25 Jan 2021

India Aviation Industry Newsletter 25 January

Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) eases aircraft type regulations The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has removed the requirement of giving type acceptance of aircraft for short term wet leasing (hiring with operating crew) of aircraft in a bid to improve the ease of doing business in this crippled by Covid sector. The amendment does not change the maximum age requirement of 18 and 25 years for aircraft being brought in for passenger transportation and cargo operations, respectively. Digital transformation helped BIAL deal better with Covid Bangalore International Airport (BIAL) chief strategy and development officer Satyaki Raghunath spoke about the airport's digital transformation with Gowthamram Nallan of Adobe. He shared how the digital initiatives taken by the country's third-largest airport helped it deal better with the Pandemic. Raghunath started with sharing statistics about the BIAL airport, how it has been one of the fastest growing airports in the world with almost 20% year-on-year growth. Adobe partnership supported BIAL across platforms enhancing customer experience; improve operational efficiency and boost revenue generation. IndiGo strengthens regional connectivity launches Agra as 64th domestic destination IndiGo announced Agra as its 64th domestic destination commencing 28th March 2021 under the RCS scheme. Chief Strategy and Revenue Officer IndiGo Sanjay Kumar said “We are pleased to have the Golden Triangle cities mapped on the 6E network, with the addition of Agra as our 64th domestic destination. This will not only enhance connectivity for domestic travellers, but also aid in expanding international air traffic once restrictions are lifted and travel opens up. Additionally, these connections will help promote tourism, trade and commerce, with Agra being the home to multiple UNESCO world heritage sites, one of the hubs for leather goods production and known for its food and delicacies.” SpiceJet Acquires An A330 And Boeing 767 For Freighter Operations SpiceJet has added two more widebody cargo aircraft to its growing fleet. The airline leased an Airbus A330 and Boeing 767 as it continues to see surging cargo demand. These aircraft’s primary role will be long-haul cargo transport, especially the cold-chain movement of COVID-19 vaccines. SpiceJet Chairman Ajay Singh said “The need for wide body planes to deliver vaccines and other important cargo has never been more important than today. To cater to this increased demand on long-haul routes, we have inducted two more wide-body jets taking our total cargo fleet size to 19 including five wide-body aircraft.” Vistara is World’s First Airline to Feature Panasonic’s Arc 3D Map App Vistara has upgraded the map application in its inflight entertainment (IFE) system and launched Arc, Panasonic Avionics’ new, state-of-the-art, 3D inflight map application on its Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner fleet. The map platform will be progressively made available on the airline’s brand new A321neo aircraft as well. Vistara is the world’s first airline to offer this immersive inflight map experience to customers that brings a wide range of innovations to the traditional inflight map application, while expanding the concept into a fully integrated experience within the IFE and connectivity system. Vistara Chief Commercial Officer Vinod Kannan said “Our partnership with Panasonic has helped us in bringing state-of-the-art IFE systems and satellite connectivity to our customers. Arc, with trailblazing capabilities, will not only help us keep our customers engaged on their flights, but also open up a whole new medium for us to interact with them. We are delighted to make this cutting-edge application a part of the award-winning Vistara experience in our continuous effort to maximise customer delight.” Acumen Aviation © 25 January 2021 All Rights Reserved.