Today marks the 40th anniversary of the agreement which launched the first ever aircraft programme of Airbus — the A300, which in effect launched the company Airbus. 40 years ago the United States lorded over global civil aviation with giants Boeing, McDonnell Douglas, and Lockheed. In the mid-1960s, tentative negotiations commenced regarding a European collaborative approach to re-enter the lucrative …

The financial woes at Kingfisher Airlines continue. Despite carrying the maximum number of domestic passengers, over dues are piling up. In some cases cheques issued by the airline are bouncing, salary and other cost cutting measures are making employees like pilots leave the airline to join competitors. This photo from Digital Airliners on Flickr encapsulates the three stages of Kingfisher’s …

In a major step the Government of India has imposed the first night curfew at an Indian airport. To allow the residents of the neighbouring and very upmarket Vasant Kunj area to have a peaceful night, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has restricted with immediate effect any aircraft movement, at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport’s (IGIA) newest …

Airbus A380-841 MSN021 F-WWSQ touched down in Toulouse arriving from Hamburg. Image courtesy and copyright TLaurent She is expected to be delivered as the 8th A380 in the Singapore Airlines fleet on Thursday and should bear the registration 9V-SKH. This is the second of five A380 superjumbos expected to be delivered to Singapore Airlines this fiscal year. Also Airbus A380-861 …

PTI is reporting that Four armed robbers struck the Air India cargo terminal at the Mumbai airport today looting at gunpoint about 100 kgs of gold and silver coins worth Rs 3.5 million ($70,000) in a daring daylight heist. A guard working for Air India and identified as D S Bhosale was killed when he was struck by the car …

It has been an eventful year for the technology capital of India — Bangalore on the aviation front. The long awaited Bengaluru International Airport commenced operations on the stroke of 00:01 on May 24, 2008. During this first anniversary period, I begin with a look back at the performance over the last year. Eighteen months ago, I was vociferously opposed …

Today marks the first anniversary of the new Bengaluru International Airport. Congrats to CEO Marcel Hungerbuehler, his entire team, and all the airport concessionaires, on this occasion. Over the week, I hope to bring you some articles on the airport including an interview with Marcel.

It is always a momentous occasion in the birth of a new aircraft; the starting of the engines for the first time. Liz Matzelle captured on video Boeing’s first 787 Dreamliner ZA001 starting up its Rolls Royce Trent 1000 engines. The tell-tale white smoke which is emitted as the oils and other protective coatings inside the engine are burnt away …

Emirates airlines has beaten the sceptics and made a profit of AED 982 million (US$ 268 million) for the financial year ended March 31, 2009, admittedly down 80.4 per cent over last year’s record profits of AED 5.0 billion ($1.37 billion), while revenues rose 9.9 per cent to AED 44.2 billion ($ 12.0 billion) from AED 40.2 billion ($ 10.95 …

An Indonesian Air Force Lockheed C-130 Hercules carrying 98 passengers and 14 crew on a regular flight from the capital, Jakarta, to the eastern most province of Papua crashed in a rice field at about 06:20 (23:20-1 GMT) in Geplak village and burst into flames crashed into several homes and burst into flames Wednesday, killing at least 79 people, including …

In partnership with Jet Airways and the Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation, the Bengaluru International Airport launched a month long shopping festival, the first of this magnitude in India. The month long extravaganza which will run till June 15, has a beautiful display outside the terminal building showcasing the cultural heritage of Karnataka. A typical village scene houses five government …

AeroLogic took delivery of it’s first 777 Freighter from Boeing registration D-AALA and powered by General Electric GE90-110B1 engines. Special thanks to Matt Cawby for the image. Check out Paineairport.com AeroLogic, formed in 2007 and based in Leipzig, Germany, is a new cargo joint venture between Lufthansa Cargo and DHL Express and will operate an exclusive Boeing 777F fleet. Via …

The first A320 aircraft assembled outside Europe in the Airbus Final Assembly Line China (FALC) successfully completed its first flight today. The aircraft took off from Tianjin International Airport at 10:42 and landed at 14:56. The four hour and fourteen minute test flight was jointly captained by Harry Nelson, Vice President Production Flight Tests and by Experimental Test Pilot Philippe …

Singapore Airlines (SIA) confirmed to AFP that it will take delivery of five Airbus A380 super jumbos as planned this year taking its A380 fleet to 11. SIA CEO Chew Choon Seng confirmed the carrier will receive MSN019 (9V-SKG), MSN021 (9V-SKH) in May and three more though the fiscal year. Through calendar 2009 Airbus has planned production of 14 A380s, …

The heat had been building up in Bangalore for quite a few days, and yesterday, nature unleashed all that pent-up energy in a brief but highly intense storm of destruction in the area around the Bengaluru International airport. Eager to make a buck, and thanks to lax laws and poor enforcement, scores of hoardings (billboards) of dubious quality have been …

In the recent issue of Boeing’s AERO magazine there is an article titled Exceeding tire speed during takeoff in which there is this nice graphic that demonstrates the recommended take-off rotation and climb angles for all Boeing aircraft. I was surprised that despite it’s length, the Boeing 747-400 Jumbo Jet has a rotation angle of 10 degrees. Compare that to …

Finnair and its oneworld alliance partner Cathay Pacific Airways are extending their code-share flights partnership between Hong Kong Australia and offering flights to Brisbane. Finnair will operate daily flights from Helsinki to Hong Kong using an Airbus A340 aircraft. Finnair and Cathay Pacific have cooperated earlier on routes between Hong Kong and Sydney, Melbourne and Perth. Now Finnair can also …

Boeing delivered the 404th Boeing airplane and 50th 767 to Japan Airlines (JAL), the fifth-largest 767 operator in the world. The new plane pictured below on May 7 leaving on its ferry flight from Paine Field in Everett to the New Tokyo International Airport at Narita in Japan, is a 767-300ER, and is registered JA622J. Japan Airlines is one of …

Following instructions from the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Indian carriers are sending a message to their foreign pilots: thanks, but it is time to pack your bags and go back home. Since 2002 when the Indian aviation sector opened up, it has grown at a phenomenal 30%+ year on year and foreign pilots were the only solution. More than 800 …

Airlines flouting rules relating to safety and passenger comfort will now have to pay higher penalties with new laws coming into effect. The penalties will be imposed on an airlines if it violates safety aspects like airworthiness of the aircraft, security and issues relating to passenger comfort. The rules raise the penalty limit from Rs 1,000 to up to Rs …