Aviation Insider

Articles giving aviation insights

Tata Looks To Reclaim The Skies With Jet Airways Merger!

AirWhizzNov 15, 2018 No Comments

Tata Looks To Reclaim The Skies With Jet Airways Merger!

Aviation Insider

Tata Sons, the holding company of the Tata group of companies, is in advanced talks to acquire a significant stake in the troubled airline, Jet Airways

The airline, promoted by entrepreneur Naresh Goyal, has been scouting for investors to tide over its financial difficulties.

According to news reports , The Tata group and Naresh Goyal-promoted Jet Airways are inching towards a two-step transaction the first leg of which could see the merger of Jet with Tata Singapore Airlines. The second step of the deal could involve the purchase of the Goyal family’s stake in the combined entity by Singapore Airlines

The talks between representatives of Tata group, Singapore Airlines (SIA) and the Jet Airways management gathered pace after US private equity giant TPG Capital opted to go slow on its talks to buy a stake in Jet. As per the terms under discussion, Jet Airways will first merge with Tata SIA through a share swap.

The Naresh Goyal family, Etihad, Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines will all become partners in the new company. In the second stage, Singapore Airlines will buy out the shares of the Goyal family, giving them a complete exit. Goyal’s partner Etihad may continue with the venture as minority shareholder.

Buying Jet, with its fleet of 124 aircraft, would return Tata to the forefront of Indian aviation in terms of size, almost 70 years after its first airline was nationalised, and six years after it re-entered the market with two joint ventures, Vistara & Air Asia.

Should a deal with Jet succeed, Tata would gain access to hard-to-get parking slots at Mumbai’s congested airport, most of which are occupied by the 25-year-old airline.

Read More

Flight Operations At Delhi Airport May Get Affected Starting This Week!

AirWhizzNov 14, 2018 No Comments

Flight Operations At Delhi Airport May Get Affected Starting This Week!

Aviation Insider

If you are planning to fly from Delhi Airport anytime soon, be prepared for flight delays.

Due to runway repairs at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, flight operations at the airport are likely to be affected for a week i.e., from November 16 to November 23, 2018.

Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) said that runway 27/09 will be closed for preventive repairs and maintenance for a week from Friday onwards.

According to a DIAL official, the closing of the runway during this period could reduce the capacity of the airport by 50 arrivals as well as 50 departures per day.

The official also said that the work being carried out had been planned in advance and is a routine activity to ensure safe aircraft operations.

Initially, a 13-day runway closure was announced by the airport in October. However, the airport operator said that the period has been reduced in order to ensure minimal disturbances take place in the functioning of the airport.

Different Airlines have said that flight have been adjusted and cancelled in advance following this so that passengers don’t face any inconvenience however, they have also said that there may be slight flight delays.

According to RK Jenamani, Meteorological Head at the IGI airport, the national capital is witnessing a shallow fog during the day, however, flight operations are unlikely to be affected by fog during this period.

He said that the airport is only likely to see dense fog next month and cancellations start occurring around December 15.

Interestingly, a fourth runway is being introduced at the Delhi Airport. The runway is likely to be completed by 2022, making the airport, the first one in the country with four runways.

Read More

India’s Fastest-Built Airport Terminal To Open In Prayagraj!

AirWhizzNov 13, 2018 No Comments

India’s Fastest-Built Airport Terminal To Open In Prayagraj!

Aviation Insider

Allahabad, now known as Prayagraj, is all set to get India’s fastest-built airport terminal building.

The Airports Authority of India (AAI), while aiming to complete the terminal in a record time of 11 months, has also expanded its plans for the airport by deciding to construct more aircraft parking bays than earlier planned.

The airport terminal is being built in this record time because Kumbh Mela will start from January 15 and will end on March 4, 2019. The state of Uttar Pradesh is expecting lakhs of devotees to visit the holy city that time.

In case you didn’t know, Prayagraj Airport is, in fact, an Indian Air Force Station with a civil terminal the size of a bungalow. The two rooms of that bungalow serve as the arrival and departure hall.

According to AAI Chairman, Mr Guruprasad Mohapatra, AAI is building a new terminal and more aircraft parking bays than originally planned since there is a huge demand for connecting Prayagraj city to other parts of the nation.

Unlike earlier, when just one parking bay was planned to allow one plane to be parked at a time, now AAI is coming up with three to four more parking bays, he added.

The initial estimated cost to build the terminal was around Rs 126 crore. However, the amount has now gone up by Rs 40 crore.

Since the city in Uttar Pradesh has a bench of the High Court, it is an important center for learning as well as a major pilgrimage. Hence, the demand for improved air connectivity has been increasing now.

Read More

Why Do Commercial Airplanes Fly At High Altitudes?

AirWhizzNov 12, 2018 No Comments

Why Do Commercial Airplanes Fly At High Altitudes?

Aviation Insider

It would be safe to say that most passengers have never thought about why airplanes fly at a specific height of 35000 feet.

We all assume that since its an airplane it will fly 10600 meters above in the sky, but have you ever wonder why exactly that height?

Well, we did some digging and found out there are some pretty interesting reasons why most airplanes around the world fly so high.

Why Do Airplanes Fly So High?

1.The Higher The Better

One of the central reasons behind an aircraft’s altitude is that, as the air gets thinner with every foot climbed, airplanes can travel more easily and therefore move faster and burn less fuel, saving money.

The “sweet spot” of flying is regarded as between 35,000 and 42,000 feet.

If the airplane flies above this limit the oxygen becomes too sparse to fuel the engines. If it ’s too low, the airplane will experience greater air resistance.

2.Weather Conditions

Flying thousands of feet above the ground also means airplanes avoid much of the bad weather people on the ground are subjected to.

You know the feeling when you see nothing but blue skies from your window seat, only to descend into your destination airport to a dull drizzle.

3.Avoid Heavy Traffic

We aren’t talking about our usual road traffic!

Of course, it does avoid the hectic city traffic, but what we mean is the airborne traffic such as light aircraft or helicopters, which fly lower, as well as insects and birds.

Light aircraft do not have pressurised cabins, therefore stick below 10,000 feet.

4.In The Event Of An Emergency

Should something bad happen to an aircraft at 35,000 feet, like losing power in its engines, the pilot has much longer to deal with the situation, than if the aircraft was just at 10,000 feet.

This may sound silly, but remember that planes can still land safely even if both engines fail

How Low can Airplanes Fly?

The lowest an airplane can fly is a 1000 feet, but this is not applicable to airliners.

Known as the Lowest Safe Altitude (LSALT), this value has been applied by aviation bodies around the world, including Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA), the British Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and the US Federal Aviation Administration.

Airlines can fly at this low but there are safety standards and rules that don’t allow this. In fact, its illegal for any aircraft to fly lower than a 1000 feet.

Aircraft must not fly less than 1000 feet above the “highest fixed object” beneath them and pilots must make sure that they are high enough to clear the congested area below in the event of engine failure.

Obviously, this doesn’t apply to take-off and landing for an aircraft as it’s done in a controlled flight path.

Is There A Maximum Height?

There is no maximum altitude for flying, however, engines will struggle as the oxygen levels fall, and communication with the ground will become a greater challenge.

The record altitude for a jet plane is 123,520 feet, set by Alexandr Fedotov in 1997 flying a military Soviet MiG-25M.

Read More

New Info-Sharing Platform To Make Kolkata Airport More Efficient!

AirWhizzNov 12, 2018 No Comments

New Info-Sharing Platform To Make Kolkata Airport More Efficient!

Aviation Insider

Flight delays and mid-air holding of flights because of congestion of airplanes on the ground have reduced at Kolkata Airport, thanks to a new common information-sharing platform.

This platform enables the airport operator, airlines and other agencies to process information accurately and take immediate, more precise decisions saving time for flyers, fuel for airlines and reducing carbon emissions.

The Airport-Collaborative Decision Making (A-CDM) system also enables flyers to get accurate information on arrival times of their flights.

A-CDM is currently active at 25 airports across Europe and Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru in India.

Here are a few benefits of the new A-CDM system:

  • Overall improvement in the efficiency of airport operations.
  • Orderly flow of air traffic.
  • Optimization of airport and airspace capacity
  • Reduction in carbon emission and pollution, due to the saving of fuel
  • Predictability of delays and swift distribution of information to all partners.

Here’s an example of how the system will work:

  • If an incoming flight is delayed by eight minutes, A-CDM will accurately predict the aircraft’s coordinates.
  • Also, if there is a 20-minute airplane congestion predicted over Delhi, then the flight taking off for Delhi will be delayed by 20 minuets so that it does not have to hover on reaching there.
  • Accordingly, this information will be shared with all stakeholders including passengers.

With this system airport operators will be able to know exactly where a delay is happening, whether it is in the baggage breakup area, in customs or immigration and will help in fixing the delay point and make the airport more efficient.

Read More

Government Approves Privatisation Of 6 Indian Airports! !

AirWhizzNov 10, 2018 No Comments

Government Approves Privatisation Of 6 Indian Airports! !

Aviation Insider

Aviation in India is about to get a big boost!

Union Cabinet this week approved the privatisation of airports in Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow, Guwahati, Thiruvananthapuram and Mangaluru.

The airports will be operated under a Public-Private Partnership(PPP). This will include operation, management as well as the development of these airports and would be done through Public Private Partnership Appraisal Committee (PPPAC).

The Cabinet has said that the move is expected to enhance the revenue to the Airports Authority of India and increased economic development in these areas in terms of creation of jobs and related infrastructure.

Here’s why the PPP model will benefit us in the future:

  • In airport infrastructure projects, PPP brings efficiency in service delivery as well as professionalism
  • With PPP model, many airports have been provided with world-class infrastructure. Moreover, the PPP has also contributed to the delivery of efficient and timely services to air passengers.
  • Other than creating world-class airports, the PPP model has also helped the Airports Authority of India in enhancing its revenues as well as focusing on airports development and boosting air navigation infrastructure across the nation.

At present, the Indian airports that are being managed under PPP include Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Cochin airports.

Interestingly, the above-mentioned airports have been ranked among the top 5 in their respective categories by the Airports Council International in terms of Airport Service Quality.

According to the Cabinet, the airport sector is the top contender among infrastructure sectors in terms of international interest. Therefore, by adoption of PPP model, the airport sector may provide an immediate opportunity to attract foreign direct investment.

Read More

Strike By Air India Employees Causes Flight Delays At Mumbai Airport!

AirWhizzNov 09, 2018 No Comments

Strike By Air India Employees Causes Flight Delays At Mumbai Airport!

Aviation Insider

A flash strike by employees of Air India’s ground handling arm, Air India Air Transport Services Ltd (AIATSL) on Wednesday and Thursday led to massive flight delays at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport.

The employees of AIATSL stopped work at Mumbai airport on Wednesday night, demanding payment of Diwali bonus and reinstatement of three of their colleagues whose contracts were not renewed by the company.

Due to this sudden situation, many Air India flights were delayed. Around 37 flights, including international ones, were delayed by 2.5 hours to 3 hours till 3:00 p.m, Thursday. However, no flights were cancelled.

Here are a few details of the incident :

  • The arrival of eight flights and the departure of 16 flights were delayed.
  • Among those were the 1.45 am Mumbai-Bangkok flight which was delayed by over six hours and departed at 8:18 am
  • The Mumbai-Newark flight left at 4:08 am which was late by 2.5 hours.
  • Several passengers took to Twitter to complain about the flight delays and long wait at the airport.
  • The lack of ground handling staff during the night when a majority of international flight depart led to flight delays.

The Strike was called off this morning after discussions with the management. Most of the issues have been sorted out and employees are back to work. Flight operations are back to normal now. But, the employees whose contracts were not renewed have not been taken back.

AIATSL, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the national carrier, provides ground handling services to Air India across airports in the country. It has about 5,000 employees, including those on contract.

Ground crew, generally carry out functions like loading/unloading bags and cargo, checking-in passengers, cleaning aircraft and much more. They also take up similar duties for foreign airlines on a contract basis.

Read More

India Has The Largest Percentage Of Airline Women Pilots In The World!

AirWhizzNov 08, 2018 No Comments

India Has The Largest Percentage Of Airline Women Pilots In The World!

Aviation Insider

According to the latest data released by the International Society Of Women Airline Pilots (ISA+21), India not only has the largest percentage of Women pilots in the world, but the percentage of Indian women pilots is more than double the global average.

Statistics show that the global average of the percentage of women pilots is around 5.4%. In India, the percentage of women pilots is 12.4%. India has a total of 8797 pilots out of which 1092 are women and 385 of these are women commanders or captains.

Globally, the total number of airline pilots is over 1.5 lakh of which 8061 are women out of which 2190 are flight captains.

Here are a few stats about female pilots with airlines in India:

  • IndiGo has the second highest percentage of women pilots at nearly 13.9%. Of the 2,689 pilots that IndiGo employs, 351 are women.
  • Of the 1,867 pilots in Jet Airways, 231 are women (12.4%)
  • SpiceJet has 853 pilots of which 113 are women (13.2%)
  • Air India, country’s pioneer in employing women pilots, has 1,710 pilots of which 217 are women pilots (12.7%).

In fact, IndiGo and Jet Airways are the only two carriers in the world, other than US-based carriers like United Airlines American Airlines, Delta Airlines and Southwest Airlines, where the number of female captains is currently in three digits.

At 299 female captains, United Airlines employs the largest number of women commanders in the world followed by American Airlines at 152 and Southwest at 121. IndiGo has 118 women commanders and Jet Airways 100.

In case you didn’t know, the percentage of female pilots in India has been way above the global average for quite some time now. In a report released by ISA+21 in 2006, the global percentage of women pilots was 5.9%. Back then, the percentage of women airline pilots in India was 11%, which still was double the global average.

Read More