Reliance Industries buys majority stake in Deccan 360

April 16, 2010

Reliance Industries and Deccan 360 announced today that RIL would buy majority stake into Deccan 360. Though the exact details are not yet known, it is believed that Reliance brings in an investment of upto USD 30 million into the company. This should not only give a boost to the company's expansion plans but also establish it as a long term player in the industry. This deal has the potential to completely change the market scenario.

VSS Enterprise's first 'captive carry' flight!

VSS Enterprise completes her first captive carry...

Virgin Galactic announced today that VSS Enterprise has completed her inaugural captive carry flight from Mojave Air and Spaceport.

This very first captive carry was a huge success and both the mothership and spaceship looked absolutely stunning against the blue back drop of the Mojave skies.

Commenting on the historic flight, Burt Rutan said: “This is a momentous day for the Scaled and Virgin Teams. The captive carry flight signifies the start of what we believe will be extremely exciting and successful spaceship flight test program.”

Sir Richard Branson, Founder of Virgin Galactic added: “Seeing the finished spaceship in December was a major day for us but watching VSS Enterprise fly for the first time really brings home what beautiful, ground-breaking vehicles Burt and his team have developed for us. It comes as no surprise that the flight went so well; the Scaled team is uniquely qualified to bring this important and incredible dream to reality. Today was another major step along that road and a testament to US engineering and innovation.”

The VSS Enterprise test flight programme will continue though 2010 and 2011, progressing from captive carry to independent glide and then powered flight, prior to the start of commercial operations.

Tragic Crash at Hyderabad Air Show

An Air Show by the Sagar Pawan aerobatic team of the Indian Navy had a tragic end when one of the aircraft, a Kiran MK-II, could not recover from the dive and crashed in a nearby three floor building. Both the pilots died in the crash. The exact reasons of the crash are still being investigated. The aircraft actually crashed into a cell phone tower on the top of the building and turned into the fireball. One of the pilots ejected but the parachute did not deploy probably due to the low height.

AgustaWestland and Tata Sons Establish a Joint Venture Company

AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, and Tata Sons have signed a Shareholders’ Agreement for the formation of an Indian joint venture company which will establish in India a final assembly line for the AW119 helicopter for the worldwide market. The agreement was signed in New Delhi today by Mr. Giuseppe Orsi, CEO, AgustaWestland and Mr. Ratan Tata, Chairman, Tata Sons. The joint venture company will be responsible for AW119 final assembly, completion and delivery while AgustaWestland will retain responsibility for worldwide marketing and sales. The first aircraft is scheduled to be delivered from the new facility in 2011 with production forecast to rise to 30 aircraft per year to meet worldwide demand.

Mr. Giuseppe Orsi, CEO, AgustaWestland speaking after the signing ceremony said "It gives us great pleasure to have achieved this important agreement with such a leading industrial partner in India. The establishment of a Joint Venture to set up an AW119 assembly line in India will provide extraordinary industrial opportunities both in the country and worldwide through the synergies generated by AgustaWestland and Tata Sons capitalizing upon the depth of their respective resources. We are committed to enabling Tata Sons to play an increasing role as an aerospace enterprise and to jointly exploiting future prospects in the growing Indian helicopter market.” It is envisaged that the joint venture company would be a supplier for the current Reconnaissance and Surveillance Helicopter (RSH) programme of the Indian Armed Forces, for which AgustaWestland has already proposed the AW119 to be manufactured in India. Additionally, AgustaWestland and Tata Sons are exploring further commercial, technical and industrial collaboration opportunities in the rotorcraft industry to strengthen their strategic relationship.

Tata companies operate in seven business sectors: communications and information technology, engineering, materials, services, energy, consumer products and chemicals. They are, by and large, based in India and have significant international operations. The total revenue of Tata companies, taken together, was $70.8 billion (around Rs325-334 crore) in 2008-09, with 64.7 per cent of this coming from business outside India, and they employ around 357,000 people worldwide. The Tata name has been respected in India for 140 years for its adherence to strong values and business ethics. Every Tata company or enterprise operates independently. Each of these companies has its own board of directors and shareholders, to whom it is answerable. There are 28 publicly listed Tata enterprises and they have a combined market capitalization of some $60 billion, and a shareholder base of 3.5 million.

Website Launched

Aerotech FMS Pvt. Ltd. launches its website. The site is aimed at providing the most information to its users on various aviation services provided by the company. The site not only aims at business but also seeks to provide the clients and net users with the most information on aviation and our services.

Tourist Visas on Arrival

Citizens of Finland, Japan, Luxmburg, New Zealand and Singapore can now a tourist visa on arrival for a maximum validity of 30 days. The visa can only be granted at Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata Airports. The Visa may only be granted if all the guidelines and pre-conditions are fulfilled. This Visa is non-extendable and non-convertible. This is a move in the right direction that has been welcomed by the entire tourism and hospitality industry. more details on this visa may be found on the Bureau of Immigrations website.