Production of Boeing 787 Dreamliners resumed yesterday with the join of the fifth airplane designated for flight test. This airplane, designated ZA005, is the first to be powered with General Electric GEnx engines. The major assemblies were loaded in final body join over the past several days. The fuselage and wing joins occur simultaneously. Five of the six airplanes designated …

SCARY!!!!, there is no other word to describe the performance numbers and the forecast from IATA, the association representing 93% of the global commercial air transport industry. For the month of December, it is now official — ALL regions of the world, have reported major declines in cargo performance in December 2008 when compared to December 2007. Across the globe, …

From the Summer 2009 schedule which commences end March, Air France will suspend its thrice weekly flight between Paris Charles De Gaulle and Chennai Anna International, and withdraw from Chennai. I strongly suspect this move is partly as a result of the relentless capacity expansion by Emirates Airlines across India. With its non-stop connectivity to both the coasts of the …

Kingfisher is the largest defaulting private airline in India, and this has finally caught up with it. State owned oil marketing companies (OMCs), who claim they are owed about Rs. 1,000 Crore ($200 million), have enforced ‘cash and carry’ payment terms on the airline, since it has not cleared its dues, even after the extended 90 day payment terms. Kingfisher …

AVHerald reports a passenger on board Japan Airlines flight was severely burnt by hot tea which was spilt over her. JL950 from Seoul, South Korea to Tokyo Narita, Japan, with 330 people on board, was about 30 minutes into the flight and meal service had just started, when one of the trolleys rolled away, struck a seat and poured the …

Buoyed by its recent lease of the Jet Airways Boeing B777-300ERs, Turkish Airlines THY is again expanding flight frequencies to the cities of New Delhi and Mumbai in India, Brussels, Venice, Helsinki, Basel and Dublin in Europe, Kuwait in the Middle East, Addis Ababa in Africa. New Delhi and Mumbai, India will increase its services from five times and three …

Dubai based Emirates Airline will commence operations of its Airbus A380 superjumbo aircraft to Seoul’s Incheon International Airport in November 2009. Emirates currently operates daily flights to Seoul using a Boeing 777. Trade ties between South Korea and Dubai have been growing steadily, and major Korean corporations are active in the Dubai business arena. The Korean government is also positioning …

Singapore Airlines is making further adjustments to its route network, primarily cutting back flights to various destinations in India, Thailand, Europe, and USA, while increasing capacities to the middle east. The changes, will take place progressively from now and will apply for the rest of the Northern Winter schedule (i.e. till end-March 2009), and will most likely continue in to …

Call it wishful thinking, but I was so hoping to see the Airbus A380 in the Air Force One livery. Alas, my wish will not come true, and I will have to live with this CGI image by Gareth Burgess of Flight International. EADS North America confirmed that it will not respond to a request for information by the US …

Over the last few weeks, we in India, especially New Delhi, Bangalore, and Kolkata have been experiencing flight disruptions due to low visibility and fog. May be this picture from Flickr user moonm, of Singapore Airlines newest Boeing 777-3000ER, 9V-SWT, taking off from the cold foggy confines of Paine Field, might inspire some airlines, airports, and air traffic controllers, to …

Germany’s cabin-crew union, Unabhaengige Flugbegleiterorganisation UFO e.V., began a six hour “warning strike” at airports in Berlin and Frankfurt at 06:00 (05:00GMT) today, and Deutsche Lufthansa AG is already experiencing delays and disruptions to its flights. The union, is requesting a 15 per cent pay increase, bigger bonuses and improved working conditions. Negotiations between the union and the airlines broke …

“I know it looks like a baaji but it’s in custard Richard, custard. It must be the pudding. Well you’ll be fascinated to hear that it wasn’t custard. It was a sour gel with a clear oil on top.” I am still doubled over with laughter after reading this complaint letter from a passenger on Virgin’s Mumbai to London Heathrow …

AP is reporting a FedEx cargo plane crashed during landing Tuesday at Lubbock Preston Smith International Airport (KLBB), in my home state of Texas, USA. Wikipedia ImageAirport director James Loomis says both crew members were taken to a hospital, but FedEx spokeswoman Sandra Munoz says both were able to walk from the crash. A supervisor at University Medical Center in …

Delta Air Lines today reported financial results for the quarter and year ended Dec. 31, 2008. Delta’s 2008 net loss was $503 million, or $1.08 per diluted share. When all charges are added Delta reported a net loss for 2008 of $8.9 billion, or $19.08 per diluted share. Total revenues for the 4th quarter ending December 31, 2008, stood at …

In my previous article I highlighted the faulty glideslope at Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) being a contributor to delays, especially in times of fog. Last Sunday January 24, 2009, BIA, again, experienced significant delays due to fog. This issue has been hanging fire at Bengaluru International Airport since opening day. I came across an article by Capt. A. Ranganathan, an …

The proposed merger of British Airways and Iberia are threatened, and may be heading for the rocks, after the UK carrier warned it was not prepared to merge with its Spanish counterpart on the basis of current market valuations for the airlines. Thanks to good performance by Iberia shares, poor performance by British Airways shares, and the sharp decline of …

Qantas’ problems on their Airbus A330 fleet just don’t seem to end. This time a Qantas A330 aircraft from Auckland to Melbourne was grounded. The reason — a distressed pet dog escaped from his kennel in the cargo hold, and chewed up the wiring. Must have been a big dog, and extremely distressed to chew through the panel covers to …

Frankfurt airport, one of the busiest in the world, was shut down for 50 minutes this morning, due to a technical glitch in its Air Traffic Control. The airport, was shrouded in fog, and the data transmission from the German weather service and the ATC broke down between 0635 and 0725, as per a spokesman for air traffic control. This …

Singapore Airlines took delivery of its first Airbus A330-300 aircraft, 9V-STA, today, and also unveiled the cabin product. Acquired under a lease agreement with Dublin-based AWAS, and powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 700 engines, the aircraft was handed over to the airline at a ceremony in Toulouse today attended by Mak Swee Wah, Executive Vice President Operations and Services, Singapore Airlines, …

Delta Airlines which recently commenced its Atlanta – Mumbai non-stop is feeling the pinch of the economic slowdown affecting India’s IT industry. Effective March 29, it will reduce the frequency of its service from a daily to five flights a week. The service will not operate on Tuesdays and Sundays ex-Atlanta, and Mondays and Wednesdays ex-Mumbai. In my opinion, it …