AirAsia is close to signing an agreement to use Bangalore as its hub for India operations, Bhaskar Bodapati, Senior Director of the Bengaluru Airport International Limited (BIAL) revealed in Saturday’s Deccan Herald. This will be a coup for the company, especially after the loss of the financially defunct Kingfisher Airlines. Historically, Bangalore has been ignored by India’s domestic airlines for …

KLM, the Royal Dutch Airline now provides fully flat beds on daily flights from New Delhi to Amsterdam on October 28, 2013. Starting this winter, all KLM international long-haul destination flights served by Boeing 747-400 will offer its business class passengers the new fully flat beds.Commenting on the occasion, Mr. Yeshwant Pawar, General Manager South Asia said “KLM continues to invest …

As a Rotarian, I seek your help. It will take only about two minutes of your time. As an annual charity event, United Airlines donates 10 million airline miles to various non-profit charities. Each participating nonprofit partner is guaranteed to receive a minimum of 25,000 miles. The remaining portion of the 10 million total miles will be distributed to all …

By BA Staff European airframer, Airbus has signed an agreement with national carrier Kuwait Airways to buy 10 A350-900s and 15 A320neos. A little over two weeks ago, Kuwait Airways had suspended its Chairman for publicly stating an intent to buy five A330-200s from India’s Jet Airways.

Dubai based Emirates airline commenced flights to Kabul, Afghanistan, its 138th destination and 78th country. The route is operated by an Airbus A340-500 configured in a three class cabin configuration, offering 12 first, 42 business and 204 economy class seats. EK 640 will depart Dubai daily at 09:55 and arrive in Kabul at 13:15. EK 641 will leave Kabul at …

Cathay Pacific Airways unveiled the third edition of the airline’s “Spirit of Hong Kong” livery painted on one its Boeing 777-300ER B-KPB. Time lapse video at the end of the article. The livery design carries the silhouettes of the 110 “The Spirit of Hong Kong” campaign winners. “The Spirit of Hong Kong” campaign called for entries that best represented the …

by Devesh Agarwal Etihad Airways has wasted no time in capitalising on its recent bonanza of seat quota increase under the new India UAE (Abu Dhabi) bi-laterial air services agreement (BASA). It has announced a massive increase in flights to most of its destinations in India. Specifically Mumbai and New Delhi: from 7 to 14 flights per week with immediate …

Boeing has commenced low-speed wind tunnel tests for its 777X aircraft. Testing is being performed on a 5% scale model of the baseline 777X, measuring about 4.22 meters (166 inches) long with a wing span of 3.92 meters (154 inches). Hundreds of sensors are embedded in the model to measure pressure to determine the in-flight loads as well as provide …

For your weekend viewing pleasure

By BA Staff The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) fined the Brazilian airline GOL $250,000 for violating a number of DOT’s rules protecting the rights of air travellers. This is the largest penalty assessed for violations of the rules adopted in April 2011.The airline was ordered to cease and desist from further violations of the Department’s airline consumer rules. U.S. …

Another interview more on promise, and less on substance. 

Greetings dear readers.Over the last few months, I have been toying with where Bangalore Aviation should go and how should it look. We are adding a few journalist interns who will focus on the news allowing me time to focus on analysis. The current layout is getting too cluttered, and we are also considering changing our layout to match the …

By BA Staff Boeing participated in a groundbreaking ceremony with Incheon and Korean Air for construction of Korea’s largest new aviation training facility to be located in Incheon’s Free Economic Zone (IFEZ).The new campus, which is slated to open in 2015, will allow Boeing to expand the scope of its training business in Korea and continue its long-standing training relationship …

By BA StaffThe U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported that U.S. airlines carried 67.7 million systemwide (domestic and international) scheduled service passengers in August 2013, 0.1 per cent fewer than in August 2012. Domestic passengers decreased 0.9 percent to 58.1 million, and international passengers increased 5.5 per cent to 9.6 million compared to August 2012. Total …