Category Archives: Aviation

Pratt & Whitney announced the establishment of its new India Digital Capability Center (IDCC) in Bengaluru. The new center will accelerate innovation and drive digital and business transformation for Pratt & Whitney worldwide. The facility will be co-located with Pratt & Whitney’s engineering and supply chain operations centers of excellence. The location will also facilitate close collaboration with other RTX businesses in India including Collins Aerospace and RTX Enterprise Services. “The expansion of Pratt & Whitney’s digital technology presence in Bengaluru will allow us to leverage India’s aviation and technology talent and accelerate our digital transformation,” said Rahul Dharni, vice president & global chief information officer, Pratt & Whitney. Pratt & Whitney has begun recruiting its first tranche of employees for the IDCC and is expected grow to over 300 employees by 2027. The center will be focused on delivering multiple digital technology capabilities across various priority areas of Pratt & Whitney’s digital transformation. “With $40 million already invested in engineering and supply chain operations centers in the past two years, Pratt & Whitney continues to grow its presence and contribution to India’s aerospace ecosystem with this additional multi-million-dollar investment in the IDCC,” said Ashmita Sethi, president & country head, Pratt & Whitney, India (UTCIPL).

A.P. Moller – Maersk (Maersk), as a part of its integrated logistics solutions, has launched a fully digital solution for customers willing to purchase air freight solutions. The new online solution available on Maersk.com provides customers with an option to book their air cargo requirements through a simple online tool that will provide customers with instant prices for as many as 70,000 connections between virtually all relevant airports globally. With the launch of this new solution, Maersk takes further steps towards connecting and truly simplifying its customers’ supply chains. Maersk’s air freight cargo coverage extends to 70,000 airport pairings across more than 90 countries around the world. Being a fully online solution, the platform also allows the customer to book cargo movement for any of the 70,000 airport pairings from anywhere in the world.

Neutral Air Partner has recently started a partnership with Cargo iQ, “reflecting both organizations’ commitment to quality and efficiency in the air cargo sector.” Cargo iQ is an IATA interest group formed by stakeholders of the air cargo supply chain working together to set standards and improve quality and performance in the sector. With a focus on enhancing end-to-end supply chain transparency, Cargo iQ’s main projects involve the standardization of processes and the implementation of quality benchmarks. One of Cargo iQ’s main features is its advanced visibility functions, which provide real-time insight into the movement of shipments from its planning stage using a “route map”, which is shared by the airline and the freight forwarder at all times. Cargo iQ’s route map enables forwarders to monitor air cargo movement, receive real-time replanning information as well as exception handling alerts. Cargo iQ’s visibility function is also available to Small and Medium Enterprises (SME), a program tailored to meet the unique needs of smaller businesses. This program provides access to Cargo iQ’s route map at a tailored price for their scale and with simplified onboarding.

BBN Airlines Indonesia is hoping to put its third Boeing 737-400 freighter into action in the opening weeks of March. The recently launched ACMI carrier took delivery of the converted freighter in November last year and since then it has been undergoing a maintenance check process. BBN said the aircraft, which was delivered alongside three passenger 737-800s, will be used on domestic and regional flights. The carrier has plans to expand its fleet to 40 aircraft by the end of 2027, although at this stage it is not known how many of these will be freighter aircraft.

Turkish freighter operator MNG Airlines has grown its fleet with an Airbus A330-200F. The airline said in a LinkedIn post, “We’re thrilled to announce the newest addition to the MNG Airlines family, the A330-200F, registered as TC-MCU. This aircraft strengthens our presence in the aviation industry with its modern design, high performance, and environmentally friendly features. We are grateful to everyone who has joined us on this journey and look forward to the opportunity to provide a broader and more efficient service to our valued customers and business partners. We are proud and excited to welcome the TC-MCU to our fleet and look forward to many successful flights together.”

Indian aerospace manufacturing scales new heights as Airbus and Dynamatic Technologies Limited (DTL) join hands to manufacture all door variants in the next-gen Airbus A220 family of aircraft in India. “This is one of the single-largest export contracts for an Indian aerospace manufacturing company,” said official LinkedIn Post. The step will go a long way in bringing the complete aircraft door making technology to the Indian aerospace ecosystem. This is a stellar example of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi‘s Make In India vision translating into huge growth and employment dividends for the nation. For the first time, every Airbus commercial aircraft and every Airbus helicopter has critical technologies and systems designed, manufactured and maintained in India. With this & in the near future, Airbus will double its procurement from India from UD$750 million to UD$1.5 billion.

Afcom, Chennai based air cargo operator is all set to operate its own aircraft as the company has got certification and possession of a freshly arrived B737-800(BCF) with another two scheduled to land before the year’s end. The identity of the aircraft has not been verified yet, said reports. “This aircraft will support Afcom’s current capacity with its airfreight partners, thus enabling a faster and more reliable delivery service,” Afcom chairman Deepak Parasuraman told Indian media last week. “The company plans to add two more freighter aircraft to its fleet by the end of the year. Air cargo is today a key enabler of flexibility and speed in global supply chains. We foresee good and rising demand for air cargo and we are fully geared up to infuse the required capacity in the market.” The company ships around 250 tonnes of cargo a month using airfreight partners but acquiring its own planes will allow Afcom to uplift around 1,250 tonnes a month. Via their partners, Afcom now serves Singapore, Indonesia, and Brunei but the cargo carrier intends to start flights to Hanoi Noi Bai International and Bangkok Suvarnabhumi once they are cleared to fly their own planes.

Chennai International Airport (MAA) and Chennai is home to one of the busiest airports in India. Within our network, Chennai ranked 6th for exports in 2023, with top exported products including electronics, engineered goods, auto parts, garments and mobile phones, said Etihad’s LinkedIn Post. In fact, in 2023, we handled 442 tonnes of iPhone shipments. Our key routes for Chennai connect the bustling airport to Milan, Frankfurt, Munich, Amsterdam, London, New York, Chicago and Johannesburg. We operate two dedicated freighters for Chennai, offering four flights per week to connect this India hub not only to Abu Dhabi but also to Shanghai, providing additional capacity into two key global markets. We also provide additional belly capacity via 21 passenger flights per week, it added.

E-commerce firm Meesho formally launched a logistics vertical – Valmo (VALue+Movement) – to provide shipment facilities to sellers. “VALMO will redefine India’s supply chain by leveraging our strong technology capabilities and tapping into a vast logistics entrepreneur network to deliver shipments at the lowest cost. So far, we have partnered with over 3,000 local entrepreneurs, created more than 30,000 jobs, and expanded our reach to cover over ~6,000 pin codes in 20+ states,” says Meesho in its LinkedIn post.

SMILe (Shree Maruti Integrated Logistics Ltd) has announced its ground-breaking collaboration with Skye Air. This strategic partnership is set to revolutionize the e-commerce landscape and introduce a game-changing capability to deliver shipments via drones. As the first-of-its-kind offering in India, this transformative alliance showcases SMILe unwavering commitment to pushing the boundaries of technology to bring better solutions to its sellers and customers. The partnership is centralized towards enabling faster order fulfillment within urban traffic congestion with the help of Skye Air’s autonomous logistics solutions. By integrating drones with highly adaptable on-demand interfaces, Skye Air minimizes disruptions to partner operational processes, thereby enhancing shipping capabilities and ensuring unparalleled customer satisfaction for both B2B and B2C operations. The introduction of drone delivery services will not only provide Shree Maruti sellers with the ability to offer same-day and next-day deliveries but also revolutionize the entire delivery process, making it more efficient, eco-friendly, and customer-centric. “SMILe (Shree Maruti Integrated Logisistics Ltd) is on a mission to empower Indian merchants with inclusive, tech-driven solutions to ease their business operations,” said Priyank Patel, VP-Business of SMILe. “Our collaboration with Skye Air represents a significant step towards achieving that goal and propelling the e-commerce landscape towards future advancements throughout India. With this partnership, we are redefining the future of e-commerce and providing our sellers with a competitive edge in the market.” “Skye Air is dedicated to revolutionizing drone delivery and making it a mainstream logistics solution in India, and our collaboration with Shree Maruti is a significant step in that direction,” said Ankit Kumar, Co-Founder & CEO of Skye Air. “By leveraging our state-of-the-art tech stack and infrastructure, including Skye Pod and Skye UTM, we aim to …