Tag: Aviation industry

Former Boeing quality manager reveals all that went wrong in the company

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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US-based aerospace company Boeing’s former quality manager, Merle Meyers, has recently voiced his concerns about the company’s shift in focus from quality to speed.

Meyers, who worked at Boeing for around 30 years, expressed disappointment at the changes he observed over the years, as revealed by a The New York Times report. It added that Meyers had a deep connection with Boeing as both he and his mother were employed in the company.

Meyers’ mother, Darlene Meyers, joined Boeing in the early 1970s and her career there helped to lift them out of poverty. His career at the aerospace giant provided a comfortable life for his family and a good education for his children.

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According to the report, Meyers stated that quality was once the top priority at Boeing, but over time, the schedule took precedence. Despite the company’s reputation as an engineering and manufacturing powerhouse, recent years have seen a decline in its standing due to several incidents, including fatal crashes of the 737 Max 8 in 2018 and 2019, and a panel blowing out of a 737 Max 9 plane on January 5.

Boeing’s CEO Dave Calhoun announced his resignation last month and said he would step down by the year-end. The company has since taken measures to improve quality, including increasing inspections and pausing production to hear directly from workers.

Brian West, CFO of Boeing, at an investor conference last month, said the company had prioritised the movement of the aeroplane through the factory over getting it done right and that this needed to change.

Meyers, along with other current and former employees, has raised concerns about the company’s quality and stated that his decision to speak out was partly informed by his faith in and respect for Boeing employees.

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He began his career at Boeing in 1979, making overhead storage bins, and later oversaw quality at suppliers in Texas, England and France. He noticed a decline in the company’s high standards after its 1997 merger with McDonnell Douglas when a stronger focus on profits emerged.

Meyers also expressed concern over the pressure on workers at Boeing’s Everett factory to keep production moving, leading them to find unauthorised ways to get the parts they needed.

He found that workers had used an unauthorised form to recover scrapped parts at least 23 times over 15 years. In 2021, his team identified multiple instances where employees removed parts from receiving areas before those components could be inspected.

Boeing stated that it takes such violations seriously and appreciates employees who raise their voices. However, Meyers felt that his concerns were not being taken seriously and that he might eventually be pushed out. He received a written reprimand last year and was offered a financial incentive to quit, which he accepted.

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Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Airfares could rise as crude oil prices spike, say experts

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Jagannarayan Padmanabhan, Senior Director and Global Head of Transport, Mobility, and Logistics Consulting, at CRISIL Market Intelligence and Mayur Milak, Senior Research Analyst at Asian Markets Securities believe India’s leading airlines could raise airfares to counter the impact of rising crude oil prices.

Crude oil constitutes roughly 40-45% of an airline’s overall costs.

However, they do not predict any major negative impact of rising crude on the margins of aviation companies.

“I have maintained one stand, especially post-COVID, that there has been a lot of discipline in the Indian skies. The kind of pain the aviation industry went through. So despite everything quite sorting out, we’ve never seen this airfare war back again despite crude coming in the correction zone. These guys made  healthy money,” Milak noted.

Apart from the potential to raise airfares, the margins of most players are healthy enough to absorb the rising costs, said Padmanabhan, pointing out that “the margins for the single largest player is quite healthy at about 24%”

Padmanabhan estimates India’s domestic passenger air traffic to grow by 12-15% during April-March 2024-25 (FY25) versus a 13% growth last year. 

“For the fiscal 2025, the domestic passenger traffic is expected to rise by about 12 to 15%. This is because of the supply issues getting eased out and also we see a lot of additional capacity is coming into the system later part of the year,” Padmanabhan said in a conversations with CNBC-TV18.

For the summer schedule, Padmanabhan expects domestic passenger traffic growth of about 8-12% YoY,  and international traffic growth of about 10 to 12%

He also noted positive travel sentiments across various segments including leisure, MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions), and business travel.

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Milak is not worried about any supply side constraints despite the recent flight cancellations by Vistara. He believes the issues at Vistara are temporary.

The emergence of new players such as Akasa Air and expansion plans by established carriers like InterGlobe Aviation (IndiGo) and Air India signal a robust supply trajectory.

He believes the demand-supply situation looks pretty sorted. “…more of a worry is the International things really happening at this point and its impact on crude. So that is where, as an analyst, I’m more worried really not worried much on the demand side as such,” he said.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Indian airlines fly high in Q3 — experts see an even brighter future

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Indian airlines have seen substantial growth during the July-September quarter, fuelling optimism about the exponential growth and positive developments in the sector, said Vikram Rai, the CEO of GE Aerospace. Rai was speaking at an expert panel discussion at the US-India Business Council meeting in New Delhi on Tuesday, October 17.

The panel discussion also included Arun Kumar, Managing Partner at Celesta Capital, and Kami Viswanathan, President – Middle East, Indian Subcontinent and Africa (MEISA) Operations, FedEx.

According to Rai, the surge in the aviation industry can be attributed to the projected expansion of the Indian middle-class population, set to reach 440 million — which is expected to drive domestic air travel growth. He said the next phase of growth for Indian civil aviation is expected to be driven by the use of wide-bodied aircraft.

GE Aerospace’s Rai underlined India’s role as a global hub for the aviation industry and the sharp increase in the number of suppliers from the country.

“We have 1,000 engineers, 13 suppliers. Three aircraft with GE and partner engines will be delivered per week, to India, over the next few years. Our aerospace sourcing from India has grown 20 times in the last few years,” Rai said, adding that “air taxis are the way to go as part of the aviation sector growth.”

Rai’s optimism is strengthened by the recent amendments to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), which address the concerns of investors and contribute to the perception that India is a secure place to invest in assets.

Experts believe that artificial intelligence (AI) will play a pivotal role in the future of the aviation industry.

Celesta Capital’s Kumar highlighted the need for enabling guidelines on AI to fully harness the growth as the industry faces challenges such as the need to expand aircraft parking space and landing spots across various airports in India. The implementation of deep tech, technology-enabled transformation, and the Internet of Things (IoT) are the priority areas for Celesta Capital.

FedEx’s Vishwanathan emphasised the importance of smarter supply chains.

“Indian companies must focus on smarter supply chains which can predict bottlenecks and help in decarbonisation… see a strong growth orientation in India and an innovation ecosystem… Would like to innovate and leverage Indian talent for FedEx operations around the world,” she said.

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Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Akasa Air can proceed with legal action against five pilots over abrupt exit, says Bombay High Court

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Akasa Air can proceed with its suit in Mumbai seeking contractual damages from five pilots who abruptly exited the aviation company, the Bombay High Court ruled on September 27.

The court had on September 25 reserved its order in the pilots’ plea that challenged the maintainability of lawsuits filed against them in the court by Akasa Air.

According to reports, former Akasa pilots had challenged the maintainability of lawsuits filed against them before the Bombay High Court for not serving their notice period as per contract. Pilots argued that since their employment contracts were not executed in Mumbai, the Bombay High Court was not the right court to proceed with the matter.

The low-cost airline, meanwhile, approached the court seeking its urgent intervention to obtain a stay against the small set of pilots who abruptly resigned and abandoned their positions without serving a mandatory six-month notice period. The airline claims that the pilots’ exit has led to a disruption of flights between July and September.

Earlier on September 22, Akasa Air also approached the Delhi High Court seeking clarification and instructions on the enforcement of the mandatory notice period requirement for pilots.

Akasa Air has been grappling with the issue of pilot shortage after several pilots quit the airline without serving any notice period.

The airline claims it has been forced to cancel flights due to the sudden exit of its cockpit crew which has caused inconvenience to passengers.

The airline, which was otherwise seeing steady growth, lost one percentage point of its market share that fell to 4.2 percent in August. Its On-Time Performance ranking fell to the third spot after being a top performer for three consecutive months. The airline also paid Rs 1 crore in compensation to affected passengers in July and August.

Also Read: Akasa Air expects to have over 900 pilots in 18 months, calls flight cancellations ‘short-term’

Akasa Air earlier told CNBC-TV18 that it currently has a team of over 450 pilots, with an additional 60 pilots expected to join after completing their notice periods at other airlines. The airline hopes to double its current pilot strength within the next 18 months.

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Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

IndiGo may see best quarter in its history, 125 grounded aircraft likely to fly again in Q2: CAPA

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Kapil Kaul, CEO of South Asia at CAPA, feels India’s largest low-cost airline IndiGo is in an excellent position even without Go First’s insolvency matter at hand. He expects the airline to post record profitability for the April to June 2023 period.

“IndiGo’s fundamentals are robust, very strong product, brand, cash almost about 50 more planes coming in, another record order likely…Even without the insolvency of GoAir, IndiGo would have been well placed as far as profitability is concerned and valuations are concerned,” Kaul said in an exclusive interaction with CNBC-TV18.

He expects IndiGo’s market share to be in the range of 55-60 percent this financial year. As of April 2023, the carrier’s market share stood at 57.5 percent. The market share, he said, depends on factors including when Go First is back, what happens to SpiceJet’s capacity and the kind of capacity Air India is able to bring to the domestic market.

However, Jagannarayan Padmanabhan, Senior Director at CRISIL Market Intelligence and Analytics, expects IndiGo yields to moderate going forward. And overall, too, he sees current realisations moderating in and expects supply to ease out soon.

India’s airfares have skyrocketed against the backdrop of Go First’s cancelled flights and nearly 125 grounded aircraft (overall) due to supply chain issues. Kaul said he expects the grounded fleet to be operational in the July to September 2023 quarter.

“As we go down to Q2 and Q3, we are expecting a lot of supply; roughly about 125 aircraft are grounded, so the majority of those aircraft will come back and almost 100 plus additions are likely to come this fiscal,” he told CNBC-TV18.

He explained that a combination of grounded aircraft back in the air, new capacity from the second half of the financial year and estimates of fuel at $80-82 per barrel and a dollar of around Rs 85 are the basis for CAPA’s projections for FY24 done in February-March.

Kaul noted that the demand-supply mismatch was a serious concern and that there has never been this kind of a capacity crisis. “If we compare to pre-COVID-19, we are about 130 aircraft short. We never had such a capacity crisis in the sector that we have been tracking since 2003. So, this is quite serious and the logical outcome of that kind of capacity crisis is that the fares would go up.”

Earlier this month, Kaul said considering the projected demand for the 2024 fiscal year, the shortage could exceed 175 aircraft. Such a significant gap between supply and demand inevitably leads to fare increases, he said.

In the last decade, three airlines including Kingfisher, Jet Airways, and now Go First have been grounded. His remarks come at a time when Go First is under a moratorium and SpiceJet is also facing several headwinds.

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Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Jyotiraditya Scindia hopeful Indian aviation sector growth story is just taking to the skies

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Union Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on March 20 said India will be the most important aviation market in the decades to come as it has emerged from turbulent times and has registered almost a V shaped recovery.

Speaking at the CAPA India Aviation Summit, Scindia noted that the average pre-pandemic high of domestic travellers was 410,000, which has now risen to 456,000. The number of passengers in the last six years has almost doubled, he said.

The compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is almost 14.5 percent on the domestic front while it’s nearly six percent on the international front.

The Indian aviation industry has a great potential going forward and its growth will have a multiplier effect, the minister said, adding rapid urbanisation and the rising level of disposable income will contribute to growth of the sector, the minister said.

“We need to put in place aviation infrastructure so that it can support a $20 trillion economy within India by 2047…While India is the third largest domestic market, it is 18th in terms of the international aviation market, hence there is huge potential,” Scindia said.

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He believes it’s important to increase human resource potential in the country to supply the rapid growth in the aviation sector.

“We need to increase the ecosystem of civil aviation,” Scindia said, adding cargo, ground handling, flying training organisations (FTOs) ecosystem needs to be increased. India has 35 FTOs currently, 15 more FTOs are in the pipeline and the nation’s capacity will increase to 50 FTOs by the end of first quarter of the new fiscal, he said.

Scindia reiterated the time is now right for India to look at manufacturing aerospace products within India. “Ecosystems are now set up in India, many international companies are manufacturing components, etc. in India,” he said.

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He pointed out that Boeing exports close to a billion dollars worth of products from India while Airbus exports close to $650 million.

Reflecting on the drone industry, he said, it can become a Rs 3 lakh crore industry by 2030 and that massive changes have been done in the drone policy.

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Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Close to 1,500 flights from Kochi weekly during summer: CIAL

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Close to 1,500 flights would be operated every week from the Cochin International Airport as part of its summer schedule starting from March 26 till October 28 this year, CIAL said.

The summer schedule of 1,484 flight services every week would also include 332 weekly departures to international destinations by 31 airlines of which 23 are foreign carriers, the Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) said in a release.

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Indigo, which tops the list with 63 weekly departures to international destinations, has also started operations on a new sector — Kochi to Ras Al Khaimah in the UAE, the release said.

The domestic services will see an increase in flights to Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, it said.

During the winter schedule there were 1,202 weekly services from the airport, it further said.

“Over the past ten years, the aviation sector in India has undergone significant expansion and transformation. With more people choosing to travel by air than ever before, India is now the third-largest domestic market in the world, behind only China and the United States.

Additionally, the industry is anticipated to benefit from increased efficiency and cost savings as a result of technological advancements like automation and artificial intelligence,” the release said.

CIAL Managing Director S Suhas IAS said that the company was strenuously trying to reinvent itself to accommodate the developments in the Indian aviation sector, as Cochin airport was the 3rd largest in the country in terms of international traffic.

“Indian aviation is going to witness a surge in both terms of volume and a 17 percent growth in the domestic sector. CIAL is preparing and designing strategies to adapt to that growth and contrives new route maps for the future, as we believe we will make Kochi a hub for air traffic in South India,” he is quoted as having said in the release.

During the post-pandemic period, CIAL is almost witnessing 96 percent of passengers at par with that of the pre-pandemic era, the release added.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Indian airlines industry expected to see profits next year, first time since start of pandemic: Crisil Report

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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India’s domestic airlines industry is predicted to bounce back into profitability next fiscal year, according to a report by credit rating agency Crisil. This would be the first time since the outbreak of Covid-19 that the industry has been profitable.

The report states that the industry is expected to reduce its net loss by 75-80 percent year-over-year to Rs 3,500-4,500 crore this fiscal year compared to around Rs 17,500 crore last fiscal year.

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The industry’s turnaround in operating performance is being supported by a strong recovery in passenger traffic and easing cost pressures, Crisil said. Domestic and international passenger traffic has recovered to 90 percent and 98 percent, respectively, in the nine months through December of this fiscal year, compared to the corresponding period in fiscal year 2020 (pre-pandemic).

Business and leisure travel rebounded strongly even as international scheduled services resumed. The festival season has accelerated recovery in the second half, it said.

The removal of fare caps is also helping airlines pass on cost increases, Crisil added. “Next fiscal, we expect passenger traffic to cross the pre-pandemic level and pricing to remain higher by 20-25 percent over those levels. Consequently, airlines are expected to clock 25-30 percent revenue growth next fiscal vis-a-vis pre-pandemic,” said Gautam Shahi, Director, Crisil Ratings.

Furthermore, profitability will be aided by lower interest costs, driven by debt reduction owing to the privatisation of a large airline in the last quarter of the previous fiscal year, it said.

Better operating performance and expected equity infusions would keep airlines’ reliance on debt (excluding lease liabilities) limited over the near-to-medium term.

Kshitij Jain, Associate Director, Crisil Ratings, said: “The aviation sector is also likely to raise equity of Rs 8,000-10,000 crore over the next two fiscals, which will be utilised towards increasing fleet size and revamping the existing fleet.” This will provide a much-needed boost to the capital structure, he said.

However, Crisil noted that timely infusion of equity, debt contracted for capex towards fleet expansion, and a resurgence of Covid-19 cases due to the spread of any new virus strains will remain key monitorables.

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Nearly 1.15 crore Indians experienced air travel through UDAN scheme since 2016: Scindia

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Nearly 1.15 crore Indians who had never before taken a flight were able to experience air travel via the government’s ambitious UDAN scheme, Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia informed Parliament on Monday.

Replying to queries during Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha, Scindia said UDAN is an ambitious scheme of the government of India, under which during the last six years — since its inception in 2016 — nearly 1.15 crore people who had never travelled in an Aeroplane were able to undertake that journey.

He further shared that 11 airlines are currently part of UDAN, out of which three are startups, whereas 70 new airports have been established.

“Apart from these we are going to establish 68 new airports by the end of 2024 towards diversification of civil aviation sector,” said the minister.

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The ministry of civil aviation has launched the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) — UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) on October 21, 2016 with an aim to stimulate regional air connectivity and making air travel affordable to the masses.

“As on November 30, 2022, after four rounds of bidding under UDAN, 453 routes have commenced, operationalising 70 airports, including 2 water aerodrome and 9 heliports. More than 2.15 lakh UDAN flights have operated and over 1.1 crore passengers have availed the benefits in UDAN flights so far. The scheme has been able to provide air connectivity to Tier-2 & Tier-3 cities at affordable airfares and has transformed the way people travel,” the minister said in the reply.

The UDAN scheme is applicable for a period of 10 years from the date of its notification.

“The government has set a target to operationalise 1,000 UDAN routes during the currency of the scheme and to revive/develop 100 unserved and underserved airports/ heliports/water aerodromes by 2024. The government of India has approved a budget of Rs 4,500 crore for revival of existing unserved/underserved airports/airstrips of the state governments, Airports Authority of India, public sector undertakings and civil enclaves,” Scindia said.

Airports Authority of India, the implementing agency, monitors the progress for the revival/development of awarded aerodromes under UDAN and the same is reviewed by the ministry in consultation with stakeholders time to time.

Also Read: Government to increase number of airports, heliports and water aerodromes to boost connectivity

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Air India wants to grab 30% domestic market share in 5 years with Vihaan.AI transformation plan

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Aviation major Air India has unveiled its transformation plan – Vihaan.AI to restore the airline on the global map. Under this plan, the Tata-owned airline plans to increase its market share to at least 30 percent in the domestic market over the next 5 years. To achieve this, Air India will significantly increase its traffic on major international routes. 

The primary aim of the plan is to put Air India on a path to sustained growth, profitability and market leadership. However, for the short-term, the airline is focusing on fixing the basics and readying itself for growth.

For medium-to-long term, Air India will focus on building excellence to become a global industry leader in the aviation sector. This comes at a time when Air India is relocating its offices from government-owned properties to a contemporary complex in the national capital region jointly by March of next year.

Air India MD and CEO Campbell Wilson said the transformation has already started with a slew of initiatives in areas like refurbishing cabins, serviceable seats and in-flight entertainment system.

“We are also adopting proactive maintenance and refining flight schedules to enhance on-time performance. Our fleet expansion will involve a combination of both narrow-bodied and wide-bodied aircraft to cater to varied network needs,” he added.

‘Vihaan.AI’ plan was unveiled through Workplace, the airline’s virtual communication and engagement platform. Over the coming days and weeks, the management team will engage employees across regions, departments, and locations through a series of physical and hybrid sessions.

Also Read: Air India Group vacating its offices from government-owned properties

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow