Interviews

As India’s biggest independent MRO, Air Works Group in its seven decades of presence has come a long way transforming the Aviation MRO capabilities of the nation. As the outset of 74th year of presence, Mr. Anand Bhaskar, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Air Works in an exclusive interview with Vishal Kashyap, Managing Editor, Aviation World shares his views on various key aspects related to the Indian MRO ecosystem. Q: 73 years of presence in Aviation MRO Business. Your views on the historic milestone of Air Works Family? A: Air Works was founded in Mumbai on 16th April 1951 by 2 close friends – (Late) Mr. BG Menon and (Late) Mr. PS Menon –aircraft engineers, who worked with Indian National Airways at the time and were extremely passionate about aviation. At Air Works, we celebrate this day as our Founders’ Day. And our recent Founders’ Day was indeed a poignant moment for the entire Air Works family, as we take strides towards completing 74 years next and achieving the magical 75 number. The milestone is especially important for us and for Indian aviation, considering that only a few select brands – perhaps an Air India, who’ve stayed relevant and reached this iconic landmark.Through you, I take this opportunity to express our gratitude to our customers, our employees, our partners and all our well-wishers who’ve been supporting and inspiring us over these past decades. Beginning with Dakota DC-3s and Twin-Beech aircraft of leading industrialists,we’ve come a long way, where our customer portfolio today covers every aviation segment – Business, Commercial, Cargo and Defense, supported by a pan-India network and strong logistics relationships, that ensure that our customers can rely on us 100%. Even with reference to capabilities, we have come a long way after setting up India’s first independent EASA certified based maintenance facility in 2009. Today, Air Works Group is India’s biggest independent line maintenance service provider, assuring close to 40,000 flights annually, which translates into 1 out of every 3 flights of foreign carriers taking off anywhere in India. I consider myself blessed to have been part of the Group’s journey, including also driving its destiny in part, especially during the unprecedented pandemic period. Looking ahead, the rapidly transforming civil aviation sector continues to bring attractive opportunities and by virtue of our values, we remain confident of addressing them to stay relevant for our customers and become India’s first independent MRO to eventually reach the 100 Year milestone. Q: Indian Aviation has witnessed a sea change in last few years in a holistic way. How do you see this transformation? A: The ongoing transformation driven primarily by enhancements in airport infrastructure, technology adoption, huge aircraft and engine orders, as well as the entry of larger businesses has definitely expanded the size and visibility of the sector. It has also added scale, and all this is indeed a welcome and a much-awaited change since it also heralds opportunities for MRO and other related aviation services. However, more needs to be done to become Atmanirbhar as is our overarching ambition as a country. From an MRO perspective, some of the priorities include, a strong need to expand Business aviation including enhancing the role of helicopters in our economy, reduction taxes and duty structures – for the interim – to a level that enables indigenous MRO to compete with pre-existing regional maintenance hubs and attract business as well as support capability building, increase collaboration between civil and defense verticals to realize scale and efficiencies in MRO, as well as facilitate the creation of component manufacturing and repair ecosystem within the country to realize our national ambition of Viksit Bharat. Equally importantly, we also need to harmonize our regulatory ecosystem with the prevailing global one for standardization, easier compliance and faster decision making. It is critical that India does not lose the ongoing momentum that has been created with great difficulty and with considerable effort to ensure that we catch up with the larger global developments. Q: What are the significant steps being taken by the government to strengthen the Indian MRO sector? A: I admire and appreciate the Govt. for taking several steps over the last decade to transform the sector, which to varying extent, have facilitated the sector’s evolution. Policy changes for various sub-sectors such as Ground handling/ MROs / Airlines/ Cargo operators/ NSOPs/ Security set up/ Airports/ Regulatory ecosystem/ aircraft financing/ Manpower training/ ATCs/ FAL setups/ Airspace harmonization – have all been steps in the right direction and have been welcome. The industry recognizes that Rome was not built in a day and that it does take time to change or undo historical measures that were perhaps relevant for the time when they were taken. The more important need as I mentioned above, is to continue this momentum for another decade. Given that the aviation world around us has been evolving in parallel and we’re trying to catch up with the market, we obviously have to move faster than we have done earlier, to be able to achieve what we wish to realize. Q: We often hear that Indian MRO ecosystem has still not nurtured upto its maximum capacity. What are the bottlenecks? A: India is primarily an Airframe MRO market, geared to handle maintenance of narrow body aircraft that comprise 70% of our domestic fleet, which isexpected further increase to 80% as per some reports over time.Indian MROs have sufficient capability and capacity to manage the needs of domestic as well as regional fleet from APAC and the Middle East to some extent, in that context. However, capacities and capabilities to do wide body checks – need to be added in time, as the induction of wide body aircraft gradually occurs. While the country is also good and sufficient in Line Maintenance, emerging and more lucrative areas of the value chain such as Component and Engine MRO remain outside the reach of most indigenous MROs, due to several bottlenecks, some of which include: (a) High Capex requirements,

Jet Blast Deflectors contribute to overall airport efficiency by allowing for more compact and flexible airport designs… With the growing number of airports and airlines, it is important to take some decisive steps towards efficient operations and maintain standard safety zones which is directly impacted by the Jet Blast. To understand more about the Jet Blast impact and how it can be curtailed,Vishal Kashyap, Managing Editor, Aviation World speaks with Mr. Sameer Khale, Director, Sheetala Infrastructure Consultancy Pvt. Ltd which has successfully installed JBDs at prominent Indian Airports. Excerpts… Q: What are International regulatory norms for installation of Jet Blast Deflector (JBD) at airports? A: While there are no specific international regulatory norms governing the installation of JBDs at airports, various aviation authorities and regulatory bodies worldwide may have guidelines or recommendations regarding their use. Organizations like the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) provide general standards and best practices for airport operations, which may include considerations for mitigating jet blast effects. However, the specifics of JBD installation may vary by country or region. In many cases, the installation of JBDs at airports is mandated by national or local aviation authorities or regulatory officials. These authorities may require airports to install JBDs based on factors such as airport layout, proximity to sensitive areas, aircraft types operating at the airport, and safety considerations. While regulations often dictate the need for JBDs, it is typically the responsibility of airport operators to ensure compliance with these requirements. In conclusion, while there may not be specific international regulatory norms for JBD installation, the decision to install Jet Blast Deflectors at airports is often influenced by a combination of regulatory requirements, safety considerations, and operational needs. Q: Is it the choice of airport operators or mandated by the respective governments or regulatory officials to install this system? A: The decision to install JBDs is often influenced by a combination of regulatory requirements, safety considerations, operational needs, and financial feasibility. Airport operators may work closely with regulatory authorities, aviation consultants, and engineering firms to assess the need for JBDs, plan their installation, and ensure that they meet regulatory standards. They may also consider factors such as airport layout, traffic patterns, aircraft types, and safety assessments when deciding to install JBDs. The presence of a JBD allows airports to design their layout more efficiently. Without a JBD, airports would need to maintain greater distances between runways, taxiways and other infrastructure to account for the safety concerns associated with jet blasts. The redirection of the exhaust by the JBD means that these safety zones can be reduced, optimizing the use of available space. This efficient layout design is particularly crucial at busy airports where maximizing the number of runways and taxiways is essential for accommodating the high volume of air traffic. In summary, Jet Blast Deflectors contribute to overall airport efficiency by allowing for more compact and flexible airport designs while ensuring the safety of surrounding areas. Q: How does the system works in terms of deflating the impact of jet blast? A: A JBD is an inclined steel structure which fully diverts the high energy jet blast upwards thus protecting the area behind. The angle of the JBD has to be such that the entire blast is diverted upwards but no turbulence is formed due to the negative pressure which may have been generated by the jet blast. JBDs are required in 2 places; at airports and by MROs. It is mandatory for all engine MROs to have a JBD. The jet blast can reach speeds of upto 240 kmph which can be extremely dangerous for personal present at the airports, for equipment as well as nearby structures. Also, any wind speed above 56kmph is considered dangerous and should be mitigated appropriately. The use of a JBD increases the efficiency of the airport by allowing more flexible use of the available space. Q: In terms of percentage, how impactful this process is in terms of minimizing the jet blast impact? A: The impact is 100%. The JBD fully diverts the jet blast upwards, making the area behind, completely safe, for personnel and equipment. Q: As mentioned in your report, already few airports in India have taken this service. Any data you may share in terms of pre-post impact at these airports? A: Generally JBDs are planned in advance when the airport is being constructed or going for expansion For Eg: Navi Mumbai is going for 3 JBDs during construction stage itself; Cochin airport has 2 JBDs and now they want 2 more for their T3 expansion. Q: How big this segment is when you see the growing number of airports in India and overseas? A: Demand is just picking up and with the kind of exponential growth in the Indian aviation sector,I anticipate that 100 to 120 JBDs will be needed in the next 7 to 8 years in India alone. A similar number will be needed for Asia-Pacific and Africa. Q: What are the future projects in terms of number of airports you will target globally? A: Our product is at par with the Market leader with a much lower cost. We are considered as among the top 5 JBD manufacturers in the world by various market research websites. We are targeting the Indian, asia pacific and African region. Q;How does the production works? Is it based on the demand and what’s about the capacity? A: We design all JBDs as per the specific requirement and situation of that particular airport. All our JBDs are totally bolted structures. Sheetala Infrastructure specializes in completely bolted custom designed Jet Blast Deflector systems. Welding is not used at all thus greatly reducing the power consumption and eliminating the gases that would have been generated during welding. The reduced energy consumption during manufacturing, ease of disassembly for recycling, and flexibility for modifications make bolted steel structures a more environmentally friendly option compared to welded structures.We have enough capacity to carry out production of several JBDs simultaneously.  

Ramco Aviation recently signed a deal with Korean Air to implement Aviation suite & software solutions. To brief more about the current project as well as update on  other business plans, Saravanan Rajarajan S,Director – Aviation Solution Consulting, Ramco Systems, interacted with Vishal Kashyap, Managing Editor, Aviation World. Q: Kindly brief about the current deal with Korean Air’s Engine Maintenance Center at Incheon? A: Korean Air recently announced the construction of new engine maintenance MRO complex in Unbuk, near Incheon International Airport, which is slated to open in 2027. This complex will be the largest of its kind in Asia. Korean Air has previously managed its engine maintenance at its Bucheon facility, complemented by final performance testing at the ETC in Unbuk. The engine maintenance cluster will streamline the entire process with a strategic consolidation, enhancing operational efficiency by streamlining all the engine maintenance phases to a centralized site. Korean Air is also set to significantly enhance its aircraft engine maintenance capability from servicing 100 engines to 360 annually, across a broader spectrum of engine types. Currently, the airline conducts overhauls on six engine models, including Pratt & Whitney’s PW4000 and GTF; CFM International’s CFM56; and General Electric’s GE90-115B. The expansion includes adding three more engine models to its portfolio, including GE’s GEnx and CFMI’s LEAP-1B. Implementing Ramco’s Aviation Software will form a backbone to streamline Engine Maintenance operations across current engine shops and planned expansion sites, replacing multiple legacy systems to unify operations across the Engineering, Production, and Supply Chain functions. In addition, Korean Air will also benefit from digital enablers such as Mobility apps for Mechanics, Warehouse clerks, and E-Pubs to manage digital documents from OEMs. Q: The big number of aircraft orders in India has proved to be boon for the MRO industry. How do you see the potential of Ramco solutions in this growing aviation market? A: Currently, only 15 to 20 percent of the MRO work of Indian carriers is done within India, with the rest serviced overseas. With the large orders from Indian carriers, there is an opportunity for Indian Airframe, Engine, and Component MRO providers to grow their business. Ramco has a strong presence in the Indian MRO segment; two of the largest MROs in India, AIESL and GMR, have been our long-term customers. In addition, Ramco Aviation Software is deployed at various global sites catering to all lines of business. New MROs will need a strong digital backbone to enhance operational efficiency, productivity, and customer satisfaction. Ramco Aviation Software has a strong offering for the industry. Q: MRO as one of the key segment for Ramco Aviation, what are the unique and differentiated offer being made in this space? A: Ramco Aviation Software’s core function is managing continuous airworthiness and work execution from lines, hangars, and shops, as well as inventory and procurement, customer services, and quality control. The Solution helps digitally transform complex MRO processes. The integrated solution also helps in a wide range of functions, from Workscope induction to customer delivery and invoicing. Advanced capabilities, such as digital task cards, kitting and due parts tracking, mobility-based work execution, critical path, and turnaround time (TAT) management, help eliminate paper and inefficiencies. Other key advantages of Ramco Aviation Software apart from its integrated nature is through: Digitalization of OEM documents: The solution can process PDF-based and XML/SGML-based technical documents. Also, with its Direct EDI capabilities, it can access the OEM’s technical documentation library from the place of work through secure logins and API interfaces. This increases the operational efficiencies, by reducing the time and effort required to process the technical contents. Smart automation: Aviation maintenance processes generate a wealth of data pertaining to the aircraft engine defects, parts consumed, labor hours, elapsed time to carry out the repair and overhaul procedure. Accumulated over time, this data can become a goldmine of information to gain insights. Ramco, with its AI/ML capabilities, derives the insights in all key processes such as work scope planning & estimation, production planning & scheduling, and other supply chain aspects, automating core operations, helping customers gain an edge over the competition. Mobility-enabled shop floor work execution:Ramco’s Mechanic Anywhere mobile app helps the mechanics book time, report findings and record measurements, request parts and tools, and access the technical documents from the place of work. With the required regulatory approvals that are easily acquired through mobile apps, task and work compliance can be complied with digital e-signoff. Ecosystem Integration:Seamless flow of data between the ecosystem partners such as suppliers, customers, shipping partners and banking systems is essential for augmenting operational efficiency. Ramco’s MRO solution enables a robust customer ecosystem through customer portal, bots and EDI connectivity thus providing the dual advantage of boosting efficiency and improving the delivery of value to the customers. Real-time KPI monitoring & Analytics:Ramco’s integrated data analytics provides KPIs related to TAT, quality, cost, resource utilization, and warranties. These are computed dynamically without any need for manual consolidation and preparation. This allows for transparent and timely availability of insights for better decision-making. Q: Who are your potential customers and how do you address their requirements? Is it a customer-based requirement or pre-developed products which is in offer? A: Ramco Aviation Software is a fully web-centric application developed from the ground up specifically for the aviation industry. The solution offers an integrated platform for Airlines, 3rd party MROs, Defense, and Heli Operators to manage their functions around maintenance and engineering, supply chain, safety, technical records, planning, and financial control. We have a multi-layered customer engagement process, from tactical software support requirements to strategic periodic business reviews. Customer inputs are taken during the Project Blueprinting, Support Tickets classified as New Requirements, Surveys, and Usage audits; these are evaluated and prioritized for the product roadmap. We also work with our customers on a Co-Creation model for specific business needs leveraging next-generation technologies and for early adoption of new capabilities. Periodic assessment audits are carried out on usage, and recommendations are provided to improve utilization. We continuously work with

In Conversation The global technological solutions company “endava” has been driving innovations and transforming businesses of their clients based in over 25 countries. Within their 13 industry verticals, travel is one of the most important sectors where they serve airlines and airports. In a candid discussion, Dejan Cusic, SVP, Travel Industry, endava briefs Vishal Kashyap, Managing Editor Aviation World about how they see their market in the near future and best technical solutions they have for their customers. Excerpts… Looking into the growing Indian Aviation, how do you project to tap the sector in near future? India is too big market to ignore and it’s a growing market. So, it is something we will definitely focus on in the future. As we are speaking now, we don’t have any presence there, but we are considering our options how to penetrate into the Indian market. There are a few ways and at the moment we are deciding on our options. Similar situation we had in Australia two years ago as we didn’t had our presence there but now we have 300-400 people in that region. So, I don’t know but on the next Arab Aviation Summit we’ll talk and I’m sure that story will be different in a year time related to India. How convenient it is to adapt to endava products and use it? We have lot of technology knowledge people implementing our technology. We don’t have any specific product but how it works is typically we would come to airline sometimes with our idea and explore their idea and then we would do project and implement what they want. Almost always it’s bespoke software development. Why bespoke? Because once when you go with out of the box product, it’s very hard to differentiate yourself because everyone else has it. So we would go and do a very custom build program for particular business problem for our clients. Your products/technology seems to be very unique, so post-implementation will it have any cost impact on the passengers? It’s a very generic and as I mentioned a few things and one was NDC one order. So the whole idea behind new distribution channel in one order is that airlines will be able to upsell and cross sell products from other people. For example, a few days ago, I came from Europe to Dubai and the airline turned out that internet which was quite expensive on my roaming tariff from Ireland. I’m wondering what options you have. You go to the first shop and you buy SIM card locally, you put it in your phone and you have your data through local carrier. That’s one way to do it. The other way to do it would be may be for the airlines on the booking part when I’m booking, maybe to sell me eSIM. And before I fly, I scan eSIM and when I land in Dubai, I already have local SIM. So I think that’s the future for airlines to think about what else they could sell for us. And we will actually like it and appreciate it because it will make our life easier. And as in case of this eSIM, if I would have it, I wouldn’t bother around buying it. So you see my point. And that will enable because they will make more money on ancillaries, which I’m willingly paying because I need it. That will enable them to make their basic offering more attractive as well. I believe that is going to be a very good solution for your customers. Any particular point that you want to highlight and share with our readers? Again, great industry, great place to be for the airlines. You know all the stories about the future demand as technology will play a big part of it. One thing which is mentioned quite often now is sustainability and we did first moves in terms of how technology could help with sustainability. Airlines and aviation as an industry is quite an old industry with a lot of legacy systems, and we have some specific interesting tools and methodology how we help airlines to transform their IT systems. (The interaction was done at Arab Aviation Summit, in Ras Al kahimah, UAE)

IN CONVERSATION Indian aviation is growing with leaps and bounds with increasing demand of trained professionals. This has also created interest for global training organizations to either venture or enhance their presence in the country. With having presence in over 10 countries, ALVES Alexandre, Global Chief Operating & Commercial Officer, Airways Aviation Academy beliefs that the growth rate of India is so fast that there will be constraints finding all the qualified professionals. In an exclusive interview with Vishal Kashyap, Managing Editor, Aviation World, he shares his plans for India. Excerpts… Brief us about the global presence of Airways Aviation and what all course does it provides? Airways Aviation currently operates directly in 10 countries: Australia, India, Lebanon, Turkey, UAE, Germany, France, Montenegro, Italy and Senegal. Our Lebanese operation is expanding now to Cyprus and we are about to enter Portugal, Cabo Verde and Morocco with new operations. We are also expanding into Hainan in China with a local partner. We have different levels of schools if we can call it like that. The entry level is a Foundation School, which is what we have opened in Hyderabad last year. There we provide a proper airline focused assessment, focusing not only on standard skills such as Math’s, Physics and English but also pilot skills using ADAPT from Symbiotic which gives us a psychological and psychometric evaluation of the candidate. After that we provide our own Foundation Course which is what we can call a non-certified PPL theory course, and after that we are in a very good condition to tell the candidates if he can or not invest their time and money in pursuing their career as pilots. Once they pass successfully, we guide them to our next level of schools where we provide commercial pilot training. In addition, in our fully fledged academies we provide also cabin crew, maintenance technician and ground services courses. Examples of our main academies that cover the full scope are Australia and France. How is the response to the Hyderabad training Center in India and when it started? We started slowly in August 2023, and we’ve been running Foundation Courses almost every month. So far, we graduated successfully 36 students of which 8 continued to take their CPL training in Australia. This year we plan to expand our courses by launching DGCA Theory not only in Hyderabad but in several other Indian cities. We are also looking into some flight schools already operating in India, for a possible acquisition. How do you see the Indian market and what projections you have to cater to the demands? Personally, as you know, I’ve been looking into the Indian market since 2017. It was obvious for me that the market was under performing and was not showing its true potential. Now, with the changes the government has done, giving incentives for regional flights, opening new airports, promoting new operators to join the market, the growth of Indian middle class and the latest merger of Air India and TATA Group airlines (Vistara and Air Asia India) finally we are seeing the true potential. The only problem now is that the growth rate being pushed is so fast that there will be constraints finding all the qualified professionals, such as pilots or maintenance technicians, to follow this growth. And it’s there that we can help, using our experience of over 45 years in training thousands and thousands of aviation professionals in a multitude of countries. Tell us about the fleet you have and approx training cost and timeline as per Indian Civil Aviation Requirements? We operate currently around 70 aircraft throughout our flight schools but we plan to expand the fleet significantly. Most of our aircraft are Diamond Aircraft but we still operate Cessna, Piper and Tecnam, depending on the level of school we are talking. Cost of the pilot course varies from country to country, depending on the location, type of training, type of qualification (ICAO, CASA, EASA, etc.). It can go from USD65.000 to USD105.000. But as I mentioned, we plan to expand in India and start training locally and for that reason we are looking into possible acquisitions. This will address the desire of the government to have more aviation training in the country and can also help with the costs for everyone looking into getting their pilot course. Do you have any tie-ups with any training academy or airlines in India for training as well as recruitment purpose? We have the possibility of doing very interesting training contracts with some of the leading airlines and that is also why we want to invest more in the country and grow by having a flight training operation there. At this stage we cannot say more but I’m sure we will have news in the next few months. Any additional information if you would like to share? Airways Aviation is more a B2B focused aviation training organization than B2C. Through the years our organization has trained thousands of military and civilian pilots, cabin crew, maintenance technicians and other professionals for airlines, governments and official organizations in a variety of countries of Oceania, Asia, Middle East, Africa and Europe. Having said this, of course our B2C customers are very welcome and it’s part of our strategy to diversify not only the geographic source of our customers but also the type of customers. There is a saying that we shouldn’t put all the eggs in the same basket. Our presence in a multitude of countries of different regions of the globe and the fact that we operate with self-sponsored students up to leading airlines and air forces, enable us to be financially more stable than most of our competitors. We are also very fast in deciding our investments and as you may have seen, we are on fast but steady growth path, this can bring some assurance to all our customers that we are their go to aviation training organization.

At the Routes Asia 2024 Summit in Langkawi,Malaysia, Preeti Puja, Associate Editor, Aviation World, interacted with Mr. Rashed Alshammari, Vice President, Commercial, Air Connectivity Program, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on various development initiatives under the Kingdom’s “Vision 2030’. Excerpts… What are your expectations from Routes Asia 2024? The expectation from Routes Asia by exhibiting is to unlock the new destinations from Asia and other continent and to have their activity in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The KSA is working on much extensive airport expansion plans? Could you please elaborate on this? We are there committed to growth of KSA. We oversee enhancing route development in the KSA in a holistic way. We take care and look after enhancing the inbound tourism to enable the tourism sector as per the strategic target and objective set by ‘Vision 2030’ and also we look after executing the Aviation strategy. So, we are the bridge between tourism and aviation sector. When it comes to expansion of airports, yes we look after it like for ex. Riyadh Airport. Our target is to have more than 120 million passengers by 2030. As part of the strategic program, we are targeting to have 150 million inbound tourists in the KSA by enabling the tourism sector. When it comes to enabling the aviation sector, we are targeting to unlock more than 250 destinations and having more than 330 million passenger traffic within the KSA by 2030. We are seeing this as a realistic target and we are executing and progressing positively towards opening more destinations. Especially, Saudi Arabia is a untouched market and we wanted to have more new destination and grow our tourism capacity. There has been lot of focus on making tech enabled airports with all modern amenities. Kindly brief a bit on this about the concept. The tech is the key enabler to promote a seamless passenger experience. Today, when we want to expand our inbound tourism, we have new destination, that requires the high tech technology. The seamless travel experience from the frisk point for the passengers for the airport, than moving from airport to the other terminal experience and then to the city. That takes key enabler to attract and monitor the high quality experience and for each inbound passenger or tourist to Saudi Arabia. KSA has also modified its various rules for expats and other visitors Is it in line of increasing tourism footfall and bringing more investment? Today Saudi Arabia, as one of the tourism initiative, we have introduced the e-Visa for specific country. It just matter of one click and within 90 seconds you receive your e-Visa. Plus we are welcoming our neighborhood who is living in nearby countries to come and explore Saudi Arabia. So this is we look after enhancing the full experience for certain citizens, expats and even the tourist who is visiting Saudi Arabia. Riyadh Air is making good vibes across the world? What are the operational plans of the airlines and which sector it will cater to? Well, Riyadh Air can answer this question on their behalf. In general, I believe Riyadh Air would be key enabler to contribute in our strategic target while bringing new destination, adding new capacity and bringing more tourist to the KSA. How do you see India as your partner? India is key partner for us. Indian carriers are expanding their direct flights to many different destinations of Saudi Arabia. It’s one of the pillar and enabler for the tourism activity in the KSA.

Peter Semone,Chairman, PATA (Pacific Asia Travel Association) discussed with Preeti Puja, Associate Editor, Aviation World at Routes Asia in Langkawi about the sustainability in tourism.Excerpts… Talking about the sustainability in travel, what does that mean and what perspective you are looking at? Sustainability is all about the environment. It’s kind of holistic thing we need to look at it. Sustainability for tourism is balancing the socioeconomic benefits with some of the negative environmental impacts that happen actually on cultures as well. I think, sustainability is becoming more of a balance between what you do and may be what you may necessarily do. Aviation sector is little bit far off in terms of as it has been able to make SAF and all other things that if we can do, we can continue working on the environment angle but in the same time let’s work on some of the other areas that is critical to sustainability. Because one of the thing we have to think now is partnership between industry, government and its community. It’s very much about community and so far Asia has benefited to a large degree from tourism but like many destination in Europe they are going start to feel that may be the benefit and how ways the positive elements and this is a really interesting thing in terms of sustainability. You know, we build tourism so quickly in Asia but we forgot or maybe we don’t see sometimes the invisible burden of tourism. So, when you have tourist, there is a lot of positive in terms of than leaving money behind but they leave a lot of other things behind as well like trash, they use lot of water, they add to traffic, congestion, just overall they are another element that kind of operating within the community . So sustainability is turning to be finding out what is the price of tourism. Because, I think in a lot of ways we haven’t actually calculated what’ s the true cost of tourism. We only talk about revenues but we never really talk about at the destination level, about the expense, so we have three indicators: right: (i) we say number of visitors(ii) Per tourist spend and (iii) length of stay. And, that’s the very generic number. We need to be little bit more specific for work being done, we need to measure the invisible burden of tourism and understand that better and at least we all have to contribute the negative impact that we bring and hopefully more. Tourism may be benefiting countries like India or Malaysia as much as we are saying that it is the sustainability and cost of hosting the tourist is much higher than we recognize. Has the perception changed Post COVID? I think Covid accelerated everything because it allowed us to see the other side of the coin which is if we don’t have tourism , everything is nice like environment is better , community is peaceful, but there is no money coming in. We need the money, we need tourism but I think we also learn that let’s structure and mitigate and reduce some of the negative impacts that happening and I think the people are also lot more aware as they have seen its like in their community to have tourist or not have tourist. I think the Covid just accelerated everything and I may very worried about certain issues like sustainable development cause because I think the other negative externality that we have to be worried is environment. One thing is Geo politics and the other thing is poverty and the gap that exist. It’s a long journey and its going to take little more time together in partnership with the public and private sector. I think we can do it we have to be determined to do it. Any message for the readers of Aviation World? I am very eager for PATA to partner more closely with the Aviation sector.PATA has been for more than 70 years and we have strong relationships with the aviation sector. I think in the Aviation sector there has been lot of cost cutting, membership subscriptions like that they took of but I think I believe that relationship between the Asia Pacific Aviation Sector and PATA can really help us develop together and we can work very much for the Ministry of Tourism and the government and the private sector at the destination level but having that the partnership in advocacy will make a big difference in the Aviation Sector as it goes through lot of changes. In many ways we are going to rewrite the way tourism is organized in the next ten years and very much includes the aviation sector.

Interview: At the Singapore Airshow, Alan Lim, Director, Alton Aviation Consultancy, moderated a panel discussion on “Explore the future of Advanced Air Mobility” where various case studies and important issues were discussed. To brief more about the sector, Alan in an interview with Vishal Kashyap, Managing Editor, Aviation World talked about the emerging UAM and AAM sector and how it is going to transform the sector in future. Excerpts… What are your core areas of work in the Aviation sector? Alton Aviation Consultancy is a specialised management consultancy firm and it’s solely focused on the aviation sector. So if you talk about airlines, airports, MROs, and even some of the lessors or financial investors that are looking at aviation assets, we basically do these as well planned. So increasingly, we have a new practice called the mobility practice that’s looking at things like advanced air mobility. So that really looks at helping our clients understand what exactly is this market about, what do we have to expect, what people want, what is it going to look like, what are the use cases, the whole sort of things about the strategic and business planning side of the business, and of course how they should tackle this industry. So really our area of focus is more on the strategy inside of the business where we advise our clients really things about the market, about the outlook, about how they should tackle certain segments, or certain markets, what they should do. It’s very strategic working. With the current trend on UAM & AAM how do you see the market growing? I think for this UAM or AAM industry, we are at a stage right now where everyone is focused on building their vehicles and getting it certified for compliance service. We’ve heard across for the past few days, everyone is saying last year was about meeting everyone, understanding who our partners are . At this year, it’s about getting everything together, putting everything in place, and trying to push out to get the vehicle certified within the next 18 to 24 months by 2025-26 time frame. I think a lot of them recognize that if we look at the Asia-Pacific region, from the commercial aviation perspective, that is by far the largest market and then the fastest growing market in the world, right? There is a lot of growing middle class in the country, growing population, basically has very good tailwind for the growth of the entire aviation sector in general. But when we look at AAM in particular, we think about what are the used cases for these vehicles and what has been always talked about intra-City travel so traveling within the cities. So in a lot of Asia-Pacific countries, and even in parts of India, we see very congested cities where there is potentially a used case or market for these vehicles to transport people from point A to point B, you know, to cutting through all the different types of congestion. So I think, you know, other use cases that you can think about is, you know, logistics, getting tighter to last mile or, you know, industrial more remote type of logistics transport, which, again, if you look at Asia-Pacific, level of urbanization is not as high. There is a lot of potential for these type of landscape and I think by a large, a lot of the industry recognizes that this is a market that they cannot ignore. Asia-Pacific, or even the Middle East are markets where they have been supportive regulators and governments to try and develop not only the infrastructure but to help these OEMs bring their aircraft into service. There is also push to really develop that framework to be able to test and operate these vehicles. This supportive environment is one of the key enabler for this market to move forward to grow in the Asia-Pacific region. How do you see the adaption process when there is so much change in technology in this sector? I think what we’ve heard and what we’ve seen as well, there is a lot of operators as well as lot of the OEMs who are trying to get their vehicles certified first. Regulators are also taking a very cautious approach while certifying any vehicles. But having that limited and sort of very gradual approach to it has its benefit. Both regulators and operators has to get comfortable with the operation of the vehicles, but I think the more important bit is to allow the public to actually see this. Because an operation to accept that this is potentially a future form of transportation, but also to be able to be a bit more enthusiastic. Right now, people outside the industry will probably see it as a bit of a foreign content, not quite sure what it is, so until you see these things take out the sky, being operated on a limited basis, either demonstration flights or even, sort of limited commercial operations,that’s really how we build up that acceptance and enthusiasm you know, for these kinds of vehicles. So, I think what we will see is a very gradual of these services. I think within the next five years, it will still be relatively low-uptake as these vehicles will improve in technology. As you know, regulators get more comfortable with them but as we get into the 2030s,completely,but the mid-’30s, we’ll start faster, adoption of some of these folks. As a consultant what you would advice the start ups about the investment in this sector? From an investor’s perspective, I think a lot of the investors in this segment have a couple of rational stories. Like, one obviously it’s a growing segment that many of them views that they cannot ignore. So, we see the likes of Airbus, Boeing, even Embraer just behind us. They have embarked on AAM division or AAM company to develop their own vehicles. But I think the other angle is also the

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW The 11th edition of Arab Aviation Summit at Ras Al Khaimah witnessed top-class delegates from across the world. The 2-day event focused on key issues that are projected to develop Aviation and tourism in this region. At the summit, Frederico Fernandes, Director, Arab Aviation Summit in an interview with Vishal Kashyap, Managing Editor, Aviation World explained the significance of this summit and how it’s going to transform the Aviation activities in the Arab World. Excerpts… How Arab Aviation Summit (AAS) 2024 is important for this region and what’s the strategy for way forward? It’s our second year and I hope that the delegates are enjoying it. Arab Aviation Summit is a platform to showcase and to learn about Aviation in the Arab World and Arab Aviation Travel and it’s an amazing example for how to be successful and how to be disruptive into the Aviation sector. The latest mega hubs in the world happened to show here for a reason. We had Qatar, UAE and now we’re going with Riyadh. And also it’s a major hub for visiting relatives and friends and ethnic passengers. There are lot of great examples in all around cross-sector, from airlines to operators, software, managers, media for the Arab world. AAS is very private platforms attended by only guests where one meets and discuss the achievements and learn as well. So, that’s why we have a first day of the aviation event covered by workshops. Where we speak with our partners and we select which are the teams that are trending or the teams that we need to get better insights. Second day, the leaders discussed and showcased what they are doing in hope that we can also mobilize and inspire all the sector. As I believe that the focus is more on the sustainability and also the tech-enabled Aviation in the future. In 2023, the event focus was more on sustainability. What’s the theme for 2024? Last year, we had quite more focus on sustainability as it was our first year. We discussed a lot from infrastructure to technology. We had Airbus and some of the other players that were already using technology. This year we also discussed on sustainability but the focus was more on HR (Human Resource Capital) because it’s very important. We are seeing now that several areas are even growing further, like Riyadh. Others will also grow because they will lose qualified personnel to other areas. For example, India is a major concern because India is growing very fast in Aviation terms and it’s also improving the life. So many cities have a better life index meaning that a lot of people will go back home to work and those people are very important for Middle East. So, it’s really an issue that Middle East and Arab world needs to think about.   We need to start recruiting and enabling the next generation of professionals because there will be a lot of commuting between Asia, namely India, big power in Aviation and Middle East, which uses a lot of workforce from India. So, this is the thing that we wanted to discuss and we did it quite well. We brought Saudi, England, European universities and also local trainees and universities from Arab world. For investment, we had the panel as owners of assets that can go up to 300 billion. So, when they were discussing with us, where are they moving their aircraft or investments further? Again, India and Arab world, Saudi and UAE are on the top map. It’s very interesting for us as well as industry to understand this trend, so that they can start moving and constructing the future of tomorrow. Arab Aviation Summit is jointly hosted by RAK Tourism board. What are the benefits of jointly hosting this important event? RAK has been growing very well and it has an amazing team of tourism professionals that is following this incredible vision of His Highness, the ruler of RAK. They wanted to make a partnership with Arab Aviation Summit because of Aviation. But we exist to approach Aviation to travel because there is a lot of shows of travel, there is a lot of shows of aviation, but sometimes they don’t meet. The tourist operators don’t meet an aircraft manufacturer. Sometimes they want aircraft, but they don’t know how to do it. So, we are this bridge between the Aviation guys and the hospitality guys. So, I’m available to fly and to support. RAKTDA understood that movement and since the beginning partnered with us to allow that movement to happen in their beach. This is a commitment that we have together and I think it’s a wonderful relationship and they are also helping us to grow, which is a very important thing. What would be your focus for the future summit? What exactly are you looking forward to add on? For the next summit, we’re going to gather again the most influenced partners. RAKTDA is one of them and we’re going to reflect on what needs to be discussed because we will change the team again. After that, we try to curate the best speakers, the best entrepreneurs, the best brilliant minds and we will push the team out and work around that and call again the industry. Come and listen to us and we also want to listen to you and business will grow. Concluding remarks from you to cater to the much bigger Arab Aviation market? I think that Arab World, Arab Aviation and Arab Travel are a great example of success. Of course, we can see on top of the pyramid three countries that are also leading that success. But even if you look to further countries, they are also very interesting. Arab world is an extraordinary example of what is being done in terms of technology, digitalisation, flexibilisation and entrepreneurship. They created the biggest mega hubs and now they’re creating the biggest destinations in the world. It’s a great example

Exclusive Interview: For ATR, India is one of the most important market and it projects to have additional 50-150 aircraft in next decade in this region. In an exclusive interview, Jean Pierre Clercin, Head of commercial, ATR,APAC Region, shared his thoughts on various perspectives with Vishal Kashyap, Managing Editor, Aviation World. Excerpts… What is the current outlook of ATR for the Indian market in terms of number of orders and focus for the future as well? Asia Pacific is our largest market today and of course in the South Asia in particular I mean is coming forward and its going to be the largest one. If you look at our customer base in India, we have IndiGo that has today 45 aircraft that should come up to 50 this year. We have Alliance Air that has 20 ATR including 2 ATR 42 and then we have a newcomer called Fly91 that’s out of Goa and that has taken 2 aircraft from a leasing company based out of Dubai. So today, if you look at the position, there will be over 70 aircraft within the next 12 months. What makes ATR perfect fit for regional connectivity both in terms of operations and economics? So there are a few things. I think first, the aircraft in terms of its capacity for takeoff and landing can actually operate out of very simple runways and airports. It doesn’t require a lot of GSE to maintain. I mean, people can embark, disembark from the stairs. There is a built-in, if you want, power unit. It’s very independent in that sense and you can land and take off on runways of down to 1200 meters at full load. Of course, it depends on temperature and this kind of things. But I mean, that’s the ballpark. And of course, the ATR 42 has even better performance. It’s actually right above 1000 meters. And you probably heard we have this 42-600 STOL, that’s going to come up into service next year, which will be able to operate on the runway down to 800 meters. So if you look at the number of airports in India, but worldwide, I mean, yes, you have the big ones like the Delhi, the Mumbai, the Singapore, but then you have a lot of smaller airports. The worldwide traffic of 95% is concentrated in 5% of the bigger airports. So it means that there is 95% of the airports that only carry 5% of the traffic and usually can go. So that’s the first part that you can access these small runways in these small communities. The other part, of course, is that it’s good to have a capable aircraft, but it has to be, I would say, economically effective to be able to deliver the right customers because the people in those communities don’t necessarily have millions of dollars to pay, you know, in airfares. And so the aircraft, the ATR, is very frugal in terms of fuel burn. For instance, it has a very-very low cost base of operation. If you compare with similar regional jets, the ATR burns 45% less fuel than the original jets of the same category. With the obsession we have in delivering a good cost base, an excellent aircraft for airlines to be able to make a profit, but it can also serve the communities in the country. I think this is why it was so widespread and we’ve been in India now for more than 20 years. India is always been an important part of our markets. What’s been very interesting, I find is that you have a government that is extremely inspired. Today, the country is developing so fast that you need to develop more effective connectivity, and the vision that the government had with the VGF and the UDAN scheme supports that. The fact that the country has the rights to go around fast and we fit in that because we have the perfect products to serve those communities. It’s affordable and is easy to operate. Why still only scheduled operators are successful in RCS UDAN scheme and not NSOPs in India? Yes, the reason why I think because what happens in this segment of the market is that traditionally small players come into it but they are all afraid to start a route. If you’re a small player and you put an aircraft and say, okay, I think there’s going to be market there. And then you don’t find your market, you’re dead! What I think is very smart from the government is that they say, I’m going to help you with the risk. Not, forever, but for three years. Then it works and the operator stands on its own feet and it works and keeps on working. It’s not like they’re giving or subsidizing but they are taking other risks. And I think this is where the market is so vibrant today in India. And I think for me it’s the benchmark and other countries should look at. This is probably why India is so dynamic and has so much promise for tomorrow. Because, you have very smart people pushing the right policies. Courageous entrepreneurs and that makes actually this country and the place to be in aviation today. What numbers of aircraft orders you are projecting from India and what will be delivery schedule? In terms of order in India, we assess that over the next 10 years, 50 to 150 additional aircraft coming up in the country. So, that’s the official forecast. But, I do believe looking into the energy even 150 may be smaller. Apart from India which is your other important market? In terms of size it’s a bit deceptive because size is not necessarily the main story. I think growth is the main story. So, today, the biggest market for ATR is Indonesia. There is about a hundred aircraft actually over there. And second will be Brazil and India would have about the same level.