2010 is the 40th anniversary of the commencement of commercial operations of the venerable Boeing 747 ‘jumbo jet’. On this anniversary Flightglobal has put together an excellent historical perspective on the Boeing 747 which is well worth a read. Also do take the time to read Bangalore Aviation’s historical perspective on the 40 year old rivalry between Boeing and Airbus …

Unable to resist the intense pressure across the city, the Board of Directors of the Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL), the company operating the Bangalore airport today reviewed the Master Plan for expansion of the Bengaluru International Airport and decided on the following: The process to start construction of a brand new terminal building T2 will be initiated on an …

Qatar Airways has formally announced the full details of the launch of its Bangalore Doha service. From February 22, QR will commence the service using an Airbus A320 aircraft in a two class configuration — 12 seats in Business Class and 132 in Economy. With the Ministry of Civil Aviation under pressure for allowing Gulf carriers, most notably Emirates, to …

After much goading including, by yours truly, Jet Airways has finally embraced social networking sites Facebook and Twitter. Welcome aboard!!! Jet Airway’s objective is reaching a larger cross-section of its customers and keeping them informed on a real-time basis, and will also provide customers with news updates about flight schedules, new customer programs, route additions, services and special offers, etc. …

In December I had the pleasure of meeting with Karl Ulrich Garnadt, the Lufthansa board member responsible for their global network planning. Amongst many subjects discussed, I asked him what he thought would be a good strategy for Air India to adopt for the next five years. In parallel Behramjee has written a well thought out route re-structuring plan. I …

The beauty of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner’s wing flex can be seen in this great video from Liz Matzelle. Do visit her site for some other great videos.

News agencies are reporting a major systems crash at the air traffic control at IGI airport in New Delhi. All flight operations have been suspended for the last 30~45 minutes. There are sporadic reports from passengers who are sitting on-board aircraft on the ramp of one or two aircraft pushing back. This crash has occurred during the peak evening rush …

The next few months will see a spate of foreign carriers commencing operations from Bangalore. As already reported, Qatar Airways with its “best economy class in the world” will commence operations on February 23 using an Airbus A320 for the first five months. Subsequently, depending on the success of the Emirate’s negotiations on increase in the bi-laterals, the airline will …

As per the GDS, Singapore Airlines will introduce its new Airbus A330-300 aircraft (cabin images with iPod support here) on the Singapore Kolkata sector from July 2, 2010. It is a smart move by the carrier. Its A330s have the same two class (business and economy) configuration as the Boeing 777-200s it currently operates to Kolkata and Ahmedabad, but the …

In case you were wondering why I was missing in action during the last week — it was to prepare a very special thanks to all readers and supporters of Bangalore Aviation. The Bangalore Aviation 2010 calendar. The calendar is free to download. It is about 2.5MB, in A3 (11×17 inch) size, and in PDF format. You can also print …

Best wishes for a happy and prosperous 2010. India’s Jet Airways is close to finalising a deal with Royal Brunei Airlines (RBA) to lease three Boeing 777-300ERs from Jet Airways. The deal with RBA could see the 777s flying in RBA service as early as February. These 777s are the same which Gulf Air had leased for a short period …

Thanks to you support, it has been a great year for Bangalore Aviation. We were listed on Mashable as one of 13 aviation journalists/bloggers globally to follow on Twitter. Our readership has touched the quarter-million mark, and we were invited to Germany by Fraport and Lufthansa to see how they are working, together, to make Frankfurt a global hub. Personally, …

The dreaded winter fog season which plagues all transport services operating at the national capital, New Delhi, is fast approaching. Air travel is particularly hard hit with scores flights being delayed, diverted or outright cancelled. The airport suspends operations when the runway visibility drops below the mandatory minimum of 200 meters. The 2003-2004 season was the worst with a record …

The dreaded winter fog season which plagues all transport services operating at the national capital, New Delhi, is fast approaching. Air travel is particularly hard hit with scores flights being delayed, diverted or outright cancelled. In our quest to help air travellers in India, to better plan and minimise the disruptive impact of fog, Bangalore Aviation sent out a questionnaire …

Air India Express has one of the most unusual liveries in the airline industry across the world. Each Boeing 737-800 has a different tail art with each side of the tail reflecting an aspect of India. In the finale of our on-going series, today we feature the tails of VT-AYB and VT-AYC. VT-AYB features the national animal of India, the …

Air India Express has one of the most unusual liveries in the airline industry across the world. Each Boeing 737-800 has a different tail art with each side of the tail reflecting an aspect of India. In our on-going series, today we feature the tails of VT-AXZ and VT-AYA. VT-AXZ features the geographical diversity of India from the searing deserts …

News channels are reporting that a passenger aboard a plane at Detroit Metropolitan Airport set off firecrackers aboard Northwest/Delta flight 253 from Amsterdam, Netherlands, to Detroit, MI, USA, an Airbus A330-300, causing a commotion and some minor injuries. News reports quoting Delta spokeswoman Susan Elliott the flight carrying 278 passengers, had just arrived in Detroit when the incident took place …

Seasons Greetings. The last few days while I was overseas, the tabling of Joint House Committee report has created great uproar. While the report essentially just re-hashes past history and does not suggest any concrete steps, old discords have been re-opened. The newspaper DNA (Daily News and Analysis) asked me to write an opinion on whether the Bengaluru International Airport …

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!! Air India Express has one of the most unusual liveries in the airline industry across the world. Each Boeing 737-800 has a different tail art with each side of the tail reflecting an aspect of India. In our on-going series, today we feature the tails of VT-AXW and VT-AXX. VT-AXW features the religious diversity of India in the …

Bangalore Aviation wishes all its readers a very happy, safe and enjoyable holiday season. Air India Express has one of the most unusual liveries in the airline industry across the world. Each Boeing 737-800 has a different tail art with each side of the tail reflecting an aspect of India. In our on-going series, today we feature the tails of …