December 2024 As I write this note on the last day of 2024, the most abiding image for aviation in 2024 is now reduced to this screengrab from the video of the ill-fated Jeju Air B737-800, flight 7C2216, as it hurtles down the runway on its belly, gear-up. If one zooms in on the cockpit window one can faintly make out (better visible on the actual video zoom), silhouette of the outstretched hand of the co-pilot, perhaps in a sort of reflex reaction of subconscious desperation, to brace against an impending crash. 179 innocent lives snuffed out in a near instant, eventually.  And then there was the miraculous escape of 29 passengers on 25th December, from the Azerbaijan Airlines flight J28243, from what appeared on video footage as an unsurvivable crash landing, that did cause 38 fatalities though. Besides, there were other fatal accidents throughout 2024, including those in Japan, Russia, Nepal, Brazil and Lithuania, among the more prominent ones. A reminder that while safety flaws in aviation can often be unforgiving, yet with constant incremental improvements, accident survivability is also improving. Air accidents and fatalities in 2024 notwithstanding, air travel continues to be far safer than any other means of transportation. In solemn memory of those who lost their lives in aviation accidents in 2024 - civilian and military.  2024 in the rearview Global Perhaps the most anticipated commercial aviation development of the year was the launch of the Airbus A321XLR into revenue service. Iberia (IB) was the launch customer and flew its first long-haul revenue flight on the single aisle jet, on 14th November.  By all measurable metrics, the A321XLR is a very capable aircraft, but perhaps a little too 'niche', as per some large airlines and lessors. Long haul travel in terms of conventional expectations is usually associated with large twin-aisle widebodies. Can the audience warm up enough, to the concept of a single aisle jet serving a long-haul route? Unless there was a significant cost saving, would the audience be wary of leaving wide-body comfort (and prestige!) for a perceptibly smaller aircraft. The question also is whether Airbus can generate enough demand to keep it relevant in the long term or will it go down the A380 way? But with Boeing too busy mending a broken house and unable to come up with any credible rival at this time, the A321XLR orderbook is bulging. And talking of Boeing, which was also the other big newsmaker in 2024, but for all the wrong reasons. From the infamous door plug blowout incident on an Alaska Airlines (AS) B737 MAX in early January 2024, with a subsequent internal enquiry finding shoddy manufacturing practice to be the culprit. In addition, Boeing has had to contend with a costly strike by its machinists union which brough almost all of Boeing commercial airplane production to a halt. Besides, there have been inordinate delays to the flagship B777X programme with deliveries to customers now shifted to 2026 making airlines nervous and angry. Boeing's other divisions, notably Defence & Space were also similarly bogged down, including the spotlight on the ongoing saga of the stranded astronauts in space, part of Boeing's Starliner space vehicle programme. With losses poised to continue through 2025, Boeing and its new CEO (Kelly Ortberg) have their work cut out. But a potential helping hand (and a big one at that) for Boeing could be the incoming US Administration and its pronounced ‘America First’ policy, that will decidedly help Boeing gain some ground on the back of coercive trade deals, that are likely to be a leitmotif of the new administration! In a potential future return to supersonic commercial transport flying, Boom Technology, which is at the forefront of building a supersonic airliner, flew for the first time, a scaled down, demonstrator version called XB-1 of its in-development ‘Overture’ supersonic airliner. And while this first flight demonstration was subsonic, yet the prototype incorporates technologies that will be validated for eventual use in the Overture. With the demise of Concorde in 2003, in the aftermath of the fatal crash of an Air France aircraft, which sealed the fate of the supersonic airliner as being commercially unviable, was paradoxically the most regressive milestone in commercial aviation history. For a sector which prides itself on being a driver of technological innovation, the move to exit supersonic passenger travel and remain subsonic, was completely out-of-character. Boom Technology therefore holds out hope with the introduction of the Overture by 2029 and importantly, with sustainable commercial potential into the future. There was major churn in the boardroom of the third largest airline in the world (by number of passengers flown) – Southwest. The airline, long a darling of US commercial aviation came under blistering attack from one of its largest investor’s – the Elliott Management (unsurprisingly an activist fund), which invested close to $2 billion in the airline in 2024. Elliott Management, in a communication dated 10th June 2024, addressed to the board of Southwest, demanded – a reconstituted board of directors, a leadership change and a comprehensive business review at the airline. The biggest tirade was directed at the incumbent Southwest CEO, Robert (Bob) Jordan; calling him out ‘for delivering unacceptable financial and operational performance’ besides, ‘demonstrating a surprising level of complacency’. This resulted in seismic action at the airline with Elliott getting a clutch of seats on the board, Executive Chairman Gary C. Kelly retiring early (read: forced out) and IndiGo co-founder, Rakesh Gangwal being elevated to chair the board of directors in November, after just having come on-board in July 2024. And while the CEO somehow doggedly survived by making conciliatory statements, it remains to be seen how this new flight-plan takes Southwest towards ‘delivering on its significant potential’, as Elliott claims – watch this space! India Domestically the action continues unabated and a new record for the ‘highest single day domestic passenger traffic’ across Indian skies was set, with over 500,000 passengers taking to the skies on 17th November. But for perspective, the Indian Railways also set a ‘single-day record’ by carrying almost 30 million passengers on 4th November - for more perspective, that’s more than the total population of Australia of about 27 million! Just shows the potential for air-travel within India and the gap that will need to be bridged! November also saw the identities of two full-service Indian airlines being relegated to history. On November 7th, the highest court of the land ordered liquidation of Jet Airways (9W), bringing an end to a 5-year attempt to revive the airline by a consortium, after it stopped flying in April 2019. Then on 12th November, Vistara (UK), the JV of TATAs and Singapore Airlines in India, ceased operations as it was merged into Air India. Jet’s liquidation caused a bit of an emotional outcry, mostly from former employees who virtually grew with the airline, but perhaps failed to grasp the depth of irrecoverable damage on the airline’s credibility, financial and otherwise including the symbolic disgrace arising out its founder being put behind bars for financial embezzlement. Sometimes, it’s best to bury the past and move ahead rather than be beholden to sentiment, particularly in the unforgiving airline business. As for Vistara, several of the flying public especially, bemoaned the loss of a brand that was setting the standards for customer service at par with global airlines. But then the merger was possibly (and inevitably) the best way forward to preserve the airline if not the brand, as it would have been a long hard struggle for the airline to any sustained profitability, on its own. There was also the fledgling LCC, Akasa Air (QP), in the news for a variety of reasons. It started by the airline throwing down the gauntlet by ordering over 200 of Boeing’s 737MAXs early in 2024, thus signaling its intent to taking the competition head-on. But the airline has since then been in the news for a sustained set of troubles, most notably with its pilots, who are disgruntled with a whole host of issues including operational safety. This casts concerns on the airline’s ability to be able to compete effectively with a dominant IndiGo and a resurgent Air India. In my own personal experience, when I flew the airline for the very first time in early 2024, my overwhelming impression was that of an airline unsure of where it’s going. There were hits and misses in terms of the overall experience with more misses than hits. Although with only about 2.5 years’ worth of operations under its belt, perhaps it needs to be given some latitude. But then competition is never benign! And finally in October 2024, in a seminal change of in-flight connectivity regulations for Indian aviation, regulatory authorities in India permitted ‘Internet services through Wi-Fi in aircraft, within Indian airspace’, under amended Flight and Maritime Connectivity Rules. Air India was first of the block to offer Wi-Fi connectivity on board its domestic narrowbody services, besides foreign carriers are now also allowed to offer on-board connectivity too when overflying Indian airspace, hitherto restricted. A very welcome change to an unreasonable and regressive regulation which signals a growing maturity of the sector under the present government. Thank you for supporting AVIATHÈQUE and may tailwinds power all your endeavours in 2025! PK