When Gurugaon -based low-cost carrier (LCC) SpiceJet announced its latest round of international expansion, it continued the recent shift in strategy by India’s second largest LCC. Amongst the new routes announced or filed for (according to a report from the Mint, India’s local Wall Street Journal affiliate) were Madurai-Colombo, Delhi-Dhaka-Rangoon/Yangon, Delhi-Riyadh, Delhi-Guangzhou, and Trivandrum-Male. Of these, Madurai-Colombo has already been …

For the first time since I joined Bangalore Aviation, I am posting from India; Bangalore to be exact. I am definitely excited to be back in India for only the second time since I lived here for a year back in 2003, and being on the ground here is an immensely enjoyable experience. I will be in Bangalore today and …

[Note: Most of the links are to web pages in German. Use a translation tool or a web browser with built in translation like Google Chrome.] German national carrier Deutsche Lufthansa AG faces multiple flight disruptions after talks with the union representing over 18,000 cabin crew failed. The failure of the 13 month old talks has been acknowledged by both …

In a report titled “Implementation of Public Private Partnership, Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi” the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has found faults in almost every step of implementation of the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model in the brownfield privatisation of New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA). While acknowledging the PPP was the correct method to follow …

When India’s largest full service carrier Jet Airways announced that it was reconfiguring its fleet of five Boeing 777-300ER aircraft, it was a part validation of Bangalore Aviation’s suggestion made in March of this year. Jet Airways will be switching its Boeing 777-300ERs from a 9-abreast 3-3-3 seating configuration in economy class to a 10 abreast 3-4-3 seating configuration. The move …

As Bangalore Aviation had predicted about three weeks ago, German carrier, and Boeing 747-8i launch customer, Deutsche Lufthansa will upgrade its daily Frankfurt Bangalore service, LH754/LH755, from September 13 ex-Frankfurt and September 14 ex-Bangalore, from the current Boeing 747-400, to the brand new Boeing 747-8i aircraft featuring the carrier’s newest business class, and the upgraded economy class cabin products. (See …

Well folks, my one year anniversary here at Bangalore Aviation has come and gone (August 11th was the correct date), and I would just like to take the opportunity to thank all of our wonderful readers and contributors/commenters. I would also like to thank Devesh for the wonderful opportunity he has given me to air my thoughts and opinions here. …

When Mumbai based full service carrier Jet Airways reported a Rs. 33.3 Crore net pre-tax profit in the first quarter of fiscal year 2012-2013, it represented a resounding statement that the Indian airline industry may have finally found its footing. Photo copyright Devesh Agarwal. Having slipped to net losses in each quarter last year due to the near constant rise …

Carrying 1.226 million passengers in July 2012, Gurgaon based IndiGo pipped the Jet Airways’ group (Jet Airways and JetKonnect) at 1.207 million, to become the largest domestic carrier in India. IndiGo’s market share has grown to 27.02%, at the expense of a failing Kingfisher Airlines whose market share has declined to a mere 3.44%. The country’s aviation regulator reports based …

Earlier today, Maldivian national carrier Maldivian announced that it would be adding new flights between its hub at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport in Male, and Mumbai and Chennai. The new flights would operate 3 times per week, and are being launched from November of this year along with Dhaka, Bangladesh (also a thrice weekly operation). The flights to Mumbai will …

Across the world, Muslims are marking the end of the month of Ramadan and fasting and celebrating Eid-ul-Fitr today. In Singapore and Malaysia the festival is called Hari Raya Puasa. All of us at Bangalore Aviation wish our readers a very happy, safe and joyous celebration.

For little over a year now, US airframer Boeing, has been offering a ‘Performance Improvement Package’ (PIP) on its best selling 737NG aircraft. This includes the 737-800, 737-700 and 737-900ER, operated, in India, by the Jet Airways group and SpiceJet. PIP combines aerodynamic and engine performance improvements to reduce fuel burn by up to 2%. Boeing began performance improvement testing …

National carrier Ethiopian Airlines beat out a dithering Air India to become the third overall, and first non-Japanese carrier to take delivery of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. After taking delivery, Ethiopian flew its first Dreamliner ET-AOQ, to Washington D.C. Dulles airport, where the aircraft was displayed to VIP guests and media. It then made its inaugural trip to Africa and …

A note from the Press Information Bureau of India about Lucknow airport, which is incidentally named after the father of present civil aviation minister Ajit Singh. The airport is owned and operated by the Airports Authority of India. Taking a serious note of the complaints of irregularities in the construction of the New Terminal Building of the Chaudhary Charan Singh …

Beleaguered full service carrier Kingfisher Airlines has served notice of its dire straits, by reporting a massive Rs. 963.3 Crore net pre-tax loss in the first quarter of fiscal year 2012~2013. Even as Kingfisher Airlines chairman Vijay Mallya wrote a controversial letter to Kingfisher’s employees asking them to work without pay for the next few months, it appears that Kingfisher …

In a first of its kind in the Indian aerospace industry, Honeywell Aerospace and Honeywell Technology Solutions (HTS) trained 16 of its development engineers and graduated them with a private pilot’s license (PPL). The PPL training was started in 2010 to train HTS engineers to think and act like pilots in real flight conditions. There has always been a gap …

Just six days after making New Delhi as the first Asian destination for the new Boeing 747-8i, German carrier Lufthansa has opened its ‘new global design concept’ lounge at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA), the first of its type in Asia. Lufthansa’s new lounge concept includes enhanced design elements like poster walls and comforting accessories. The walls are …

Yesterday, Kingfisher Airlines chairman Vijay Mallya sent out a letter to his employees, ostensibly in response to the industrial action by its employees earlier this week that led to the cancellation of more than 30 flights out of Mumbai and Delhi. Unlike earlier letters which were much softer, this time, Dr. Mallya did not mince words. He informs employees of …

The Star Alliance, a global grouping of 27 airlines, has rejected the application of national carrier Air India to join the group. In over 14 years, and 28 applicants, this is the first time the application of any airline has been rejected. A source, who wants to remain anonymous, confirmed, the alliance had effectively rejected Air India’s application last year …

When Gurgaon based low cost carrier (LCC) SpiceJet reported a net, pre-tax profit of more than Rs. 56 Crore in the first quarter of fiscal year 2012-2013, it represented a huge positive step for the Indian airline industry. After SpiceJet had slipped to a large net loss for fiscal year 2011-2012, mirroring the performance of the industry as a whole …