At India Aviation, Honeywell signed up with two entities to improve airline efficiency, one with Air India and other with GoAir. Honeywell and Safran signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with GoAir, one of India’s leading low-cost carriers, to support the advancement of the EGTS electric taxiing system, a technology that can save airlines up to four per cent block fuel consumption per flight. GoAir becomes the fourth airline in the world after Air France, Easy-Jet, and TUIfly. Sasi Kancharla, Customer Business Leader, Air Transport and Regional Aerospace, India, Honeywell told SP’s Aviation that the system was likely to go to market in the next few years and would benefit single aisle, narrow body and regional aircraft.

EGTS uses electric motors on the main landing gear to enable the aircraft to push back autonomously and taxi without using its main engines to improve operational efficiency and reduce emissions. The news follows an agreement with Airbus in December to jointly evaluate EGTS as an option for the company’s A320 family of airplanes.

GoAir will provide data on its taxiing operations to Honeywell and Safran to assist in maturing the system and to define the precise fuel and other operational benefits it would see by using the technology across its fleets. The agreement will also see GoAir assist in establishing the airline standard operational procedures for aircraft equipped with the system.

HONEYWELL, AIR INDIA PACT

Honeywell Aerospace also signed an MoU with Air India enabling the airline to explore how Honeywell’s SmartRunway/ SmartLanding software upgrade can help it increase safety, improve pilot situational awareness and lower cockpit workload across its Boeing 777 fleet. The SmartRunway/SmartLanding upgrade helps mitigate runway accidents that cost the worldwide aviation industry $1 billion annually for injuries, damage, repairs and inspections.

“At Air India we are constantly looking for innovative ways to bring our passengers new levels of safety and comfort when they fly with us,” said A.K. Mathew, Executive Director of Engineering, Air India. “As we expand our network our pilots are required to fly into an ever-growing number of airports, many of which are continually changing in terms of layout. SmartRunway/ SmartLanding could make it easier for our pilots to navigate these airports regardless of visibility, and extend passenger safety even further in the process.”

Honeywell’s SmartRunway/SmartLanding system uses GPS location information and airport and object data stored in Honeywell’s enhanced ground proximity warning system (EGPWS) database to determine if the aircraft is configured properly for landing, taxiing and take-off. This can dramatically reduce runway incursions, where collisions occur on the runway, or runway excursions, where aircraft accidentally leave the runway or enter a runway they are not approved for.

“Air India is looking for new ways to maximise the safety of its passengers by taking advantage of the safety systems its fleet already has in place,” said Pritam Bhavnani, President, Honeywell Aerospace India. “Because SmartRunway/SmartLanding is a software upgrade, airlines can cost-effectively add new functionality to their EGPWS with no additional weight and minimal aircraft downtime and in doing so make operations safer – even at new, unfamiliar airports and in low visibility.”