As expected the Dubai Airshow opened today with a record breaking order book. Within three hours of opening, the show’s order tally reached US $162.6 billion – surpassing its previous record of US $155 billion record set in 2007 – with deals coming from Etihad Airways, Emirates Airline, flydubai and Qatar Airways. The opening order came from Abu Dhabi-based Etihad …

by Devesh Agarwal From top, clockwise, Boeing CGI of Etihad 787-10, 777-8X, 777-9X United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) national carrier, Etihad Airways PJSC, kicked off the Dubai Air Show with a massive order for 56 wide-body Boeing aircraft with options to purchase for an additional 26 aircraft taking the quantity up to 82 at a list price valuation of $25.2 billion. …

by Devesh Agarwal Manufacturer, Boeing has delivered the second P-8I long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft to the Indian Navy. The first P-8I was delivered in May. The P-8I is the Indian Navy variant of the P-8A Poseidon that Boeing has developed for the U.S. Navy. Indian Navy’s second P-8I IN-320 departs for India The two aircraft are currently …

by Devesh Agarwal The aviation enthusiast community may not have too much respect for The Economic Times newspaper when it comes to technical accuracy when reporting aviation related stories, but hats off to a great article that goes in to the depths on how the deal for a 24% stake by Etihad Airways in Jet Airways was negotiated and struck. …

by Devesh Agarwal On Tuesday, beleaguered Indian carrier, Jet Airways cleared its final hurdle in its $397 million quest to sell a 24% stake to Abu Dhabi based Etihad Airways PJSC, when the Competition Commission of India (CCI), cleared the deal paving the way for the Naresh Goyal promoted Jet to receive desperately needed cash from the deal. The Union …

by Devesh Agarwal Emirates A380. Photo copyright Devesh Agarwal. The Emirates Group, the aviation holding company of the Al Maktoum family which rules Dubai, and the parent of Emirates airline, announced its first half (April to September) results of the fiscal year 2014 (ending March 31, 2014) today. Group The Emirates Group revenues reached AED 42.3 billion (US$ 11.5 billion) …

by Devesh Agarwal Gurgaon based low fare carrier SpiceJet Ltd., continued the record of disastrous performance in the Indian airline industry when it announced a record Rs. 559 crore loss for the second quarter, ended September 30, of the fiscal year 2013~2014. This compared to the Rs. 163.5 crore loss from the same quarter last fiscal, and a Rs. 50.5 …

Guest post by Patricia Hogenes It’s time for a vacation, so the family is heading out to visit relatives. It won’t be a long plane flight, but for the kids – it will be their first time. So how can a parent prepare the children for the whole flying experience? Make it sound fun. Above all, the experience should be …

by BA Staff (left: Stefan Hansen, CEO Lufthansa Systems AGand Elyezer Shkedy, CEO El Al) EL AL Israel Airlines has selected Lufthansa Systems’ wireless in-flight entertainment system BoardConnect. Using their laptops, tablet PCs or smartphones EL AL passengers will be able to access on-demand audio and video and other content. The system will be installed on 10 Boeing 737s and …

by Devesh Agarwal Traditional Indonesian dance graces the ceremony US airframer Boeing has delivered to Lion Air a new Boeing 737-900ER, marking the delivery of the 100th Boeing 737NG to the Lion Group, Indonesia’s largest airline group. It is not surprising that the delivered aircraft was the largest in the Boeing 737 Next-Generation family. Lion Air, which was established in …

by Devesh Agarwal The United States’ aviation regulator the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has today allowed airlines to relax rules regarding the use of portable electronic devices (PEDs) on-board flights below 10,000 feet. In a release the FAA said Passengers will eventually be able to read e-books, play games, and watch videos on their devices during all phases of flight, …

by Devesh Agarwal Delta Air Lines will debut three updated Boeing 757 aircraft on the transcontinental route between New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport beginning July 1, 2014. These will be the first 757 aircraft in service to feature Delta’s previously announced upgrades which will include full flat-bed seats in BusinessElite on transcon flights …

by Devesh Agarwal Flag carrier Qatar Airways becomes part of oneworld® alliance at midnight Doha time tonight, becoming the first carrier from the burgeoning Gulf region to join join any airline alliance. Qatar also joins fellow middle-east carrier Royal Jordanian which is a member of oneworld. QR633 which departs from Bangladeshi capital, Dhaka for Doha at 03.15 local (00.15 Doha …

by Devesh Agarwal Singapore Airlines débuted its latest cabin products on its Boeing 777-300ER flying between Mumbai and Singapore for a limited time. This is the latest cabin product of the premium airline which will be standard on its Airbus A350-900 aircraft, but which is also fitted on eight of its new Boeing 777-300ERs, the latest of which was recently …

by Devesh Agarwal On September 4th, Etihad Airways and Jet Airways had petitioned the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) to authorise them to code share i.e. put their marketing codes on each other airlines’ flights. Download the original petition in PDF format here or scroll to end of the article to view it and the approval letter. Etihad requests …

by Devesh Agarwal German flag carrier Deutsche Lufthansa will start charging passengers fees for advance seat reservations (ASR). However, unlike fellow European carrier British Airways, Lufthansa will limit its fee to economy class as of now. From November 26, 2013, for a fee of 10 euros Lufthansa passengers can reserve in advance, their preferred seat in economy class when booking …

by Devesh Agarwal Photo © Devesh Agarwal The joint venture of Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Tata Sons, Tata SIA Airlines Ltd., to set up a full service airline, has won approval from India’s Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB). The company has an initial capital outlay of $100 million with Tatas holding 51% and Singapore Airlines holding 49%. Tata-SIA will now …

by Devesh Agarwal British Airways Boeing 777-200ER. Photo © Devesh Agarwal. From October 27, flag carrier British Airways will add an additional weekly flight on the London Heathrow Chennai route, taking its weekly frequency to six. With this flight the airline will increase its weekly flights to 48 to five cities in India, Bangalore, Chennai, Mumbai, New Delhi, and Hyderabad. …

by Devesh Agarwal Flag carrier Air France, revealed its new upgraded economy class and premium economy class service offering which includes new seats, new meal services, in-flight entertainment (IFE) systems, ice-cream and second hot meal service on longer flights. The carrier will equip 44 of its long-haul Boeing 777s starting from summer 2014 with the new product. These upgrades are …

by Devesh Agarwal Chicago based, US aerospace and defence giant The Boeing Company reported earnings of $1,160 million, a massive 12% jump in its third-quarter profit compared to $1,030 million from the same period a year ago. The company has also raised its 2013 financial performance outlook, based on an increase in commercial aircraft deliveries. Key highlights of the quarter …