In what amounts to one of the most signifi cant developments for the Indian air cargo industry, the Indian government recently changed foreign investment rules to allow foreign carriers to take up to a 74per cent stake in cargo airlines. Previously foreign direct investment (FDI) was capped at 49 per cent and international carriers were not allowed to invest in cargo operations. "The Cabinet decision says that no direct or indirect investment by foreign airlines will be allowed in … [Read more...] about INDIA: India opens up cargo sector to FDI

Bangalore-based Quikjet Cargo - operated by joint venture company Aviation Consultancy Services Pvt Ltd - will begin domestic air cargo operations from April this year. Aviation Consultancy Services is a joint venture between Cardinal Aviation Pte Ltd, a private equity firm in Singapore, and Mumbai-based logistics firm AFL Pvt Ltd. "In the first phase, Quikjet will be using two-three Boeing B737-300 cargo planes to cover the main Indian metros using Bangalore’s new airport as a … [Read more...] about INDIA: Singapore/India JV good to go

Korean Air has announced an expansion of its A380 fleet with the purchase of three more A380 aircraft in addition to the fi ve it ordered in 2003. Starting in 2010, Korean Air will introduce the A380 on high-density routes from Seoul to the US west coast, with subsequent destinations likely to include cities on the US east coast and Europe. Deliveries to Korean Air for the three additional aircraft are scheduled to take place in 2012 and 2013. ¡°Our decision to purchase the A380 … [Read more...] about KOREA: Korean Air opts for more A380s

The Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) recently signed an agreement on enhanced cooperation on the safety oversight of the Airbus 380. Under the agreement, CAAS and EASA will exchange information and analysis on airworthiness and flight operations matters pertaining to the A380. Both sides will also collaborate to address issues arising from the A380 operations, enabling close monitoring and safety oversight of the A380 fleet in service, … [Read more...] about SINGAPORE: Singapore and EU oversight on A380

Global aerospace/defence group and Airbus parent, EADS has announced a long-term R&D partnership with two Singapore universities. The National University of Singapore (NUS) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU) both signed agreements for research and development cooperation. Th e NUS agreement will facilitate the setting up of joint research collaborations between the University and EADS. One of these collaborations is the newly launched ¡°Flow Control Project¡±, jointly set up … [Read more...] about SINGAPORE: EADS partners Singapore universities

Singapore Airlines was forced to cancel an Airbus A380 flight to Sydney because of a fuel pump defect last month. ¡°It was a difficult delay. A problem presented with a fuel pump, and this is the sort of problem that doesn¡¯t show till engine start-up,¡± SIA said in a statement. ¡°This problem does occur from time to time with aircraft generally, but requires some time to fi x,¡± it said, adding that a replacement pump did not solve the problem. Passengers were transferred to a … [Read more...] about SINGAPORE: Defective fuel pump grounds SIA A380