LCCs GOING BIOFUELs – HUGE LEAP BEYOND POWERING IN ENGINE BOUNDARIES THE FUTURE PERFORMANCE P 16 P 26 P 28 FEBRUARY-MARCH 2014 `100.00 (INDIA-BASED BUYER ONLY) VOLUME 7 • iSSUE 1 WWW.SPSAIRBUZ.COM ANAIRBUZ EXCLUSIVE MAGAZINE ON CIVIL AVIATION FROM INDIA AN SP GUIDE PUBLICATION RNI NUMBER: DELENG/2008/24198 Born different Some are born great, others have greatness thrust upon them. With the LEAP engine, you get a little of both. It’s a legend in the making, with 3-D woven carbon fi ber composite fan blades, a built-in debris rejection system, and ceramic matrix composites. If you want to know where all that innovation comes from, blame the parents. Go to cfmaeroengines.com CFM International is a 50/50 joint company between Snecma (Safran) and GE. Superior performance | Lower cost of ownership | Greater reliability MORE TO BELIEVE IN C32386.034_CFM_PRAM_SPsAviation_Sep13_267x210_v1.indd 1 08/08/2013 16:57 table OF CONTENTS LCCs GOING BIOFUELS– HUGE LEAP BEYOND POWERING IN ENGINE BOUNDARIES THE FUTURE PERFORMANCE Cover: P 16 P 26 P 28 INFRASTRUCTURE / AIRPORT FEBRUARY-MARCH 2014 `100.00 (INDIA-BASED BUYER ONLY) VOLUME 7 • ISSUE 1 The new integrated terminal WWW.SPSAIRBUZ.COM ANAIRBUZ EXCLUSIVE MAGAZINE ON CIVIL AVIATION FROM INDIA P20 SWANKIEST AIRPORT EVER (T2) at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport Prime Minister Dr Manmohan in Mumbai, built at a cost of CHHATRAPATI SHIVAJI INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, MUMBAI SWANKIEST Singh inaugurated the world- `5,200 crore can handle 40 AIRPORT class new integrated terminal million passengers annually. AN SP GUIDE PUBLICATION RNI NUMBER: DELENG/2008/24198 (T2) at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Cover Image: GVK SP's Airbuz Cover 01-2014.indd 1 05/02/14 5:40 PM International Airport in Mumbai and dedicated it to the nation. AIR TRANSPORT / REGIONAL AVIATION P8 TRENDS SHAPING REGIONAL AVIATION Increased urbanisation and prosperity in Tier-II and Tier-III cities is going to spur demand for regional air travel. P3 GOLDEN JUBILEE / AIRCRAFT / REGIONAL AVIATION CELEBRATION P10 BOMBARDIER CSERIES – A CLASS APART MESSAGE FROM THE INDIAN DEFENCE MINISTER When the CS100 enters service, hopefully by late 2015, followed by the CS300 a few months P16 AIR TRANSPORT / later, it will present to the world an aircraft LOW-COST CARRIERS that can be well utilised to generate profits. LCCs GOING BEYOND BOUNDARIES P18 AIR TRANSPORT / AIRLINES Tata RE-ENTERS WITH RENEWED VIGOUR P23 AIRCRAFT / TECHNOLOGY BATTLE BETWEEN SPEED & ECONOMY: REGIONAL JETS VS TURBOPROPS P26 AVIATION / GREEN FUELS BIOFUELS – POWERING THE FUTURE P28 AIRCRAFT / TECHNOLOGY HUGE LEAP IN ENGINE PERFORMANCE MARKET / OUTLOOK AVIATION / AIR SAFETY P13 THE YEAR GONE BY P30 UNSUNG HERO depaRTMENTS P2 A WORD FROM EDITOR 2013 was a big year for aviation, but with Captain Inder Singh displayed excellent many programmes having been initiated in judgement when he decided to divert to Jaipur P4 NEWS BRIEFS the same year, 2014 is going to be a better. once it became amply clear that the Delhi weather P32 FInally would not improve in the next half an hour. SP’S AIRBUZ • ISSUE 1 • 2014 • 1 A WORD FROM EDITOR PUBLISHER AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Jayant Baranwal EDITOR Air Marshal (Retd) B.K. Pandey ASSISTANT GROUP EDITOR R. Chandrakanth (Bengaluru) CONTRIBUTORS Group Captain (Retd) A.K. Sachdev, Group Captain (Retd) Joseph Noronha, S.R. Swarup, Vasuki Prasad, Shriniwas Mishra T THE OUTSET WE at CHAIRMAN & MANAGING DIRECTOR SP Guide Publications wish Jayant Baranwal our readers a very happy PLANNING & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT and rewarding year ahead! Executive Vice President: Rohit Goel For us, the year 2014 is ADMIN & COORDINATION momentous and an occa- Bharti Sharma sion to celebrate as we move CREATIVE DIRECTOR into our Golden Jubilee Year. On this occasion, Anoop Kamath A while we pay tribute to our founder the late GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Shri Sukhdeo Prasad Baranwal, we reiterate Vimlesh Kumar Yadav, our commitment to the readers to enhance Sonu Singh Bisht Research Asst/Graphics: Survi Massey our product offerings. SP’s AirBuz was launched just six years SALES & MARKETING Director Sales & Marketing: Neetu Dhulia ago and is dedicated entirely to civil aviation. OUR FOUNDER General Manager Sales: Rajeev Chugh We also take this opportunity to reiterate our SHRI SUKHDEO PRASAD BARANWAL SP’s websites resolve to address comprehensively and with Sr Web Developer: Shailendra Prakash Ashish objectivity, issues that concern not only the Web Developer: Ugrashen Vishwakarma civil aviation industry in India but that of the Asia-Pacific region as a whole. © SP Guide Publications, 2014 The civil aviation industry added a feather in its cap with the inauguration of the SUBSCRIPTION/ CIRCULATION swanky Terminal 2 at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai. This state- Annual Inland: `600 • Foreign: US$180 of-the-art facility currently handling international traffic only has set a global benchmark E-mail: [email protected] in airport infrastructure. A report on the facility is included in this issue. [email protected] The civil aviation industry was rudely jolted when the US Federal Aviation Admin- LETTER TO EDITOR istration (FAA) downgraded India’s aviation safety ranking to Category-II. Apart from [email protected] reflecting poorly on the credibility of the Indian civil aviation industry and the regulatory FOR ADVERTISING DETAILS CONTACT authority, the decision has serious implications for Indian carriers operating to the US. [email protected] It is now incumbent upon the new team at the helm of affairs in the Indian civil aviation [email protected] establishment to restore the original status of Category-I soonest possible. SP GUIDE PUBLICATIONS PVT LTD This inaugural issue of SP’s AirBuz for the Golden Jubilee Year has reviews on sev- A-133 Arjun Nagar (Opposite Defence Colony), New Delhi 110 003, India. eral facets of the civil aviation industry. The airline industry in India is soon to witness Tel: +91 (11) 24644693, 24644763, 24620130 major upheavals with the aggressive entry of two new airlines AirAsia India and Tata-SIA Fax: +91 (11) 24647093 Airlines Limited, both joint ventures between reputed airlines from South East Asia and E-mail: [email protected] Indian partners with established credentials in the regime of civil aviation. BENGALURU, INDIA Writing from the US, Captain Ajit Agtey, an aviator with considerable experience in 204, Jal Vayu Vihar, Kalyan Nagar both military and civil aviation, has in this issue a spine-chilling account of display of the Bengaluru 560043, India. highest standards of professionalism by Captain Inder Singh, piloting a SpiceJet flight at Tel: +91 (80) 23682204 night when confronted with an extremely challenging situation. www.spguidepublications.com All this apart from the regular features in this issue. Welcome aboard and wish you Owned, published and printed by Jayant happy landings! Baranwal, printed at Kala Jyothi Process Pvt Ltd and Published at A-133, Arjun Nagar (Opposite Defence Colony), New Delhi 110 003, India. All rights reserved. MEMBER OF: B.K. Pandey APPLIED FOR Editor 2 • SP’S AIRBUZ • ISSUE 1 • 2014 www.SpSaIrbUz.com G GOLDEN JUBILEE CELEBRATION MINISTER OF DEFENCE • INDIA MESSAGE am happy to learn that SP Guide Publications is completing 50 years I of existence. Since its inception in 1964, SP Guide Publications has played an unmatched and a vital role by serving our Armed Forces and their concerns. The publications’ efforts have been appreciated by all its readers. I hope that SP Guide Publications will continue to serve our Armed Forces and the nation in the years to come. I wish SP Guide Publications the very best in its endeavours. Jai Hind. (A.K. Antony) SP’S AIRBUZ • ISSUE 1 • 2014 • 3 Earlier, Buffet had admitted it was one of his few indulgences. Subse- quently, what elevated the business jet from a luxury toy to what is increas- ingly seen as a vital corporate tool? In the US, hundreds of Fortune 500 com- panies now flaunt their own aircraft, with companies arguing that this vital conveyance saves time and boosts pro- ductivity.NEWS A recentBRIEFS CNN report quoted ( REGULATORY AFFAIRS CATEGORY-III INSTRUMENT LANDING tations should have been raised at the earlier SYSTEM, DELHI NOC stage. The unpredictability and lack of A stern warning issued to airlines by DGCA transparency in India’s regulatory framework CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY to deploy pilots trained to fly under foggy continues to be the greatest strategic chal- The Parliamentary Standing Committee on conditions in Delhi seems to have had an lenge in the market,” observed CAPA. India Transport, Tourism and Culture has rejected impact with only five flights diverted on ranks behind even Ethiopia and Uganda the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Bill in the one day since January 8 compared with 53 when it comes to the ease of doing business, present form, saying the proposal for setting three days earlier. The warning was issued according to a World Bank report. The coun- up a new aviation regulator lacks teeth in at a meeting DGCA had with all airlines and try is listed at 179th for starting a business. empowering the authority and asked the airport operators on January 7, two days Centre to come out with a comprehensive after 53 flights were diverted out of fog-hit bill after revisiting the Aircraft Act, 1934. Delhi to nearby destinations. The large scale ( INFRASTRUCTURE It also noted that the Bill did not include diversion on the night of January 5-6 was regular safety aspects of helicopters and mainly due to these aircraft being operated recommended that the provisions be more by pilots not trained on Category-III instru- CIVIL AIRPORTS IN UP comprehensive and includes all aspects per- ment landing system, according to DGCA The Minister of Civil Aviation Ajit Singh, at taining to safety of the rotary-wing fleet as sources.