The Hindu Business Line : HAL in talks with ATR for fleet upkeep

THE growing number of aircraft purchases by domestic operators has set defence major Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd on a new business tack: that of servicing and maintaining these aircraft right here in India rather than sending them to the manufacturers' countries.

The HAL Chairman, Mr A. K. Baweja, said on Thursday at the ongoing Aero India show that the public enterprise was seriously pursuing the service business arising from the large operating fleet of aircraft major ATR, apart from Airbus and Boeing.

"A large ATR fleet is operating in the country and is growing rapidly. We are having dialogues with them, expressing our interest. We have undertaken a business case study with ATR on the viability of maintaining ATR-42 and 72 aircraft, which will be a very big opportunity for us and which we can manage comfortably," Mr Baweja told Business Line.

Though HAL maintained Boeings in a small way in the past, the ATR business, he said, would be a huge business opportunity not yet assessed for its worth.

French company ATR recently sold 30 aircraft to Air Deccan, while currently, 24 of the 50-70 seater turboprops are being flown by Jet Airways, Alliance Air and Air Deccan. It holds 60 per cent of the domestic market in the 20- to-90 seaters.

Subsequently, it would also expect to tap similar prospects with Airbus and Boeing, which have offered their planes to Indian Airlines and Air India.

On another front, HAL is hoping to get big offset chunks for work orders from Airbus and Boeing, for whom it is a vendor of doors and structures.

It was also interested in bagging orders for the latest A380. This would put it in a highly competitive international market for contracts from the two aircraft majors, he said.

Russian Regional Jet programme: HAL, which is keen on international partnerships, is a prospective risk-sharing partner in the ambitious Russian Regional Jet (RRJ) programme along with Sukhoi Design Bureau, Snecma Moteurs, Thales and Boeing.

The RRJ plans to make 65, 75 and 95-seater civilian aircraft for the regional market.

Without giving investment requirements, Mr Baweja said, "We have engaged SBI Capital to do a cost analysis study of the project to fully understand it before jumping it. We want to go about it cautiously."

According to Mr K. P. Puri, Managing Director, MiG complex at Nashik, a Sukhoi-sponsored market study has estimated a regional demand for a few thousand such aircraft in 20 years and foresees a market share of 16 per cent or some 800 aircraft for the RRJ in 15 years.

HAL could get 10 per cent of the jobs for empennages and canopy frames but would be up against global competitors.

On Tuesday, HAL and US major Lockheed Martin Aerospace signed a technical transfer agreement for works related to Orion P3 maritime surveillance aircraft.

This is only the first step and too many conclusions should not be drawn as HAL's customers, IAF, the Navy and the Army, make aircraft purchase decisions, he said.

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