A Word from Editor

Wings india 2018 is a major event for the Indian civil aviation industry being held at Begumpet airport at Hyderabad. An International event to showcase civil aviation and aerospace, this Airshow began as India Aviation Airshow and the inaugural event was held in October 2008. Wings India 2018 is the sixth edition of the event.

In the lead story in this issue of SP’s AirBuz, Byron Bohlman, an aviation expert, analyses the regional aviation scene in India and the issues related to profitability in operating Regional Jets. The author states that currently, carriers in India largely operate turboprops on short routes as these aircraft offer better profitability. However, on the longer routes Regional Jets have the potential to offer significantly better profitability. There is a crossover point, measured by distance, where the efficiency of a jet surpasses that of a turboprop. Longer sectors hold the key to Regional Jet’s success where nonstop flights that replace hub connections can command higher yields. With the rapid growth of regional aviation in India, Regional Jets have the potential to play a major role in the future in the Indian regional aviation segment.

Just prior to Wings India, the global civil aviation industry was involved in another major event, the Singapore Airshow 2018 held in the second week of February this year. This Airshow attracted all major players in the civil aviation domain from across the world. However, there were no major deals concluded during the Airshow and the focus of the industry was largely on components as also on maintenance, repairs and overhaul contracts. Rohit Srivastava of SP Guide Publications has a detailed report on the event in this issue of SP’s AirBuz.

India is now recognised as the third largest civil aviation market in the world in the domestic segment. As per professional analysts, it has the potential to reach the top slot in the global market by 2030. However, there is the need to seriously address some of the issues pertaining to the civil aviation industry in India to remove the impediments to it achieving a podium position globally. In this issue, A.K. Sachdev has a detailed analysis of the Indian civil aviation industry and its prospects of growth in the future.

With the rapid growth in the civil aviation industry the world over, the problem of climate change on account of increasing emissions from aeroplanes, is likely to become even more acute and global environmental concerns will adversely impact the growth of the industry itself. In this issue, Joseph Noronha has a detailed analysis of the problem of climate change vis-à-vis the civil aviation industry.

While Indian civil aviation has been registering an impressive growth rate in the recent past and growth prospects for the future also appear bright, one segment that is lagging behind and needs attention is that of maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO). Sukhchain Singh who has considerable experience in this field, has a detailed review of the state and progress of MRO in India. He is of the view that globalisation of MRO services, low manpower cost, availability of talent, advantages of location and the presence of specialist capabilities, all combine to make India a potential global MRO hub in the future.

All these and more in this issue of SP’s AirBuz. Welcome aboard and do visit us at Booth No. 28, Hall B, at Wings India 2018.