Johannesburg in South Africa will become the second long-haul destination for Singapore Airlines’ new generation Airbus A350-900. fleet, with effect from June 27, 2016. Starting June 27, the A350 will be initially deployed on flights serving the Singapore-Johannesburg route on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The A350 frequency will progressively increase to cover all seven weekly Johannesburg flights, including four weekly …

Tokyo’s Haneda airport which is located in the heart of the megalopolis is shut down after one of the engines of a Korean Air Boeing 777-300, registration HL7534, performing flight KE2708 to Seoul Gimpo airport caught fire just as it was about to take-off. All 302 passengers and 17 crew were evacuated via emergency slides and are safe, though about …

SpiceJet has reported its highest ever profit of Rs 407 crores for the financial year ending 31 March 2016. For the quarter ending 31 March 2016, the airline reported a net profit of Rs 73 crores. Strong performance indeed, considering that the airline had reported a loss of Rs 687 crores for the last financial year. Operational performance A look …

On the 13th of May, the world’s largest in-service aircraft, the Antonov An-225 Mriya touched down at Hyderabad airport for a technical stopover on it’s way to Perth, Australia. The An-225 was designed by the then Soviet Union’s Antonov Design Bureau in the 1980’s. The aircraft is the longest and heaviest to have ever been built, along with the largest …

Seattle-based carrier Alaska Airlines and Japanese flag carrier Japan Airlines (JAL) have announced plans to begin a codeshare agreement and frequent flier partnership. Starting June 29th, pending government approval the agreement will allow for combined ticketing and one-stop baggage check-in on flights between the two airlines. Members of Alaska airlines’ mileage plan will also be able to earn and redeem miles …

India’s most successful airline Indigo continued to impress with its fourth quarter and full year earnings. A look at the numbers reveals how Indigo has managed its business. Operational performance For the year, IndiGo carried a total of 33.1 million passengers carried, a 31.5% increase as compared to the same period last year. During the year, IndiGo registered a 21.2% …

State-owned flag carrier Qatar Airways has launched its fourth UK gateway with direct flights between Birmingham and Doha. Chief Commercial Officer Dr. Hugh Dunleavy accompanied British ambassador to Qatar Mr Ajay Sharma on the inaugural flight on Wednesday. The Birmingham route is operated by Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner aircraft in a two-cabin configuration, comprising of 22 seats in business class and …

American carriers including United, American, Delta and US Air have cancelled all flights to Brussels airports after the explosions yesterday morning. UA950 from Washington Dulles and DL80 from Atlanta both landed at Brussels normally yesterday. UA999 from Newark and DL42 from New York were divereted to other airports in the region. AA751 was cancelled. Delta will be accomodating passengers whose …

American airframer Boeing has initiated major assembly on its 787-10 Dreamliner two weeks ahead of schedule in Nagoya, Japan. All final assembly will take place in North Charleston, South Carolina next year, followed by first delivery to United Airlines in 2018. The 787-10 that Boeing describes as a straightforward stretch of the 787-9 has 95% design similarities with its predecessor. …

Global air traffic results announced by industry body International Air Transport Association (IATA) for January 2016 show India leading the world in air passenger demand. Domestic Passenger Markets: Compared to the previous year, India’s domestic air traffic demand shown by revenue passenger kilometers (RPKs) rose by 22.9% in January. The growth is the highest in the world by a wide …

American airframer Boeing and French national carrier Air France celebrated the milestone delivery of 70th 777 yesterday. Air France was the launch customer for both the 777-300ER in 2004 and the 777 Freighter in 2009. It took its first 777-200ER delivery in March 1998 and is now the second largest 777 operator in the world. “We are honored that a …

The Tata-SIA Airline, Vistara has announced additional frequencies to its existing routes while also adding new ones. Starting May 12th, the airline is introducing its third daily return flights for the Delhi-Bengaluru route and the second daily return flight between Delhi and Goa. An additional third flight will also fly these routes during the weekends. Vistara has also introduced a new …

National carrier, Etihad Airways of Abu Dhabi has launched a new, innovative app for the iPhone. The app is aimed at making every aspect of the passengers’ journey simple and easy. Guests using the app get a 10% discount while members of the Etihad Guest loyalty program will receive 250 bonus miles for every booking made through the mobile app before …

Lockheed Martin’s first LM-100J commercial freighter has reached its major production assembly phase. The LM-100J’s wing construction taking place in Marietta is a first in 24 years as a derivative of the C-130 Hercules. Meanwhile, the Clarksburg facility in West Virginia is delivering panels alongside floor structure development in Meridian, Mississippi.  The aircraft is a civil-certified version of the C-130J Super Hercules …