Earlier this week, Singapore Airlines launched its non-stop Singapore San Francisco flight, shaving a few hours off their total flight time between the Silicon Plateau of Bangalore (BLR) and the Silicon Valley served by San Francisco (SFO). The San Francisco Bangalore route is one of the most lucrative for the airlines. Even an airline not renowned for their service, Air …

Australian flag carrier Qantas has given its aircraft livery a subtle modernisation. This includes the iconic Kangaroo logo on the tails of its aircraft. It is only the fifth time the iconic red-and-white ‘roo’ has been updated since its introduction in 1944. Continuing a tradition The livery change continues a tradition at Qantas, of changing its livery whenever a new …

The Indian Defense Minister, Manohar Parrikar inaugurated Helicopter Engines MRO Pvt. Limited (HE-MRO), a Joint Venture of Safran and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL), in Goa The maintenance repair and overhaul (MRO) facility will offer services for Safran TM333 and HAL Shakti (a HAL co-development of the Safran Ardiden 1H1) engines installed on HAL-built helicopters from a 1,000 square metre office …

The Tata-SIA Airlines brand Vistara has received certification for operating in Category IIIB ultra-low visibility conditions the regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The certification is a combination of all of the three “components”, the aircraft, the flight crew, and the airport, being approvd for Cat IIIB. All of Vistara’s A320 aircraft are Cat IIIB compliant and integrate …

European airframer Airbus built five A380’s for the initial flight test program of the world’s largest commercial passenger aircraft. It still retains two aircraft in its test fleet which are used for on-going long term testing and for making improvements on the A380. F-WWOW (MSN 1) is fitted with the Rolls Royce Trent 970 engines, while F-WWDD (MSN 4) is …

US airframer Boeing has announced a $18.6 billion order from middle-eastern carrier Qatar Airways. The order includes a order for 30 787-9 Dreamliners and 10 777-300ERs, valued at $11.7 billion at current list prices and most importantly a Letter of Intent for up to 60 737 MAX 8s, valued at $6.9 billion at current list prices. The order builds on …

Singapore Airlines, Emirates, British Airways, Qatar Airways and Cathay Pacific are the world’s top airlines as per readers of the Business Traveller magazine. The awards are widely recognised within the airline industry and accepted by frequent travellers as a benchmark for excellence. Star Alliance member Singapore Airlines won five awards. It was recognised as the best airline in the world, …

India’s largest private airline, Jet Airways, has expanded its recently introduced JetScreen domestic in-flight entertainment service via Wi-Fi streaming to 14 Boeing 737s, up from the five, when the service was introduced last month. Passengers aboard these 14 aircraft can stream video and audio content directly on their personal electronic devices (PEDs) such as mobile phones, tablets and laptops. Passengers …

European airframer Airbus has begun final assembly of its first A330neo at its final assembly line in Toulouse, France with the joining of the aircraft’s wings to the centre fuselage at station 40. According to Airbus, both the A330-800 and -900 feature A350-inspired wing with Sharklet wingtips, the new AirSpace by Airbus cabin and will reduce fuel consumption by 14 …

During the last week of September I was in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, and I heard from the DFW Spotters that Boeing’s new upcoming 737 MAX8 N8704Q was performing customer familiarisation flights and flight testing at Dallas Lovefield airport, the hub of launch customer Southwest Airlines (SWA). The aircraft performed a variety of flights to various SWA destinations including Austin, …