Is India Ready for A380 ???

New Delhi' s swanky Terminal 3 has only had a fleeting visit
from the world' s largest and most modern passenger aircraft, the A380
super jumbo.
So what' s stopping airlines from flying the big bird to India?
The simple answer is India' s Ministry of Civil Aviation, which is doing the
equivalent of flashing the dreaded
yellow and red lights that keep aircraft
on hold, interminably.
The ministry has held back permission
without citing any reasons, but aviation circles are rife with
speculation that the motive is to
protect Indian carriers. Some domestic
airlines that fly to Europe are worried
that the A380 would take away
passengers from their routes, with travelers lured by the new aircraft and
attractive fares that are possible with
the larger, more economical plane.
If true, such a deliberate delay would
be short-sighted and ultimately
against India' s own interests. Indian carrier Kingfisher has five A380s on
order and the option to buy five more.
Air India, which has a strong
partnership with Lufthansa, could also
make the A380 available to its
customers through its existing code- share agreement with the German
carrier on the Delhi-Frankfurt route.
Lufthansa was expected to start flying
the A380 on the Delhi-Frankfurt route
with the opening of T3. The airline
announced as much, but then it wasn' t allowed to fly the super jumbo to India, and instead had to deploy it
elsewhere.

AK Antony inaugurates BEML's Aerospace Manufacturing Facility in Mysore

Mysore: Defence
Minister Shri AK Antony inaugurated the Aerospace
Manufacturing Facility at the Mysore
Complex of BEML Ltd. The new facility
will manufacture gears for helicopters including the Light Combat Helicopter,
jigs for aircraft structures, machining
of aerospace components, fabrication
of structural sub-assemblies for Su-30
fighter jets and an array of Ground
Support and Ground Handling Equipment.
"Get ready to deliver more quality
products, assure deliveries on time
and I can assure you the government
will give you all support," said Antony
while calling on the management and the employees to take full advantage
of the Defence Offset Policy.
The Aerospace Manufacturing Division
of BEML was launched two years ago
during Aero India 2009. The division
is already AS-9100B certified. "It will eventually undertake manufacture of
complex Gears and Gear Boxes for
helicopters and aero engines, landing
gears for aircraft and upgrades of
aircraft and choppers," said Kallol Roy,
Asstt. General Manager (Quality Control).
BEML has also acquired 25 acres of
land worth Rs 360 crores at the
Areospace Park SEZ near the New
International Airport in Bangalore for
setting up an exclusive Aerospace Manufacturing Complex.

Aero India 2011: Bangalore airshow takes off,global firms eye deals

South Asia's top airshow, Aero India
2011, took off on a impressive
notetoday with global defence majors
eyeing lucrative deals and India
vowing to modernise its armed forces
to meet the challenge posed by 'violent disturbances' in the
neighbourhood. A two-hour flying display held the
centre-stage at Yelahanka Air Force
Station after defence minister AK
Antony declared open the five-day
biennial airshow, the biggest to date
with strong domestic and international participation. Antony said the event would further
enhance India's emergence as an
attractive market and a key
outsourcing hub for global aerospace
firms. He said India had always been a
votary of peace but "violent
disturbances" in its immediate and
extended neighbourhood posed
security challenges to it and the
region.