Interviews

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.

Indonesia is one of the largest island nations which cater to the high number of tourist from all across the world. Like every country this island nation is also under the recovery process after the severe impact of the pandemic.Vishal Kashyap, Managing Editor, Aviation World at the CASEA 2023 summit in Bangkok interacted with Mr. Denon Prawiraatmadja, Chairman, Indonesia National Air Carriers Association ( INACA) and Vice Chairman, Chamber of Commerce for Transportation in Indonesia. He discussed in detail about how Indonesia is enhancing its aviation sector economy, government’s ‘National Strategic Program’ ,SAF and holistic growth in the nation. Excerpts… Tell us about INACA and its vision? Also your views on the aviation sector in Indonesia? INACA is the only airlines association in Indonesia which consists of 11 commercial airlines and 21 air charters. My opinion about the aviation Industry in Indonesia as you perhaps knows that the Indonesia is a country that consists of 17000 islands. So airlines are a necessity for a country like Indonesia for the purpose of logistics, passengers. It is a necessity for Indonesia people to their economy.In this matter first thing is we as an association has to become a strategic partner to the governments of Indonesia. We have to collaborate with the governments of Indonesia in giving the opinion and advice on how Indonesia’s aviation futures. We have to make the aviation industry healthier . Well perhaps you understand if I may share little bit more without this cost structure 30 per cent of cost of operation are actually came from leasing which is that has the impact from Indonesia Rupiah against other foreign currency. This is beyond the Aviation industries pan of control. So the remaining 70 per cent has to be strategized for the future. We are not talking about the next few years ahead, we have to plan this precisely for the next few decades. Because if we are talking about transportation system my opinion we need to talk about the holistic concept, not only aircraft in particular, we need to plan how we manage our sustainable aviation fuel in the future. We have to strategies how we make concept of hub and spoke for domestic airlines for international airline getting into the Indonesia to support the domestic airline and to support the local economy. That’s what I am going to emphasize, what should be improved is to make Aviation Industry and all the families of Aviation, for a country like Indonesia that as archipelago country that we need to make this industry healthier. Otherwise, the impact of healthy industry of transportation is also impacted to other sector of business. By making an aviation industry In Indonesia strategically become healthier, this will become the role of the association as a strategic partner to the governments. How do you see the transformation in Air Traffic in your country which is primarily dependent on tourism? I think not only in Indonesia but so far other countries during the Covid time, we all faced challenges. Because, yes it’s true that post Covid not only airlines but airport also tried to recover their activity by stages. But what we think we need to resolve this. In that period of time the members of the association has to negotiate with the lesser and I think this is part of the challenge that member of the association is facing today. Since Indonesia become a country that is known also as tourism destination I think this will speed up the recovery process and as easy as the governments of Indonesia , the authorities has more flexibility on post Covid regulations . So I am confident , based on the White paper that is released by INACA , by the association, by 2025 all the activities are going to back with what we have before Covid time. As you mentioned, now the focus is shifting to promote other destinations apart from Bali? What are the steps being planned and which are those cities? I agree that airlines business and tourism business is like siblings. Other than Bali the governments of Indonesia plan to ‘National Strategic Program ‘to have the tourism industry grow like Labuan Bajo. Perhaps the next other tourism destinations like West Sumatra, which is known as province that had tradition of good culinary. So these support from government as NSP for next tourism destination in Indonesia will directly increase numbers of passengers from other countries to Indonesia.I think the NSP in enhancing the tourism business will become the strengthening the economy of Indonesia despite Indonesia also known as downstream export product like nickel mining but for accelerating the air transportation I think tourism business there has been a program from the government and will become the most impactful policy to the airlines industry. What are the key steps that according you still need to be addressed by Indonesian government to make Civil Aviation sector more viable? When I mention about the holistic concept about the Aviation Industry, it’s not basically addressed to ministry of transportation. When we are talking about the level of safety standards, Indonesia is not quite bad now. We are number 53 in safety standards if I am not mistaken. But when we are talking about the holistic concept of making the aviation industry healthier,it is inbox the ministry of tax to give an incentive, ministry of state owned enterprise, ministry of trade. So the government should involve to support how the airlines business that connect people among all these islands can be supportive. Our DGCA is quite communicative with us in terms of regulations, providing Upset Prevention and Recovery Training (UPRT) is not that mandatory in Indonesia but DGCA accept that as a additional problem for a pilot to do a UPRT training . So we as an association provide these training for airlines to do the UPRT. One of those things that I address a concern is the fuel . We just had the presentation about SAF. We recommend to

India is a big Aviation market for the United States and one airport that is really booming with 186% growth in passenger numbers within the first two quarters of 2023 is San Francisco International Airport (SFO). To share more insight Kevin Bumen, CFO and Chief Commercial Officer, San Francisco International Airport in an Interview with Vishal Kashyap, Managing Editor, Aviation World discuss at length about the growth, future plans, association with Air India and may more interesting points. Excerpts… There is always a great interest for Indian Carrier to operate to SFO. How do you see the relevance of existing route and addition of more flights in near future? Air India has been a huge success story as far as SFO is concerned. During the pandemic there were few airlines that grew in our market which is quite remarkable for many reasons. When we look back over the last 4 years, the target to 2019 was just one destination initially with Delhi and of course they have grown now to three in a very short time. They have essentially double the operation from 9 flights a week to 17 a week and which breaks down with majority to Delhi of course but having seen the other market in India with structure established, really chose the strength of the market across the entire country. Seat capacity has gone up from 2042 seats per week back in August 2019 and this August we are 4397 seats per week. It’s a huge increase. We look forward obviously potential for Mumbai, Bengaluru to get a daily service and then we also see future markets as Hyderabad and Chennai which can likely support flights as well. What’s the exact number of traffic of San Francisco International Airport from India both in terms of connectivity and pax? When we look at the overall area or market and its measured on the basis of frequency of daily passengers today. The market has a lot of potential and knows those passengers could be flowing in number of ways to and from but having that kind of strength in the region the opportunity for non-stop services is very strong. It’s also been seen that India is primed for significant growth, especially in the luxury travel market. What’s your take on this transition? Significant growth is happening and we have got 186 % increase just in the first half of this year. It’s extremely exciting and it speaks to the fact that SFO is ready. Our premium airport recently named by Wall Street Journal as number one airports in the United States. We have got so many memorable experiences that enhance the travel experience including the Grand Hyatt Hotel, a 4 star hotel connected to the transit system in the terminal. We have butler concierge services, we have an SFO museum, we have got duty free shopping, major luxury retails, etc. These are all source of wonderful amenities. We have amazing airline lounges and we are working with Air India for potential airport lounge at SFO, so that’s in the similar stages of planning. I really feel the market is ready and we demonstrated that with the rapid growth we had certainly challenging time for the industry. How SFO Int. Airport would like to explore newer opportunities from India? We certainly like to see more non-stop services to new destinations like Hyderabad and Chennai that I earlier mentioned and additional frequencies in existing Delhi market that we have today The growth across India is a very exciting prospect to us. India is certainly a large country and any part of the world you can fly non-stop and that is always a great convenience to the passengers. I think those would be two very important goals for us. We also look it at airports like Mumbai and Delhi that’s one of the best airports in the world as we look at the customer experience and certainly having SFO connected to two very high quality markets is of great importance to us and we look into our airport SQ ranking , SFO, Delhi and Mumbai are all top 10 in the world for customer experience. So those who fly in these routes have an incredible airport experience that just adds to the strength of the market. It’s really nice when you see that balance in the market. We also as an airport strive for carrier diversity in the market. We are number three in the US in the carrier diversity and we serve around 50 airlines and we feel that it brings value to the passengers both in terms of choice of carrier and adding in destination but certainly it also keeps pricing competitive. We look forward to United returning to the market. They have obviously struggle in India due to the aerospace access to the Russia so if that issue evolves, United going to this market will be an important factor as well. As part of the upcoming sales mission to India what are your primary objectives? We get out to visit airlines from time to time and we really look forward to celebrate our strong relationship with Air India. But with focus on the future growth plans and as a carrier that’s is growing rapidly, time spent at HQs with the team really helps us to strengthen the relationship and clarify the planning on both sides so we work on closely together. Certainly we will be talking about many achievements of SFO and how we see our placement as a gateway to the North American market for Indian travelers and certainly our desire to assist in and support in Air India growth in the market. And then we will be spending time with the travel community and helping them learn more about SFO and some of the unique aspects of the airport and what sets us apart both as a west coast gateway in the US but just a getaway in the North America. So I want to sharing

Indian Aviation sector is growing with leaps and bounds and globally the growth pattern has been highly admired by the various stakeholders. Stephen Young, Regional VP-Sales, APAC,Air support in an exclusive interview with Vishal Kashyap, Managing Editor, Aviation World, explains how Indian aviation sector is important for the world and how it has manifested the significant amount of investment to improve its airlines, airports, training and development and overall generating employment for the next gen of the nation. Excerpts… How you look forward to Aviation growth in Asia especially India and on larger scale in South East Asia? Initially looking at the wider Asia Pacific region there is significant growth being driven by much larger middle class in many of the economies. There is very rapid increase in GDP usually 5 per cent or beyond in most countries and a new category of passengers is entering the aviation market typically taking the first flight with the low cost or ultra low cost carrier and this is being seen some sort of growth among the carriers throughout the region. Most specifically for India, I think we are seeing a period of consolidation, regulation and also period of dramatic increases in terms of airlines scale, airlines complexity but also efficiencies of scale. One of the most interesting area of the Indian market has been significant emergence of IndiGo as the largest carrier within the Indian market. They have shown immense synergies and efficiencies of scale in terms of the type of fleet, I think they have become benchmark for many of the Indian carriers to look towards. But also over a period of consolidation in terms of the TATA acquisition of air India , Vistara, Air Asia India and we are seeing really redistribution of airlines throughout India. There are few airlines ofcousre which are not operating as of now but obviously we see the new startups and new entrants to the market . Recently, we have seen Fly Big , also seen the growth of Star Air and I think the regional connectivity is key to the future progression of India aviation. As were going to see greater connectivity between the outline stations and the central hubs which will connect greater number of people through India to the wider aviation market. I would also see greater level of international capability for the Indian passengers. The recent commercial agreements between IndiGo and Turkish have enabled a much greater ability for Indian passengers to move west and transit through Istanbul to greater number of destinations worldwide. I would also large number of routes opening from India going east to the rest of Asia pacific as well enhancing the connectivity. What’s your views on enhancing the bilateral between South East Asian countries looking into the increasing demand? I believe that there will be great level of bilateral cooperation between India and many of the states in Asia pacific and wider field. It will match the growth which is projected to coming from India certainly after the next decade . One of the key things that also need to be looked at is for foreigners entering the Indian market who is looking for transiting through India into another thord party country . The policy in place is regard o transit visa need to be reviewed againin order to actually make this particular typeof traffic much more viable for airlines in order tp pick up such traffic.The case for slot allocationand review of that in the wake of post Covid and bounce back would be highly advantageous in order to support the continuing growth of the Indian carriers. Hey are going to be the economic driver for many of the areas of the Asia pacific further increasing tourism, trade and utilisation of the air space because they are going to operate new routes . Indian government is increasing its airport numbers and its capacity with rising demands. How do you see such steps? In terms of the airport development it stay fundamental to growth for long terms for the Indian market. With the projections for the Indian market looking for India to be on eof the most important aviation markets globally this can be supported with significant investment in the infrastructure of just airports but also overall additional infrastructure in terms of air traffic control , all of the support systems to actually achieve the same. It is very pleasing to see such significant investment being made by the Indian government and various other stakeholders into the high quality infrastructure. We are seeing very-very good hubs and very good strategies for the space developed at Delhi and Mumbai and many of the other metropolises within India. One of the key things that we have noticed is all significant investment in the smaller towns and cities across India provided for the very first time in many cases. According to you what’s on the policy side that need to be improvised in his region? I think we have seen a significant level of policy improvement in enhancements and in India and within the wider Asia pacific region over the past 10 years. Within India there are highly skilled and capable personal to dive policy change and policy decision making. One of the areas where increasingly we are going to see policy change in regards to ANSP (Air Navigation Service Provision) and ATFM( Air Traffic Flow Management ). I think as we look at the hub cities in India, we are going to see increased level of congestion because new airports will bring more traffic and that need to managed in efficient way above the skies of India . I firmly believe that India is very well placed in order to enact the right policy decision moving forward. I also think that India with its bilateral decision making with its ability to liaise with its local partners will actually drive significant enhancement to the aviation industry.Aviation is all about partnerships, meeting between the lines of many different people

While the Aerospace and Defence sector shines throughout, there is a need to focus on the players that have facilitated the industry with research and innovation and have found their purpose in contributing to the tech that will shape the future of aviation. The solutions industry has enabled the sector to grow and create efficient products that are sustainable and goal oriented. Based on this, Shobha Kulavil, Vice President and Industry Platform Leader for Aerospace and Defence, Capgemini discuss with Vishal Kashyap, Managing Editor, Aviation World on how to create solutions rooted in sustainability which are need of the hour.Excerpts…   What are some of the technology trends emerging in the aerospace sector? Aerospace and Defence Industry has witnessed the fastest and most unexpected spring back from the pandemic. There is a mounting orderbook both in Commercial and Defence Sector which means the ramp-up in the industry will need to be approximately 2X. The industry has always been an early adopter of Digital Technologies. The steep Ramp-up in the industry makes it even more imperative to ensure the industry is a completely digitally empowered and digitally ready here and now. Aerospace and Defence OEMs are also focussing on enhanced and smart products by new and connected technology adoption in communication, navigation, surveillance and many more domains of product play. Continual improvements in fuel efficiency blended with the need to reduce carbon footprint and achieve the net zero vision is driving the path to Sustainable Aviation Fuel and Hybrid Propulsion systems. How modern technologies such as AI/ML, Manufacturing 4.0, IoT, AR/VR are benefiting the industry players fit into the digital era and supporting in driving the next phase of growth? The propelled growth in the Aerospace &Defence industry also comes with challenge of acute skill shortage and talent depletion across the value stream especially in the manufacturing and MRO segment.New-age technologies and processes such as cybersecurity, robotics and automation, 3D printing, new manufacturing techniques, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), the Internet of Things (IoT), big data, alternative fuels and energy sources, new aircraft designs, alternative modes of rapid transit, and geospatial technology will be prominent in the future of the aerospace sector. By leveraging the potential of manufacturing 4.0 technologies, industry players can benefit from cost effectiveness and provide real value. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are slowly integrating such techs in their factories to build smart factories through real-time intelligence. This is enabling them to make more informed decisions about product design, performance, and value in the marketplace. By leveraging data aggregation technologies with predictive analytics, cognitive, and machine-learning capabilities, they are improving forecasting accuracy and predictive maintenance. The IoT allows collecting large volumes of data and is applied not only by manufacturers but airliners to optimize and enhance the processes. IoT is used to send critical data from engines, wing flaps, bleed valves, and landing gear to technicians for preventive maintenance. With huge amounts of data being generated by IoT, it becomes imperative to analyze these with the help of artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) and other cognitive systems for predictive maintenance, higher performance and greener operations. Modern technologies like additive manufacturing play a critical role in obtaining certain complex parts for aircraft by traditional production processes, especially in low volume, minimum time, and lesser weight efficiently. Understanding the sector’s focus on sustainability driven innovation, how do you think aviation players are contributing to this and additionally undertaking steps to achieve their sustainability goals? The responsibility of reducing the carbon footprint has always been specifically very huge on the A&D industry. OEMs and airlines are doing everything they can to reduce both fuel burn and carbon emissions and carving the path towards becoming carbon neutral progressively overtime.The move toward Sustainable Aviation Fuel, Hybrid propulsion are some of the steps in this direction. Additionally building the Sustainable Innovation goal, vision and roadmap towards becoming Carbon neutral over time and cascading it proactively across the organisation and the ecosystem of suppliers and partners will enable the entire ecosystem to start incorporating sustainability and innovation at a concept and foundation level in the entire system ensuring that Sustainable Innovation gets ingrained as a culture and way of life for the future. What does the future outlook seem like for aerospace capabilities for India? India has been the global delivery hub for design and engineering talent for the A&D industry for more than two decades now. India has seen itself emerge from the status of a defence buyer and A&D Engineering and IT services hub to becoming the emerging Manufacturing and Supply Chain power house of the A&D map of the globe. Today in-house and global A&D players are investing in Manufacturing, ER&D, Digital and Physical Systems build and integration capabilities in the country both for the commercial and defence sector. The offset obligations and indigenisation drive has further encouraged and propelled growth from a technology,manufacturing and supply chain perspective. India’s buying power in Commercial and Defence sector coupled with favourable investment policies and subsidies, skill and talent availability in the A&D sector and ever-growing start-up sector is converging extremely well to position India as one of the fastest growing A&D zones of the globe. India is also becoming a desired emerging destination for MRO and After Market Services. This is still an emerging sector and will be a longer journey when compared to the growth of ERD and Manufacturing. What are the sustainability opportunities do you foresee in the aerospace and defence industry and what is Capgemini doing to decarbonize the aerospace sector? Capgemini’s Aerospace and Defence portfolio of services and solutions for our customers is very aptly envisioned and designed to address the priorities of our customers. We have been working with Aerospace and Defence customers across the globe to blueprint, deploy, sustain and continuously improvise Operations not only within the enterprise also across the entire interfacing ecosystem through our Nextgen A&D Supply Chain Digital and Intelligent Manufacturing Solution Framework for data empowered decision making, transparent and efficient operations.

Ansys solutions supports global aerospace and defence companies in their digital transformation journey to accelerate innovative leaps, reduce costs, and mitigate risks. As Indian defence companies are also bolstering into innovation, Steve Bleymaier, Brig Gen (USAF Retired), CTO for Aerospace & Defense at Ansys talks with Vishal Kashyap, Managing Editor, Aviation World about how existing infrastructure and operation setups can be utilised to their maximum potential by using digitisation. Steve Bleymaier has served in the US Air Force for 28 years and in 2019, he transitioned to being a civilian in the workforce and began a consultancy firm to advise on aircraft sustainment and logistics. Excerpts from the interview… What are the initiatives offered by Ansys to provide support to global aerospace and defence customers? Engineering simulation is transforming aviation by reducing costs across the entire product life cycle, accelerating the development of future aircraft systems that are safer and more sustainable, and extending its reach from design and development to the optimization of operations and maintenance. Ansys simulation solutions help accelerate modernization and optimize the life cycle of both aerospace and defense technology from the microchip to the mission. Delivering advanced capabilities more quickly enables A&D leaders to stay ahead of threats. Ansys is working in 5 key areas to support its global Aerospace and Defence customers, namely Digital Engineering, Autonomous System Development, Spectrum Operations, Hybrid & Electric Propulsion Systems, and Safety, Security&Reliability. Tell us about the digital transformation steps taken to accelerate innovative leaps, reduce costs, and mitigate the risks of your customers. The A&D industry faces new challenges that many of us have not faced before. The industry is required to innovate at a much faster rate than before, and that can’t be achieved through traditional engineering methods. This can only be achieved through digital transformation. Ansys is helping aerospace companies digitally engineer their goals and innovate to gain a quantum leap. By enabling Models Based Systems Engineering and introducing Digital Mission Engineering, Ansys helps connect the digital thread from the microchip to the mission and across the entire system life cycle. These open architecture, simulation-connecting solutions transform an organization’s traditional methods of engineering from siloed, closed, disconnected processes, to an open, collaborative, connected, mission-centric environment with traceability to an authoritative source of truth of a design reference mission model. Ansys has triggered a cost-saving impact of billions of dollars with results such as the reduction of drag by 4% ora weight-fuel burn by at least 10%.Furthermore, Ansys has embraced cloud-based solutions to enable its customers to access its software solutions from anywhere in the world. This has reduced the need for customers to invest in expensive on-premise infrastructure and has improved collaboration across distributed teams. Ansys is developing solutions and solutions that leverage GPU along with CPU to enable faster and more accurate simulation and modeling. This has enabled its customers to accelerate the product development cycle and reduce the time to market for new products. Ansys is integrating AI and ML capabilities into its software solutions to automate and optimize complex simulations. This has reduced the need for manual intervention and improved the accuracy and reliability of simulation results. We are also developing industry-specific solutions that address the unique challenges faced by its customers that may require an integrated approach between different solutions and practices. For example, creating an integrated framework to solve an autonomous problem. How are the existing infrastructure and operational setups utilized to their maximum potential by using digitization? Existing infrastructure setups can be automated to support bigger digitalization goals for the companies. Large amounts of old/legacy data are lying idle. Companies can use this data to gain insights and take informed key decisions for their sustainment or even for the next design change. Ansys is working with companies to use the existing infrastructure to support their predictive maintenance goal for operational efficiencies. A few companies are hesitant to completely revamp their existing systems and processes. Ansys is working with such companies to deliver an open framework to connect the existing setup and introduce new elements to create more efficient processes. Indian defense ecosystem is on a growing stage with a high volume of budget enhancement. How do you see the growth pattern & global support? India is the world’s second-largest defense market, and its defense sector has seen significant growth in recent years.The Indian government’s push for the localization of defense equipment has become attractive to investors and innovators. Ansys is working closely with Indian defense organizations and defense startups, supporting their product innovation through digital technology adoption. Make in India & Make for the World are the new focus area of India’s MoD. How does Ansys look into it and is part of the Govt. mission? Ansys is a software technology company and doesn’t produce any physical products. However, we work closely with companies in India to support their design and operational needs through digital technologies. Ansys supports Make in India initiatives of the Indian Government and many startups in the country through the Ansys Startup program.The Ansys Startup program is for early-stage startups with limited funding and resources. We provide full access to multi physics simulation software plus high-performance computing so they can tackle their engineering projects quickly and cost-effectively. To encourage upskilling and support the recently trained manpower, the Ansys Academic Program is promoted in India. It offers simulation software and resources for educational institutions to support the teaching of engineering, science, and design curricula. Our free student software has been downloaded more than 2.7 million times across the world. After three decades of service with the US Air Force, what thought led you to start consulting for Ansys (Federal Aerospace &Defence) and later joining the FA&D Sales Team and eventually becoming the CTO for Aerospace &Defence? Any challenges you would like to mention in the adaption of working? I really liked the people I was consulting for in Ansys Federal Aerospace &Defence (FA&D). I also loved the Ansys mission, and I aligned well with its values,

Exclusive Interview: Execujet MRO Services is all set to launch the new facility at Dubai South’s Al Maktoum International Airport (OMDW). The state of the art new MRO facility has been designed to accommodate nearly 20+ business jets simultaneously. Mr.Nick Weber, Regional Vice President Middle East, Execujet MRO Services in an interaction with Aviation World, Managing Editor,Vishal Kashyap share more inputs on this new MRO facility and this is going to reinforce Dubai’s status as an important centre for aviation MRO services. Excerpts of the interview… Kindly share with us details about the new MRO facility in Dubai in terms of infrastructure, technology, approvals, etc.? We designed our new MRO centre at Dubai’s Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC) to meet projected growth in business aviation in the Middle East region. The hangar can handle 18-24 mid-size to large business jets simultaneously, including the very largest Dassault business jets such as Falcon 6X and Falcon 10X. The new MRO centre is spread over 15,350 m2 and is replete with a larger hangar, back offices, training facilities and spare parts storage rooms. The new hangar specifically, has 8,300 m2 of floor space, about 1200 m2 more than the hangar space at our old facility at Dubai International Airport (DXB).A key difference is our operations at DWC will all be under one roof, as opposed to being split between two hangars as they were at DXB. There is also an additional 3100m2 of workshops that will expand our MRO capabilities. We already have workshops for wheel and brakes, batteries, avionics, etc. However, with more space we can expand the capabilities even further. The facility will also become ExecuJet’s new Middle East headquarters in Dubai while the company will still retain AOG capability at Dubai International Airport (DXB). What are the new capabilities that ExecuJet MRO Services ME will focus upon? ExecuJet MRO Services Middle East is a multi-OEM facility and supports many types of Dassault, Bombardier, Embraer, and Hawker business jets. In the region, we also work with cabin interior specialists, F/List, to provide cabin refurbishment services in response to customer demand. We look forward to adding new aircraft types, such as Falcon 6X and later on, the Falcon 10X to our repertoire. To prepare for entry into service of the Falcon 6X, we have been acquiring tooling and spare parts for the aircraft. We are sending a total four engineers for maintenance training on the Falcon 6X, a new aircraft type which is due to be certified and enter into service during this year. As more business jets enter the region, we will continue to expand our MRO capability by investing in tooling and training as demand dictates. What’s the vision behind the launch of the facility and its potential impact in the region? To support the growth of the commercial aviation as well as business aviation, the authorities in Dubai decided business aviation in time, should migrate to DWC. We saw the strategic initiative as an opportunity for us to grow and to build a large purpose-built facility. We were already familiar with DWC because even though we have had a line and heavy maintenance facilities at DXB since 2006. We had established a line maintenance station at DWC back in June 2013. The availability of space at DWC is an attractive proposition for ExecuJet MRO Services Middle East. With a larger facility, we will expand our capabilities including adding new aircraft types. We will also generate more employment. With the launch of our new facility, we plan to increase our workforce from around 150 to 200 by 2028. The new employees will also include fresh graduate’s on boarded via our internship programme that gives local students hands-on aircraft maintenance experience. How do you foresee the state of business aviation and MRO services sector in general? When the pandemic took hold globally in early 2020, all segments of the aviation industry were adversely affected. But the business aviation sector started recovering in 2020’s second half, certainly much quicker than commercial aviation. Many high net worth individuals and business people turned to business aviation to meet their travel needs. Flying on a business jet – as compared to being on a commercial airliner – means you come in contact with fewer people. Business aviation has always provided travellers with greater convenience and flexibility. Numerous market reports indicate that the vast majority of those who migrated to business aviation during pandemic continue to fly on business jets. The continued demand for business aircraft is leading to demand for business aviation MRO activities.The business aviation aircraft manufactures have large order backlogs and will continue to deliver those aircraft and future orders. Meanwhile, we are continuing to see strong demand for pre-owned aircraft. Transactions involving pre-owned aircraft create a lot of work for MRO businesses. Aircraft owners will often put the aircraft through a heavy maintenance check before selling, so as to garner a higher sale price for their aircraft. Meanwhile, buyers of pre-owned aircraft will often want to have some work done on aircraft upon delivery, such as change the livery as well as upgrades to the cabin interiors. Your views on Indian business aviation both in terms of growth and volume of business? India is the second largest market in Asia for business jets with a fleet of around 150 aircraft, according to Global Sky Research. Last year the fleet grew by around 7%. The industry anticipates that India’s business aviation market will continue to grow 5-10% per year which is quite strong growth considering India is already the second largest business aviation market in Asia. Demand in India is for both the very large, long-range business jets as well as the super mid-size aircraft. India has many large conglomerates with businesses overseas, so their executives need a convenient mode of international transport. There is also strong demand for mid-size aircraft because many Indian companies have businesses in tier-two and tier-three cities in India where the airport infrastructure may be inadequate to

The world is moving toward sustainability and the target is to achieve net zero emission by 2050. The global transport and logistics company, Kuehne+Nagel recently hosted first-of-its-kind sustainability event in Pune, India to highlight the initiatives taken toward achieving this goal. Mr. Marcel Fujike, Global Head of Products & Development, Air Logistics, Kuehne+Nagel talks to Vishal Kashyap, Managing Editor, Aviation World more on this. Excerpts from the interaction… Brief us about the recent sustainable event that was held in Pune,India. We had our first-ever sustainability event hosted in Pune for our customers across industries giving them an overview of sustainability, global emissions, and initiatives Kuehne+Nagel has taken across the globe. What is the goal &objectives of Kuehne+Nagel towards sustainability? At Kuehne+Nagel we have two major pillars inside our forum that are guiding us and leading our way. The first is the strategy that we recently announced in March 2023 at the Analyst Day in London where we clearly defined our core area in ESG (Environment Source and Governance) towards sustainability. The second is our vision for sustainability by 2030. We are working towards becoming the most trusted supply chain partner for a sustainable future. The second pillar is Science Based Targets and Initiatives (SBTI). Every year there is a climate change conference happening and in 2015 there was a climate change conference by the United Nations in Paris where great insight within various countries to eliminate global warming by 2050 to 1.5 degrees was shared. Now the question is what does that mean ‘up to 1.5 degrees?’ If we break it down to the companies,we get just the degrees figure, therefore we limit global warming basically up to 1.5 degrees. Hence, the SBTI is translating 1.5 degrees into absolute figures. We became science-based targets in 2021 and then we decided on our targets in mid-last year to become carbon neutral by 2050. Last year, we had 14.2 million tons of CO2e. Our emissions need to be reduced by 33 % by 2030 (against the 2019 baseline) and by 2050 it is our aim to have net zero emissions. While we will still have emissions that cannot be avoided but will compensate them with carbon capture i.e., active carbon removal – not offsetting. 2050 is set as the deadline to achieve net zero carbon emissions. What does that exactly mean? Net zero means we are still on one side of emissions and on the other side these emissions are reduced or brought to zero by active carbon capture. So, carbon capture means that there will be technologies out there that will help to remove carbon from the atmosphere. What are the specific steps that you are taking to curb pollution created in the logistics sector, especially in India? There is only one earth. Whatever we do in India impacts us globally, therefore as an organisation, we are not focusing on single countries. But all the measures we are taking are implemented globally. We are concentrating on our activities for global solutions first and then we have local-specific solutions. So, if we round this to India and we are looking into electric vehicles, warehousing, energy-powering sources, and solar energy. We have started now putting solar panels on the roofs of all our warehouses and offices and over the next two years,100% per cent of our electricity supply would be coming from renewable energy sources (wind, solar, water). End of last year, we stood at 85 % of the power coming from renewable energy. We have local initiatives running to implement sustainability actions in local Kuehne+Nagel departments and we take on activities supporting the care for the environment in local communities/countries as well. When you look at the larger picture of emissions unfortunately 98% of the emissions are indirect emissions globally like our airlines, shipping, truckers etc. and these are emissions that we are tackling. Globally in the next 10-15 years, we need to have biofuels which means we are actively promoting and investing in innovations as well as promoting the use of existing use of sustainable aviation fuel. What are the pertinent challenges that you see in the process of sustainability? Let’s take air freight as an example where we have three challenges in reducing the usage of carbon emissions. The first challenge is the awareness or knowledge of the industry. Because only a handful of carriers and partner airlines are up to speed on sustainability. This is taking a lot of time to educate and develop the concerned skills. The same is true for customers who are now moving in this direction. The second challenge we are looking into is the airside and the ability to ascertain aviation fuel because it is making emissions as the aircraft only has a life cycle of 40-50 years. Therefore, it will take some time until the first new technologies hit us and then really gives us any impact. Currently, the volume of bio fuel worldwide is very little and it’s insufficient to have an impact. The price of Sustainable Aviation Fuel is also 2 to 3 times higher than the existing Aviation Turbine Fuel due to several reasons like manufacturing and transportation etc. From India’s perspective don’t you think airlines are reluctant to adapt to Biofuel or SAF as that might impact their operational cost? With the support from the Indian govt, we can use SAF for airlines to become more carbon friendly.Methods like subsidising,incentivizing, or putting on mandates by DGCA that airlines need to have one per cent of SAF will help. The tricky part now is we have a limited access to SAF in India,but that can always be sourced from other countries like Singapore. What are the goals for the reduction in carbon emissions and future investments? The targets are set by SBTI and as mentioned by 2030 we need to save 33% of our total emissions which means 5.5 million tonnes of reduction of indirect emissions and by 2050 we have net zero emissions. The investment we are doing