India’s largest domestic carrier IndiGo, found itself at the centre of a public relations firestorm when it announced a policy change and decided to universally charge for seat allocation during web-check-in. In a rather casual manner the airline clarified that those who did not wish to pay the charge could come to the airport and have a seat auto-assigned. Opposing …

TAP Air Portugal has become the first airline to take delivery of the Airbus A330neo. The aircraft an A330-900neo was the first of a 21 aircraft order placed by the Portuguese carrier. The aircraft which is leased from Avalon features 298 seats configured in a three-class layout with 34 business, 96 economy plus and 168 economy class seats. It is …

Jet Airways is in the midst of a financial crunch. The airline has had issues paying its staff and reportedly grounded aircraft. Lately, the airline has also had to make cuts to its passenger experience with meal quality reportedly going down. The airline had also stopped access to the lounge at Mumbai airport due to a dispute with the airport …

Despite having flown Qatar multiple times out of the EU before, this was the first time I was flying them directly out of London. My original itinerary had be taking a mid day flight to be followed by a stopover in Doha. Unfortunately the night before, I had to make a last minute change to get back to Bangalore a …

Singapore Airlines (SIA) is re-jigging routes between its low-cost subsidiary Scoot, which took over TigerAir, and its regional subsidiary SilkAir, as the latter mergers into it. A number of destinations in India are affected. Between April 2019 and end 2020, Scoot will take over some of SilkAir’s routes over the next two years, and also transfer some routes or services …

The potential of the Tatas acquiring the beleaguered Jet Airways, raises a lot of questions. Bangalore Aviation presents an operational analysis on where and why the acquisition makes sense and what it would need to go through. This analysis focusses on the Tatas acquiring Jet and merging it with Vistara, the brand of Tata SIA Airlines Limited, the joint-venture of …

American air framer has joint the major fuselage sections of the first 777X aircraft which will make its first flight in 2019. The ‘final body join’ saw Boeing engineers connecting the airplane’s nose, mid and aft sections. The aircraft now measures 252 feet long (77 meters) from nose to tail, making it the longest passenger aircraft the manufacturer has ever …

Korean low cost carrier Jeju Air has placed an order for 40 737 MAX 8 airplanes with options for 10 additional aircraft. The order including options is valued at $5.9 billion at list prices. The aircraft will be delivered between 2022 and 2026. The airline which began operations in 2005 as Korea’s first LCC operates an all Boeing fleet of …

Virgin Orbit completed the first test flight of it’s modified Boeing 747-400 carrying the 70 foot long LauncherOne rocket. Richard Branson’s small satellite launch company is proving the feasibility of using the modified 747 to launch its carbon-fiber two-stage rocket. The company uses the fifth engine pod mount built in on the 747 to carry the rocket. The aircraft is …

The first ACJ320neo (Airbus corporate jet) has successfully completed it’s maiden flight at Airbus’ Finkenwerder plant in Hamburg. The aircraft performed the two hour and 40 minute flight on Friday. It is powered by CFM LEAP-1A engines. Derived from the Airbus A320neo, the ACJ version includes features such as extra fuel-tanks in the cargo-hold that will deliver for increased range, …

Engine manufacturer General Electric (GE) has completed the final flight of it’s original 747-100 flying testbed. The aircraft N747GE was the oldest active 747 in the world. It was the 25th 747 to roll off the line in October 1969 and was delivered to PanAm in March 1970 as Clipper Ocean Spray. GE acquired the aircraft in 1992 when it …

SpiceJet, reported its second quarter results of the fiscal year 2018-19 (FY19) yesterday. Much like the results of other listed airlines, it was a loss for the quarter. SpiceJet Q2FY19 snapshot: Revenues ₹1,9104 crores (up 4%) Costs ₹2,299 crores (up 25%) EBITDAR (₹32.7) crores Profit before tax (PBT): loss of (₹396 crores) Revenue per available seat kilometre (RASK) ₹3.73 Cost per …

China Southern Airlines has officially conformed that it will leave SkyTeam at the end of the year. The airline which is Asia’s largest, posted the below notice to it’s shareholders and investors. There have been rumors of China Southern leaving SkyTeam and going OneWorld for some time now. The airline has had a second rate status in SkyTeam due to …

Bangalore airport has become the first airport in India to introduce automated bag drop machines. The 16 new self bag drop counters will allow passengers to check in their baggage without having to interact any ground agent. Using the self bag drop involves a two-step approach. A passenger will first print a boarding pass and an eezee-tag (bag tag) at …

Once we got back to the gate after leaving the lounge, boarding had already begun. When we boarded approximately quarter of the aircraft was remaining for boarding. London Heathrow (LHR) to Bangalore Kempegowda International BA119. STD 14.20 STA 04.45 +1. All times local. 9-May-2018. Boeing 777-200ER. Seat 2K. Upon boarding the aircraft, I was pointed to my seat. Unfortunately because …

Jet Airways reported its second quarter (Q2FY19) results this Tuesday.  With a loss of 1261 crores, the results were better than analyst expectations – highlighting how low the market sentiment has become. Jet finds itself in a challenging spot with increasing cost pressures, onslaught of low cost carriers in the domestic market and liquidity pressures towards servicing debt. Bangalore Aviation …

European airframer Airbus has delivered it’s first A321LR ‘Long Range” to Israeli carrier ARKIA Israeli Airlines. The aircraft bearing the registration 4X-AGH is powered by two CFM LEAP-1A engines and is configured in a single class layout with 220 seats. The A321LR is a modified version of the Airbus A321neo has a range of 4,000nm (7,400km).

In an incredulous move, it is being reported that the government of Burundi has blocked an Kenyan low cost carrier from flying to their country because their aircrafts are not equipped with a business class. Jambojet is the low-cost subsidiary of Kenya Airways – the flag carrier of Kenya. The airline operates regional flights with a fleet of five Bombardier …

For a few years many airline’s have been putting effort into making unique safety videos. Producing an innovative safety video gives the airline an opportunity to differentiate themselves in one of their most routine tasks while also providing a viral marketing opportunity. It also allows the airline to promote their product and partnerships. For example the below safety video from …