In India, ARINC is a recent entrant in airports business, having garnered projects at the IGIA. In an exclusive interview with SP’s Aviation, Jim Martin, Managing Director, Asia-Pacific along with Guruprasad Rao, Country Manager, India, spoke about the exciting opportunities that abound in India. Excerpts of the interview

SP’s Aviation (SP’s): ARINC is into aerospace/defence, airports, airlines and security business. Could you outline your presence in India?

Jim Martin (Martin): ARINC has been in the business of radio communications for the military, airline and the commercial aviation industry for a long time. It is now a $1.1 billion ( Rs. 4,950 crore) company and a little over 50 per cent of the revenues come from the US military. We have been providing engineering services mostly for the US Air Force and the US Navy, related to avionics, guidance systems, GPS type technologies, etc. We participate in different countries through the foreign military sales (FMS) route.

SP’s: What then is your focus in India?

Martin: We are focused on the aviation business including aircraft communications and airport systems. We have 80 per cent market share in America and globally we are about 70 per cent. In Asia, we have over 200 ground stations and we are approaching 1,000 stations around the world. There are four ground stations in India and within 18 months we will scale it up to 20. These stations will help us stage future solutions including the electronic flight path (EFP) which will be the next best thing. This technology not only benefits the crew while flying but also gives a new experience to the passengers who can use wireless technologies in the skies— it could be use of an iPad or a mobile phone.

For the business aviation segment, we have introduced ArincDirect in India and the product offers flight planning, international trip handling, fuel brokerage, weather services, personalised concierge for VIP travel, etc

Guruprasad Rao (Rao): We have signed ArincDirect contracts with Religare, TajAir, Jindal, Grasim, Bharat Forge, Anil Ambani group, etc.

SP’s: Could you tell us about the deployment of self-service check-in kiosks in India?

Rao: We have provided self-use kiosks at T1D and T3 at Indira Gandhi International Airport. We have deployed eight and 14 kiosks in the domestic and international terminals respectively. We (DIAL and Arinc) are talking to the airport operations club over here to figure out how many kiosks are needed.

Martin: Whether you are a mainline airline or a low cost, the airport management is always looking for optimal space and manpower utilisation. By putting up common use kiosks, we are speeding up the passenger facilitation process and as the facilities are commonly shared, the total cost of ownership is low for the airlines.

SP’s: What are the solutions ARINC is pitching for in India?

Rao: The solutions include common use self-service, flight information display systems, resource management systems, baglink, etc. We are extremely bullish and committed to the Indian market.

Martin: At present, the investment is India is in excess of a million dollars and investments will increase in the region. In my personal estimation the business potential could be about $500 million ( Rs. 2,250 crore) globally and India and China may account for half that opportunity in the next couple of years. For ARINC, Asia accounts for about 20 per cent of the overall business and this is going to go up.