By Vijay Grover
While at the Paris Airshow, India’s budget airline IndiGo placed an order of 500 A320neo aircraft from Airbus, making the multibillion-dollar deal the largest by a single carrier in civil aviation history. Earlier in February 2023, the recently privatized Air India made news when it placed an order of 470 narrow and widebody jets from both Boeing and Airbus.
While the two airlines which have a combined Indian domestic market share of over 80% in 2023, both are looking at capitalizing on the much-awaited post-pandemic aviation boom.
Market experts estimate that over 685 million people are expected to fly in India in 2042 compared to the 165 million in 2019 (pre-covid). Last year, 2023 the figure was still short of the pre-covid era and stood at 158 million according to Airbus’s 20-year forecast released last year. Numerically India is now the third-largest civil aviation market after China and the United States and one of the fastest-growing ones
In an effort to expand its market share Air India is looking to ensure that there are no backlogs or delays of the aircrafts it has ordered. A delegation of Air India officials signed an MOU with Collins Aerospace on Thursday for a full suite of avionics hardware catering to the airline’s expanding Boeing 737 MAX fleet.
The deal announced at the ongoing Singapore Airshow 2024 will ensure that Air India gets a comprehensive package that includes communication, navigation, surveillance equipment and air data sensors, designed to enhance the safety, fuel efficiency and operational performance of Air India’s fleet.
“This avionics agreement marks a collaborative effort that will be foundational to Air India’s 737 MAX fleet for years to come,” said Craig Bries, vice president and general manager of Avionics Sales, Marketing and Aftermarket Services at Collins Aerospace. “Equipping their new MAX fleet with our advanced suite of avionics underscores Air India’s trust in our technology and commitment to innovation. Collins’ solutions will deliver exceptional performance and reliability, contributing to Air India’s continued success.”
“Air India is pleased to have Collins Aerospace as a partner in our transformation journey. The company’s full suite of avionics hardware will serve our existing as well as growing fleet of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft,” said Nipun Aggrawal, Chief Commercial & Transformation Officer, Air India.
Collins’ suite of advanced avionics will work in harmony to improve operations through every phase of flight on Air India’s MAX aircraft. Multi-mode receivers enable precision satellite and ground-based navigation, facilitating high position accuracy, improved integrity and future upgrades through a simple software update. Collins’ radio altimeters provide accurate digital height measurements during crucial approach, landing and climb-out phases, while actively filtering and mitigating any potential 5G cellular interference.
Air India will also receive Collins’ MultiScan ThreatTrack™ weather radar, which predicts adverse weather conditions and actively displays and analyzes cells – providing real-time route adjustments, reducing long deviations and delays, and ensuring passengers enjoy a smoother journey.
