Exactly one year after the first flight of the Airbus A320neo, the first production airframe MSN 6720, made its maiden flight. This particular airframe is destined for IndiGo as part of the Indian carrier’s 180 A320neo order placed at the Paris Air Show in 2011. While MSN 6720 is the first production airframe, it will not be the first to …

The Indian Ministry of Defence has finalized an order with Boeing for 22 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters and 15 CH-47F Chinook heavy-lift helicopters. The order includes production, training and support of both the helicopters. The order which is worth around 2.5 billion US dollars, was cleared by the cabinet committee on security on the 22nd of this month just before …

National carrier Air India will be the first airline to integrate its operations, domestic and international, at terminal 2 better known as T2, at Mumbai CSI airport. The airline will be shifting its domestic operations from terminal 1A located just off the western express highway to the swanky new T2 located on the northern periphery of the airport. T2 has …

American airframer Boeing successfully completed the first flight of the KC-46A tanker aircraft last friday. The aircraft took off from Paine Field at 1:24 p.m. (PST) and landed four hours later at Boeing Field in Seattle. The KC-46A is based on the 767-200 passenger aircraft, which is also being used by many air forces as a tanker in the form …

Emirates’ narrow-body sister airline flydubai has selected India’s technology service company Mindtree [NSE: MINDTREE] as a strategic technology partner to help the airline shape the digital experience it is envisaging for its passengers. Mindtree will focus on transforming flydubai’s information technology to support passenger sales and service systems, including services such as electronic ticketing and real-time baggage tracking. The agreement …

American airframer Boeing has started final assembly of the first 737 MAX 8, in Renton, Washington. Keith Leverkuhn, vice president and general manager, 737 MAX program, Boeing Commercial Airplanes “We continue to meet our plan on the 737 MAX program thanks to the dedication of our employee team and our suppliers, We have a lot more work still ahead of …

European airframer Airbus S.A.S. inaugurated operations at its U.S. assembly line located in Mobile, Alabama. This is the fourth assembly line for Airbus after Toulouse in France, Hamburg in Germany, and Tianjin in China. The line will assembly the high volume narrow body A320 family aircraft A319, A320, A321, and employs about 250 persons. Airbus President and CEO, Fabrice Brégier, …

First up in this Through the lens is VT-EXC. EXC is the latest Airbus A320 in Air India’s fleet and sports the new ‘Sharklet’ wingtips, it has been leased from China Aircraft Leasing Group Holdings Limited (CALC). It is the third out of five aircrafts that will be leased from CALC by the airline. The aircraft is powered by two …

The United States National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released a preliminary report on the engine fire that occurred during takeoff of British Airways flight BA 2276, a Boeing 777-200ER, registration G-VIIO, at Las Vegas McCarran International Airport (IATA: LAS). The report’s initial factual findings suggest a failure in the high pressure compressor (HPC) area. The engine case showed multiple …

In a sea of ill-conceived rules governing Indian commercial airlines, the 5/20 rule, which requires Indian carriers to wait five years and have a fleet of 20 aircraft before they can fly the lucrative and profitable international routes is one of the worst. No such restriction applies to the foreign airlines flying IN to India. The newcomers Tata-SIA Vistara and …