

The airline has been consistently carrying about 20,000 passengers per month. The airline made a loss of INR 18.7 crore in FY20-21, while it had lost INR 36.6 crore in FY19-20 as per data submitted in the parliament. The airline will have to work with the regulator to work on the operational side to add a new type to its Air Operating Certificate (AOC).

The Airbus A330 MRTT has become the world’s first tanker to be certified for automatic air-to-air refuelling (A3R) boom operations in daylight following a successful campaign in collaboration with the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF).

Airbus

This capability, certified by the Spanish National Institute for Aerospace Technology (INTA),  is part of the new SMART MRTT developed by Airbus.

According to the press release by Airbus, the A3R system requires no additional equipment on the receiver aircraft and is intended to reduce air refuelling operator (ARO) workload, improve safety and optimise the rate of air-to-air refuelling (AAR) transfer in operational conditions to enable air superiority.

The certification of the A3R capability is the result of a successful journey that started in 2018 with the world’s first automated contact with a boom system in a joint operation with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). Since then, we’ve achieved more aeronautical “world firsts” thanks to the support of our customers, especially with the key participation of our partner the RSAF, a launch customer and the first operator to benefit from this game-changing capability. The A330 MRTT continues to increase its technological advantage with superior air refuelling capabilities,” said Jean-Brice Dumont, Head of Military Air Systems at Airbus Defence and SpaceAirbus

The collaboration between Airbus and the RSAF for the development of the SMART MRTT featured the use of an RSAF A330 MRT for the development, flight test campaign and certification of the A3R.

Additionally, enhanced maintenance capabilities have been developed, allowing faster resolution of ground tasks, while providing the means for maximising the efficient use of spare parts.

Apparently, this is not the end of it all for the evolution of the A330 MRTT. Airbus, through its subsidiary Airbus UpNext, has launched Auto’Mate, a demonstrator that will develop, adapt, mature, integrate and evaluate technologies enabling Autonomous Assets Air-to-Air Refuelling (A4R) and Autonomous Formation Flight (AF2) operations. Auto’Mate will focus on automating the receiver aircraft’s tasks, which requires a set of new technologies that are the pillars of the UpNext Auto’Mate demonstrator.

 Auto´Mate is the first UpNext demonstrator to be launched, developed and concluded in Spain.

The set of technologies developed in the Airbus Auto’Mate demonstrator will enable a disruptive step forward in the autonomy level of current Air-to-Air Refuelling (AAR) operations and will be tested in flight during 2023 with a final end-to-end demonstration in mid-2024, using in both cases an A310 as the Tanker Refuelling Flight Test Bed and DT-25 Target Drones as receiver aircraft.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXMdg1fdMQ4

Additionally, these technologies would also focus on reducing crew fatigue and training costs, improving safety and efficiency, and pioneering Unmanned Air-to-Air Refuelling operations (including Unmanned-to-Unmanned AAR operations), a highly demanded capability for future defence scenarios.

SOURCE

COVER: Airbus

A passenger on an IndiGo Patna-Delhi flight 6E-2126 on Thursday, July 21 claimed that there was a bomb on board, which later turned out to be a hoax, sources said.

The flight, which was scheduled to depart at 8:20 PM, had to be grounded following the hoax threat. All the passengers were safely evacuated. The plane was searched and nothing was found, a source said.

IndiGo aircraft halted at Patna airport after a hoax bomb call

A bomb squad and police personnel checked the aircraft and declared it safe. The man's bag was also checked and no bomb was found.

The passenger who spread the hoax was detained by the local authorities. The plane is expected to leave for Delhi with passengers on Friday morning, sources said.IndiGo did not respond to PTI's request for a statement on the matter.

ALSO READ - Go First aircraft halted in Srinagar after hoax bomb call

In April, Go First aircraft halted in Srinagar after hoax bomb call

In April, a Go First plane, which was scheduled to go to Delhi, has been halted in Srinagar and is being searched following a telephone call warning about a bomb inside the aircraft, officials said.

ALSO READ - Former airport employee busted for making a hoax bomb threat at Bengaluru Airport

Earlier in Mat, Panic prevailed at Kempegowda International Airport, Bengaluru, after an anonymous caller rang the Bengaluru city police helpline (112) around 3:50 AM and informed that a bag carrying explosives had been placed on the airport premises.

An Air India Boeing 787 aircraft with flight number AI 934 from Dubai to Cochin had to be diverted to Mumbai due to cabin pressurisation loss, adding to the growing number of flights that had to be diverted due to technical snags.

The aircraft was cruising at 37,000 feet when the issue occurred and saw oxygen masks being deployed with some of the passengers suffering nosebleeds. The pilots immediately contacted the integrated operations control centre (IOCC) of the airline as well as the air traffic controller.

Following the depressurisation, the pilots descended the aircraft to 10,000 feet. The plane was allowed to divert to the nearest airport, which in this case was the one in Mumbai and it landed safely.

Air India B787 Dubai-Cochin flight diverted to Mumbai due to cabin pressurisation loss

“The captain reported the pressurisation loss to the Air India Integrated Operations Control Centre, and diverted the flight to Mumbai,” a DGCA official said. There were 247 passengers and 11 crew members on board.

The flight had landed safely at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj international airport. As per the information by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), senior officers of O/o DAS WR are assigned the task to carry out a preliminary investigation.

Jet aircraft fly at high altitudes with a pressurized fuselage that maintains pressure and temperature levels inside the aircraft at levels physiologically fit for humans.

The aircraft was cruising at 37,000 feet when the issue occurred and saw oxygen masks being deployed with some of the passengers suffering nosebleeds.

While most jets have cabin air pressure equivalent to that experienced at an altitude of 8000 ft, the Dreamliner with its composite fuselage can maintain a lower cabin pressure of about 6,000 ft.

The alternate aircraft arranged for passengers of the Dubai-Kochi Air India flight that got diverted to Mumbai a day ago due to a loss of cabin pressure landed at the Cochin International Airport here early on Friday, July 22 morning.

An alternate aircraft AI 1681 BOM-COK from Mumbai landed at 0433 hours today with 180 passengers. The rest of the passengers will arrive on an Air India flight at 0730 hrs.

An alternate aircraft AI 1681 BOM-COK from Mumbai landed at 0433 hours today with 180 passengers.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has ordered a probe into the incident that took place on July 21 when an Air India flight from Dubai to Kochi was diverted to Mumbai due to a loss of cabin pressure after which an alternate aircraft was arranged to carry passengers from Mumbai to Kochi.

A senior DGCA official informed that the captain of Air India Boeing Fleet Aircraft of Flight No. AI- 934 from Dubai - Cochin, reported to IOCC (Integrated Operations Control Centre) regarding pressurization loss in the aircraft. The flight was diverted to Mumbai and it landed safely.

Two senior officers of DAS WR are assigned the task to carry out a preliminary investigation. He added that an inquiry has been ordered.

A captain of Air India Boeing Fleet Aircraft of Flight No. AI- 934 from Dubai - Cochin, reported to IOCC (Integrated Operations Control Centre) regarding pressurization loss in the aircraft.

ALSO READ - Go First A320’s windshield breaks midair; flight diverted to Jaipur

In an incident of technical malfunction, the windshield of a Go First flight between Delhi and Guwahati cracked mid-air due to bad weather on Wednesday, July 20. The aircraft was diverted to Jaipur and landed safely.

Earlier this month, DGCA said that 30 such incidents take place daily, but these occurrences hardly have any safety implications. "On average, about 30 incidents do take place, including go-around, missed approaches, diversion, medical emergencies, weather, technical and bird hits," the top DGCA told ANI.

"Most of them have no safety implications. On the contrary, they are a sine qua non of a robust safety management system," he added.

In an incident of technical malfunction, the windshield of a Go First flight between Delhi and Guwahati cracked mid-air due to bad weather on July 20.

In similar incidents, another two Go First flights were diverted due to engine snags. The DGCA has said that the matter is being investigated and the aircraft are being grounded. The DGCA added that the flights will take off once they get clearance from the authority.

Earlier on July 17, an Air India Express aircraft while operating from Calicut to Dubai was diverted to Muscat after a burning smell was observed from one of the vents in the forward galley of the flight.

Meanwhile, after frequent engineering-related glitches were reported in several airlines, the DGCA conducted several spot checks and advised that all aircraft at base and transit stations shall be released by certifying staff holding a licence with appropriate authorization by their organization.

After frequent engineering-related glitches were reported in several airlines, the DGCA conducted several spot checks

ALSO READ - DGCA finds insufficient aircraft engineers during spot checks amid rising technical snags

The spot checks carried out by DGCA teams have indicated the improper identification of the cause of a reported defect, increasing trend of minimum equipment list (MEL) releases and non-availability of required certifying staff to cater to multiple scheduled arrivals/ departures in a short interval.

ALSO READ - DGCA asks airlines to depute aircraft engineers at all airports

The move comes after several instances were reported in the country where flights were diverted citing safety or functioning issues.

According to open sources, Lockheed Martin, the largest US maker, had announced the launch of a new F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter production line in Greenville, South Carolina.

While the fighters created at the same time have been decommissioned and have ceased, the US has recently continued to grow the plant that produces this fighter line, making the F-16 the most successful 4th generation fighter of the US.

F-16 Fighting Falcon | MOTORIZADO

One of the most popular and combat-tested ever to fly is the F-16 Fighting Falcon. F-16s currently used by militaries worldwide have flown more than 400,000 combat missions and accumulated 19 hours of flight time. A total of 25 militaries still use F-16s in their air services, and about 3,000 Fighting Falcons are in use.

Last Man Standing: F-16s Outlast Any Other Fighter Created Introduced at the Same Time

The United States Air Force flies more F-16s than any other type as part of its fighter fleet. The F-16's durability can be attributed to both its dependability and combat prowess as well as to its impressive cost-effectiveness, with the Falcon coming in at a significantly lower price compared to its larger fourth-generation, the F-15.

F-15 Eagle Vs F-16 Fighting Falcon | Representative | Military Watch Magazine

Due to its successful track record, the F-16 has continued operating despite the development of a more advanced fifth-generation stealth fighter. The F-16 is currently undergoing upgrades that will allow it to continue to be competitive in the air for years to come to guarantee that this is still the case. The newest generation of F-16s, known as the F-16V or "Viper," is incorporating several technologies that will further improve the F-16s combat capabilities, moving beyond the C/D variants of the aircraft to become the standard in many air forces around the world.

Su-35 | Wikimedia Commons

The F-16V also referred to as the F-16E/F Block 70/72, is the model that is currently being used. The F-16V warplanes can compete with the top-tier Russian heavyweight fighter Su-35 thanks to their AN/APG-83 AESA active phased array, Sniper ATP package, and AIM-9X missiles.

Eyes of the Tiger: F-16 AESA Radar

Active phased array radar is often only seen on fifth-generation aircraft due to its and high cost. The US chose to reduce them to the 4th and 5th generation fighters, indicating that they will stick around to support the 5th generation fighters for a slightly extended period.

AESA Radar | Representative | Saab

The active phased array radar undoubtedly provides the fighter with a new edge, and many experts think that the F-16V may compete in some ways with the Russian Su-35, which only has a semi-active phased array radar.

The F-16V can acquire the air-to-air and air-to-ground combat skills of fifth-generation fighters thanks to the APG-83 fire control radar system. The engine on the F-16V has also been modified for higher performance while being more fuel-efficient, in addition to the extensively modernized avionics. The integrated fuel tank on the back of the F-16V allows it to have a substantially longer combat range than earlier models.

Price is Right: Why F-16 is the Darling of the Beholder and Death Sentence for the Enemy

The super jet Mig-25 Foxbat was initially intended to be fought by the F-15. But it turned out that the Mig-25 was entirely different from what the Pentagon had first believed. Thus, the original goal and motivation behind the F-15 vanished. The F-15 was being redefined by the Pentagon and forced into uses that its price did not support. The engines were detuned of the F-15 were detuned to extend its lifespan. This is the rationale behind the creation of the F-16.

Mig-25 Foxbat | Representative | The National Interest

Each F-15 variant outperforms the F-16 in its respective role on a technical level. At 1.5 times the price, the F-15c is a competent fighter and slightly superior to an F-16 in a fight. Even though it costs five times as much, the F-15E is a superior strike aircraft to an F-16. But you get the idea. The specialized F-15s can carry out some missions that the F-16 cannot. The F-16 is a low-cost, incredibly adaptable aircraft.

The F-16 is affordable and competent across the board. For the same money as one F-22, the Pentagon could purchase seven F-16s. Each F-16 costs $18.8 million, and an operational flight hour costs $7,000 per aircraft. The price of a single F-22 is $150 million, and a flight hour of use costs $64,000. A PMP, or Periodic Maintenance Procedure, is required for the F-22 every month.

F-16s have successfully completed nine sorties a day. Only capable of one sortie every three days, the F-22 is also extremely expensive to operate. In a war lasting more than a day, the F-22 is only occasionally usable, and in a conflict lasting more than a month, it is entirely useless.

F-22 Raptor | Representative | The Digital Picture

The F-16's introduction, in my memory, left everyone in awe. It was incredibly effective at everything and was cheap, adaptable, stealthy, and stealthy. The performance of some much more expensive planes was matched or even surpassed it in some areas. It was, in my opinion, the first fly-by-wire jet that the United States had on hand.

COVER: Source