CaseBank Technologies to Attend India Aviation 2016

CaseBank Technologies Inc., the leading provider of software solutions for equipment fault isolation and defect trend analysis, has announced that it will be exhibiting in partnership with the International Trade Commission, Government of Canada, at The 5th International Exhibition & Conference on Civil Aviation - India Aviation 2016, March 16-20, at the Begumpet Airport, Hyderabad, India. CaseBank will be located in the Government of Canada’s, Ontario Pavilion, Booth #33 with other Canadian companies such as Air Canada, Bell Helicopter, Bombardier and Pratt & Whitney. CaseBank’s technology has been selected by Gulfstream for the G550, G650 aircraft. Pratt & Whitney and Rolls-Royce have also selected CaseBank technology to support their families of engines. “CaseBank is pleased to attend India Aviation to share how our interactive fault isolation, defect tracking and reliability solutions, help technicians, call centers and support engineers provide best in class service, while capturing field experience,” said Tony O’Hara, CEO of CaseBank Technologies, Inc. He added, “By troubleshooting problems accurately, our technology is improving aircraft safety and uptime for some of the most advanced aircraft in the world.” India Aviation is one of the largest and most important events in the international aerospace calendar. The conference brings together airport infrastructure developers/operators, airlines, major manufacturers, suppliers and technology providers to discuss manufacturing capabilities, processes, best practices, advances and innovations, automation, industry trends and forecasts.

IndiGo to Get its First A320 Neo Aircraft Today

IndiGo will get its first Airbus A320 Neo aircraft today. This will be the 103rd airplane for the airline and its first much awaited Neo. Investors of Interglobe Aviation, the parent company of India's largest airline by market share, have been nervous about the delay in the delivery of A320 Neo aircraft. Airbus had warned about the delay in December when IndiGo was due to receive its first A320 Neo. The airline will receive its first Neo jet 3 months later than the original scheduled delivery. The company confirmed the same through a tweet, ''Big moment! IndiGo is accepting delivery of Asia's first #ecofriendly @Airbus #A320neo today! #soproud #greenskies."

Government not to force Air India to fly to unconnected cities

The government on Thursday said it will not "force" Air India to flying to unconnected cities after a Congress member in Lok Sabha said it should ask the state-run carrier to do so if it was unable to push private airlines into it. Civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said Air India is coming out of losses because of the government's "non-interference" policy and maintained that its job was to "facilitate and not compel" airline operations. Raju made the remarks during question hour after a number of members raised the issue of lack of air connectivity to the regions they came from and Rajiv Satav (Congress) urged him to ask Air India to connect places like Nanded, a pilgrimage centre of the Sikhs. "Air India is coming out of losses because of our non-interference. We won't force them," the minister said. Raju, however, said the government from time to time gave suggestions to airlines and noted that in the draft civil aviation policy there is a proposal to connect unserved and unconnected airports under the Regional Connectivity Scheme.

Jet Airways signs codeshare agreement with Korean Air

Jet Airways has entered into a codeshare agreement and a reciprocal frequent flyer programme partnership with Korean Air. Guests travelling on both the airlines will be able to connect from multiple points in India to Seoul over various gateway points in Asia. Under the codeshare arrangement, Jet Airways will place its marketing code on Korean Air operated non-stop flight between Incheon, Seoul and Mumbai, as well as flights between Incheon, Seoul, Bangkok and Singapore. Similarly, Korean Air will place its marketing code on Jet Airways’ operations between Singapore and Mumbai, and between Bangkok, Mumbai and Delhi. The codeshare is expected to strengthen the global network of both airlines and provide more choice for customers travelling between India and South Korea, with seamless and convenient connections over the international gateways, Singapore and Bangkok. The codeshare flights are now open for sale for travel effective March 1, 2016. Additionally, JetPrivilege programme of Jet Airways has entered into a reciprocal frequent flyer partnership with Korean Air’s SKYPASS Frequent Flyer programme. Members of both programmes will now benefit from frequent flyer mileage accrual and redemption opportunities across the entire network of Korean Air and on Jet Airways’ pan-India domestic and international networks. With the codeshare and frequently flyer partnerships going live, Korean Air becomes Jet Airways’ 23rd codeshare partner and 30th frequent flyer programme partner airline.

Vistara to induct four more aircraft in fleet in 2016

Vistara Airline will induct four more aircraft in its fleet this year as it plans to operate nearly 25% more flights with the addition of three new destinations - Srinagar, Jammu and Kochi - in its network besides enhancing frequencies on the existing routes in coming summer schedule. The joint venture carrier, in which Tata Sons holds 51% stake while the rest is held by Singapore Airlines, currently operates 317 services per week with a fleet of nine Airbus A320 planes.

Singapore Airlines-backed Vistara increases weekly flight ops by 26%

Full-service carrier Vistara, a joint venture between Tata Sons Limited and Singapore Airlines Limited (SIA) with the former holding a majority stake of 51 percent in the airline, is increasing its weekly flight operations by 26 percent from March 27, 2014. In a statement on Wednesday the airline said it would offer “almost 400 weekly flights to 15 destinations in India”, up from 317 weekly flights and 12 destinations it services at present. The airline’s current destinations are Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Goa, Guwahati, Bagdogra, Bhubaneswar, and Varanasi. From April onwards, the airline will fly to Srinagar, Jammu and Kochi. And, with the induction of four new Airbus 320 aircraft during the course of this year, Vistara has plans to increase its weekly flight frequency by 85 percent by the end of October. “We plan to double our domestic capacity this year by offering more flights, destinations and increased frequencies,” said Phee Teik Yeoh, CEO, Vistara.

India’s First Female Fighter Pilots to Take to the Skies in the Summer

India’s first female fighter pilots will be able to take to the skies this summer, the force’s chief Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha said Tuesday. Women have been inducted as pilots in the world’s fourth-largest air force for over two decades, but have so far only found their way in non-combat roles flying transport aircraft and helicopters. “The floodgates have opened for women to prove their mettle in all streams,” Air Chief Marshal Raha said at an event on International Women’s Day, adding that the first batch of women fighter pilots will be commissioned on June 18. Avani Chaturvedi, Mohana Singh and Bhawana Kanth, who are currently training at an air force base in the southern Indian state of Telangana, are the three women who will qualify to fly fighter planes this summer. The air force’s fighter jet fleets consist of the Russian Sukhoi Su-30 MKIs, the MiG-21 and 27s and the French Mirage-2000s. “It’s a dream for everybody to fly. When you walk you only look at the sky, at the birds, and you want to fly,” Ms. Chaturvedi said in an interview with English news channel NDTV. “Flying at the speed of sound, and more than that, is something everyone dreams of,” she added.

Bad news for AirAsia, Vistara: Govt says no decision yet on fate of 5/20 rule

Caught in a bind over the '5/20 norms' for domestic carriers to fly overseas, the government today conceded the demand of the promoters of old airlines for a "patient" hearing on the issue even as it said no decision has been taken on the fate of the regulation. At a meeting, chaired by Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju, the promoters contended that relaxing of the norms will have negative impact on domestic connectivity and services and may lead to rise in airfares. The meeting comes at a time the Civil Aviation Ministry is preparing a draft note on the new aviation policy to take it to the Cabinet for its approval. The Ministry also has to take a call on the 5/20 norm.