VIEWPOINT: LEAP YEARS BUSINESS AvIATION THE AIRASIA AHEAD CORE TO MIDDLE DISASTER EAST GROWTH P 8 P 26 P 28 DEC 2014-JAN 2015 `100.00 (INDIA-BASED BUYER ONLY) VOLUME 7 • iSSUE 6 WWW.SPSAIRBUZ.COM ANAIRBUZ EXCLUSIVE MAGAZINE ON CIVIL AVIATION FROM INDIA VISTARA: A DREAM COME TRUE! AN SP GUIDE PUBLICATION RNI NUMBER: DELENG/2008/24198 TABLE OF CONTENTS CIVIL / ROUND-UP 2014 P10 2014: A MIXED YEAR VIEWPOINT: LEAP YEARS BUSINESS AVIATION THE AIRASIA AHEAD CORE TO MIDDLE DISASTER EAST GROWTH P 8 P 26 P 28 DEC 2014-JAN 2015 `100.00 The industry story is largely positive, (INDIA-BASED BUYER ONLY) VOLUME 7 • ISSUE 6 Cover: WWW.SPSAIRBUZ.COM ANAIRBUZ EXCLUSIVE M A G A ZINE ON C IVIL AVIA TION FROM I NDI A but there are a number of risks in Tata-Singapore International VISTARA: A DREAM today’s global environment—political Airlines joint venture Vistara COME TRUE! unrest, conflicts and some weak will take to the skies on regional economies—among them. January 9, 2015. Cover Image: AN SP GUIDE PUBLICATION Airbus RNI NUMBER: DELENG/2008/24198 SP's Airbuz Cover 06-2014 final.indd 1 02/01/15 4:20 PM CIVIL / VIEWPOINT P8 THE AIRASIA DISASTER In all probability, the pilot of Flight QZ8501 too has blundered into a violent thunderstorm and lost control of the aircraft. PHOTO FEATURE / 2014 P13 IMPORTANT EVENTS AND LAUNCHES OF THE YEAR 2014 IN PHOTOGRAPHS P20 AIRLINES / INFRASTRUCTURE LOW-COST AIRPORTS P24 AVIATION / REGULATIONS DOING AWAY WITH ARCHAIC RULES P26 ENGINES / CFM LEAP LEAP YEARS AHEAD P28 SHOW REPORT / MEBA 2014 BUSINESS AVIATION CORE TO MIDDLE EAST GROWTH DEPARTMENTS P2 A WORD FROM EDITOR AIRLINES / BILATERAL AGREEMENTS AVIATION / POLICY P3 NEWS BRIEFS P17 BEYOND BORDERS, BETWEEN P22 CIVIL AVIATION AUTHORITY P32 FINALLY BOUNDARIES The passage of the CAA Bill is eagerly International aviation is regulated by a awaited by the Indian civil aviation industry complex web of over 3,000 interlocking and there is optimism about changes Bilateral Air Service Agreements. predicated to the appointment of a new CAA. SP’S AIRBUZ • ISSUE 6 • 2014 • 1 A WORD FROM EDITOR PUBLISHER AND EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Jayant Baranwal EDITOR Air Marshal B.K. Pandey (Retd) ASSISTANT GROUP EDITOR R. Chandrakanth (Bengaluru) CONTRIBUTORS Group Captain A.K. Sachdev (Retd), Group Captain Joseph Noronha (Retd), S.R. Swarup, Vasuki Prasad, S THE YEAR 2015 dawns, SP Guide Publications completes 50 years of Shriniwas Mishra glorious service and steps confidently into its 51st year with greater resolve CHAIRMAN & MANAGING DIRECTOR and confidence to attain new heights in quality. In the meantime, over 200 Jayant Baranwal days have gone by since the Modi Government came into power; but the PLANNING & BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT nation continues to wait anxiously for the changes promised during the elec- Executive Vice President: Rohit Goel tionA campaign to be visible on the ground. The anxiety for change extends to the stake- ADMIN & COORDINATION holders of the Indian civil aviation industry as well. The areas that were expected to receive Bharti Sharma immediate attention of the Ministry of Civil Aviation are creation of airport infrastructure, CREATIVE DIRECTOR lowering of taxes on aviation turbine fuel, expansion of regional connectivity and introduc- Anoop Kamath tion of online regulatory management. It needs to be understood that while there may be a GRAPHIC DESIGNERS desire for change, it will take time for results to be visible on the ground. The government Vimlesh Kumar Yadav has plans to build 200 low-cost airports across the country of which 50 locations have Sonu Singh Bisht Research Asst/Graphics: Survi Massey been identified in the first phase. The government has already circulated a draft Civil Avia- tion Policy inviting comments from all the stakeholders. The new policy is expected to be SALES & MARKETING Director Sales & Marketing: Neetu Dhulia implemented by March 2015 hopefully with the inadequacies duly rectified. Another major General Manager Sales: Rajeev Chugh step in the offing is the creation of a more empowered and autonomous Civil Aviation SP’s websites Authority (CAA) to replace the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). This issue of Sr Web Developer: Shailendra Prakash Ashish SP’s AirBuz has a coverage of both low-cost airports and the CAA. Web Developer: Ugrashen Vishwakarma Another area that badly needs reforms is the regulatory mechanism that has an © SP Guide Publications, 2014 archaic licensing system for pilots. The colonial philosophy embedded in the regulations SUBSCRIPTION/ CIRCULATION has been inherited by the DGCA that is the sole authority with immense discretionary and Annual Inland: `600 • Foreign: US$180 overriding powers. Captain Ajit Agtey, a veteran of the airline industry, has highlighted the E-mail: [email protected] ills that plague the pilot licensing system in India and the reforms needed. [email protected] While the nation waits patiently for change, the civil aviation sector has been some- LETTER TO EDITOR what traumatised by the distress that one of the more successful budget carriers SpiceJet [email protected] has descended into. One immediate fallout of the SpiceJet crisis is that the Government is FOR ADVERTISING DETAILS CONTACT contemplating introduction of a mechanism to regulate fares. On the table is a proposal [email protected] to impose a cap the maximum fare to any destination for economy class passengers at [email protected] `20,000. However, the minimum fare will depend on the breakeven cost of each airline. SP GUIDE PUBLICATIONS PVT LTD There will be no cap on business class fares. A-133 Arjun Nagar (Opposite Defence Colony), New Delhi 110003, India. Arindam Mallik from Air Costa has focused on the Bilateral Air Service Agreements Tel: +91 (11) 24644693, 24644763, 24620130 which need a relook. He is of the view that it is high time the government proactively opti- Fax: +91 (11) 24647093 mises and devises feasible Route Dispersal Guidelines. In this issue, we have a round-up E-mail: [email protected] of civil aviation in 2014, picking on some of the key events that grabbed headlines includ- BENGALURU, INDIA ing the start of two new airlines in India – AirAsia India and Vistara. In another article, R. 204, Jal Vayu Vihar, Kalyan Nagar Chandrakanth points out how the business aviation industry is central to the growth of the Bengaluru 560043, India. Middle East region, while reporting on the success of MEBA 2014. We also have an article Tel: +91 (80) 23682204 on CFM LEAP engines which offer substantial savings to an airline in terms of fuel costs. www.spguidepublications.com Wishing our readers a Happy New Year! Owned, published and printed by Jayant Baranwal, printed at Kala Jyothi Process Pvt Ltd and Published at A-133, Arjun Nagar (Opposite Defence Colony), New Delhi 110003, India. All rights reserved. MEMBER OF: B.K. Pandey APPLIED FOR Editor 2 • SP’S AIRBUZ • ISSUE 6 • 2014 www.SpSaIrbUz.com G 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 ( INDUSTRY NEWS Training Centre (AATC), to provide flight pi- ground-handling lot training services on full flight simulators firm Deccor Avia- (FFS) for the Airbus aircraft belonging to the tion. The Manag- BOEING CLINCHES $6-BILLION DEAL A320, A330, A350XWB and A380 family and ing Director of Air WITH AIR CHINA certain other types of Airbus aircraft. Pegasus Shyson Thomas said the airline Airbus Group, which does not have any would commence services in the near future flight pilot training centre in India, provides on regional routes in South India. However, such services through its arrangement with the airline is yet to receive a permit from FFS providers like CAE, Bengaluru and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. InterGlobe-CAE. In AATC, Airbus Services Air Pegasus received NOC from the Ministry Asia, part of the French aerospace major of Civil Aviation in 2012, but was unable to Airbus, will have 55 per cent stake while 45 lease aircraft following the uncertainties per cent will be with Singapore Airlines. in the aircraft leasing market in the wake of the shutdown of Kingfisher Airlines. EMBRAER DELIVERS 1100TH E-JET TO The new airline has now taken on lease a In December 2014, Boeing struck a deal with AEROMEXICO 70-seater ATR-72. Air One, an Indian charter the Chinese national carrier, Air China, for company, plans to finalise its aircraft leases the sale of 60 Boeing 737 aircraft, valued at by next month, while Flyeasy, a Bengaluru- over $6 billion. The deal includes Boeing’s based regional airline, has begun hiring Next Generation 737s and its newest 737 pilots and engineers for its proposed fleet Max air planes. Boeing 737 Max is the new- of Embraer jets. Premier Airways headed by est family of single-aisle airplanes build on NRI engineer Umapathy Pinaghapani is to Next Gen’s popularity and reliability while launch by mid-2015. delivering unsurpassed fuel efficiency with Air One and Premier Airways are among more advanced engines and winglets. the six companies that received NOCs The aircraft will be delivered in the from the Ministry of Civil Aviation earlier period from 2016 to 2020. Air China is one Early December 2014, the renowned aircraft in 2014. Flyeasy, promoted by ABC Aviation of the largest operators of the Boeing 737 manufacturer Embraer of Brazil, delivered & Training, received its clearance prior to platform in China.