November 22, 2021 - No. 90


In This Issue 
: Jet engine maker GE Aviation to hire more than 300 workers next year 
: DELTA AIR LINES JUST ADMITTED THAT WILL EFFECT ALL FLYERS 
: Southeastern Aviation to add new airline simulator to enhance instruction 
: GE Additive, NIAR drive metal additive adoption 
: Congress Demands Accounting of Airline Pandemic Relief Money 
: Travel companies are vowing to go ‘net zero.’ But what exactly does that mean? 
: A new, ultra-low-cost Indian airline just placed a $9 billion order with Boeing, and analysts say it could lift up the country's entire aviation segment 
: CEB finances modernisation of Serbian aviation training centre 
: Italy’s new airline takes off – John Cassar White 
: NASA and SpaceX are set to smash a spacecraft into an asteroid 
: SpaceX’s first two Super Heavy boosters making good progress towards test debuts 

  




Jet engine maker GE Aviation to hire more than 300 workers next year



SINGAPORE - Aircraft engine manufacturer GE Aviation will hire more than 300 workers here next year as the aerospace sector continues its recovery from the devastating impact of Covid-19.

The US company, which celebrated its 40th anniversary in Singapore on Monday (Nov 22), had to cut its workforce here by about 600 last year, retrenching some and placing others in other companies temporarily.

But it has begun recruiting again, with about 260 jobs filled between January and September this year, GE Aviation Singapore managing director Iain Rodger said.


Another 250 workers are expected to join the company by the end of the year, and staff headcount will be back to pre-pandemic levels by mid-2022, he added. Mr Rodger said the company has had continued growth over the past year as airlines pivoted to cargo flights and borders began to reopen.

A portion of GE Aviation's global jet engine component repair volume was also shifted here from the United States - a big reason behind the company's current recruitment drive, which is ahead of the overall market trajectory, he said.

Some GE Aviation plants in the US were forced to shut due to Covid-19, and higher productivity at the three plants here gave Singapore the edge, Mr Rodger added.


The Republic accounts for over 60 per cent of GE Aviation's global repair volume.

Mr Rodger said most of the new roles that need to be filled here are volume-related, such as technicians for the shop floor. But his firm is also looking to hire more automation and robotic engineers as well as data analysts as it adopts new technology.

GE Aviation currently employs more than 1,700 workers in Singapore, of whom 56 per cent are locals. The company is looking to hire more local engineers and technicians, though there have been challenges in finding people with the right skills.

The company also relies on workers from across the Causeway, so the expected vaccinated travel lane across Singapore and Malaysia's land border "can only be a good thing for us", Mr Rodger added.


Other companies in the aerospace sector are also making a comeback and embarking on recruitment drives to rehire laid-off workers or fill new job roles.

Manpower Minister and Second Minister for Trade and Industry Tan See Leng said last month that aerospace companies here are looking to fill around 1,000 positions over the next two years.

For instance, US aerospace giant Pratt and Whitney had said that it is looking to hire 250 new staff here by year end.

This was after it had retrenched 400 employees here in August last year.


Speaking at GE Aviation Singapore's anniversary event on Monday, Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong said Singapore's aerospace manufacturing output fell by 26 per cent last year and some firms had to resort to cost-cutting measures.

But with the Jobs Support Scheme as well as training and upskilling packages, aerospace companies and their workers are better equipped for the sector's recovery.

Mr Gan noted that the aerospace industry grew 22 per cent in September this year compared with September last year, and urged companies to build up capabilities in digital services, autonomous technologies and sustainability.

"While it may take time for air travel demand to return to normal, the industry's long-term prospects remain positive," he said.


On Monday, GE Aviation unveiled new additive manufacturing technology for repairing engine components. Called direct metal laser melting, this process has been used to manufacture jet engine parts, but GE Aviation Singapore's plant in Loyang is the first facility in the world that has been approved to use it for repairs.

"There are parts flying with this repair already," said engineering manager Ngiam Shih Tung, 54, who led the project.

The new process, developed by local engineers with support from GE Aviation technology centres in the US and the Singapore Economic Development Board, is essentially 3D printing of metal components. It produces parts that require less post-processing compared with the old process of welding.

"It takes one minute to do what used to take five minutes to do and the overall effect is that each employee can produce twice as many parts," said Mr Ngiam.

Mr Rodger said the new process is more environmentally friendly and will help GE Aviation customers get their planes back in the sky much faster.

"It is a testament to the skills of the Singapore engineering team," Mr Ngiam added.


https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/jet-engine-maker-ge-aviation-to-hire-more-than-300-workers-next-year









DELTA AIR LINES JUST ADMITTED THAT WILL EFFECT ALL FLYERS



America is now accessible. That is the response of many vaccinated individuals from other countries. As a result, we are attempting to be optimistic and consider the necessity for so many to travel in the opposite direction.

Trying herculean endeavor, I’m sure you’ll agree. Covid remains – and so does he – but more people are beginning to accept that there are risks with being able to see family members, business contacts, or simply seeing America from behind.

Then comes Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian to dampen the global buzz a bit. He wanted to bring up the uncomfortable thing that hangs over us all. climate change, not the end of democracy

Airlines, which are magnificent polluters on our behalf, understand that they must (seem to) do something about it. Bastian’s views on the subject will be jarring in many people’s ears:

“It’ll end up costing us all more over time.” I’m not sure how much Bastian is paid, since I’m guessing he gets a nice first-class seat at any time he wants it. It’s apparent that he believes air travel will become more costly.

Someone will have to pay for more efficient aircraft, carbon neutrality, and sustainable aviation fuel. Isn’t it true that it won’t just be the airlines?

It’s not going to be just them, is it? Something along these lines was recently made painfully apparent by United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby in his comments about President Biden’s original Infrastructure Bill.

This also included a mention or two for carriers who contribute to the development of sustainable aviationfueln

In other words, some of your taxes may be used to develop more climate-friendly aircraft technology while at the same time increasing the cost of your flights.

(And there goes another CFO investing in Zoom.) You may be a firm believer in reducing flying. You could see the validity in attempting to preserve what’s left of the planet. You might also be a budgeter.

So you’ll ask how much airfares will rise before we save everyone and keep airlines profitable.

The calculations of Andreas Schafer, a professor of energy and transportation at University College London, were provided by the BBC.

Please don’t be concerned. It isn’t that terrible. A 10-20 percent increase in airfares is all it’s going to be. Somehow, flyers are responsible for these increases.

They’re well aware that, in America especially, there are only four airlines with enough market power to alter fares dramatically if they so choose.

Four businesses control more than 80% of all airline seats in the United States. They compete fiercely but rarely at the extremes.

Furthermore, flyers frequently narrow their eyes as they look for tickets, knowing that the words “Total Cost” will cause them pain.

Perhaps airlines won’t want to take the easy way out and include the climate effect directly in ticket prices. They might instead opt to wait till you’re nearly done booking and call it a Save The Earth carbon tax.

Alternatively, they could coin the Sustainable Surcharge.

At the end of the day, all of these hints are there, and at least Bastian isn’t pretending they’re not. which will only leave some to wonder how much more of a calculation they’ll have to make before deciding to fly.

I can already see IT companies selling top-notch programing to CEOs, claiming that it can calculate exactly how much each in-person meeting – traveling – is “worth” to their businesses.



https://bestgamingpro.com/delta-air-lines-just-admitted-that-will-effect-all-flyers/






 




Southeastern Aviation to add new airline simulator to enhance instruction



The storied aviation program at Southeastern Oklahoma State University is getting a significant technology boost thanks to the recent purchase of a new Flightdeck Solutions 737 MAX Flight Training device.


According to Southeastern Aviation Sciences Institute (ASI) Director/Assistant Professor Michael Gaffney, the 737 MAX Fixed Base Procedures Trainer by Flightdeck Solutions teaches students how to operate one of the most popular airliners in operation today, the Boeing 737 MAX. Gaffney said students will be taught airliner-centric advanced system operations, advanced aerodynamics, flight management system programming, and to function as coordinated crew in a complex airline environment using the new trainer/simulator.

The highly realistic cockpit features near perfect control and display screen realism and the high fidelity display screens creates a realistic simulation environment of any airport in North America and can simulate any kind of weather condition or equipment malfunction.


The simulator is expected to arrive in May 2022 and will be fully functional in June with crew training beginning in August.

“This will be a great addition to our Aviation Sciences program,’’ said Southeastern president Thomas Newsom. “This is a truly unique program that attracts students from all over the country.’’

The ASI is the aviation operations department of Southeastern Oklahoma State University and has a rich history of academic and professional pilot accomplishments dating back 55 years. Its mission is to provide its students with the highest quality aviation education and flight training possible.

Southeastern’s airline partners in the Professional Pilot Program are Southwest Airlines, Envoy Airlines, and Delta Airlines.


https://sports.yahoo.com/southeastern-aviation-add-airline-simulator-220209981.html




 




GE Additive, NIAR drive metal additive adoption



GE Additive and Wichita State University’s (WSU) National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) have signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding as the cornerstone of a new collaborative effort aimed at supporting the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DOD) accelerated adoption of metal additive manufacturing (AM) technology.

Additive manufacturing technology within the commercial and military aerospace and defense sector has grown significantly over the past decade, and in that time, GE and Wichita State’s NIAR have worked closely with the DOD, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and other stakeholders to accelerate safe adoption of AM for high criticality applications.

The partnership will accelerate metal additive adoption within the military aerospace and defense industrial base by advocating for common practices, rapid qualification and certification, and the development of a shared database for additive manufacturing data and knowledge.

GE Additive is a world leader in additive technology, materials science, materials manufacturing, component design, and aerospace qualification. NIAR brings world leadership in aerospace applied research, materials testing and qualification, digital twin, and structural testing and certification. Both parties have been recognized by the DOD as industry leaders: NIAR in developing digital twins of various aging vehicles; and GE Additive in providing metal additive technology to print out-of-production and obsolete spare parts from digital twin data.

“NIAR’s material database capabilities are an important asset needed to build a comprehensive, secure, accessible, standard format for materials data that all depots can use,” said David Handler, general manager – government business at GE Additive.

GE Additive and NIAR aim to establish an industry platform that is flexible enough to be used across all branches of the DOD.

“The partnership will accelerate the DOD’s desire to go from old metal to digital and then supply needed spare parts by going from digital back to new metal,” Handler added.

Development of the database will also involve the implementation of students in an applied learning capacity, providing a unique new workforce that understands the intricacies of additive manufacturing qualification and implementation.

To be an efficient and relevant resource, GE Additive and NIAR plan to move quickly. The partnership and involvement of student employees will allow the team to rapidly develop specifications to convert metal to digital and digital to metal – part by part.

GE Additive includes additive machine brands Concept Laser and Arcam EBM, along with additive powder supplier AP&C.

Established in 1985, NIAR has a +$190 million annual budget; 975 employees and nearly 1.6 million square feet of laboratory and office space in six locations across the city of Wichita, Kansas.



https://www.aerospacemanufacturinganddesign.com/article/ge-additive-niar-drive-metal-additive-adoption/





 




Congress Demands Accounting of Airline Pandemic Relief Money




In the wake of several incidents of mass airline delays and cancellations this year, several Congressional lawmakers are demanding an accounting of where the $50 billion in government pandemic relief money to the aviation industry has gone.

Ostensibly, the bailout grants and loans issued last year were to help airlines keep their payroll going and came with the stipulation that there were to be no firings or layoffs.


Airlines were able to get around that, and bankroll more money, by initiating buyouts and early retirements among its employees.

But many carriers found themselves short-staffed and unprepared this year as the pent-up demand for travel surprised them and the amount of fliers blew up.

And now, according to a great story in Politico, lawmakers want to know where all that money really went. Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes (D-District of Columbia) is calling for hearings before the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, of which she is a senior member.

“There should have been every reason, particularly given the bailout money for the airlines, to prepare for the surge we're seeing now,” Holmes told Politico. “This money was for a very specific purpose.”

The Senate’s transportation panel already has plans to take testimony on the subject next month.

“The airlines owe Americans better service,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), a noted aviation watchdog. “In my view, they're failing to keep their side of the bargain.”

Added Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.): “If they can’t keep their promises to taxpayers and travelers, Congress should find out why.”

But the lobby group for most U.S. carriers, Airlines for America, insists that the delays and cancellations are not related to the bailout loans and grants.

American Airlines, Spirit and Southwest have all suffered huge issues related to staffing shortages as well as technology issues and weather this year. Southwest, in fact, had two separate incidents of delays and canceled flights.

"Travelers have been returning to the skies at a rapid pace, and U.S. airlines are working to hire and train new employees and return to service aircraft that had been put in storage in order to meet the growing demand," Airlines for America said in a statement to the media outlet.

At least one Senator was sympathetic to the airlines.

“They're dealing with COVID and, just like the rest of this country and the rest of the world, it's made life very difficult and much more complicated,” said Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo). “It’s not the airlines failing to act. … They are doing the best they can.”



https://www.travelpulse.com/news/airlines/congress-demands-accounting-of-airline-pandemic-relief-money.html



 




Travel companies are vowing to go ‘net zero.’ But what exactly does that mean?



The “net zero” bandwagon is crowded:

ompanies, cities and entire countries have taken the pledge to reduce their carbon footprints, setting deadlines decades into the future for balancing out their emissions in a race to keep the globe from heating to disastrous levels.

More newcomers signed on in the run-up to COP26, the recent UN climate summit in Glasgow. Even heavy users of fossil fuels – including travel companies – are getting on board. Airlines tout their plans in calls with investors. Cruise lines highlight their ambitions.

More than 300 companies, destinations and other tourism players signed on to the Glasgow Declaration for Climate Action in Tourism, committing to submit climate action plans within 12 months that detail efforts to halve emissions by 2030 and reach net zero no later than 2050.

These pledges are crucial to the effort to stabilise the globe’s warming at 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, the most ambitious goal outlined in the Paris agreement.

But delivering on those promises will be difficult, and many scientists warn that net-zero ambitions amount to kicking the climate can down the road when more immediate action is necessary. Here’s the key information to know about net-zero goals.

What does net zero mean?
When companies pledge to reach net-zero emissions – typically by 2050 – they are saying they will balance out the carbon or greenhouse gases that can be traced to them by removing the same amount of emissions from the atmosphere. These pledges generally come with commitments to significantly reduce emissions.

Depending on the source, “carbon neutral” can be either a synonym to net zero or a weaker classification that refers to a strategy of investing in offsets without a significant reduction of emissions.

What are travel companies pledging?
Major players across the travel industry are vowing to achieve net-zero goals by the midpoint of the century, and some are setting their target earlier.

Earlier this year, Alaska Airlines committed to reduce its carbon emissions to net zero by 2040. Ryanair aims to power 12.5pc of its flights with sustainable aviation fuels by 2030, and to be a carbon neutral airline by 2050.

Airbnb said this month it would become a net-zero company by 2030, focusing on emissions tied to its corporate operations around the world.

While some individual airlines had already made announcements, members of the International Air Transport Association passed a resolution in October to achieve net-zero carbon emissions from their operations by 2050.

The trade group that represents major US airlines, Airlines for America, said in March that its member carriers are committed to working with government leaders to achieve a 2050 goal.

The Cruise Lines International Association said last month that its oceangoing member lines were committing to “pursue net carbon neutral cruising” by 2050. Royal Caribbean was ahead of the industry group to which it belongs with a pledge last month to achieve net-zero emissions by that date.

And hotel giant Marriott announced in September that it committed to “reach net-zero value chain greenhouse gas emissions” by 2050 at the latest.

Many more companies have offered their own pledges, and pressure is mounting for those who have not. The World Travel & Tourism Council compiled an extensive report laying out the path to net zero for its industries.

How will airlines reach their goals?
Most companies are aiming for a combination of reducing their emissions and offsetting or removing the amount of carbon they release into the atmosphere.

The airline trade group says turning to sustainable fuel represents 65pc of its strategy. Smaller elements include creating offsets, or removing carbon from the atmosphere through nature-based projects or new technology; investing in electric or hydrogen propulsion; and improving infrastructure and efficiency in operations. Different airlines have taken their own approaches. United, for example, is investing in carbon-capture technology.

How will cruise lines reach their goals?
For its part, Royal Caribbean Group says its approach includes modernising its fleet with 13 new “energy-efficient and alternatively fuelled” ships; investing in energy efficiency programs; and developing alternative fuel and power solutions. The broader cruise industry points to greater use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) – a fossil fuel that emits less carbon dioxide – along with battery and hybrid power and the use of shore-side electrical power in ports.

What about hotels and holiday rentals?
Marriott says its initiatives may include using more renewable energy, modifying design standards to make buildings more efficient and installing automated systems such as smart thermostats.

Airbnb’s pledge includes plans to power corporate offices with renewable energy, help vendors reduce their carbon emissions, encourage employees to take public transportation and help them adopt renewable energy in their homes. The company said it would also invest in offsets.

Is going net zero realistic?
Most companies agree that reaching their goals will be not be easy. Airlines and cruise lines especially highlight the roadblocks they face, including relying on fuels or technologies that are expensive, not widely available or in development.

“Achieving net-zero emissions will be a huge challenge,” the International Air Transport Association said in a news release, noting that 10 billion people are expected to fly in 2050. That’s more than twice the 4.5 billion passengers who flew in 2019.

What companies aren’t proposing: scaling back their operations. Airlines plan to fly more people. Cruise lines will build more ships and fill them with more passengers. More hotels will open.

Holly Jean Buck, an assistant professor of environment and sustainability at the University of Buffalo, said reaching net-zero targets is possible, but only through more ambitious actions than what we have seen so far, especially from the aviation and cruise industries.

“A lot of the technology that can be used is here; it’s just really expensive right now,” she said, naming biofuels, hydrogen power or fuel made from carbon dioxide. She added that companies need government action to help bring down the prices of alternatives.

Will it save us?
Critics say far-off net-zero pledges are not sufficient to address urgent climate needs.

Climate scientist and no-fly advocate Peter Kalmus wrote in the Guardian in September that the idea of achieving net-zero goals by 2050 holds two “fatal” problems: “One is ‘net zero.’ The other is ‘by 2050.'”

“These two flaws provide cover for big oil and politicians who wish to preserve the status quo,” he wrote. “Together they comprise a deadly prescription for inaction and catastrophically high levels of irreversible climate and ecological breakdown.”

In June, Greenpeace International published a piece headlined: “Why Net Zero and Offsets won’t solve the climate crisis.”

Buck, who wrote a book titled “Ending Fossil Fuels: Why Net Zero Is Not Enough,” said the focus needs to be on phasing out fossil fuels. She said companies’ pledges could be effective, though, depending on the quality of the plans and the resources they put toward them.

“I haven’t seen very many plans that have the sufficient level of detail and committed resources,” she said. “But I think there’s a few companies out there that are thinking hard about what that will mean.”



https://todayuknews.com/world-news/travel-companies-are-vowing-to-go-net-zero-but-what-exactly-does-that-mean/



 




A new, ultra-low-cost Indian airline just placed a $9 billion order with Boeing, and analysts say it could lift up the country's entire aviation segment




Judith Philip is stressed. The 32-year-old auditor's work schedule is packed and her only retreat is travel, but the pandemic hit her sole recreation badly. To make up for lost time, Philip is pinning her hopes on an upcoming solo trip to Sri Lanka.

"I think I might do a lot of revenge travel once these restrictions are lifted and things get a bit better," Philip told Insider from the southern Indian city of Bangalore.

She is among millions of travelers waiting in the wings to cruise Indian skies as the country's aviation sector braces for a shake-up. At the heart of this shake-up stands to be a freshly minted airline, Akasa Air. Ever since its public debut in July, Akasa has become the most talked-about airline in the country. And on November 16, it placed a $9 billion order for 72 Boeing 737 MAX jets. The airline could potentially lift up the entire Indian aviation segment, which has been grappling for several years, industry analysts say.

Unlike airlines that ground their fleets in capital Delhi or financial hub Mumbai, Akasa's fleet stands to be mostly based in the Indian tech capital of Bangalore. While Akasa's exact routes have not yet been announced, they are expected to reach less-travelled destinations at less expensive fares.


Backed by billionaire investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala – nicknamed India's Warren Buffett and Big Bull for his smart investments — the carrier aims to be the resurrector of a turbulent domestic market in Asia's third-largest economy.

But Jhunjhunwala and Akasa are entering the aviation industry at a historically difficult time: The pandemic is far from over, and the market is crowded, plagued by collapsing carriers, and difficult to turn a profit in.

Jhunjhunwala did not respond to multiple requests from Insider for comment for this story.

Room for growth
Until the turn of the decade ending 2010, air travel was luxury only affordable for the affluent in India.


A country of about 1.4 billion people, India has about 650 passenger jets. Domestic airlines carried 144 million flyers in 2019, according to the regulatory body Directorate General of Civil Aviation. By comparison, the US (population 333 million) has over 5,000 civilian aircraft, while China (population 1.44 billion) operates close to 3,700 passenger jets.

Today, trains remain the preferred mode for the long-distance journeys of the masses in India. In the 12 months ending March 2020, Indian trains ferried over eight billion travelers.

But as India's middle class grows and competing airlines keep the price of domestic airfare low, air travel is slowly becoming a viable mode of transport for more people. Delhi aims to unveil over 200 new airports across the vast country in the next four years and is rapidly expanding the existing airports. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration expects civil aviation to play a crucial role in its ambitious goal of making India a $5 trillion economy by 2024.

"We can expect huge growth in the next five to 10 years," Sanjay Kumar, chief strategy and revenue officer of IndiGo, told Insider of the Indian aviation market. IndiGo is India's market leader in domestic traffic with 55% share.


"The growing middle-class population will start traveling as the Americans or Chinese do. We've so far not seen this [in India] at all," Kumar added.

A volatile market
Until the second half of 2018, India was home to the fastest-growing aviation market in the world, with passenger numbers ballooning.

Growth nosedived in 2019 due to factors including crew shortage, taxes on jet fuel, and unsustainable business models.

At the heart of India's spiraling airline crisis was the collapse of Jet Airways, the country's oldest and first successful private airline. Mounting debts, poor acquisitions, and cheaper prices offered by rivals killed the 26-year-old Jet Airways.


The Indian aviation market is so volatile that about 50 players have shut shop in the past three decades and changed billionaires into millionaires.

And this was all before the pandemic decimated the industry.

But a troubled industry also means abundant talent in the market for hire, low asset costs, and weakened competitors, factors that could play a role in Jhunjhunwala's favor.

A market dominated by low-cost carriers
Unlike the aviation markets of the western world, where the segment is multi-layered and caters to a wide range of travelers, carriers in India need to keep a close watch on ticket costs. About 80% of the market share in India is cornered by low-cost carrier models (LCC), which make a profit through volume by selling seats at cheap rates.


Six large airlines dominate the domestic skies in India: IndiGo, SpiceJet, GoAir (which rebranded as GoFirst), AirAsia India, Vistara, and Air India. While Vistara and Air India are classified as no-frills carriers, the rest operate as LCC.

Unlike all other existing market players, Akasa is an ultra low-cost carrier (ULCC), which means every little space inside the plane – from paper cups or luggage bins — is for sale for advertising. Further, Akasa can cut back on all expendable costs and fly more hours a day while keeping the seat fares separate from all other related services like food. It's basically like the Spirit Airlines of India.

Akasa is expected to launch operations by early or mid 2022, if the speculation in the industry is proved right. Akasa has been busy hiring industry veterans including Vinay Dube, the former CEO of Jet Airways, and Aditya Ghosh, the former CEO of Indigo. Regulatory approvals are on track.

Yet, the fate of Akasa depends on more than a billionaire backer and experienced leadership. Other variables at play in the airline's success include how it manages its fleet composition, distribution models, and the choice of flying destinations.



Airbus dominates the Indian skies: The A320 family makes up 70% of all passenger aircraft in the country.

The advent of Akasa means an opportunity for American planemaker Boeing to make a breakthrough in a crucial market.

Akasa hopes to operate a fleet of 70 aircraft in four years, Jhunjhunwala told Bloomberg in a television interview in July. Boeing's market outlook, meanwhile, predicts there will be demand for 2,200 commercial jets in the next two decades.

"In India, domestic traffic is leading the recovery. We're seeing double-digit monthly improvements in operations as vaccine rates improve and travel restrictions begin to loosen," Salil Gupte, president of Boeing India, told Insider.



Gupte estimates passenger traffic numbers in India will reach pre-pandemic levels by 2023 or 2024.

"We are honored that Akasa Air, an innovative airline focused on customer experience and environmental sustainability, has placed its trust in the 737 family to drive affordable passenger service in one of the world's fastest-growing aviation regions," said Stan Deal, Boeing commercial airplanes president and CEO, following the deal.

Challenges Ahead
Industry experts say Jhunjhunwala's Akasa appears set to take Indian civil aviation to new heights, but they add caveats.

For instance, fixed costs like lease, parking, maintenance, and staff salaries make up 40% of an airline's cost structure, according to IndiGo's Kumar. To be successful, Akasa must get the combination of these correct, industry experts said.



"Akasa's bet is on the fragility of one or more carriers and as a well-capitalized new entrant, it may very well be able to gain a strong foothold," said Satyendra Pandey, managing partner at India-based aviation services firm AT-TV.

Rival carriers are bound to match Akasa's fares from day one of its operations, Pandey said – which means it'll be entering a profitless growth environment. 

A careful assessment of the market should incorporate both business and behavioral trends, Pandey said.

"Force-fitting western frameworks just does not work. Getting this wrong has meant that even extremely well-funded airlines have consistently failed to turn a profit and witnessed continuous margin deterioration. Levers that worked pre-pandemic may not quite work the same," Pandey added.


"If the ULCC model is implemented, Akasa Air may expand the overall market by stimulation due to low airfares," said Manvi Hooda, chief of consulting and research at the aviation consulting firm, CAPA India.

"India remains an under-penetrated air travel market. Given India is a value-sensitive market, low airfares can significantly stimulate the market," said Hooda.


https://www.businessinsider.com/ultra-low-cost-airline-akasa-air-entire-aviation-segment-2021-11



 




CEB finances modernisation of Serbian aviation training centre



BELGRADE (Serbia), November 22 (SeeNews) - The Council of Europe Development Bank (CEB) approved a 20 million euro ($22.6 million) loan to Serbia to finance the modernisation of state-owned Aviation Academy College of Applied Studies, it said on Monday.

The college, established in May 2021, will consist of aviation training centres in Vrsac and Belgrade, and will offer comprehensive professional training for aircraft pilots, air traffic controllers, aircraft maintenance staff and cabin crew, within the state education system, in a dual education model, CEB said in a statement.

"This loan will contribute to making the academic education of this type accessible to a wider range of the population, especially to students from low-income families," CEB Governor Rolf Wenzel said.

The Serbian education ministry plans to have the college fully operational in October 2023, so that students who already started learning theory in October 2021, could start with practical training from October 2023, CEB noted.

The project can be seen as a pilot for developing dual education at the academic level and making academic education accessible to a larger part of the population. It is expected that around 1,500 students will benefit from it within the period of four to five years from the start of the operations of the college, the bank added.

This is the fourth CEB project in Serbia focused on improving educational infrastructure.



https://seenews.com/news/ceb-finances-modernisation-of-serbian-aviation-training-centre-762252



 




Italy’s new airline takes off – John Cassar White



The iconic Alitalia logo has for five decades been an integral part of the Made in Italy brand. Alitalia was considered the jewel in the crown of public investment and went a long way in helping Italy export its excellent products to the rest of the world. But now, this national carrier has been grounded. Its place was taken by ITA (Italia Trasporti Aereo), a new state-owned airline that took off on October 15.

The European airlines’ industry faces formidable challenges as legacy airlines fight for market share with nimble low-cost airlines. Governments keep defending their national carriers. Still the EU, conscious of the overcapacity in the market, gets stricter on preventing state aid from flowing in the coffers of inefficient airlines.

The Italian taxpayers poured €13 billion between 1974 to today to keep Alitalia flying. Successive governments believed that this was a cost worth paying as they never imagined that brand Italy could be successful without the support of the national carrier. Aviation analysts are asking whether ITA is just a clone of Alitalia or a more innovative airline that is likely to overcome the structural weakness of the old carrier.

ITA bought the Alitalia brand for €90 million, a bargain compared to the initial pricing of €290 million. However, it will not use this brand as ITA only wanted to prevent other airlines like Ryanair from taking over the brand that many travellers still appreciate. But the critical question that many are asking is whether ITA, with its slimmed-down business model, can compete with low-cost airlines that are increasingly dominating the short- and medium-haul European market.


ITA starts life with just 52 planes and less than 3,000 workers. By 2025 it forecasts that it will increase its fleet to 78 with a workforce that will at best number 5,700 employees. Alitalia’s last headcount amounted to 10,400 workers.

The negotiations with the European Commission were characterised by some harsh conditions imposed on ITA. ITA has to compete in a tendering process to hold on to the ground handling and maintenance activities which no longer form part of the new airline’s operations. The airlines’ unions are furious about the conditions imposed on workers by ITA. The new airline has slimmed down the workforce and offered its employees a significantly worse contract than under Alitalia. 

Aviation analysts are asking whether ITA is just a clone of Alitalia or a more innovative airline that is likely to overcome the structural weakness of the old carrier
Not surprisingly, the pilots union is the most vociferous in criticising ITA’s business plan. Ivan Viglietti, head of the pilots section of the air transport union Uiltrasporti, argues: “We have not been in the least summoned or consulted by the government which instead went to deal in Europe on an industrial level, a plan that we know only through the newspapers and press releases of the institutions. Unfortunately, everything we feared emerges from the plan approved for ITA”.

Viglietti fears that ITA will not have the critical mass of operations that it needs to be viable in the context of the tough competition coming, especially from low-cost airlines that keep increasing their market share.



ITA CEO Fabio Lazzerini is aware of the effect of reduced operations. He believes it is a “necessity” for ITA to strike a deal with the state railways Ferrovie dello Stato to get a competitive advantage over low-cost airlines. Italian high-speed rail has helped undermine Alitalia’s business model. So ITA aims to partner with rail operators for combined rail-and-fly tickets – a move made by several former flag carriers as they look to offer something different to no-frills rivals.

The success of ITA’s new business model will significantly depend on its ability to join an alliance. Lazzerini considers this as “fundamental” to his company’s future and argues: “The world of airlines is made up of alliances. It is difficult to be alone”. 

Italian taxpayers are wondering what the new venture will cost them. ITA starts life with €1.35 billion of new money injected by the Italian government.  According to Corriere della Sera, ITA is expected to lose €1.9 million a day in its start-up phase. ITA’s business plan projects a profit of €100 million only in 2024.

Political obstacles will be unavoidable for ITA as they have been for other struggling national carriers. Airline alliances would be interested in taking over ITA, which still holds the Italian market. But will the Italian government be ready to sell off a majority stake in its “new” jewel in the portfolio of public investments?

The ghosts of Alitalia’s multiple unsuccessful restructuring efforts might still haunt the new ITA.


https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/italys-new-airline-takes-off-john-cassar-white.915981



 




NASA and SpaceX are set to smash a spacecraft into an asteroid


Launching later this month, the DART mission will help understand how to redirect future Earth-threatening asteroids — it will also fundamentally change humans’ relationship with our solar system

As if streaming audio directly into our brains and populating the world with humanoid Tesla bots wasn’t enough, SpaceX founder Elon Musk is leaning even further into his evil tech overlord vibes with plans to rearrange the layout of our solar system. Ok, so that’s not completely accurate: the joint project between SpaceX and NASA is actually aimed at defending Earth (but that is how all good supervillain stories start out).

Scheduled to launch with SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket later this month, NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test (or DART) spacecraft is set to slam into an asteroid as part of a vital experiment for future planetary defence systems. 

As explained by SpaceX: “NASA will intentionally crash the DART spacecraft into an asteroid to see if that is an effective way to change its course, should an Earth-threatening asteroid be discovered in the future.”

The 550 kilogram DART spacecraft won’t actually make contact with the asteroid in question — a space rock with a 160 metre diameter, named Dimorphos — until late September or early October of 2022. When it does, however, scientists will measure how much the impact speeds up Dimorphos’ orbit around its larger twin, Didymos (780 metres in diameter), and should receive important data to help divert future asteroids that may be headed for Earth.

Neither Dimorphos or Didymos are currently at risk of colliding with our planet, though they will pass by in 2022 and 2024. According to NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office, “no known asteroid larger than 140 meters in size has a significant chance to hit Earth for the next 100 years”. However, the PDCO also notes: “Only about 40 percent of those asteroids have been found to date.”



Beyond jokes about Elon Musk’s villainy, space experts have genuine ethical concerns about smashing a spacecraft into an asteroid, which marks a whole new relationship between humans and the solar system we inhabit — one in which we don’t just float through it, but exert influence on its orbital systems.

“Humans are like — we can do anything in the solar system, we can even move things out of the way,” says Ellie Armstrong, a outer space geographer at the University of Delaware (via Space.com). “The idea of being able to move, and exploit, and destroy or change natural capital like rocks and asteroids is very fundamentally pinned to an imperial worldview that sees humans as being allowed to do whatever they want.”

Critics also note the lack of input that the public has had on the space mission, and the (albeit slim) potential for the technology to be abused. Valerie Olson, an anthropologist at the University of California Irvine, who has researched the planetary defence community, notes: “The very same technologies that can be used to move something can be used to weaponize something.”


Another contentious issue is the space agency’s allocation of resources, with some suggesting that the $330 million fund for the mission would be better spent counteracting very real — and extinction-level — issues, such as the climate crisis. 

“I’m interested in what this says about what kind of problems America wants to be seen to be solving or NASA wants to be seen to be solving,” Armstrong continues. “You are literally moving a whole asteroid, and you are not making similar innovations in technology for very real problems.”


https://www.dazeddigital.com/science-tech/article/54851/1/nasa-and-spacex-are-set-to-smash-a-spacecraft-into-an-asteroid-dart-mission





 




SpaceX’s first two Super Heavy boosters making good progress towards test debuts



SpaceX is making good progress on Starship’s first two Super Heavy boosters, both of which could potentially be ready for their first major test campaigns before the end of the year.

On November 19th, some ten weeks after the process began, SpaceX craned Super Heavy B5’s methane (LCH4) tank on top of its oxygen (LOx) tank, marking the end of major structural assembly for the 69m (~225′) tall booster. A team of welders has since been working around the clock to weld the two tanks together and complete a transfer tube that routes methane propellant down through B5’s oxygen tank.

Two days prior, CEO Elon Musk shared a photo of SpaceX’s other Super Heavy booster (B4) which has been slowly progressing towards test readiness for more than three months. It’s unclear why SpaceX has been so sluggish to prepare Super Heavy B4 for testing but with B5 finally approaching the finish line, the company will soon find itself in a position where it will need to decide which booster to proceed with towards the program’s near-term end goal: the first orbital Starship test flight.



Once Booster 5’s two halves are welded together, only a few things will set it and Booster 4 apart. In recent weeks, SpaceX’s slow progress on Super Heavy B4 relented a bit as technicians began closing out the booster’s raceway (a conduit for plumbing, wiring, and avionics) with basic covers. More importantly, SpaceX also began reinstalling Raptor engines and installing heat shielding around those engines for the first time. In the photo Musk published on November 17th, that heat shield is easily visible and there are signs that it will ultimately enclose the entire outer ring of 20 Raptor Boost engines above their nozzles.

Once complete, that shield will theoretically protect each engine’s nest of sensitive plumbing and wiring during static fires; ascent, boostback, and landing burns; and – most importantly – reentry. Unlike Falcon boosters, which always perform a ~30-second, three-engine ‘reentry burn’ to slow down and cushion the blow of reentry heating, SpaceX plans to recover steel Super Heavy boosters without reentry burns. In theory, that should making booster recovery more efficient, allowing another dozen or so tons of propellant to go towards sending Starship to orbit instead of landing.


As of November 17th, SpaceX has reinstalled all 29 Raptor engines on Booster 4, partially finished the outer ring of Raptor heat shields, and set the stage for more heat shielding around its 9 center engines and the gap between those inner and outer Raptors. Shielding the Raptor Center engines in a way that still seals off Super Heavy’s aft will be even more challenging given that all nine need to be able to freely gimbal to vector their thrust, while the outer ring of 20 Raptor Boost (RB) engines are fixed in place. At pace of work established over the last few months, it will likely take SpaceX several more weeks to finish that heat shield and install seven ‘aerocovers’ over racks of sensitive equipment installed around Booster 4’s base.



Super Heavy Booster 5, on the other hand, has taken a slightly different path through assembly. Unlike Booster 4, which first rolled out as little more than a giant steel tank with Raptors half-installed, SpaceX appears to have installed most of Booster 5’s external plumbing, wiring, equipment racks, and maybe even the start of its Raptor heat shield during assembly instead of after. Perhaps as a result, SpaceX has taken more than ten weeks to stack Booster 5 versus 2.5 weeks for Booster 4. But given that Booster 4 still doesn’t appear to be complete some 18 weeks after its assembly began, there’s a chance that Booster 5 will ultimately take 4-6 weeks less to reach initial test readiness.

If SpaceX does complete Super Heavy B5 well ahead of B4’s schedule, it will soon find itself with two test-ready Starship boosters but only one orbital-class stand with which to test them, potentially forcing the company to make some interesting decisions.



https://www.teslarati.com/spacex-starship-first-two-super-heavy-boosters-progress/



  



Curt Lewis