Farnborough Airshow marks 60th Anniversary

It is considered to be the greatest aircraft show on earth. Come July 14th and UK's Farnborough airfield will be home to more than 140,000 trade and 16,000 public visitors as the air show celebrates its 60th birthday. Farnborough International has long enjoyed a reputation as a unique, world-class showcase and marketplace for the global aerospace industry, a fact which has been appreciated by the emerging Asian Pacific markets. A report.

At the 2008 show, organizers are looking to welcoming leading brands from the region. The 2006 show was attended by significant Australian, Singaporean, Chinese and Indian aerospace companies. The Chinese contingent has trebled for the 2008 show.

As the Farnborough International Airshow 2008 celebrates six decades in Hampshire in mid-July, the show is on schedule to be the biggest event ever in the airshow's history in terms of exhibition space and exhibitor presence.

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AIRSPACE & SECURITY - Aviation boom throws up concerns at Dubai Airport Show

While the Gulf region booms with airport modernization and building activity and air traffic in the region takes a quantum leap, there are concerns regarding airspace management and security. Amitabh Joshi looks at the double-edged aviation boom in the Gulf region and the strategic problems being thrown up as well as the solutions being worked out.

Congested airspace, restricted flight paths and dated technical systems could undermine the potential of mega airports in the UAE and other parts of the Middle East, industry experts warned at the Air Traffic Control conference held in Dubai in the first week of June.

Two senior representatives of one of the world's leading air navigation services providers said precise strategic planning was vital for the new generation of international airports in the region to overcome major threats to their effectiveness.

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Race To Explore MOON

Though moon, the nearest neighbour of the spaceship earth, has been the focal point of more than 40 unmanned probes — in addition to 12 astronauts having walked on its surface — many aspects of the moon including its evolution remain far from well understood. Moreover, the exciting possibility of finding resources like water and helium in the entrails of moon is spurring major space faring nations to go back to moon. American space agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has already hinted that moon could be an ideal base for launching manned expeditions to the red planet Mars. India on its part, as a leading space power, had made it clear that the country is not willing to be left behind in the race to explore the moon with an eye firmly set on mining its resources in the foreseeable future. However, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is yet to come out with clear cut ideas on the futuristic Indian manned missions to moon as a prelude to the setting up of an Indian base on the lunar surface.

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Exploring the Uncharted

Since the dawn of mankind 'flight' has always intrigued the human mind and its conquest has been a persistant goal. All manner of gadgetry to imitate the bird in flight have been attempted much to the chagrin of these early thinkers and at times with much pain. The twentieth century saw the birth of powered aviation and its evolution from simple floating airborne platforms, at the mercy of the weather and the winds, to some of the most complex machinery that human endeavour has designed. Aeroplanes have since engaged human imagination throughout the last century and one wonders if developments in any other field have been as rapid or technology intensive. Military aviation has also given that glimmer of hope to those who dreamt of transcending the atmosphere and opening up space as the next frontier. Of course the two great wars of the twentieth century have driven most of aviation technology developments, and consequently the military industrial complexes of the developed world are some of the greatest money spinners that exist today. Because of the glamour and elan attached to aviation as an activity it has attracted some of the best minds of the twentieth century and indeed continues to do so. The loss of human lives essentially in military aviation, and the immense cost of aeroplanes has attracted continuing attention towards optimising both costs in money and lives. One of the ways has been to try taking the man out of the machine. Enter pilotless drones, remotely piloted vehicles ( RPV's ) and unmanned aerial vehicles ( UAV's ). Today the world has moved on to even unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAV's) Micro UAV's (MUAV) and even Morphing Micro UAVs (MMUAV).

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Airline Operational Risk Management Using IATA's Safety Audit Standard

The IOSA-standard initiated by IATA is designed to assess operational safety management of airline operators. It provides the standards, recommended practices and supporting information necessary for an airline to successfully achieve high safety standards [1]. All IATA member airlines must be certified to this new standard in order to operate internationally within the jurisdiction of IATA. In this article, we look at clauses within each section of the IOSA-standard that serve as tools to manage airline operators safety related risks.

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Business Jets can just about raise the bubbly

Given the economic slowdown in the U.S. which in turn has impacted the economies of many other countries and high fuel prices worldwide which have turned US$140, industry officials are reviewing the business aviation market will be impacted.

Airline officials reckon that there have been no cancellation of orders even from the US, giving rise to positive indicators. Nearly 1.,250 business aircraft costing around US$20 billion are likely to be delivered this year with further growth continuing into 2009 and 2010, based on previous orders.

Aviation officials adds that prices on used aircraft are also decreasing. Although officials feared a downturn last year because of the impact of the financial crisis, all indicators now are that it will not occur.

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Carbon offsetting should be voluntary

A carbon offset 'neutralises' a tonne of CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent) emitted in one place by avoiding the release of a tonne of CO2e elsewhere or absorbing/sequestering a tonne of CO2e that would otherwise be emitted or have remained in the atmosphere. Carbon offsets can be created through various types of projects, such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, destruction of various industrial gases, and carbon capture and storage underground or in soils and forests. A project does not necessarily have to offset carbon dioxide but can also offset a variety of other greenhouse gases (GHGs).

The pressure on airlines to tackle the environmental impact of aviation is now inexorable. Airlines are becoming increasingly concerned that measures proposed to be taken to curb emissions will be disproportionate (exaggerating aviation's contribution) and politically motivated.

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Airfares soar, Growth dives

With two of India's seven airlines raising fares data on air passenger growth plunged to 6.8% in May from a 35.7% growth rate in the same month in 2007. With summer holidays nearly over, Airline executives forecast the number of passengers may even be less.

The domestic market share of major airlines like Air India and Jet Airways have declined last month, even as the passengers carried by all the carriers recorded a growth of over 9 per cent as against a healthy 30% in the same period last year.

Jet Airways (India) Ltd, said it was setting a minimum base fare, a component of what air passengers pay for tickets and the previous base fare, depending on when the ticket is purchased and the destination. It was as low as Rs 500 for Jet. And is now Rs 1,000 on routes less than 750km; Rs 2,250 on travel between 750km and 1,000km; and Rs 3,000 on all other flights. Other components of a ticket are levies on airport use and aviation fuel, which add up to Rs 3,275 on a flight over 1,000 km.

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New projects worth Rs 6,516-cr to ease traffic congestion to Bangalore Airport

The new government in Karnataka has given a green signal to implement two infrastructure projects with investments totalling Rs 6,516 crore. The move will significantly ease traffic congestion in India's IT hub, Bangalore.

The city will have a Rs 3,716 crore High-Speed Rail Link (HSRL) to the Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL) and two elevated corridors costing Rs 2,800 crore. According to government sources, global tender inviting Expression of Interest (EoI) for HSRL would be floated in a fortnight's time while for elevated corridors open bids will be invited in two months period.

The high-speed rail project, prepared by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) as a consultant for the Infrastructure Development Department (IDD) of the Karnataka government, proposes to transport passengers to the international airport located 37 km away from Bangalore City in 25 minutes. The project is seen as the only remedy to the concerns of accessibility to the international airport.

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Impact of Growth in MRO Outsourcing on Aviation Safety

MRO (maintenance, repair and overhaul) outsourcing is an inevitable reality in the Aviation World today. For years, airline operators have outsourced maintenance to both domestic and foreign repair facilities. Sushant Deb takes an in-depth look at options and opportunities that they provide.

Those facilities did the jobs for less cost and even provided services in areas such as engine repairs that would otherwise require airline operators to invest heavily on specialised equipment as well as skilled manpower. They used to outsource their engine works to OEMs because of product warranties and manufacturing expertise. However, this is changing; external MROs are taking bigger role in this area. During the 10 year period 1996-2006, airline operators' outsourced maintenance increased from 37% to almost 65% ($3.7 billion vs. $5.7 billion) according to U.S. DOT Form 41 Schedule P-52 reports. Many of the MROs are operating from outside USA. Nearly 65% of today's MRO segment is split between North America and Western Europe (http://aerostrategy.com/speeches/speech_58pdf 'Air Transport MRO Market Outlook' by Kevin Michaels, April 2007). It is expected that the Asia-Pacific region will play a major role within the MRO segment over the next 20 years since almost 40% of air traffic will be to, from and within those areas.

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