It appears the Airbus A320neos ordered by original launch customer Qatar Airways, are getting diverted to the world’s largest A320neo operator, currently, India’s Indigo. The Gulf carrier had ordered 34 A320neos powered by the Pratt & Whitney PW100G Geared Turbo-Fan (GTF) engine, and was slated to be the launch customer. However the airline started cancelling airframes in their dispute with …

Airlines across the world, particularly the middle eastern and gulf majors scrambled to change their crew rosters to comply with the executive orders passed by U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday, which suspends the entry of citizens of seven nations, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, in to the United States. All crew already need a special visa …

Mitsubishi Aircraft Corporation has announced that the first delivery of the Mitsubishi Regional Jet (MRJ) will be delayed from mid-2018 to mid-2020. The delay is due to reconfigurations in the aircraft’s electrical and a few other systems. The company had previously planned to deliver the first MRJ to launch customer ANA by mid 2018. The MRJ was initially meant to …

James Hogan President and CEO of Abu Dhabi based Etihad Aviation Group (EAG) will step down in the second half of 2017. He will be joined by Chief Financial Officer James Rigney. The EAG Board of Directors announced the departures and said a global search for their replacements is underway. Both Hogan and Rigney will join an investment company The …

Bengaluru Kempegowda International airport will partially shut operations from February 8th to 18th due to the Aero India air show to allow for show rehearsals and flying displays. The airport will close from the 8th to 11th February for show rehearsals and from the 12th to 18th for the show itself. The airport operator, BIAL, has informed the airlines who …

2016 was a bumper year for Indian aviation. The country missed the 100 million (10 crore) passenger mark by a whisker, coming in a 99.88 million. The growth though appears at the cost of yields and Indian carriers can absorb this as long as oil prices remain at their low levels. 2016 also saw the birth of Air Carnival and …

The on-going issues of the Pratt & Whitney PurePower PW1100 G-JM Geared Turbo-Fan (GTF) engine fitted on the Airbus A320neo (New Engine Option) are well known. Original launch customer Qatar Airways has refused to take delivery of the new variant citing these problems. The GTF engine has been inducted in to the fleets of Indian carriers, first with market leader …

National carrier Air India has announced it shall start direct flights between New Delhi (DEL) and Washington Dulles (IAD) in July 2017. This flight will be the fifth direct connection with the US and shall be operated by a Boeing 777 aircraft, though the carrier has not specified whether this will be on the 777-200LR or the larger 777-300ER. The …

Indian low fare carrier, Spicejet, has signed a record order with Chicago USA based Boeing for 100 737 MAX 8s thus signalling its resurgence from a near collapse two years ago. The carrier already has a firm order for 55 737 MAX 8s, and it has purchased options for up to 50 additional Boeing aircraft including wide-bodies, which are suspected …

Iran Air has taken delivery of it’s first Airbus A321 at a handover ceremony in Toulouse. The aircraft EP-IFA is the first aircraft the airline has taken direct delivery of from a western manufacturer in decades. The aircraft is the first delivery for Airbus out of the firm order of a 100 aircraft the airline placed in 2016. The order …

Low cost carrier SpiceJet has maintained the highest on time performance (OTP) of all the domestic carriers operating from Delhi Airport in the month of December. Winter usually sees many delays and diversions in the smog of the capital – SpiceJet has posted the highest OTP at the metro for the last three months. Coming in the second slot was …

Bangalore based regional airline, Air Pegasus, has issued a statement it has entered into a strategic partnership with start-up airline Flyeasy to revive its operations from March 1, 2017. The airline had suspended operations on June 27, 2016, and the regulator the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had suspended the airline’s operator’s permit in November last year. The statement …

Low cost carrier IndiGo has grown it’s fleet to a 125 Airbus A320’s. The airline took delivery of it’s 125 aircraft VT-ITH in it’s 125th month of operation. The aircraft is Indigo’s 13th Airbus A320neo. The airline is also adding 10 additional frequencies connecting Hyderabad to Goa, Coimbatore, Bhubaneswar and Visakhapatnam effective the 1st of January. Aditya Ghosh, President and …

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has fined American Airlines a record $1.6 million for violating rules prohibiting long tarmac delays. This is the highest fine against an airline for violating the tarmac delay rule, and matches the fine against Southwest Airlines in 2015 Under the DOT rules, U.S. airlines operating aircraft with 30 or more passenger seats are prohibited …