The two British plane-spotters, Stephen Hampton and Steven Ayres from Bristol, arrested in New Delhi last month for monitoring ATC conversations, have been fined Rs. 25,000 each by a court in Delhi, after admitting to illegally monitoring aircraft. The two spotters who appeared before magistrates in Delhi were charged under the antiquated but draconian Indian Telegraph Act, 1885, with intercepting …

The Aviation India 2010 began on March 3rd with a bang. Along with political stars, state Chief Minister Rosiah, US Ambassador Timothy Roemer, French Ambassador Jerome Bonnafont, almost everyone in the Indian commercial aviation industry was present for the inauguration. Union Minister of Civil Aviation Mr. Prafaul Patel, Air India Chairman Mr. Arvind Jadhav, Jet Airway’s Naresh Goyal, Saroj Dutta, …

Just about an hour ago, I almost fell victim to the “divert and grab” robbery ploy that is now plaguing Bangalore. I was parked on the main Koramangala road in front of Raheja Arcade waiting for my son who had gone to the Citibank ATM to make a withdrawal. My camera bag was in the rear seat of my Hyundai …

Kingfisher Airlines has loaded on to the GDS its six times a week service between Delhi and Hong Kong from April 7, 2010. As per the loaded schedule, the flight will be operated by an Airbus A330-200.IT031 departs Delhi 23:30 arrives Hong Kong 07:25 next morning daily except TuesdaysIT032 departs Hong Kong 18:05 arrives Delhi 21:10 daily except Wednesdays While …

Keeping in mind the five year term of the Lok Sabha, the first year is the thank you budget, years two and three are the hard and bold budgets, year four is the status-quo budget, and year five is the populist budget meant to garner votes. With coalition politics in full sway, the union budget is also now subject to …

AirAsia Berhad announced net profits of RM549 million ($162 million) for the full year 2009 despite what is described as the worst year in aviation history. While globally passenger demand fell by 3.5%, AirAsia grew its passenger numbers by 21% to 14.25 million for the Malaysian operation. The combined Malaysian, Thailand andIndonesian operations forming the AirAsia Group increased passenger numbers …

I was recently interviewed by AirObserver on the outlook for 2010 for carriers in India, with a specific focus on the low fare / value carrier segment. Please read the interview here. For an in-depth feature comparison between various Indian carriers I recommend this article . I also recommend these articles as additional reading for more details on the low …

Ever since Kingfisher Airlines had a fare war with British Airways on the Bangalore London Heathrow sector over a year ago, there have been behind the scene parleys between the two airlines on cooperation rather than competion. Bangalore Aviation learnt of these negotiations in January, but were requested to hold on till the deal came through. This report on oneworld …

The TV station News 9 showcased the hobby of airplane spotting and the Aviation Photographers India (API). Yesterday, we hosted the News9 crew at the airport and showed them the passion, that some call insanity, of us plane spotters. Many members of API interacted with the News9 crew and offered their perspective. Two of API’s co-founders Praveen Sundaram and myself …

Update 1 – 21 February Lufthansa is reporting the pilots have suspended their strike pending negotiations with the airline. The provisional schedule will remain for 22 and 23 February. Please check the airline website for more details. Original post With 93% of its pilots voting to strike work for four days starting from Monday, significant flight disruptions are expected at …

Two Eurofighter Typhoons 30-24 and 30-42 accompanied by their Airbus A310-304 MRTT arrived at Bangalore’s HAL airport Thursday, February 18th afternoon at 15:40 (10:10Z). The three planes flew in over the airport in formation, and then peeled right. Great formation flying by all three. One Typhoon did a low pass over runway 09 to inspect and familiarise, after which the …

Lufthansa and other German carriers face significant flight disruptions starting next week thanks to a strike call by the German pilots’ union Vereinigung Cockpit (VC) in a four-day walkout from 22 to 25 February. Lufthansa is taking proactive action to minimise impact of flight disruptions on passengers. Passengers from India are advised to call the telephone hotline 1 800 102 …

As analysed by Bangalore Aviation last week, Kingfisher Airlines formally announced the commencement of daily flights on the New Delhi – London route from the start of the summer 2010 schedule i.e. March 28. The schedule is designed to take fullest advantage of the fact that today Kingfisher operates its highest number of flights from New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International …

Update 2 – 21 February TV channel News 9 showcased airplane spotting and the Aviation Photographers India in a video segment. See the video here. Update 1 – 17 February In an effort to set the record straight about spotting, I sent information on spotting to the Hindustan Times and The Times of India newspapers. Their stories can be read …

It is that time of the year where I get to combine two of my favourite passions. Aviation and Wine. The annual Cellars in the Sky Awards have been announced, recognising the best business and first class wines served by airlines worldwide. The big winner this year was Qantas, which walked away with four awards — best first class red …

As usual Liz Matzelle has produced a wonderful video capsule of the entire day of the first flight of the Boeing 747-8F freighter. Thanks Liz.

On 10 August 2006, authorities in the United Kingdom uncovered the 2006 transatlantic plot to sabotage airliners travelling from the United Kingdom to North America, reportedly by using liquid and gel based explosives. Since then, most countries have restricted what liquids and gels a passenger may carry into the passenger cabin, and this includes a basic commodity of life — …

Everyone in India knows the chair of leading beleaguered national carrier, Air India, is only a bed of thorns. With a complete lack of genuine autonomy the carrier is prey to every politician’s whims and fancies. On a day when one newspaper reported that Air India has hired three consultants to help with their cost cutting goals, another newspaper reports …

In its latest Frontiers magazine, Boeing details its multi-dimensional partnership with India. With a fast-growing economy, middle class and world standing, India is an increasingly important market for the aerospace industry. Building partnerships and strengthening ties with this dynamic country is crucial for Boeing’s continued success in the world’s second-most populous nation. Although India has been a longtime customer for …

BBC has published the first interview with Captain Peter Burkill who commanded the British Airways Boeing 777-236ER G-YMMM which crash-landed at London’s Heathrow Airport on January 17, 2008. Captain Burkill and his co-pilot John Coward were hailed as heroes for avoiding a disaster, but Burkill is modest and in the interview says “I did a good job on the the …