< PreviousAugust-September 2020 · AVIATION BUSINESS 20 www.aviationbusinessme.com UAE ASTRONAUT PROGRAMME Take the mission involving Hazza Al Mansouri, for example. He’s a UAE astro- naut but he’s also an Arab astronaut who went to the International Space Station. The whole Arab world has been follow- ing his story. It’s something that’s being It’s been 35 years since the fi rst Arab travelled to space. In 2020, what’s the appetite like for the space industry in the UAE? If you look at the early days and the space interest in the region, it started with HH Sultan ibn Salman Al Saud who went to space in 1985. Then we had other projects, for example joint communication satel- lites. These things were usually pan-Arab. But what the UAE has been doing in the past two decades is building our own capabilities in terms of either owning systems and then operating them from a commercial standpoint or trying to de- velop our own capabilities, fi rst of all in government, and then trying to build industry around that. Here at MBRSC (Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre) the objective for us from day one was very clear – to design, develop and build our own satellites and space systems here in the UAE. And that’s something that you see happening. I think the appetite for space in the past 15 years has been growing. It’s gone from aiming to develop national capabilities to projecting outwards to also working on a pan-Arab and pan-Gulf scale with our partners in the region to expand our collective capabilities. AIRLINE PILOTS TO ASTRONAUTS Developments in the UAE’s aerospace industry are helping to make the country a rich pool for highly skilled and ambitious aviators. Salem Al Marri, assistant director general for scientifi c and technical affairs at MBRSC and head of the UAE Astronaut Programme, explains how commercial airlines are helping to make the country a hotbed for future Arab astronauts.21 August-September 2020 · AVIATION BUSINESS www.aviationbusinessme.com UAE ASTRONAUT PROGRAMME spoken about and that’s generating a lot of passion and interest among youth. Defi nitely space is here to stay, not only in the UAE but across the Arab world. How is the passion for space in the Arab world translating into the UAE’s astronaut recruitment programme? We had about 7% more people apply for astronaut selection this time around compared to last time. We had 4,305 applications, about 1,400 women, all Emirati of course. Saying that, we also got thousands of emails from all over the globe from Arabs asking if they can apply, asking if we are going to expand the programme to include people from outside the UAE. That gives us a lot of food for thought and is very telling of the impact of this programme. You open a national programme to select national astronauts that gets attention through- out the Arab world and the Gulf. That’s telling that space traverses borders. I think that’s great anecdotal evidence to how space can bring people together. Has the pandemic has any impact on the astronaut programme? It’s had some impact. Fortunately in the UAE, with all the systems and IT infrastructure, people can continue to work from home. In terms of astronaut selection, we’re doing a lot of the initial interviews online. We did all our psycho- metric and IQ testing online, whereas we’d usually do those in a big hall. We had to adjust slightly but it’s not really had a negative impact, we’ve been able to work around it. Around 17% of UAE astronaut applications came from airline pilots and 31% from airline engineers in the most recent recruitment drive. Why are there so many applicants from airlines? Etihad and Emirates are in the top six [groups] when it comes to providing candidates. I think there are a couple of reasons for that. First of all, the way that the airlines are run here in the UAE produces very professional and well trained people. The safety of life issue is very important for them. As a pilot you’ve got a lot of people who are fl y- ing under your hands and you have to make sure that you follow procedures, that you’re constantly and persistently trained well, you’ve got a good work-life balance, you eat well, you sleep well etc. Those types of traits are very important Sultan bin Salman Al Saud, the fi rst Arab and Muslim to fl y in outer space.August-September 2020 · AVIATION BUSINESS 22 www.aviationbusinessme.com UAE ASTRONAUT PROGRAMME FACT FILE: EMIRATES MARS MISSION’S (EMM) HOPE PROBE • The Hope Probe aims to reach Mars Orbital Insertion (MOI) in February 2021. • The launcher travels at a speed of 34,000 km/h to a ‘parking orbit’ • The 493,500,000 km journey to Mars, will take seven months. • It takes radio signals 13 to 26 minutes to travel from the probe around Mars to the ground network on Earth, hence the need for autonomy. • EMM has a 20,000 – 43,000 km elliptical science orbit. The probe will complete one orbit of the planet every 55 hours. • Contact period with the Command & Control Center in UAE is limited to six to eight hours, twice a week. • The Hope Probe is a 1,350kg mass spacecraft. when you look at an astronaut. Pilots really embody that, whether they are commercial or military. And the way that they are trained and supervised at Emirates and Etihad has been really benefi cial to us. That’s one aspect to look at. But also looking at the training itself. As commercial pilots they will go through a lot of procedures, checklists, specifi c training, consistently training on machines and fl ying aircraft, which is also to some extent, a lot of what astro- nauts have to do – obviously in a diff er- ent setting, a more challenging setting, however, that type of mindset where you think methodically is very important and translates across well. In terms of engineering too, it works pretty much in the same way. The national airlines here have a very good cadre of engineers who are well trained, very professional and they get to our fi nal stages because fi rst of all, they’ve studied and practised engineer- ing, but also the national airlines have very much prepared them well. The way engineers think, they’re good with tools, they know how to fi x things, their mindset is inquisitive, trying to understand how things work, and depending on the task you have in the ISS or during your fl ight up, those skillsets would be useful. So I think that’s probably why we get a lot of engineers and pilots applying. And we want a lot of engineers and pilots applying. The training facilities at both Etihad and Emirates are world class. You could argue that the UAE is inherently set up to supply astronauts. Yes, defi nitely. We saw a lot of support from Etihad and Emirates in making sure that their people are able to apply and that they know about the applica- tion process. We held a workshop where Hazza Al Mansouri and Sultan Al Neyadi went to Etihad, they met Tony Douglas and lots of staff there, encouraged them to apply. Both airlines have supported us in our medical and psychometric testing. Depending on what we want to do, we work closely with the com- mercial airlines. When we were doing our campaign, we were sending our 23 August-September 2020 · AVIATION BUSINESS www.aviationbusinessme.com UAE ASTRONAUT PROGRAMME ARAB SPACE PIONEERS TO DRAW NEW TALENT His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, VP and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, announced in July the launch of the ‘Arab Space Pioneers’ programme that aims to build Arab expertise in space science and technologies. Overseen by the UAE Space Agency, the programme will equip young Arab researchers, scientists, inventors and creative talents with skills and expertise required to lead a career in the growing space sector. The three-year intensive training programme incubates young talents and expands their career prospects in the region’s emerging space technologies. The programme seeks to help the region’s talents in the creative and scientifi c industry to practice their passion in space science through specialized training in the UAE, which has long invested in the space sector, making it the Arab world’s most advanced. It aims to invest in young Arab capacities who, in turn, can actively contribute to the global science community and drive scientifi c, economic and social development in their societies. The programme highlights the importance of investing in the multi-faceted space technology as a major driver of the future knowledge-based economy in the region. astronauts out to entities such as ADNOC and diff erent airlines to promote the programme but also to speak about the process of applying. At Etihad, a lot of people applied after the astronauts’ visit. What does the future of the UAE space industry look like to you? [In July] we’re launching the Emirates Mars Mission. This is the fi rst mission from the Arab-Islamic world to leave Earth’s orbit. That’s a big mission. If that one suc- ceeds, then we can look at missions that have a global impact rather than just a regional one. The mission’s data will be really signifi cant for the global scientifi c community and will really put the UAE on the map of countries that are investing in science and technology and that are contributing to this fi eld. I think next, we defi nitely have to look at building local capabilities and work with partners to have a global impact. So I think more of the same, our missions will hopefully be excit- ing, have a global impact and hopefully we’ll be able to work with other countries. The UAE Space Agency has developed the Arab Space Coordination Group consist- ing of 14 Arab countries cooperating on projects. We’ll see how that works out and how our individual eff orts work out but I think ultimately our impact should be on a global scale going forward. In the UAE there is a suite of aerospace manufacturers, training academies and airlines. What is the commercial and you shouldn’t develop everything in-house. But you should look at niche areas where you have strong capabili- ties and leverage those to corporate internationally. We work very closely with NASA, the European Space Agency, Roscosmos, Japan, and building on those international partnerships is the key to success in space and seeing the UAE becoming a player on that level. That includes linking up with commercial entities of other countries but also trying to develop our own commercial entities to support the industry. aviation sector’s role in the future of the country’s space industry? Obviously they are two diff erent sec- tors. But defi nitely there are some areas of overlap. First of all, when we look at the training academies and capa- bilities, there is a bit of an overlap in terms of what a pilot is and where that pilot can shift and become an astronaut. Defi nitely what’s happening in the com- mercial aviation sector is supporting us to get those people. We do have aero- space manufacturers, but with space it tends to be diff erent. It’s not about mass production, it’s fi rst time engineering, focusing on custom-made components for a mission and then probably never developing them again. So I think it’s more about trying to learn from what’s happening on a mass scale, such as the aviation industry, and maybe getting some of those skillsets to focus on the custom-made projects. How will the UAE work with international partners moving forward? The UAE being is a small country in terms of size and population but also in terms of space, currently. It’s some- thing that we always have to keep in mind. For us to grow in space we have to work on an international scale. We have to work with partners as without partners there is no way that the UAE is going to grow when it comes to space. You can’t develop everything in-house August-September 2020 · AVIATION BUSINESS 24 www.aviationbusinessme.com COVER STORY Rohit Ramachandran, CEO of Jazeera Airways, appears to be one of the few cautiously optimistic airline executives in the market currently. AVB caught up with the chief of one of the Gulf’s only privately owned airlines to learn why he expects to emerge from the coronavirus crisis in a stronger position than some of its competition. AVB: Jazeera Airways had its most profitable year on record in 2019, achieving its best-ever operating results. Where has the coronavirus crisis left you? It must be incredibly frustrating. Rohit Ramachandran: Well, that’s life. Over the last three years we have significantly scaled up our level of activity. For example, we’ve doubled our fleet in the last two-and-a-half years, we doubled our profits in the last two years and 2019 was a record year. In January we saw a slight decline and were wondering what all this is about and by the end of January we got seriously concerned. In February we started putting together plans. Most of the carriers in this part of the world are not listed entities and they have government shareholders. We on the other hand are listed on the Kuwaiti stock exchange and we need to take care of our shareholders. We were prob- ably one of the earliest in the region to take very aggressive action. POLE POSITION AVB: What kind of measures have you taken so far? RR: We had to take some very painful steps. In compliance with the regula- tions, we had to bring our airline to a hard stop by 12 March. Kuwait was one of the earliest airports in the region to shut down completely for scheduled fl ights. Imagine: our home base is shut down, we can’t fl y anywhere. And then we need to realign our business to a whole lot of uncertainty. We went line by line through all our cost elements in our books, we renegotiated a lot of cost structures with our suppliers, we spoke to our shareholders and our board and they very generously agreed to suspend their dividends. We also had to take 25 August-September 2020 · AVIATION BUSINESS www.aviationbusinessme.com COVER STORY Jazeera built medical facilities for the Kuwaiti government during lockdown. some very diffi cult decisions with re- spect to our staff . We had to regretfully let go of about 37% of our staff and I consider that to be a huge sacrifi ce on their part, which humbles me. All of them have been told in no uncertain terms that they are most welcome to as possible in the business for longevity. As you know, Jazeera has a very strong balance sheet, we have zero debt in our books, which is quite an exception for an airline business. We still have enough cash within the company to continue for more than two years at this pace. We remain strong and poised for the recovery that is likely to come shortly. It’s not going to be easy. We had to keep the lights on by operating a number of charter, repatriation and cargo fl ights. For a low-cost airline that literally had zero experience in the cargo business, our team did a phenomenal job; within two weeks learning the cargo business from scratch and getting the necessary certifi cation from Airbus and the Kuwaiti civil aviation authorities to start carry- ing cargo on our fl ights. AVB: How eff ective have the cargo op- erations been in maintaining some kind of revenue? RR: It has been eff ective. It’s still very small compared to the overall scale of the business that we do but this period has taught us that you have to be innovative. And as a low-cost carrier, which has one come back and they will be given fi rst priority once things improve. The ones remaining, including my management team, continue to be on 50% salary and I myself am on zero salary as I believe we need to lead by example. We needed to ensure that we retain as much cash August-September 2020 · AVIATION BUSINESS 26 www.aviationbusinessme.com COVER STORY of the highest levels of aircraft utilisa- tion in the world, operating narrow-body aircraft for 14.5 hours per day, for us to then pivot towards the cargo business, learn it and then do it justice, makes me incredibly proud of our team. I suspect that moving forward, once that our regu- lar passenger business comes back, we will still continue to play a signifi cant role in the cargo ecosystem in Kuwait and the region. AVB: As one of the only privately- owned airline businesses in the re- gion, has the crisis been particularly challenging for Jazeera? RR: You’re absolutely right and it’s diff er- ent in two ways. One, within the region, most of the airlines have a big daddy who will support them during this situation. We don’t have that, we have to rely on our own resources and our own balance sheet. The second thing is that even for airlines in the West that are privately owned, most of them received some sort of bailout or stimulus package from their respective governments, which we haven’t. It’s the resilience of what Jazeera had become pre-corona that has sustained us through this period. Has it hurt us? Of course it has. And it’s forced us to take painful decisions but it’s not brought us to our knees. We’re well poised among our peers to recover quickly and take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves coming up. AVB: Why have the likes of Jazeera and Wizz Air managed to build such high lev- els of liquidity in comparison to larger rivals and legacy carriers? RR: We’re still very small compared to some of the larger airlines. Perhaps that itself is an advantage in these times as it gives us the ability to be fl exible, to be nimble and not be saddled with the huge costs of large fl eets that can’t fl y. Another important thing is the impact of fuel prices and the havoc that that has caused. Most people think that the very low fuel price that we saw in the last three months would have been benefi cial to airlines. The opposite is true because most airlines have a signifi - cant hedged position and the advantage of a low fuel price kicks in only if you’re operating. Airlines were hit by a double whammy where they weren’t operating so they couldn’t take advantage of the fuel price and the ones who were hedged really hurt badly during this period. AVB: Looking forward towards your recovery, what will be your strategy? RR: The government of Kuwait has is- sued a roadmap for aviation, which is quite conservative. From the 1 August to the end of February, aviation ca- pacity is going to be capped at 30%. From February to next August it’s going to be 60% of capacity. And it’s only from August 2021 that they see unrestricted 100% capacity at Kuwait airport. It’s still early days and these directives change depending on how things evolve. From our point-of-view we have to manage both our airline and our terminal, Jazeera Terminal 5. The focus right now is to implement such comprehensive hygiene measures on the aircraft and in the terminal to make sure not only are we implementing the best standards of the industry in this regard, but also communicating this to passengers to ensure there is a good building of confidence. AVB: Have your growth plans re- mained intact or are you having to change them? For example, is the long-haul low-cost model still some- thing you’re pursuing? RR: The only destination that falls within that area arguably is our Kuwait to London Gatwick service. So, no. On one hand our network will be driven by demand but on the other hand and more restrictively, it’s being driven by which countries are open to accepting traffic and that’s the bigger challenge at this time. So while there is demand to and from India, our operations to India are severely curtailed by the gov- ernment of India’s decision to restrict 27 August-September 2020 · AVIATION BUSINESS www.aviationbusinessme.com COVER STORY incoming passengers. They are also going to be driven by which country implements what health regime in terms of quarantine and so on. At the moment we’re going to be conservative and risk adverse, we’re going to make sure we do what’s necessary to have a gradual return to operations. Yes, it’s going to mean that our aeroplanes won’t be flying nearly as much as they were before, but I’m glad that they will be flying. AVB: Are you looking at adjusting your fl eet structure in the wake of the crisis? RR: We’re not handing any aeroplanes back prematurely. On the contrary, we are taking delivery of four new A320neos in Q4 of this year. We are going ahead; they are good aeroplanes. We believe that in the second-half of next year that business will come back to normal. We do believe that people fundamentally will get back to travel. AVB: Has this crisis created more of a level playing fi eld or is it actually harder for smaller carriers now? RR: I think it’s hard in general for every- one in the industry and not just airlines. That’s not going to change for many months if not a couple of years. The only ones that are going to survive are the ones that exercise fi nancial and com- mercial discipline. The ones who gauge their success by biggest, network, largest fl eet and all these meaningless metrics are going to fi nd it extremely hard. The ones who measure their success in terms of profi tability, bottom line, customer satisfaction, these are the ones that are going to thrive. A strong balance sheet is key to weathering this crisis. There’s no substitute to having a strong balance sheet and every week brings more bad news in this area with respect to airline failures and unfortunately I don’t think we’re done with that yet. AVB: Can you see any carriers in the Gulf region failing before the year is out? RR: I’d be very surprised for the simple reason that in this part of the world airlines are seen more as symbols of national pride than businesses. So I doubt you’re going to see airline failures in the region, particularly when they’re backed by governments. AVB: Have any positives come out of this crisis? RR: Several. One of the biggest posi- tives to come out of this is the way we’re pursuing digitisation. During this period where the scale of operations went down, it gave us an opportunity to refl ect and look at what’s best out there in the market, what’s cost eff ec- tive, what’s going to increase our ef- fi ciency and reduce our costs, increase our turnaround time. This period of slowdown in operations gave the entire team a chance to review the processes that need to be changed and digital initiatives that need to be undertaken. The second thing is that it has sparked a real entrepreneurial spirit in our team. I can’t put too fi ne a point on it, it’s very valuable, it’s very important for each person to think that they’re running their own company. When your back is against the wall it forces people to be entrepreneurial, aggressive and fi nd so- lutions. I saw plenty of evidence of that. AVB: What’s your view on the launch of new local competition in the form of Wizz Air Abu Dhabi and Air Arabia Abu Dhabi? RR: It’s very interesting, especially with both companies deciding on the base Marwan Boodai, chairman of Jazeera Airways Group (left) and Rohit Ramachandran, CEO of Jazeera.August-September 2020 · AVIATION BUSINESS 28 www.aviationbusinessme.com COVER STORY ‘AIRCRAFT SAFER THAN SUPERMARKETS’ Rohit Ramachandran, CEO of Jazeera Airways, believes that the threat of infection is less on-board an aircraft than in a supermarket. But the key is to communicate the message to passengers and build confidence in air travel. “I’m driven by data and when you analyse the data and look at the risks,” he says. “Flying remains safer from potential infection point-of-view than walking down the street. I have forced myself to learn by talking to Airbus management, reviewing WHO documents, ICAO research and all of these entities that put out guidance on this matter. Because of the way the airflow moves in the cabin from the top to the bottom and not front to back, if every passenger wears a mask and a set of gloves, you are far more protected than you are in a supermarket. That’s what we’re trying to convey to our customers.” and the time frame exactly the same. I suspect both were surprised with the other one doing the same thing. Nevertheless, competition is something that we at Jazeera were born into. We have a large government owned car- rier in Kuwait and we’re surrounded by large government owned carriers so it’s hardly a level playing field. Yes, two more entities coming in will add to the supply and it will put pressure on fares and make it less profitable for airlines. But guess what, when fares go down and revenues go down, it’s the airline with the lowest cost structure that survives. And who is that? It’s basically one or two airlines in the region, one of which is Jazeera. So yes, we will need to perhaps be a bit cleverer in how we manage our network. In some cases we might have to go into battle, that’s not unusual and in the end the customer is the beneficiary. It’ll be very interesting to watch the evolution of Abu Dhabi-based carriers over the next year or so. AVB: All things considered, you sound relatively optimistic about the mar- ket. What’s your outlook? RR: I am optimistic because of our unique position in Kuwait. Kuwait has the second highest GDP per capita in the Gulf and I think we dominate the low-cost space to and from Kuwait. Make no mistake, the next six to 12 months are going to be very hard for everybody including us and it’s not going got be a picnic. It’s going to take a very long time to recover. But I bet on us because we have a great home base, a good business strategy, a very strong balance sheet and in addition to the core airline we have the terminal, which in maturity will be as profit- able as the airline. So yes, you could say that I’m cautiously optimistic at this stage. 29 August-September 2020 · AVIATION BUSINESS www.aviationbusinessme.com ELECTRIC AVIATION than installing fuel stations in some air- fi elds. This is especially true for AVGAS, an expensive and increasingly rare fuel. Challenges faced by electric air manu- facturers need a multi-faceted solution comprising government, regulating agencies, airline and MRO networks, and airports. Research organizations and uni- versities have long proposed solutions to some of the technical challenges faced in the manufacturing and certifi cation of electric aircraft. Links from universities to both government and large corporations (OEM’s) have yielded positive results in advancing aviation technologies, hope- fully this will continue with electric air- craft. Areas which need answers in the short term are charging infrastructure, certifi cation processes, battery technol- ogy and high initial development costs. In the short to medium term, the global pandemic will continue to cloud any growth in aviation and will give investors cold feet, but in the long term, the pressure of environmental changes and unsteady fuel prices will again make the prospect of electric aircraft in their various forms a new and exciting reality. Electric aircraft can be viewed as a beacon of hope for the future and might usher in a new golden era of fl ying! The main challenge of electric aircraft is battery technology, with larger aircraft demanding larger, more effi cient batteries. With current battery technology, large aircraft powered by electric aircraft are out of reach, at least for now. Currently, most of the eff ort is towards smaller, lighter aircraft. The solution for regional aircraft lies in having a hybrid system, where a combustion engine helps in generating electric energy needed for the motors. Airbus has invested a lot in this area with the E fan X, however the project has been cancelled. Other challenges include slow and stringent certifi cation processes as well as very high initial capital investment required. With airline profi ts considered as among the thinnest in the world, investment options for new unproven technology seem risky. However, with recent developments and Boeing and Airbus both investing in the technology, albeit in a low key manner, some hope exists for the tech to become mainstream in the future. For now, the electric market is dominated with a few start- ups spread across the globe. A strategy which seems to be working, is having retrofi tted aircraft adopting electric motors. This has the benefi t of lower development costs, less risk and easier certifi cation process. With the recent global pandemic seri- ously aff ecting the aviation industry, one more hurdle has been put in the way of development of electric aircraft, but not all hope is lost. Electric aircraft have already entered the market. A successful example is Pipistrel’s Alpha Electro two- seater all electric airplane. The company has recently announced the world’s fi rst type certifi ed electric engine and fi rst ever type certifi cate from EASA in June 2020. Closer to home here in the UAE, a lot of interest was developed when the RTA announced and certifi ed fl ying taxis in Dubai in 2017, however the project never took off . With general aviation being a niche market and low fuel prices in the region, demand for electric aircraft might remain low for the time being. A big po- tential market exists in fl ying schools, where the needs of small 2-4-seater air- craft with shorter fl ight times can easily be met by already certifi ed electric air- craft. With time, larger 12-seater planes could make fl ying to smaller regions more possible, including airfi elds with limited fueling capabilities. Installing charging infrastructures might be easier BARRIERS TO ELECTRIC AVIATION Joshua Kitetu, lecturer of Aircraft Maintenance Engineering at University of South Wales Dubai, shines a light on the realistic future of electrical commercial aviation. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Joshua Kitetu is a lecturer at the University of South Wales Dubai, taking modules which include aerospace propulsion and aerodynamics. Kitetu received his Masters in thermal power from Cranfi eld University, where he developed his interests in thermo-fl uids, aerodynamics, propulsion and aircraft systems, and is passionate and tackling technical challenges.Next >