GERMAN air force keen to join military excercise with IAF !!!!

The German air force is keen on a joint military exercise with India and will discuss the possibility of this when the Indian Air Force (IAF) chief visits Berlin in September.

Luftwaffe chief General Aarne Kreuzinger-Janik said during an interaction on the sidelines of the Royal International Air Tattoo here that Germany was exploring the possibilities of regular joint exercises with the IAF for achieving interoperability.

"We are in talks with Indian Air Force on joint exercises," Kreuzinger-Janik said when IANS pointed out to him that there were no joint military exercises between the Indian and German air forces.

"The IAF chief is visiting Germany in September and I will discuss with him the possibility of holding regular air exercises," he said.

With the present IAF chief, Air Chief Marshal P.V. Naik, retiring this month-end,

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CO suspected for F-22 RAPTOR Grounding!!

The prolonged grounding of the Air Force’s F-22 Raptor fleet may be due to carbon monoxide entering the cockpit via the aircraft’s oxygen system, two sources said.

Service leaders grounded the stealthy twin-engine fighter May 3, after 14 incidents when F-22 pilots suffered “hypoxia-like symptoms.”

Air Force officials initially suspected a problem with the aircraft’s On-Board Oxygen Generation System (OBOGS), but that is looking less likely, the sources said.

Instead, investigators now suspect that carbon monoxide generated by the plane’s jet engines is getting into the cockpit.

Part of the problem may be the procedures used at Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, where most

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UK transport secretary to set new aviation rules.

Philip Hammond, the UK Transport Secretary is reviewing aviation safety in the UK. He has stated that he is aware that the current regime is expensive to airlines and inconvenient to passengers and so they are trying to come up with a more passenger friendly way to do things.

He said that he is looking to change the government’s approach so that they set the security outcomes rather than the process for reaching that outcome. This should give airports more flexibility in the way that they do things, to help it be more efficient and

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INDIA US to sign BILATERAL AGREEMENT.

India and the US are set to sign a bilateral aviation safety agreement (BASA) during US Secretary of State Hilary Clinton's visit next week, an official said on Thursday."BASA has been approved by the cabinet and will be signed during the visit of Hilary Clinton, the US secretary of state," said Civil Aviation Secretary Nasim Zaidi on the sidelines of an event here.

According to the ministry, the proposed agreement will open up a huge market for export of aeronautical products manufactured in India to US and other regions of the world."This will open up huge potential for investment. It will also usher in mutual acceptance of aeronautical products and parts developed in either country," Zaidi said.

Aerospace products made in India would be inspected and certified by directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) and they could then

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KOREAN AIR & PRATT in joint venture for MAINTENANCE CENTER.

Korean Air announced on July 30 it is forming a joint venture with Pratt & Whitney, the world’s leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft engines, to build a 120-billion won plane-engine maintenance center. The center, Incheon Aviation Tech, at Incheon Airport in Seoul, Korea, is expected to be completed in time for the commencement of operation in July 2014.

Incheon Aviation Tech will be the first-ever maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) center in Korea. With an investment of 120 billion WON, the center is 90% owned by Korean Air while the remaining 10% is held by Pratt & Whitney. Incheon Aviation Tech will be the exclusive engine maintenance service provider for the airline’s next generation airplanes such as the recently launched Airbus A380,

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IAF still counting on MIG-29s.

Russia may have grounded its entire fleet of MiG 29 aircraft following a crash in which two were killed, but Indian Air Force feels its aircraft are safe and pose no problems.

“We have no problem with our MiG 29 aircrafts,” said Air Marshal PV Athawale, AOC-in-C, Maintenance Command. “We are upgrading the MiG 29s. Once upgraded, they will become more potent,” he added.

Speaking to the media during a visit to 3 Base Repair Depot (BRD), Chandigarh, Athawale said that the Central government had in 2008, signed a contract with a Russian firm to upgrade 63 MiG 29 aircraft at a cost of about US $ 964 million.

The upgrade is planned in two phases — Design and Development (D&D) in Russia and series upgrade in India. Upgradation of six aircraft in D&D phase commenced in August 2008. “Russia has already upgraded the aircraft. The series upgrade for the remaining MIG29s is expected to be carried out in India in two-three months,” the Air Marshal said.
Once upgraded, the lifespan of MiG-29 aircraft, which were inducted between 1986 and 1995, will go up to 40 years from the current 25 years.

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AIRBUS to break BOEINGs MONOPOLY at AA!

European aircraft manufacturer Airbus is trying to break Boeing's monopoly at American Airlines, which is considering an order of 250 passenger planes, The Wall Street Journal reported late Monday.

Citing unnamed people familiar with industry proposals, the newspaper said Airbus had assembled a team of lenders and leasing firms to help it dangle almost $6 billion in preferential financing before American Airlines.

Airbus's offer has a catalog value of almost $23 billion, but that is being heavily discounted, the report said.

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JETSTAR worried over CASA actions.

JETSTAR has reacted angrily to questions being raised about the safety of its planes and comparisons to the grounded Tiger Airways.

Qantas's low-cost airline rejected reports it was under a safety cloud after taking four Airbus A320s out of service on Thursday night because they had failed to be fully serviced as scheduled. The aircraft were back in operation on Friday after the service, which included testing emergency-light batteries, sampling hydraulic fluid and lubrication of door switches.

''It's totally false to suggest this was a safety issue,'' Jetstar's Damien Batey said. ''This was routine minor maintenance. We advised CASA [Civil Aviation Safety Authority] of the decision to pull the aircraft and we continue to liaise with them as is normal practice.
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''Just because Jetstar is committed to providing low-cost fares in no way means we have lower safety standards. It's unkind to suggest any link between Jetstar and the decision to ground Tiger's fleet.''

CASA's Peter Gibson said the safety regulator would review Jetstar's actions. ''It's just us making sure Jetstar's maintenance control systems are adequate and operating properly,'' Mr Gibson said.

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LUFTHANSA to run BIO-FUEL flights

Lufthansa will next Friday become the first airline to run regular commercial flights powered partially with bio-fuel.

Airlines have flown many demonstration biofuel flights, but Lufthansa's LH013 11:15am Hamburg to Frankfurt flight will start the first passenger service to run on a blend of biofuel and conventional fuel.

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AIR INDIA to receive dreamliner by fourth quarter of 2011

 Graphical rendition of 787 dreamliner

After a delay of more than two years, Air India is set to receive its first Boeing 787 Dreamliner in the last quarter of 2011. This was announced by Dinesh Keskar, Vice President, Boeing International, and President, Boeing India, while releasing Boeing’s Commercial Aviation Market Outlook for the next 20 years. 

Divulging details about the much talked about 787 Program, he said that the state-of-the-art aircraft will be brought on a test flight to India next week, and will be showcased in Delhi and Mumbai. Keskar also mentioned that the aircraft is service ready for operational validation. 

Declining to comment on issues with customers like Air India because of the delay in delivery, Keskar said that Air India will “forgive us” once they get the delivery, because the airplane will be a “delight” in terms of fuel efficiency, operational efficiency, cost effectiveness, etc. “If Air India is looking for a turnaround, Boeing aircraft are the answer. They can open new long-haul routes and operate with the highest efficiency without bothering about maintenance,” he said.

Boeing’s Aviation forecast for the Indian market for the next 20 years states that Indian airline companies would require 1,320 new aircraft worth USD 150 billion over the next 20 years to meet growing demand. Whereas, on a global scale, the demand for new aircraft will be 33,500 out of which 11,450 will be from the Asia Pacific region - 34 per cent of the global demand. Explaining the reasons behind the robust growth forecast, Keskar said, “Robust growth, new economic prosperity, discretionary incomes, business progress and access to airports will increase aircraft demand.” Speaking about aviation growth in India, he added that Indian carriers have been adding to their capacities over the decade and double digit growth in passenger traffic cannot be seen anywhere in the world except in India. Keskar also gave credit to new airport infrastructure coming up in regional centres as well as metro cities.

Considering the peculiar nature of the Indian market, Keskar said that the market does not require big twin-aisle aircraft, and major demand would be for single-aisle aircraft. “81 per cent of the demand and two-thirds of the total value would be for single-aisle planes in the market. Double-aisle planes will command 16 per cent of the demand space and three percent by regional jets,” he informed. Keskar expects huge demand for Boeing 737s from the market for this reason. He added that the aircraft manufacturer has decided to increase their production capacity to 42 737s per month by 2014 to meet the growing demand from markets like India.

When asked about the share of the future growth Boeing is expecting from India, he said that Boeing products are well-entrenched in the Indian market for decades and are hopeful of gaining a major share of the future demand for new aircraft.

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787 DREAMLINER to FLY INDIA!

India is set to get the first glimpse of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The Seattle-based aviation giant plans to bring the premium 787 to Delhi next week, Boeing India president Dinesh Keskar told Hindustan Times. Keskar said the Dreamliner would be taken to Delhi and Mumbai.

"The Indian public would get a chance to get a first-ever glimpse of the Dreamliner. The plane will fly to Delhi from Tokyo and then to Mumbai and fly back to Seattle non-stop," said Keskar, President, Air India

The 787 Dreamliner is being touted as a super-efficient airplane that will provide airlines with unmatched fuel efficiency.

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THOMSON AIRWAYS promote BIO FUELED FLIGHTS!

Thomson Airways is making aviation history by becoming the first UK airline to fly customers on sustainable biofuel, and is calling on the airline industry and government to work together to develop a framework that facilitates the wider use of this sustainable fuel.

The airline will operate the UK’s first sustainable biofuel flight from Birmingham to Palma on 28th July 2011, once its stringent testing process has been completed and final safety clearance has been received. Weekly flights will follow on the same route from September.

Thomson Airways says it places sustainability in aviation at the top of its priorities. It firmly believes the adoption of sustainable biofuels by airlines will help achieve the Government’s recently announced carbon budget which commits the UK to reduce its carbon emissions by 50% by 2025.

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CASA grounded TIGER AIRWAYS!

Tiger Airways has been grounded for one week by Australia's air safety watchdog, effective immediately.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority has ordered the airline to suspend all flights until July 9 while it investigates two recent operational incidents.

On Thursday night, a Tiger A320 from Sydney approached Avalon Airport, near Geelong, below the minimum safe altitude as it was coming in to land. This occurred on the aircraft's second attempt at landing, after the first attempt was abandoned because of a higher-than-expected tail wind.

It was the second time in a month that a Tiger flight had dropped below the minimum safe altitude on an approach to an airport. The first incident occurred when a flight from Brisbane approached Melbourne Airport on June 7.

CASA's grounding of Tiger Airways last night comes after it served a "show cause" notice on the airline in March following concerns about safety and maintenance procedures.

In a statement released overnight, Tiger said it would continue to cooperate fully with the industry regulator.
"Safety underpins our operations at all times," it said.

"Tiger Airways is committed to resolving the issue, assisting CASA and to resuming services as soon as possible."

The airline was doing all it could to minimise passenger disruption, especially to those people whose flights had been cancelled over the coming week.

It advised passengers booked on flights before 6am on July 9 not to travel to the airport.

"They will be offered a full refund or credit for deferred travel," it said.

It is thought to be the most extreme action taken by CASA against an Australian airline since it grounded Ansett's fleet of 767s because of safety concerns in 2000 and 2001. Ansett collapsed in September 2001.

The suspension order does not affect Tiger Airways' Singapore services, which will continue to operate as normal.

The grounding is certain to cause chaos at airports around Australia as passengers arrive to find their flights have been cancelled.

Tiger Airways operates a fleet of 10 Airbus A320 aircraft in Australia.

The low-cost airline, which bases its business model on European cut-price airlines such as Ryanair, is owned by a Singapore-based parent company whose largest shareholder is Singapore Airlines. It began operating in Australia in November 2007, with its main base in Melbourne.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau is also investigating the two low-flying approaches that occurred in recent weeks.

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EU & US in fight over CARBON TRADING SCHEME!

The EU aims to lead the world in fighting climate change, and says it needs to put a price on carbon dioxide emissions to guard against future climate impacts such as crop failures, droughts or flooding.

From January 2012, airlines flying to or from Europe will have to buy permits from the EU's Emissions Trading Scheme for 15 percent of the carbon emissions they produce. They join 11,000 factories and power plants already in the scheme.

Airlines warn of a looming trade war, but the EU says it will not back down. The carriers say their emissions should only be tackled in United Nations bodies, such as the International Civil Aviation Organization ICAO.L.

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