India′s order for six C-130J stretch Super Hercules transports is fast approaching completion. KC-3804, KC-3805, and KC-3806 the final three C-130Js have now reached their final production positions at the Lockheed Martin Marietta facility. India’s C-130J Super Hercules on the Lockheed Martin production line This news comes as the Business Standard newspaper reports a growing controversy at India’s Ministry of …

Boeing has commenced fabrication of the P-8I the long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft destined for the Indian Navy. India is the first international customer of this variant of the P-8A Poseidon that Boeing is developing for the U.S. Navy, which in turn is based on the popular Boeing 737 passenger aircraft. This is part of of an eight …

From tomorrow, December 8, 2010, Qatar Airways moves its operations at London Heathrow, its biggest European destination, to Terminal 4 which also houses most of SkyTeam alliance members. T4 has undergone a massive multi-million pound facelift, and the airline’s passengers will benefit from a dedicated spacious check-in area in the terminal’s Zone A. Qatar Airways Boeing 777-300ER A7-BAC Qatar Airways …

A neat time-lapse video of how a Boeing 777 in the old United Airlines livery being re-painted in the new United-Continental livery. While I don’t particularly like the new livery, the video does show the enormous effort involved.

Lufthansa FlyNet service now available on board Introductory offer: Free surfing until the end of January 2011 German carrier Lufthansa which operated the world’s first scheduled flight with broadband Internet access on January 15, 2003, and operated on board net access till the end of 2006, is re-introducing FlyNet its on-board Internet access service. FlyNet, is currently available on the …

It is official Airbus has decided to offer the neo (new engine option) for its single aisle A320 Family aircraft. Airlines have the choice between CFM International’s LEAP-X engine and Pratt & Whitney’s PurePower PW1100G geared turbo-fan engine. As indicated in our earlier report, this leaves current engine provider International Aero Engines out in the cold. A320neo with CFMI LeapX …

In follow-up to our story yesterday about the “serious incident” [read crash] of the Kingfisher Airlines ATR-72-500 VT-KAC at Mumbai on November 10, 2009, and thanks to well wishers, Bangalore Aviation has obtained a copy of the final investigation report by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. It can be read here. The synopsis in the front of the report, …

The Outlook magazine and Open magazine have blown the lid of the behind the scenes networks of lobbyists and power brokers in India. [Also read Outlook’s story on the 2G tapes] One of these was Ms. Niira Radia the head of Vaishnavi Communication, a lady so formidable and well connected, she boasted both Mr. Ratan Tata led Tata group and …

Post the Air India Express crash at Mangalore, there have been calls across the country for greater transparency within the administration, policy, regulatory, and investigative units of India’s civil aviation system. With the exception of the famous incident involving President Pratibha Patil’s helicopters in a near-miss with an Air India aircraft at Mumbai, with a view to increasing transparency, for …

Taken just about 18 hours ago, VT-IGW is the newest member of low fare carrier IndiGo’s fleet. Like all her other fleet sisters, she is an Airbus A320-232 equipped with IAE V2500 engines. Delivered less than a week back, her paint coat is still so shiny that the lights reflecting off her tail fin, engine and even “forehead” show the …

India’s Kingfisher Airlines continues to deepen its member-elect relations with the oneworld alliance. Along with alliance founder American Airlines, it has announced entering in to a code-share and frequent flier program relationship due to commence in 2011. This agreement finally gives Kingfisher its long awaited access to the US market, one of the biggest destination markets for Indian travellers. The …

Domestic air traffic in India surged a whopping 18.3% to almost 42 million for the first ten months of the year compared to 35.5 million for the same period last year. For the month of October which marks the start of the peak travel period third quarter of the fiscal, the growth was 16.3% to 4.62 million compared to October …

Passengers from the Bengaluru International Airport should brace themselves for a significantly foggy winter, thanks to an extended rain season that is continuing even now. As per aviation experts within the airport operating company and air traffic control fraternity, rains in Bangalore normally cease within October thus giving the ground and the air to dry out before the onset of …

After 17 months of delay, India’s environment minister Mr. Jairam Ramesh announced approval for the new Navi Mumbai International Airport, which many consider a half-baked idea for meeting the growing civil aviation needs of India’s financial capital. Earlier this month the environment and civil aviation ministries had reached a compromise agreement on the environmental impact of the new Mumbai airport, …

At the recently concluded EADS Global Investor Forum 2010, John Leahy the chief operating officer for Airbus S.A.S. the commercial airframe manufacturer owned by the consortium revealed plans on its proposed New Engine Option (NEO) for its ultra-popular A320 family of aircraft. In this slide, Mr. Leahy unveils an artistic impression of the re-engined single-aisle narrow body airliner and outlines …

The first Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner due for delivery to national carrier Air India, VT-ANA, moved out of the paint shop on the flight line at Paine field in Everett, Washington. This is the 25th aircraft in the production line. By sheer co-incidence, the launch airline for the Dreamliner is All Nippon Airways better known as ANA. Thanks to moonm who …

Mumbai based Jet Airways (mobile website)is celebrating the crossing of 100,000 fans of its Facebook page. It is a significant statement on the growth of social networking in India that this achievement has been reached in less than a year of the airline launching its social media efforts and January 19, 2010. The airline is marking its celebration with a …

On 30th October I took an AirAsia flight from Kuala Lumpur to Bangalore. Was rather disappointed that the ground crews at the airline actively discouraged spotting, especially keeping in mind how PR savvy the airline is. Rather dejected I was walking to board my flight when I saw the AirAsia Airbus A320 9M-AFY in the Formula 1 Team Lotus livery. …

Malaysia Airlines took delivery of the airline’s first Next-Generation Boeing 737 with the new Boeing Sky Interior. The national carrier, is the first full-service airline to operate the 737-800 with the new Boeing Sky Interior. 9M-MXA also sports the new livery of Malaysia Airlines.