Bangalore Aviation News, Reviews, Analysis and opinions of Indian Aviation
The Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) party with its five members of parliament (MP) has joined the ruled United Progressive Alliance (UPA). RLD supremo Ajit Singh has given a letter requesting to join the UPA to its chairperson Ms. Sonia Gandhi. Mr. Ajit Singh will be inducted as the new minister of civil aviation on December 18th. Ajit Singh has a …
Read More »Monthly Archives: December 2011
Air India’s flawed sales and lease-back strategy for its 787 Dreamliners
A few days back Air India released a request for proposal (RFP) for their planned sale and leaseback of seven Boeing 787 aircraft. These are the first seven Dreamliners out of a planned order of 27 aircraft. The deal would also include “one or two spare” GE GEnx engines. Air India is currently requesting a 12 year lease deal from …
Read More »Japan Airlines to operate Boeing 787 Dreamliner between Tokyo and New Delhi
Earlier today, Japanese national carrier Japan Airlines (JAL) announced that it would be introducing 5 weekly Boeing 787 services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport and New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) from the northern summer 2012 schedule which begins at the end of March, 2012. The Dreamliner replaces the existing 5 weekly Boeing 777-200ER service. Japan Airlines will also be …
Read More »The end of an era: Airbus officially removes Kingfisher A340-500s from its order book
A news report from the Dow Jones yesterday stated that Airbus had finally removed the Airbus A340-500 that were once ordered by Kingfisher. Airbus has officially taken (06-Dec-2011) Kingfisher Airlines’ two A340-500s off its order book. The carrier, as previously reported, was expected to cancel the two orders after Airbus announced last month it was abandoning production of the aircraft …
Read More »MAP: All the routes flown by all airlines operating the Airbus A380
As of date there are seven airlines operating the Airbus A380 superjumbo. Singapore Airlines QANTAS Emirates airline Lufthansa Air France Korean Air Lines China Southern Airlines This post summarises all the A380 routes operated by these seven operators. See more A380 articles. The launch operator of the A380 was Singapore Airlines. The newest route is SQ25/SQ26 Singapore – Frankfurt – …
Read More »KLM’s Christmas gift ideas: 24ct gold Dino iPad 2 with T-Rex bone, 40MP digital camera, Sapphire Iridium razor
If money is no object what could you get your loved ones this Christmas? How about a 24 carat, diamond encrusted iPad 2, with a frame of Ammolite a stone over 75 million years old and containing bones of a Tyrannosaurus Rex dinosaur? Yes, its $5 million but it is unique. Do you know anyone who has a DinoPad? I …
Read More »VIDEOS: How airlines select Wines, Cheeses and Teas for in-flight menus
British Airways has a series called Height Cuisine. In this post, view two videos showing how the airline selects wines, cheeses, and teas for service on-board their flights. It is quite amazing to learn that seemingly un-connected thing like sound and pressure affect the taste in one’s mouth. Have an enjoyable and profitable week ahead. If it is going to …
Read More »VIDEOS: The application of the “Panda Express” decal to a FedEx 777F
US cargo airline FedEx announced that it painted one of its aircraft with a special panda decal to commemorate the carrier’s transport of two giant pandas from the Washington D.C. zoo to a natural reserve in China. The one-time transport flight was conducted in February of 2010 on one of FedEx’s 777Fs. The following video from the official FedEx YouTube …
Read More »Kingfisher operating payments at Mumbai International Airport are overdue
It appears that Kingfisher’s troubles may not yet be over. After the carrier flirted with financial disaster last month, a report from the Economic Times suggests that new trouble is on the horizon for India’s self professed “King of Good Times.” According to the report, Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) has sent notice to Kingfisher that it must pay the …
Read More »MAP: 8 Air India flights cannot even cover their cost of fuel
According to a report from the Press Trust of India (PTI), Indian civil aviation minister Vyalar Ravi revealed before the Rajya Sabha today that Air India’s estimated loss for FY 2010-2011 was Rs. 6,994 Crore, down sharply from the Rs. 5552.55 Crore loss posted in FY 2009-2010. Ravi also said that, “Based on April-September, 2011 route wise profitability, two routes …
Read More »VIDEOS: Fitting the wingtip Sharklets on the A320 and its first flight
On Wednesday Airbus completed the first flight of its ‘Sharklet’ equipped A320 test-bed aircraft. Two videos on the subject for your Friday viewing pleasure. The first one shows how the new wingtip devices are fit on to the aircraft, and the second covers the first flight itself.
Read More »Jet Airways must remove brand confusion by consolidating its low cost Konnect and JetLite services
TURBOCHARGING JET AIRWAYS PART 1By Rishul Saraf Jet Airways is a pioneer in Indian aviation. From the earliest stages of India’s economic liberalisation, with a fleet of just four Boeing 737-300 and 737-400, Jet Airways grew to reach a fleet size of over 92 aircraft, by 2008, and become a dominant force in Indian aviation. Since then, due to recession, …
Read More »MAP: Lufthansa Airbus A380 operation in winter 2011-2012
The following is a map of Lufthansa’s planned Airbus A380 operation in IATA’s northern winter 2011-2012. All flights are daily, and this list does not include the few flights that will be operated in late December between Munich and New York JFK on the A380. Maps generated by the Great Circle Mapper : copyright © Karl L. Swartz. The operation is …
Read More »Tailspin: Praful Patel and the fall of Air India – A must read article
It is not very often that I recommend an article that appears in the print media. The Caravan is one of the oldest publications in India, first launched in 1940. In the December 2011 issue, Praveen Donthi has written a mammoth article going into great detail the history of Mr. Praful Patel and his recent tenure as civil aviation Minister, …
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