Edits, Columns & Analysis - September 2007

---

Alternative Fuels for Jet Engines
David Esler
Aviation Week, US
Sept 17, 2007
Apparently, it's getting easier to be green -- Kermit the Frog's lament notwithstanding.
Whether or not you agree that the world has passed the point where there's less crude oil in the ground than we've extracted -- i.e., so-called "peak oil" -- or that global warming accelerated by the burning of fossil fuels over the last 150 years is a fact, the "green revolution" has begun. Skeptics may abound, but when the petroleum industry itself begins talking about the need to develop alternative fuels to get us through the 21st century and lower carbon emissions, you have to take notice.
Read The Rest >>>

A journey in skies from 1932-2007
GreaterKashmir.com
Sept 16, 2007
Srinagar: The journey of Civil Aviation in India began in 1932 when J R D Tata flew the first weekly mail service from Karachi to Mumbai en-route to Chennai. By 1947, private airlines were carrying 2,50,000 passengers in India. However, this was not enough. The air transport sector was nationalized in 1953. The national carriers, Air India and Indian Airlines were allowed monopoly over the skies. A vast network of airports and airstrips was created. According to a PIB handout the monopoly regime in the public sector, while was suitable for initial growth, gave rise to various systematic inefficiencies. High tariff regime kept aviation out of the reach of a vast majority of our population. A large number of airports/air strips remained unused. On the other hand, the airports at major stations were unable to handle traffic.
Read The Rest >>>

Can India emerge as an MRO hub for global airlines?
Vishakha Talreja & Dheeraj Tiwari
Economic Times
Sept 16, 2007
The recent boom in India’s aviation sector has also caught attention of global players. Eyeing India’s maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) sector, which has a potential to service a fleet of 1,000 commercial and 500 general aviation aircraft, international players are ramping up their Indian operations. But the big question is whether India can make it to the list of global offshoring MRO destinations. “India is an emerging aerospace market. With de-regulation, rising domestic air travel and increase in the number of foreign airlines flying to India, there is a huge potential for MRO services,” says a Singapore Technologies Aerospace (ST Aerospace) official.
Read The Rest >>>

For a safe and comfortable flight
Aman Dhall & Dheeraj Tiwari
Economic Times
Sept 16, 2007
The magic of multiplier effect is now working for the aviation ancillary industry. Reaping the benefits of the aviation boom is not only maintenance, repairs & overhaul (MRO) operations but also the insurance sector. In fact, the spiralling growth in the aviation sector has given an upshot to the insurance segment. As per an airline risk management survey — commissioned by international magazine Airline Business and global airline insurance broker Aon — airlines are spending no less than $8.36 bn a year on risk management, with around 70%, or $5.86 bn, spent on insurance premiums. Aviation premiums are, on an average, growing by 15.5% post-9/11, the survey reports. It further states that while the industry’s loss record has been respectable in the last four years, traffic and passenger numbers have risen significantly, increasing the exposure to risk.
Read The Rest >>>

Many loose ends in draft aviation policy
Anjuli Bhargava
Business Standard
Sep 07, 2007
New Delhi: The draft of civil aviation policy, which was discussed by the Group of Ministers on August 14 and is to come up for discussion again on September 20, commits very little on paper and leaves most of the controversial decisions to the discretion of the civil aviation ministry, ensuring that its power is not diluted in any way.
Industry players and investors who are looking for investing in the sector in India, will be severely disappointed with this draft as it leaves all the questions open and does not set any rules,thereby leaving everything open to change.
Read The Rest >>>

Business jets in Asia: Hot tickets
Economist, UK
Sep 06, 2007
Hong Kong: To have an important job in Asia is to spend too much time in the air. The economic health of Hong Kong and Singapore is tied so strongly to the quality of their airports and their positions as transport hubs that both could justifiably use a rolling suitcase as their city logos. All this traffic has been handled by commercial airlines, which have been growing fast. In China alone, air traffic is expanding by 40% a year, according to Wang Changshun, the country's vice-minister for civil aviation, who was speaking on September 3rd at the Asian Aerospace Congress, a big industry conference taking place in Hong Kong. Things are picking up even in countries, such as Vietnam, that were aviation backwaters only a decade ago. Boeing and Airbus foresee total sales of 5,500-7,200 airliners in Asia in the next 20 years.
But left out from this Asian bonanza have been the makers of business aircraft—the $10m-55m machines that seat up to a dozen people and are the signature toys of American executives. That now appears to be changing, however, and like many business shifts in Asia it may be changing with extraordinary speed.
Read The Rest >>>

Taking flight
The Economist, UK
Sep 06, 2007
IT IS not only a lust for power that inspires Naresh Goyal, the founder and chairman of Jet Airways, India's biggest private airline. Nor is it a need for vindication, important though this may be to a man whose application to fly to America was held up for two years by allegations of terrorist connections. Like many Indian entrepreneurs, Mr Goyal says he has a patriotic dream. “I want to produce a global Indian brand,” he says. “That's the passion for me, that's what drives me. The people of this country, we have the capability to produce a global brand.”
Read The Rest >>>

Asian Aerospace Congress looks to critical issues
Flight International
Sep 03, 2007
The Asian Aerospace Congress will open this morning with a special executive session that will focus on the critical issues impacting on Asia Pacific’s fast-moving aviation market.
Each day the Congress will have a specific theme that tackles important issues, including air transport strategy, air transport operations and aerospace technology.
More than 400 delegates are expected to attend today’s opening executive sessions, which will feature speakers at ministerial and director general level. This will include a welcome address by Eva Cheng, transport and housing secretary of the Hong Kong SAR Government and one of the most powerful women in the region.
Read The Rest >>


All Edits Archives >>