On 27th August I took my first flight to Kolkata in my life. Even I was surprised that I had never been to one India’s largest cities in all my 45 years. My thanks to The Telegraph newspaper who invited me to speak on innovation at the Northeast ICT summit in Guwahati, Assam and making the trip possible. The day …

Dallas-Fort Worth based American Airlines is following the lead of it’s oneworld partner British Airways and reducing the free baggage allowance on it’s international flights. Most economy class passengers traveling by American Airlines (AA) between locations in Europe, India and the US will soon have to pay $50 (Rs 2,450) to check-in a second bag under a revised baggage policy …

Boeing has delivered a 777-300ER (Extended Range) to KLM Royal Dutch Airlines in a special chrome-free paint and primer SkyTeam livery which celebrates the alliance’s 10th anniversary. Aircraft registration PH-BVD. Boeing image. Click on image for a high resolution view. Boeing has introduced this chrome-free primer and chrome-free exterior decorative paint in response to environmental requests from various airlines. In …

Jet Airways will launch a daily flight to Hong Kong from India, with daily services on the Delhi-Hong Kong sector using its two class configured Airbus 330-200 aircraft on September 30, 2009. The return flight will commence on October 1, 2009, China National Day marking the anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. Jet Airways …

This is my first post using my new MacBook Pro. My apologies, but I have been trying to transition from a Windows Vista (arrrgghhh) PC to a MacBook Pro. All I can say, it is not an easy task, but I am not sorry. Thanks to the maniacal dedication of HP who did not provide drivers for Windows XP, I …

Thanks to friends at Airliners-India, we have managed to secure highlights of Air India’s turnaround plan as it proposed to be presented to the government. In a very straight forward approach, reflective of the work culture of Chairman and Managing Director Mr. Arvind Jadhav, the report does not pull any punches. As an example — fleet acquisition. It is well …

From the first time I met him, I have always admired him. Arvind Jadhav is a tough, no-nonsense, go getter — a rare quality in a government bureaucrat anywhere in the world, but exceedingly rare in India. He was identified as the man to head Air India even at a time when the venerable Mr. V. Thulasidas was in contention. …

With the recent spate of crashes, air safety has been brought to the fore on the web. Debates are roaring about who is better and safer — Boeing or Airbus. Randy Tinseth, vice president, marketing for Boeing Commercial Airplanes says it best. All commercial airplanes, whether designed and manufactured by Boeing or another company, must meet the same stringent safety …

Continental Airlines has announced that it should join Star Alliance on October 27, 2009. Continental will end its participation in SkyTeam after its last scheduled flight on Oct. 24, 2009. Continental’s transition from SkyTeam to Star Alliance is a strategic change, originally announced in June 2008. Continental’s OnePass members do not need to make any changes to their OnePass accounts …

Southwest Airlines is offering its passengers additional discounts with airfares starting at $59 one-way to select destinations nationwide. Fares must be purchased by Sept. 3, 2009, and are available for travel everyday except Fridays and Sundays from Sept. 9, 2009, through Jan. 7, 2010. Examples of fares include (see Additional Fare Rules below): $59 one-way between Las Vegas and Phoenix …

As a youth, I fascinated by this production on national integration by India’s state owned broadcaster Doordarshan. Titled “Mile Sur Tumhara Mera toh sur bane hamara” – if your tune matches mine, the melody is ours. This video launched the “Mera Bharat Mahan” (My India is great) campaign on Independence Day 1988 and has become an anthem showcasing Unity in …

On the eve of India’s Independence Day, the Indian Air Force’s multi-billion dollar medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) procurement moved up a stage this evening. A pair of the first of the contenders — the Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet arrived at Bangalore’s HAL Airport for the technical evaluations, along with their mother ship the McDonnell Douglas DC-10-40 Omega Tanker. The …

Under pressure from domestic carriers it appears that the Government has grounded the India plans of FlyDubai, the low-cost airline floated by the Al-Maktoum royal family of Dubai. The airline had sought permission for flights to Chandigarh, Coimbatore and Lucknow with tourist destinations like Goa to be added later. Obviously this has made the Ministry of Civil Aviation re-think it’s …

Jet Airways will launch a new daily flight on the Hyderabad-Dubai sector, using a two class Boeing 737-800 aircraft, effective August 16, 2009, marking Jet Airways’ first international service from Hyderabad. The airline currently flies twice daily to Dubai from Mumbai, and daily from Delhi and Chennai. Effective August 16, 2009 to October 24, 2009,9W 550 will depart Hyderabad at …

The fourth fire station at New Delhi Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport has been commissioned to handle emergency situations at airside or terminals as part of the Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) facilities. The fire fighting force has also risen by 33 to 189 members who were inducted after their training in Malaysia, Delhi and Hyderabad ARFF plays extremely …

An Indigo airlines Airbus A320-232 registration VT-INA performing flight 6E-203 from New Delhi IGI airport to Kolkata NSCB airport with 123 passengers and 6 crew was delayed due to an anonymous phone call threatening that a bomb has been placed on the flight. The call was made to Indigo’s call centre at around 16:00 local (11:30Z) scheduled to depart at …

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has released a Proposal for an Airworthiness Directive (PAD) requiring all Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft currently equipped with Thales pitot probes should be equipped with Goodrich pitot probes on position 1 (Captain) and 3 (Standby) instead, while pitot probe 2 (first officer) should be upgraded to the enhanced Thales pitot probe type BA …

Notam for Airspace Closure on August 12 and August 15, 2009 due to Independence Day Due to Independence Day Parade and Rehearsal the airspace will be closed only for non-scheduled aircraft on the following days: Wednesday, August 12, 2009 : From 1300 hrs to 1500 hrs IST (GMT+5.5).Saturday, August 15, 2009 : From 0600 hrs to 1000 hrs and from …

Boeing delivered the first C-17 Globemaster III airlifter to the Qatar Emiri Air Force yesterday. Qatar became the first Middle East nation to order the C-17 when it signed an agreement with Boeing on July 21, 2008, for the purchase of two advanced airlifters and associated equipment and services. Boeing will deliver Qatar’s second C-17 later this year. The company …

Despite the downturn in the IT market, San Francisco is still one of the top destinations from Bangalore – if not first, then definitely a close second, and Singapore Airlines and fellow Asian carriers Dragonair and it’s parent Cathay Pacific has traditionally dominated this market. Traditional thinking at airlines believes that passengers prefer a shorter flight to arrive at their …