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A significant announcement on the eve of the
air show was the permission to foreign airlines
to operate Airbus A 380 to India, and Emirates,
which brought this big bird here for display,
indicated that it would set the process in motion.
Details were not available.
Ashok Lavsa in his opening address pointed
out though that there was increasing liberalisation
and deregulation of the aviation industry, and
that with the resulting entry of more and more
private players in the civil aviation sector,
India has registered a remarkable growth in this
sector.
He predicted a year on year growth of 13 per
cent in the passenger sector and 10 per cent in
air cargo sector in the coming 10 years. This
would propel India from the current 9th position
to 3rd largest civil aviation market in a decade
from now. He also spoke about a slew of measures
being taken by the Centre and the state governments.
Acquisition of aircraft being made easy by both
scheduled and non-scheduled operators, infusion
of FDI into civil aviation sector, flexi-use of
air space by both the civil and military operators
in the country were some of the steps taken by
the ministry of civil aviation to spur growth
in this sector in the country. Some of the state
governments have also pitched in to give boost
to air travel in their respective states. For
Example West Bengal has reduced VAT on ATF at
some select air ports such as Baghdogra etc, within
the state to zero percent as an incentive for
greater tourism in that part of the state. In
addition, some other states are taking pro-active
steps to improve intra-state air connectivity.
This year’s ‘Guest Country’
representative, the French Ambassador Francois
Ritcher in his address emphasised how the time-tested
partnership between the two countries in the aerospace
sector is poised to be taken to the next higher
level. He stated France is perhaps the only country
in the world which not only produces some of the
best aircraft in the world but also the engines
and the avionics. He applauded the civil aviation
ministry for removing the ban on the operation
of world’s largest civil aviation aircraft
Airbus A380 produced in France and said this would
further cement relations between the two countries
in the aerospace sector. Incidentally, an Airbus
A380, also called the ‘Jolly Giant’
of Emirates Airlines made a first time appearance
in Begumpet skies.
The ‘Partner Country’ of this year
was represented by the USA whose Trade and Development
Agency Director, Locadia I. Zak stressed on how
the US-India aviation cooperation programme started
eight years ago has blossomed into a full-fledged
partnership with both countries sharing a common
destiny.
Governor Narasimhan in his address said he
was happy to note ‘India Aviation’ had
found a permanent home in his state and welcomed
all the participating guests. He said more than
$90 billion are envisaged to be spent in the civil
aviation sector in India in the coming decade
and urged all participants to make full use of
this opportunity.
Quoting copiously from Wright Brothers to Bernard
Shaw, the Civil Aviation Minister, Ajit Singh
re-emphasised the robustness of the civil aviation
sector in India and said the country was poised
to reach a figure of 336 million domestic and
85 million international passengers in the coming
decade with the number of airliners rising from
the present 400 to 1,000 by the year 2020.
A postage stamp with ‘Special Cover’
was released during the inauguration ceremony
to mark the event. But, the toast of the entire
ceremony was the official signing of the deal
of 42 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft being acquired by
the Indian carrier Spice Jet. The deal is worth
$4.2 billion (`26,000 crore at current dollar/rupee
exchange rate) and created history by being the
first such deal ever to be inked during the India
Aviation Show. Ajit Singh later visited the exhibition
halls with his entourage while the otherwise meager
air display had a daredevil pair of British champions
Mark Jefferies and Tom Cassels of the UK-based
Global Stars Aerobatic team enthralling the spectators
with their aerial stunts. On static display were
close to 20 aircraft including the Boeing 787
Dreamliner at one end. But the business jets and
other smaller aircraft were obviously dwarfed
by the magnificent Airbus A380 at the opposite
end.
A LOT OF BONHOMIE AND
SOME DEALS
The subsequent days witnessed a lot of interaction
at all levels, including a well-attended seminar
on the second day with focus on boosting regional
connectivity. It was stated that country-wide
50 additional airports have been identified for
low-cost development to bring these on the civil
aviation map of India. That India has the potential
to become the third largest aviation market by
2020 and the largest by 2030 was also echoed by
the FICCI-KPMG combined in their report ‘Indian
Aviation 2014’ report launched by them during
the Show.
According to the report, the Indian civil aviation
industry is on a high growth trajectory, albeit
with minor hiccups. The industry has ushered in
a new wave of expansion driven by ‘Low Cost
Carriers’ (LCC), modern airports, ‘Foreign
Direct Investments’ (FDI) in domestic airlines,
cutting-edge ‘Information Technology’
(IT) interventions and a growing emphasis on ‘No-Frills
Airports’ (NFA) and regional connectivity.
However, the report noted that a lot more needs
to be done, as several Tier 2/3 cities are still
unconnected or underserved. Corrective measures
to be adopted involve relaxation on regulations,
revising the security requirements, allowing domestic
code sharing, providing free or discounted utilities
and connecting infrastructure. In this context,
the proposed ‘Essential Air Services Fund’
(EASF) by Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) needs
to be set up immediately.
Air Works India Engineering Pvt. Ltd, India’s
leading third party MRO company signed some important
contracts during the show. In a first overseas
win for any General Aviation MRO in India, ‘Air
Works’ was appointed by Dana Executive Jets,
a private jet charter and aircraft management
company wholly owned by the Government of Ras
Al Khaimah, UAE, to provide maintenance support
for line and base maintenance for its fleet of
aircraft. In another contract, it signed an agreement
with EMTEQ, a global aerospace company. With this
agreement, Air Works will now make it easier for
EMTEQ’s products to be available to operators
across India.
Another feather in the Air Works’ cap
was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) with Embraer Executive Jets for it to provide
full maintenance support to the Legacy 500 and
Legacy 450 customers in India.The agreement has
come ahead of the Legacy 500 mid-size jet’s
entry into service in the first half of 2014.
The Legacy 450 mid-light jet’s certification
is expected by mid-2015.
CONCLUSION
After the first three so-called business days,
the show was thrown open to the general public
on March 15 and 16, which came in throngs to see
the stalls and the dare-devilry of the British
stunt pilots. The show ended on high hopes of
continuous growth of civil aviation sector in
India with much greater business opportunities
in the coming years. The next ‘India Aviation’
show has been fixed to be held from March 16 to
20, 2016.
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