It was on this day in 1951, barely four years after India’s independence, that Air Works commenced its pioneering business under its co-founders, aircraft engineers BG Menon and PS Menon, at the Mumbai airport.

Over the past seven decades, the company has grown into a business with one of the widest portfolios of customers and certifications in the industry. It holds accreditation to maintain more than 50 types of aircraft across commercial, business, and defence fleets, together with multiple maintenance facilities and a pan-India support network of more than 50 locations in 27 cities.

The company marked the occasion with a multi-city event that connected its offices live for the first time. Celebrations included extensive leadership engagement and a rewards and recognition for key performers and contributors.

Commenting on the historic milestone, D Anand Bhaskar, group chief executive and managing director, described a feeling of “immense pride” to be leading such an organisation. He said: “Air Works is not only regarded as an MRO institution and a reputed industry benchmark, but it has also become a manifestation of Atmanirbhar Bharat all around us.

“Much as we are enjoying and celebrating this milestone, we have already begun looking ahead eagerly and excitedly, towards the coming years when we turn 75.

“I thank our customers who have given us their trust and opportunities to assure their flights as well as greet and congratulate all our employees for their hard work, steadfastness, and innovation that has kept our engineering flag flying high over decades.”

Among its milestones, Air Works Group was India’s first privately owned, independent MRO to create an EASA-certified maintenance facility for airlines in India at Hosur, Tamil Nadu, in 2008-9, after realising the need and advantages of having an indigenous facility.

Since then, the company has expanded its maintenance capacities significantly, inaugurating a second, state-of-the-art maintenance facility at the Cochin International Airport, for both business and commercial aircraft, designed to offer added flexibility to customers, together with another dedicated facility for maintenance of large business jets such as the Embraer ERJ-135.

The company has undertaken more than 500 C-checks to date, supported by in-house EASA and DGCA-certified shops to provide comprehensive structure and composite repairs, battery support, cabin interiors, component repairs, heat exchangers, painting, and more.

This will reduce its carbon emissions and working to help grow the supply of the fuel globally. This is the company’s largest annual SAF purchase, more than 60% higher than its buy in 2023.

The blended fuel – 30% SAF made from waste by-products such as fats, oils, and greases and 70% conventional jet fuel – will support the Boeing ecoDemonstrator program and Boeing U.S. commercial operational flights.

“As our focus remains on safety and quality, sustainability continues to be a priority,” said Ryan Faucett, vice president of Environmental Sustainability at Boeing. “Sustainable aviation fuel is essential to decarbonise aviation and Boeing continues to increase its use of this fuel to encourage growth in the SAF industry. We are also working to make SAF more available and affordable to our commercial airline customers through collaboration, investment, research and policy development.”

This will help commercial aerospace manufacturing and maintenance, repair & overhaul (MRO) facilities modernise production and lower operational costs through digitalisation.

This addition to the Honeywell Forge suite further supports Honeywell’s alignment with the megatrends of advancing automation and the future of aviation.

“During a time of increasing workplace complexity and operating costs, operators need to be able to leverage data to inform critical decision making and embrace automation,” said Karen Miller, general manager, Honeywell Connected Aerospace. “As the aviation industry grapples with issues such as ageing fleets, higher maintenance costs and ongoing supply chain challenges, Honeywell Forge Performance+ for Aerospace can help organisations achieve key outcomes such as quicker turnarounds, increased asset utilisation and decreased maintenance times.” 

Aerospace manufacturing and MRO operations face several challenges regarding operations and workforces. Many of these organisations need to increase operational awareness and improve asset management, such as quickly locating assets across a site, while also lowering operational costs. Organisations also have siloed data that cannot be effectively utilised in managing their businesses due to complex assets, facilities and workforces. 

“Today’s aerospace companies need to improve their operational efficiency and gain better visibility into their assets, but disconnected and manual processes hold them back,” said Michael Rowe, Vice President Aerospace & Defense at Frost & Sullivan, a leading industry analyst firm. “A smaller MRO team may have more than 1,200 open maintenance actions to tackle. Instead of focusing initially on work that seems easiest to complete, software solutions such as Honeywell Forge Performance+ for Aerospace can enable companies to first address those tasks with the highest impact on operations that improve productivity and decrease costly downtime."

X-ray Diffraction (XRD) is a powerful inspection technology offering highly accurate material discrimination and substance identification based on an object’s molecular structure. XRD is particularly suited to detecting constantly evolving compounds in powder, liquid or solid forms, such as ‘homemade’ explosives or narcotics, even for materials with similar densities.

Multi-level baggage and material handling operations and express forwarders are under pressure to screen huge volumes quickly and efficiently. The SDX 10060 XDi can transform this process by automating the resolution of potential explosive alarms, in turn improving both security and efficiency.

Due to its exceptional sensitivity, XRD technology can also be very effectively deployed to support customs agencies in screening for a range of contraband items including narcotics, helping to mitigate ever-growing threats to society.

Jerome de Chassey, President of Smiths Detection, commented: “We are immensely excited to announce the launch of the SDX 10060 XDi which marks a new era in security screening. Every minute of every day our threat detection and security screening technology helps to protect people and infrastructure, and this new development highlights our commitment to making the world a safer place. X-ray Diffraction will future-proof operations for a large variety of sectors, and we are proud to play a pivotal role in shaping the landscape of future threat detection.”

This new route will further strengthen IndiGo’s international connectivity, with daily non-stop flights connecting the thriving capital city of United Arab Emirates to the vibrant beauty of Chandigarh. The launch of this route will provide enhanced flight options, seamless connectivity, and ease of accessibility for businessmen and travellers commuting between India and the UAE.

Vinay Malhotra, Head of Global Sales, IndiGo, said: “We are pleased to announce direct flights between Abu Dhabi and Chandigarh. This new route will offer customers increased options to travel between the UAE & North India. With the addition of these flights, IndiGo will now operate 63 weekly flights to Abu Dhabi from 9 cities in India, promoting travel, trade, tourism and fostering the abundant socio-cultural diversity between the two countries. IndiGo remains committed to delivering on its promise of affordable, on-time, courteous, and hassle-free travel experience across an unparalleled network.”

Run in conjunction with India’s Ministry of Civil Aviation and with the support of the country’s regulator, the DGCA, Aviation India and South Asia Summit and Exhibition is organised by Times Aerospace Events, who are known for the hugely successful Aviation Africa and Aviation MENA events.

Aviation INDIA Summit & Exhibition takes place at the JW Marriot in New Delhi Aerocity, on June 12-13.

With a primary focus on India’s air transport industry and under the theme ‘New India Rising’, the summit looks at how India’s air transport industry is going through a remarkable transformation with a laser-focus on long-term growth in the air and on the ground as the national economy reactivates, the middle class continues to grow and spend, and demand for air connectivity soars to new heights.

The country’s airlines, some under new ownership, with strong management teams and ambitious expansion plans, have placed orders for hundreds of single-aisles and twin-aisle jetliners to service a market with a seemingly insatiable desire for travel.

The infrastructure and resulting investment that helps deliver a customer experience to transport increasing passenger numbers is part of the story, with airports, ground service providers, MRO, business aviation operators and the entire supply chain rising to the challenge.

And it is not just India.

The summit will welcome speakers from Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and the Gulf. The event is also developed in partnership with leading associations in the region including MRO, business aviation, and training.

Also, under the theme ‘New India Rising’, the summit looks at how India’s aviation renaissance can achieve global ambitions.

With 700 expected attendees - government officials, regulators, airlines & operators and airport CEOs, major manufacturers, the training industry, and others across the whole supply chain will be in attendance and participating in the two-day discussions.

Aviation INDIA 2024, while celebrating growth, will also focus on some of the challenges and bring together speakers and participants to identify the issues and offer solutions.

MRO is one of these.

The Aviation Week Network (AWN) which produces the world’s top MRO shows in America, Europe, Asia, and the Middle East lead the discussions.

Training – AFM, the global intelligence network for the aviation training industry, will host the training segment of the show and look at how India must act if it is to meet the country’s growth targets.

Airline and Airport leaders will look at the unique challenges in the regions. Guests will include airlines from the Gulf and across the Indian subcontinent.

Global experts on sustainability plus industry leaders from manufacturers and organisations will also be involved.

“Networking events play a key role for our exhibitors, airline representatives and summit delegates,” said Times Aerospace Events managing director, Mark Brown. “There is a cocktail welcome reception taking place on 11th and a gala reception on the evening of the 12th.”

Registration and other details can be found at www.aviationindia.aero

With the addition of this new route, Vistara now connects Paris to two Indian airports – Delhi and Mumbai. This is also Vistara’s sixth long-haul direct route between India and Europe.

Vinod Kannan, chief executive officer, Vistara, said: “We are delighted to commence direct connectivity between Mumbai and Paris. This new route, in addition to our non-stop flights connecting Delhi and Paris, reflects the increasing preference of our customers to fly Vistara for seamless travel between India and France. This strategic expansion also enables us to aid the growing traffic between the two countries given the burgeoning cooperation across sectors including trade, investment, science, technology, and academia. We are confident that customers will appreciate the choice of flying India’s best airline on this additional route, that further solidifies our presence in Europe.”

The report will assist airlines, regulators, and the airline supply chain to mitigate the environmental impacts of single use plastic products (SUPP).

This publication is timely as the United National Environmental Program (UNEP) has convened an intergovernmental negotiating committee (INC) to develop an international legally binding agreement on SUPP use by the end of 2024.

SUPP are widely used in aviation due to their strength, lightness, and ability to meet safety and security regulations. However, the airline sector faces challenges associated with improved cabin waste performance and the replacement of SUPP with sustainable alternatives. In addition, airlines face technical and operational obstacles, and the lack of harmonised and risk-based regulations presents a significant barrier to improving recycling and circularity of waste management. The absence of smart regulation continues to constrain airline efforts to improve the sustainability of cabin operations.

Collaboration across the aviation value chain is vital to enable the adoption of circular economy principles and to facilitate the reduction and replacement of SUPP that is necessary for reducing waste and increasing material recovery.

The report advocates for a sectoral approach to managing SUPP in aviation with a clear set of recommendations. Key recommendations include:

For airlines:

•    Reduce waste at source by reviewing standards and procedures through the lens of waste reduction and reuse, and professionally assess the need for SUPP. Set clear targets for the elimination, measurement, and tracking implementation, and disclose progress.

•    Introduce reusable items as a strategy to drive circularity. This requires logistical changes that incorporate a closed-loop service, including the impact of potential added weight of reusables on aircraft on fuel burn and carbon emissions.

•    Improve waste management and recovery by facilitating onboard and ground waste segregation and undertaking waste composition audits for passenger and cargo operations.

For regulators:

•    Proactively encourage the minimisation of SUPP by addressing the need for simple harmonised regulations and legislation. Develop guidance that allows for global common definitions and standards for alternative products that include labelling, integrity and certifications.

•    Create the infrastructure and frameworks that will make reuse models possible, while being aware of and responsive to the characteristics of international airline operations.

•    Endorse a clear methodology and the sharing of good practices as essential to ensuring that segregation processes are efficient and effective.

•    Support the development of infrastructure for waste segregation and recovery at or close to airport premises.

For the supply chain:

•    Take part in or organise solution-focused discussions involving key stakeholders, to help identify and implement process changes that prioritise end-to-end solutions that ensure best practices and promote regulatory change.

•     Increase public/private sector collaboration and significant investments to implement circular economy principles in the airline sector value chain to enable considerable changes to processes and procedures for stakeholders both upstream and downstream.

"Airlines are taking a comprehensive approach to sustainability that includes addressing the environmental impact of SUPP. The recommendations of this report will help airlines, regulators and the supply chain to manage the complexities of reducing SUPP. This includes finding alternatives to SUPP, creating a harmonised regulatory framework, and promoting sector-wide collaboration. Importantly, these recommendations take advantage of the expertise of all participants in the aviation sector to develop, adapt and implement the solutions best suited to an aircraft’s unique environment,” said Marie Owens Thomsen, IATA SVP sustainability and chief economist.

The G700 cabin supplemental type certifications officially approve the interior outfitting of the G700 and its cabin air purification system.

The new production and interior supplemental type certifications further clear the G700 for customer deliveries and entry into service.

“Receiving these additional clearances so quickly on the heels of FAA type certification showcases how mature the G700 program is,” said Mark Burns, president, Gulfstream. “Thanks to the investments made in advanced manufacturing and interior innovations, operators will benefit from the industry leading quality, fit and finish of the G700. We look forward to our customers experiencing first-hand the cabin comfort and performance capabilities of this fine aircraft.”

The Embraer team flew the E-Freighter jet for around two hours, carrying out a complete evaluation of the aircraft, which will continue testing before entering operation. The aircraft belongs to Regional One, a leasing company from the United States.

“The E-Freighter programme opens a new business opportunity for Embraer, meeting e-commerce’s growing global demand for cargo transport and matching the high-tech E-Jets family to an unbeatable operational performance,” says Francisco Gomes Neto, President and CEO of Embraer. “We are very pleased with E190F’s and E195F’s fast progress during the testing period. These jets will be important tools for our customers and allow them to work with more agile and decentralised deliveries.”

The first flight is part of a series of evaluations that Embraer is conducting before the E-Freighter jets enter into operation. The aircraft has already been successful in both ground pressurisation and cargo loading tests.

E-Jets converted to freighters will have over 50% more volume capacity, three times the range of large cargo turboprops, and up to 30% lower operating costs than narrowbodies. If combining capacity under the floor and main deck, the maximum structural payload is 13,500 kg for the E190F and 14,300 kg for the E195F.