Corporate watch: Paramount Group takes off with new aircraft
The ‘Ahrlac’ jet may not be an aircraft that you have heard of, but it has its place in aerospace history: it’s the first defence aircraft to be completely designed and manufactured in Africa.
Ivor Ichikowitz, founder and chief executive of its maker, Paramount Group, says proudly: “It’s 100-per-cent homegrown – it’s a big story for Africa, for realising that we don’t have to rely on the west to do things.” Continue reading »
Hungary: Kosovo relations sky high
Hungarian diplomatic successes are rather scarce on the ground these days – Budapest has contrived to upset neighbours to east and west of late.
But Tuesday’s announcement that Hungarian air traffic control (ATC) is to direct the upper air space of Kosovo appears a genuine achievement, even if the Magyar Nemzet headline “We occupy Kosovo airspace” might appear a little triumphalist. Continue reading »
Indonesia: Sukhoi passenger jet lost
Dreadful news for the Russian aviation industry. A Sukhoi SuperJet 100, the first new Russian passenger plane since the collapse of communism, went missing on Wednesday during a promotional flight in Indonesia with 50 people on board.
Reuters reported thathe plane disappeared from the radar over high ground in west Java. Searchers have yet to establish what has happened to it – but they fear the worst. The Sukhoi was on a six-day marketing trip in Asia. Continue reading »
Video: Finn-Air entertainment
More than half a century since the Constitution of India came into force, it’s no surprise that the Republic Day celebrations have taken on a distinctly modern twist: this year, a Youtube video with 3m hits (and counting).
What is surprising is that the video came from a Finnish airline.
Space: the final frontier… for Indian financial scandal
Call it one small step for man, one giant leap for financial scandal.
As people close to the government told beyondbrics, a government-backed panel has recommended that ministers should ban the former head of India’s space programme, Madhavan Nair, and three other eminent former space scientists from government jobs. The panel has alleged that the four were involved in the leasing of underpriced space spectrum to private telecom operators.
Nair has denied any wrongdoing and has vowed to fight to clear his name. Continue reading »
Chart of the week: Russian air safety
As economies grow, so does their need to move goods and people about – by road, rail, and of course air. But with transport comes safety concerns. Where is it safest to fly among in EMs? And is Russia as dangerous as many stories this year have suggested?
Chart of the week looks at the safety records of some of the bigger emerging markets. It’s not as clear cut as you might think. Continue reading »
Kingfisher: a new day?
By Neil Munshi and James Fontanella-Khan
Looks like the market, at least provisionally, is ready to believe in the King of the Good Times again. Now they have more to think about, as the embattled Indian billionaire tells the FT he is close to sealing a last-minute deal to keep his debt-ridden Kingfisher Airlines airborne. Continue reading »
Kingfisher: has this bird flown?
By Neil Munshi and James Fontanella-Khan
Is it time for the ‘King of Good Times’ to come down to earth?
Or will India’s government swoop in to save his majesty from some decidedly bad times? Continue reading »
Airlines: courting the Middle East
The news that fast-growing airline Emirates will buy 50 Boeing 777s for $18bn – with options for a further $8bn-worth – has set the tone at the start of the Dubai air show.
But as the FT reports on Monday in an aerospace special report, the Gulf is not only where the show is – rival airlines from the region are the hot growth prospects for the whole industry. Continue reading »
Kingfisher: on the brink
The ‘king of the good times’ has fallen on hard times.
Kingfisher Airlines, the creation of Vijay Mallya (pictured), India’s billionaire liquor baron and self-styled “King”, is so massively in debt that analysts told beyondbrics they wouldn’t be surprised if it went into bankruptcy or even ceased operations, potentially as early as next week when the airline is due to release quarterly results. Continue reading »
Jetstar looks for closer ties with Vietnam Airlines
Jetstar, the low-cost arm of Australian flag carrier Qantas, has had a turbulent time in Vietnam, afflicted variously by a police investigation into senior executives and disputes over payments for fuel and the use of its brand, which have culminated in the need for a cash injection.
But things could be looking up: Jetstar is in advanced talks that would see it tie up with state-owned monolith Vietnam Airlines, according to three people familiar with the situation. Continue reading »
China: postcards from Phuket
Fears of a global slowdown affecting China may be growing, but that’s not stopping the estimated 2.2m Chinese nationals enjoying their National Day vacation abroad.
The official China Tourism Academy says a rise in the value of the renminbi, relaxation of visa requirements and new flight routes are likely to generate a “double-digit” growth in the number of people who have left the country for so-called “golden week” – one of the two seven-day annual holidays in China. Continue reading »
Emirates: powering ahead?
If Dubai’s emergence as a regional trade hub was founded on its creek, its emergence as a global transportation centre is rooted in its busy airport and fast-growing airline, Emirates.
Boston Consulting Group has issued a report arguing that, at its current rate of expansion, Emirates will become the world’s biggest wide-body carrier by 2015. Its regional competitors, Etihad of Abu Dhabi and Qatar Airways, won’t be far off the top 20. But BCG warns that turbulence will increase as they boost their long-haul operations in an increasingly competitive international market. Continue reading »
Mahindra: flying high?
With apologies to Neil Armstrong: It was one small step for a light aircraft; one giant leap for Indian aerospace. That, at least, is what industrial magnate Anand Mahindra would have us believe, as the C-NM5, a five-seater aircraft that he hailed as “our first indigenous effort” made its maiden flight on Wednesday.
But the eurphoria – while understandable – may be misplaced, and not only because there is a big Australian component to the new aircraft’s technology. Analysts say a lack of aviation infrastructure and competitive pricing of road and rail services will hamper the plane’s attempts to break into the as-yet-intapped Indian market for small aircraft. Continue reading »
Paris Air Show 2011: big orders or just big ideas?
It was a monster Paris Air Show for Airbus. The French-based airline manufacturer logged orders and commitments for 730 airliners worth more than $72bn, including 667 for its flagship A320neo.
The biggest buyers were from emerging markets, including Air Asia, the fast-growing Malaysian airline, which said it would buy 200 aircraft. As our chart from Airbus’s rival Boeing shows (after the break), the industry is pinning its hopes on EMs as developed markets slow down. But it is not all clear skies ahead. Continue reading »
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