Latest news with #AIESL
NDTV
3 days ago
- Business
- NDTV
Operation Sindoor Impact: Air India To Drop Turkish Jet Maintenance Firm
New Delhi: Air India is set to wind up its association with Turkish Technic, a leading global aviation service provider, that provides comprehensive maintenance for Boeing 777 aircraft in the airline's fleet. ''If there is a concern about continuing to do business in this fashion, then we'll find alternatives,'' said Campbell Wilson, Air India's CEO and MD, who confirmed to NDTV that the airline was ending its association with Turkish Technic. ''I think we want to respect public sentiment.'' The Air India announcement comes within days of the Civil Aviation Ministry telling IndiGo, India's largest airline, that it will not be allowed to operate two aircraft that it has wet-leased from Turkish Airlines beyond three months. Earlier, the government had cancelled the security clearance of Celebi, a Turkey-linked aviation ground handling services company that has been present in nine airports in the country. The government's moves are a reaction to Turkey's support for Pakistan, which New Delhi has targeted with strikes on terror centres and air bases during Operation Sindoor. Turkish-made drones were also used by Pakistan in military operations against India. New Delhi's message is clear - there cannot, presently, be any 'business as usual' arrangement with Turkish companies given Ankara's support for Pakistan. Explaining the tie-up with Turkish Technic, Mr Wilson said, ''We have committed some aircraft which are already under maintenance. And for alternatives that are about to go into maintenance, we're looking for alternative providers to perform the service instead.'' Maintenance, repair and overhaul services for Air India's long-haul Boeing 777 fleet are presently carried out at the Air India Engineering Services Limited (AIESL), a public sector undertaking which belongs to the government. Some aircraft are also being sent to Abu Dhabi and Singapore. "AIESL was really the only game in town. And they don't have the capacity to perform the basic maintenance as well as the rehabilitation and retrofit that we're currently undertaking. So we've had to send aircraft out of India and some to AIESL, into many locations." The recent military hostilities between India and Pakistan have also had a direct bearing on Air India's long-haul services. With airspace over Pakistan shut to Indian-owned airlines, some of Air India's flights to North America are having to operate on different, longer routes. Some non-stop services have now become one-stop flights to refuel aircraft. "There is a significant additional cost,'' says Mr Wilson. "And ultimately, it does get passed on to the consumer, whether it's because there are fewer seats available to be offered and so the remaining seats have higher demand, or we just pass through the actual cost increase that we're incurring. So we all hope that this normalises as quickly as possible, but it's out of our hands." Mr Wilson, though, disagrees with suggestions that the airspace ban over Pakistan has significantly disrupted Air India's long-haul offerings. "So I'd push back on that. I think there are only three cities that we're not currently operating nonstop. Every other flight that we have previously operated is continuing to operate nonstop. So the customer proposition of a convenient nonstop service by an Indian carrier to North America remains." That said, some flights are taking longer -- between an hour to three hours, depending on the city where the aircraft is headed. "But that is still much more convenient than transiting through somewhere in between," says Mr Campbell.
Mint
28-04-2025
- Business
- Mint
AIESL targets $1 billion in revenue by 2030, eyes new avenues for growth
Government-backed Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) company AI Engineering Services Ltd (AIESL) is targeting $1 billion in revenue by 2030. To reach this target, AIESL plans to expand its services by beginning the Passenger-to-Freighter (P2F) conversion segment in the latter half of FY26. The company is on track to achieve the billion-dollar target as the firm has been maintaining constant revenue over the last 3 years, as per the company's CEO Sharad Agarwal. "We have been maintaining ₹ 2,000 crore average revenue from the last three years consistently. We will be able to achieve the $1 billion yearly revenue target by 2030 as we expand our portfolio of services," said Agarwal. According to AIESL's research, there is a huge opportunity in the P2F conversion segment, as both Airbus and Boeing grapple with pending deliveries. There is also an opportunity to convert 1,000 passenger aircraft to freighter aircraft. Also read: Air India, IndiGo brace for higher costs as Pakistan bans Indian airlines from its airspace after Pahalgam terror attack "We look forward to the first aircraft entering our facility next year. So hopefully by the end of this fiscal year, we will start P2F conversion," said AIESL's CEO. GMR Aero Technic, in partnership with Boeing, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), and Adani Group acquired Air Works, are the other companies working in the P2F segment. AIESL's major customers are Air India Group and the defence forces, and the company hopes to partner with other Indian airlines. While the company has also catered to international airlines like Kuwait Airways, other major airlines are not yet customers. As per leasing agreements, broader approvals from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) are mandatory, which AIESL and other MRO companies in India currently don't have. However, the company is in the process of getting more such approvals. "We are working towards getting EASA approval for more services and will be able to bridge the gap. With more approvals, we will be able to expand base checks for more aircraft," said Agarwal. Also read: Growth the single agenda, Air India Express defies the standard LCC model AIESL currently has seven base and line maintenance facilities in seven cities: New Delhi, Mumbai, Nashik, Nagpur, Kolkata, Hyderabad, and Thiruvananthapuram. Agarwal also told Mint that AIESL should be a good option for other Indian airlines, as all the company operations are in India. He said, "Airlines may not need to send aircraft to other countries for MRO services as we have high regulatory oversight since we're present in India. All our facilities can be visited at any time by the regulator or partner airlines," said the CEO. The CEO also sees a big opportunity in engine MRO. Currently, AIESL provides engine MRO for CFM LEAP 1A, CFM56 B, GE90, GEnx and certain Pratt & Whitney engines. "Line maintenance and base maintenance make up just about 5-8% and 10-12% of the volumes. The remaining 80% opportunity is in engine and component maintenance, and the country must go big towards this segment," said Agarwal. Also read: IndiGo bomb threat: Canadian national spooks travellers onboard Varanasi-Bengaluru flight, police detain foreigner AIESL currently offers line and base maintenance for aircraft such as Airbus A319, A320, A321, Boeing 737, MAX, 787, 747, and 787. It also offers maintenance for ATR aircraft and component maintenance. AIESL's Nashik facility provides painting services for Airbus and Boeing narrow-body aircraft.
