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 …

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 …

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 …

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 – …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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, …

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 …

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, …

Airbus has completed the first flight of the company’s A320 development aircraft MSN001 F-WWBA fitted with the new ‘Sharklet’ wing-tip devices. Airbus A320 MSN001 F-WWBA takes off for its first flight equipped with “Sharklets” This flight marks the start of the early flight-test campaign to capture data for fine-tuning the flight control laws required for the fly-by-wire controls, as well …

It appears that delivery Air India’s Boeing 787 Dreamliners are delayed, yet again, this time in to 2012. Air India has chosen the General Electric GEnx-1B engine to power its 787 fleet. According to a report from Flightglobal, due to a lack of production aircraft at Boeing, the airframer is unable to complete the final certification requirements of the US …

Earlier this week, Air India, the beleaguered Indian national carrier, announced that it would be utilizing a sale-leaseback arrangement to evade the divisive lawsuit filed by the Air Transport Association (ATA), a US airline lobby group, over Us $ 3.4 billion worth of financing for the carrier’s order of 27 Boeing 787 and 3 777-300ER widebody jets. The lawsuit from …

Yesterday, Air India chief executive Rohit Nandan announced that Air India would be withdrawing one of its two daily Delhi-London-Heathrow flights from February 2012 and auctioning off the slots. Currently, Air India competes on the sector with Kingfisher, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, and Jet Airways; all of whom offer more consistent products and command higher fares than Air India. The …

For all of the ribbing targeted towards national carrier Air India, the carrier appears to have finally provided some good value, with some very good deals on offer for travel within its entire network. Of course, in typical Air India fashion, they’ve made it very hard for passengers to find out about these upgrades; I’ve seen mazes that are easier …

Reports have emerged from Reuters and Plane Talking that Qantas has shelved plans for its Asia-based premium carrier which has been called by the media at various times Red Q, One Asia, or Red One. The venture would apparently be replaced by a joint venture agreement with future oneworld alliance partner Malaysia Airlines in Asia. Earlier this year, Qantas had …