With the on-going crisis at Kingfisher Airlines, we share with you the official Government of India Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) for facilities to be provided to passengers, by airlines, in the event of denied boarding (read over-booking), cancellation of flights, or delayed flights. The Civil Aviation Requirements, Section 3 – Air Transport, Series M, Part IV, Issue I, dated August …

In a statement to clarifying the on-going crisis, Kingfisher Airlines has virtually blamed the Income Tax department of India for seizing the airline’s bank accounts. Since the airline has never made a profit since commencement, the airline would not be past due on income tax. What it could be past due on, is, Tax Deduction at Source (TDS). Tax Information …

The engine for Airbus’ new A350 XWB jetliner made its successful maiden flight on 18 February, 2012. Installed on the A380 flying testbed aircraft, the Rolls-Royce Trent XWB powerplant was tested for performance and fuel efficiency during an airborne evaluation that lasted more than five hours. Click on the picture below for a high-resolution view.

Two days ago, The Mint newspaper reported an incident in which a Jet Airways Boeing 737 captain put a trainee fresh out of flight school, who was not even trained, let alone certified, in any form of jet transport, into the co-pilot’s seat during a landing at Chennai. The airline is accused of trying to hush up the incident from …

Lion Air, Indonesia’s largest private airline, has placed on US airframer Boeing, the largest commercial airplane order ever in Boeing’s history by both dollar value and total number of airplanes. The carrier finalised a firm order for 201 737 MAXs and 29 Next-Generation 737-900ERs (extended range), worth $22.4 billion at list prices, which was first announced last November in Indonesia. …

Lufthansa group member Austrian Airlines will suspend services between Mumbai and Vienna, most likely from the start of the Summer 2012 time-table which will commence from end March. Austrian is facing seat load factor pressure from the two other members of the group; Swiss and Lufthansa. All three members of the group, have departures from Mumbai to their Europe hubs …

Last Thursday, Airbus S.A.S. delivered to New Delhi based low fare carrier, IndiGo’s 50th A320 aircraft, which has been registered with the tail number VT-IEP. See picture here. Here is a video showing the construction of an IndiGo A320.

Photo by Flickr user Star5112. Australian carrier Qantas is the big winner at Business Traveller’s 2011 Cellars in the Sky airline wine awards, winning in six categories. Other winners include Delta, Jetstar, LAN Chile, Qatar Airways, TAM, Emirates, Air France and Cathay Pacific. The awards recognise the best business and first class wines served by airlines worldwide, with around 250 …

Korean Air has become the first airline in the world to operate both freighters from the Boeing stable — the 747-8F and 777F. Three days ago, the national carrier took delivery of the two aircraft at Everett, Washington, USA. Korea’s flagship carrier, a member of the SkyTeam alliance, is also the first Boeing customer to order both the passenger (747-8i) …

I recently came across an article by noted Indian journalist T.N. Ninan, titled “Do-gooder economics and the Lokpal“. It got me thinking; by most economic logic, national carrier Air India should have been wound up ages ago. The carrier has annual losses crossing $1.4 billion (Rs.7,000 Crore) and accumulated debt now approaching $10 billion. Now, the government wants to inject …

In this podcast Addison, Vinay and I discuss the events that caused oneworld to suspend Kingfisher Airline’s entry in to the alliance. As an update, the higher amount of deposit demanded by the IATA Clearing House (ICH) is $8 million i.e. a total of $11.5 million. Kingfisher is still paying in this money to ICH, but we understand that as …

With just one week to go, Kingfisher Airline’s entry in to oneworld has been put on “indefinite hold”. An official statement released a few minutes ago, says India’s Kingfisher Airlines and oneworld® today agreed to put the airline’s entry into the alliance on hold to give it time to strengthen its financial position. Quoting oneworld CEO Bruce Ashby “These are …

SouthEast Asian low cost carrier AirAsia taken added the 100th Airbus A320 narrowbody aircraft to its fleet. The aircraft, registration 9M-AQH has been painted with a special dragon livery in celebration of the current Chinese Year of the Dragon, which is also that of AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes, and coincidentally myself. A team of 20 painters used 600 litres of …

German carrier, airberlin will become a full member of the oneworld® alliance with effect from Tuesday 20 March 2012. Austrian airline NIKI, also a member of the airberlin group, will join oneworld at the same time as an affiliate member. airberlin received its green light to board oneworld after successfully completing a thorough review of its readiness conducted by British …

Three human shaped RC planes were flown around New York City by aero enthusiasts to create the illusion of people flying. It is truly worth spending the two and half minutes to watch. If you like the music, the track is “Unstoppable 2” by Tom Quick which you can get here.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) reported that full year 2011 passenger demand rose 5.9% compared to 2010, in line with long-term growth trends. In contrast, cargo markets contracted by 0.7% for the year. Growth in demand lagged behind capacity increases at 6.3% for passenger and 4.1% for cargo putting downward pressure on load factors and fares. The average passenger …

One of the largest military contracts in the world, the Indian Air Force’s competition for 126 Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) appears to have been decided in favour of the French airframer Dassault’s Rafale, though there is no official confirmation. Sources indicate the Rafale has been selected over the Eurofighter Typhoon from European competitor EADS for a contract estimated at …

Some depressing photos to commence the week of three Kingfisher Airline’s Airbus aircraft VT-KFR, VT-KFW, and VT-VJO lying grounded, getting stripped of parts and engines, and slowly decaying at Indian airports, While one can understand the business strategy of Kingfisher of reducing costs and performing fire-fighting cost-cutting, it is depressing to see these beautiful aircraft being canibalised like this. Sources …