Monthly Archives: July 2010

SpiceJet places order for 30 additional Boeing 737-800 aircraft with Sky Interior

Gurgaon, India based value carrier SpiceJet has placed a fresh order for 30 addition Boeing 737-800 aircraft, with deliveries commencing from 2014. The new aircraft will incorporate the new, spacious 737 Boeing Sky Interior (click link for images) with soft blue cove lighting, curving architecture and larger window that will offer a sense of spaciousness in the cabin and comfort …

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Boeing delivers to US Navy first F/A-18 Super Hornet fitted with HAL made gun bay door

Last week on July 20, Boeing [NYSE: BA], delivered to the U.S. Navy the first F/A-18 Super Hornet featuring a gun bay door manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) based in Bangalore, India. F/A-18 featuring HAL made gun bay door. Click on image for a high resolution view. These gun bay doors are the product of the first military contract …

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Boeing and the Indian Navy complete P-8I final design review

Indian Navy officers along with Boeing have successfully completed the final design review (FDR) for the P-8I, India’s long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft based on the Boeing 737 commercial airplane. Completion of the FDR locks in the design for the aircraft, radar, communications, navigation, mission computing, acoustics and sensors, as well as the ground and test support equipment. …

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Air France-KLM and Delta announce special fare promotion for September

Sky Team alliance members Air France-KLM and Delta announced a special promotion called the ‘Early Bird offer’ for passengers flying economy class from September 10 to October 10, 2010. To avail the offer, customer needs to book the tickets by August 15, 2010. The offer is subject to availability of seats. The fares are inclusive of all applicable taxes and …

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Video: Emirates operates the first commercial Airbus A380 flight to India

Dubai based Emirates airlines operated the first commercial A380 flight to India on July 15. It was a rain soaked day, but the excitement was palpable for this one-off flight. The flight proved the A380 capabilities of Indira Gandhi International airport at New Delhi. Now it remains to be seen if Emirates will pip Lufthansa and be the first airline …

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BREAKING NEWS: Jet Airways ATR72 nose wheel collapses at Ahmedabad, airport shut down

A Jet Airways turbo-prop ATR72-500 (ATR72-212A) registration VT-JCA performing flight 9W2510 from Indore to Ahmedabad airport with 57 passengers and four crew on-board had a nose wheel collapse soon after landing at Ahmedabad airport around 21:20 (15:50Z). The airplane is blocking the single runway of the airport. All passengers and crew are safe and were de-planed via stairs and taken …

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American Express expands Airport Club access program to include US Airways lounges

American Express has expanded it’s Platinum Card® Airport Club Access benefit program to include access to 17 US Airways Clubs across 13 cities. The most interesting part of this tie-up is that unlike the program’s existing arrangements with American Airline’s Admirals Club®, Continental Airline’s Presidents Club, Delta Sky ClubTM, which require card-holders to be flying that particular airline, cardholders can …

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Farnborough 2010 – bounty of orders for the Boeing-Airbus duopoly

As the world economy slowly rebounds, the 2010 edition of the Farnborough air show is turning out to be an order feast for the duopoly of Boeing and Airbus S.A.S, along with orders for newcomers Sukhoi and regional jet manufacturer Embraer. The show began with Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Jim Albaugh saying “The market is clearly coming back …

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DGCA circular forces airlines in India to close check-in counters and boarding gates earlier

On October 21, 2009, India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation issued Air Transport Circular 10 of 2009 which outlined a series of steps meant to ease congestion of flights at Indian airport, most particularly Mumbai and Delhi. One of the steps outlined required for the commander of a domestic flight to call for ATC clearance delivery within 45 minutes to …

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Top Photographer at plane spotting photo site JetPhotos.net

I achieved a small measure of fame today. I am the Top Photographer on the airline picture website JetPhotos.net. Reasonably certain it is in no small measure to these two photos. Photo 1. – Founder’s Plaza at Dallas Fort Worth airport. One the best plane spotting locations in the world. Photo 2. – A night view of the ramp at …

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Video: Indigo’s catchy “on time” TV advertisement

Delhi based value carrier IndiGo is known for its catchy advertising. With very little product differentiation between all the value carriers, on-time performance is a major draw for passengers. Playing to its strengths IndiGo has been advertising its industry leading on-time performance across TV channels in India, with this spiffy advertisement. What are your views on this ad ?

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Mumbai airport upgrades runway for Airbus A380 compliance; will Emirates bring the first scheduled A380 to India?

Between October 2009 and April 2010, passengers and airlines alike, had to put up with runway closures as Mumbai Airport International Ltd. (MIAL), the operators of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) at India’s financial capital, Mumbai, re-carpeted and re-built the secondary runway 14-32. (For details on runway numbering please read this article). The runway now boasts a smoother surface, …

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Video: Landing the Checkboard approach to Hong Kong Kai Tak airport

Hong Kong’s old Kai Tak airport shut down in 1998, but its memories will remain for a long time. One of the most famous memories of Kai Tak, thrilling and yet terrifying, was the approach to Runway 13. Be you a pilot or a passenger, you either loved it or were terrified by it. There was no middle ground. To …

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Video: The making of British Airways Boeing 777-300ER G-STBA

British Airways is taking delivery of its first Boeing 777-300ER registration G-STBA. The new aircraft will offer 297 seats in a four class configuration including First, Club World, World Traveller Plus and World Traveller. G-STBA features an all-new interior including the new World Traveller (economy) and World Traveller Plus (premium economy) cabins along with a new in-flight entertainment (IFE) system …

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Image: Smokin’ Touchdown – British Airways Boeing 777-200ER G-RAES at DFW airport

This smokin’ touchdown is from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. British Airways G-RAES touches down on to runway 18R after braving 30 knot gusting cross winds, which made it difficult for me to hold the camera and telephoto lens stable. Thank god for Nikon’s VR feature. Click on the image for a larger view

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Strategy guide for Airline Manager on Facebook

October 21, 2021. An updated link to the ROI calculation spreadsheet is below Download the Airline Manager ROI Spreadsheet here. February 9, 2015. An update to this guide is appended at the end of this guide Original article July 10, 2010 Over the last two weeks I discovered a nifty little airline simulator game called Airline Manager on Facebook. My …

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Airport runways: All you wanted to know but were afraid to ask – Part 2

In the first part of this two part series on airport runways, we covered the basics of runway terminology, runway numbering, etc. Today we focus on the runway itself. The sections and parts of the runway, and terms very few outside the core aviation industry know significant details about. Common measurement terms Apart from the length and width of the …

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Airport runways: All you wanted to know but were afraid to ask – Part 1

Runway 09 at Kempegowda airport, Bangalore. Image copyright Devesh Agarwal. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

An innocent question on one of the aviation forums I visit, got me thinking. Runway numbers are very commonly used in aviation related stories and many a frequent flier knows which runway they land or take-off from, especially at their home and other frequented airports. Yet, what are the various terms associated with runways? Simply put, a runway is a …

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Video: The making of IGI airport Terminal 3

The aero buzz in India is centred at the nation’s capital New Delhi. Last week it was the exit of SpiceJet CEO Sanjay Aggarwal. This week is the soon to be opened Terminal 3 or T3 at Indira Gandhi International Airport. Airport operators have produced a video on the evolution of IGI airport and the construction of T3, and have …

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