Hopefully the start of the week was not as maniacal as these couple of videos showing crazy take-offs of the venerable Boeing 727 in the wonderful continent of Africa. I do not know what this Yemeni aircraft was frightened of in Eritrea, but that is some fancy flying. This overloaded CAA cargo 727 just ran out of runway.

New Delhi based low cost carrier SpiceJet reported it’s fiscal 2009 fourth quarter (ending March 31, 2009) and annual results. Despite a 13% increase in operating income to Rs. 16.894 billion ($344.77 million) annual net losses for the year grew by 165% to Rs. 3.53 billion ($73.4 million). Operating expenses excluding interest, depreciation and taxes, grew 42.3% to Rs. 21.127 …

A Kingfisher Airlines Airbus A320-232 registration VT-ADR performing flight IT-3334 from Badogra, West Bengal, India to New Delhi, India, was taxiing for take-off, and executing a 180 turn at the end of the runway to line up, when the right wing tip of the aircraft hit the wall of a grass-camouflaged bunker located in the proximity of the runway. The …

Air India has been in the news this week for all the wrong reasons. I would like to finish the work week on a positive note and present pictures of Air India’s latest Airbus A319-112 VT-SCQ which entered service just a few days before this picture was taken on June 14th at Bengaluru International Airport. Reversing thrust after touchdown on …

In a simple statement Air France said the remains of the Captain of Air France AF-447 which crashed on a flight from Rio De Janeiro to Paris Charles De Gaulle on June 1, has been identified. Among the victims found in the sea search, two members of the Air France crew have been identified: the flight captain and a steward. …

Back in April I had speculated While Jet Airways is adamant that they prefer to sign bi-laterals, I feel they should strongly consider joining the Oneworld alliance. Oneworld has a major gap in South Asia. It’s rival SkyTeam has recently signed up Vietnam Airlines. While the delay Air India entering the Star Alliance with support of Lufthansa may open up …

The delays of the much awaited Boeing 787 Dreamliner is leaving the business plans of many airlines in tatters. Major Asia Pacific carriers like launch customer All Nippon Airways (ANA), Qantas, and Air New Zealand are scrambling to make alternate arrangements with stop-gap aircraft like the Boeing 767. At the recently concluded Paris air show, Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar …

As expected, the Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh has promised support to the state owned National Aviation Company of India Limited (NACIL) which operates under the brand Air India. However, also as expected, the Prime Minister has not given a blank cheque to the carrier. The amount of the bailout is subject to the airline delivering to him …

Continental Airlines will be celebrating it’s 75th anniversary on July 15th. To commemorate the occasion, the airline is taking delivery this week of a new Boeing 737-900ER, which is painted with a retro livery The retro livery originally used on aircraft beginning in 1947 and called The Blue Skyway, was selected by Continental employees. Continental will fly the new aircraft …

The state owned National Aviation Company of India Limited NACIL, which operates the airline Air India is in crisis. It’s annual losses have reached a staggering Rs. 5,000 crore ($1 billion) and total accumulated debt of Rs. 16,000 crore ($3.2 billion). Air India contributes 10% of global airline losses with just 0.35% of global traffic. It owes over Rs. 1,400 …

Boeing has just announced a bombshell; that the first flight of the 787 Dreamliner will be postponed due to a need to reinforce an area within the side-of-body section of the aircraft. The delay appears to be quite long. Boeing announced First flight and first delivery will be rescheduled following the final determination of the required modification and testing plan. …

Airbus today delivered the first A320 aircraft assembled at its Final Assembly Line China (FALC) in Tianjin. At a grand ceremony, the aircraft was handed over by Airbus President and CEO, Tom Enders, to the Chairman of Dragon Aviation Leasing, Li Hai. The aircraft will be leased to and operated by Sichuan Airlines. The FALC is a joint venture between …

The flamboyant Sir Richard Branson promoted Virgin Atlantic Airways, is celebrating its 25th birthday today, with it’s typical panache and style by recreating the very first flight to New York that departed on June 22, 1984. Sir Richard Branson, President of Virgin Atlantic, was joined onboard by frequent travelers, travel trade VIPs and a host of special guests including leading …

The intruding Volga Dnepr Antonov Anotnov AN124 finally departed Mumbai late on Saturday evening at 22:39 (17:09Z). The aircraft apparently has been “wet leased” i.e. aircraft and crew, by the US military for supply flights between the US base at Deigo Garcia in the southern Indian ocean and Kandahar in Afghanistan. The aircraft has made many supply trips over the …

A Volga Dnepr Antonov AN-124 super transporter has been forced to land at Mumbai airport after it violated Indian airspace under highly suspicious circumstances. As per news reports, the plane was spotted on radar entering Indian airspace around 21:50 local (16:20Z). With no record of the flight and Mumbai having some of the busiest airspace in the country, air traffic …

John Leahy is a happy man; may not be as happy as in 2007, but surely the orders received for the Airbus A320 and A350 families at this year’s Paris air show, must give him a cautious sense of optimism. Airbus SAS is expected to walk away from Le Bourget with about orders for 110 new planes or commitments worth …

Buoyed by the summer holiday season and the continuing rise in the Indian economy, domestic passenger traffic rose by almost 20% to 3.93 million in May from 3.315 million passengers in April. There was no significant change in the market shares of the various airlines, but the low cost carriers IndiGo, SpiceJet, Go Air and JetLite have continued increasing their …

Continuing the story on the forty year old rivalry between Airbus and Boeing from yesterday, we pick up the rivalry from the mid 1980s till date. Following the success of the A320, Airbus next introduced the four engined A340 and twin-engine A330 mid-sized aircraft in 1987. While the A340 was designed to compete in the long distance over-water intercontinental routes, …

Qatar Airways today signed a firm contract for 24 Airbus A320 Family aircraft. The agreement includes twenty A320s, as well as the firming up of four A321 aircraft announced at the Farnborough Air Show in July 2008. The Doha-based carrier currently operates 19 A320 Family aircraft, and is the Middle East’s largest customer of this particular fleet. The new aircraft, …

Forty years ago as the 1969 Paris Air Show unfolded, the world was abuzz over the Boeing 747 and the BAC-Aerospatiale Concorde both whom had just made their first flights just a few months before. At the same time, European aerospace companies were finalising a consortium to wrest back dominance of the United States in the commercial aviation market. Within …