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We hear of drunk passengers threatening to open the door mid-flight, and we have occasionally seen Hollywood or Bollywood showing the door of a plane opening mid-flight. It is just not possible to do such a thing. Below is a video showing the operations of the door of a Boeing 737 aircraft. Observe, that to open the door outwards of …

Winning recipe to feature in Lufthansa flights and The Leela restaurants Ms. Vandana Sethi was declared the Grand Prize winner of Lufthansa Star Chef Contest in the Grand Finale at The Leela, Mumbai yesterday where 12 aspiring chefs, selected from thousands of contestants across India, vied for top honours in a live cook-out. Vandana won the battle of taste with …

by Devesh Agarwal German carrier Deutsche Lufthansa underwent an almost total shut-down when its ground crew went on strike early Monday over working conditions, causing the cancellation of almost all of the airline’s flights. In a statement on its website, the carrier said “nearly all Lufthansa flights within Germany and Europe will be cancelled” and “massive flight cancellations and delays …

Boeing image Today’s approval of battery system improvements for the 787 Dreamliner by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) clears the way for Boeing and its customers to install the approved modifications and will lead to a return to service and resumption of new production deliveries. The FAA’s action will permit the return to service of 787s in the United …

The long grounded Boeing 787 fleet across the world are expected to soon return to the skies, as the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today took the next step in returning the Boeing 787 to flight by approving Boeing’s design for modifications to the 787 battery system. The changes are designed to address risks at the battery cell level, the …

by Devesh Agarwal US Airframer Boeing announced that it will adjust the production rate for the 747-8 program from two airplanes to 1.75 airplanes per month because of lower market demand for large passenger and freighter airplanes. Boeing expects long-term average growth in the air cargo market to resume in 2014, and forecasts a demand for 790 large airplanes (such …

by Devesh Agarwal German air freight operator Air Cargo Germany announced a “temporary” but indefinite suspension of all of its operations as of Thursday, April 18. ACG Boeing 747-400 freighter at Mumbai. Photo copyright Devesh Agarwal The carrier, with an IATA code of 6U and based out of Frankfurt Hahn airport, has a fleet of four Boeing 747-400 freighters that …

Superjumbo replaces existing Boeing 737 service by Devesh Agarwal National carrier Malaysia Airlines will upgrade its twice daily Boeing 737-800 operated Kuala Lumpur Hong Kong route to an Airbus A380 effective May 1, 2013. Hong Kong will be the third A380 destination for the carrier after London and Paris. The new schedule is: MH72 departs Kuala Lumpur 09:15 arrives Hong …

British Airways has commenced a new route to Colombo and enhanced its existing Hyderabad service to six a week. The airline yesterday announced the start of a three days a week service from London Gatwick to Colombo, Sri Lanka, via Male, Maldives. To Hyderabad, British Airways appears to be trying to fill the vacancy created by Lufthansa’s withdrawal of service. …

The global airline body, The International Air Transport Association (IATA), which represents about 240 airlines, announced an organizational restructuring of its main divisions and regional operations which will take effect from 1 July 2013. A key guiding principle of the restructuring is the concept of ‘Global Development, Regional Delivery’. Tony Tyler, IATA’s Director General and CEO said “IATA is changing …

by Devesh Agarwal Qatar Airways’ commenced its thrice-weekly passenger services between Doha and Chiacgo, The Windy City. Chicago will become the 126th destination for the middle east carrier, and its fourth US gateway after New York JFK, Washington Dulles, and Houston George Bush Intercontinental. The Doha Chicago route is being operated with a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft in a two-class configuration …

by Vinay Bhaskara Honolulu, Hawaii based full service carrier Hawaiian Airlines has announced new service to Beijing, China, with thrice weekly flights commencing in April 2014 utilizing 294 seat Airbus A330-200 aircraft configured as (18P/276Y).  The new service will be made possible because the existing 3 weekly flights to Manila in the Philippines will be cancelled from July 31st, 2013. …

Jet’s international passengers to transfer direct to domestic flights through international terminal security hold area. International Jet Airways’ passengers landing at Mumbai’s CSI Airport, and connecting on to domestic flights will now have the option of being able to transferred to the domestic terminal to board their flights directly. This facility is available to passengers of Jet Airways flights arriving …

Dear Readers, I lost my father, who passed away in his sleep, last Saturday. I am busy attending to his final rites. My colleague and co-editor of Bangalore Aviation is filling in for me. Thanks for your understanding and patience. – Devesh Agarwal

by Vinay Bhaskara Abu Dhabi based full service carrier Etihad Airways reported record results for the first quarter of 2013. Revenues grew a whopping 18.7% year over year to $900 million, up from $758 million in Q1 of 2012. In its 10th year of operations, Etihad also saw cargo revenues grow 17% to $193 million. Passenger figures also reached a …

by Vinay Bhaskara The first fully painted Airbus A380 for British Airways was rolled out of Airbus’ paint shop in Hamburg this past weekend. The first of 12 A380s for British Airways is scheduled to be delivered in July, and is outfitted with 469 seats. British Airways will introduce the aircraft on shorter training flights before introducing it on long …

by Devesh Agarwal India and Singapore signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on bilateral air services arrangement in the presence of Civil Aviation Minister, Shri Ajit Singh and Minister of Transport of Singapore, Mr Lui Tuck Yew on April 2 in Singapore. It rationalizes the capacity entitlements of both countries in terms of seats per week in each direction …

At the start of the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA) Exhibition, a Malaysia Airlines Airbus A380 9M-MNE flanked by four Royal Malaysian Air Force Su-30MKM performed a fly past. A fifth Su-30MKM acted as spotter and coordinator. A video of the fly past is embedded below. Langkawi is a popular island getaway in the Andaman sea off the North-West …

US air-framer Boeing reported its deliveries for the first calendar quarter for the year 2013. The impact of the 787 Dreamliner grounding is noticeable in the figures.

Boeing has opened its new expanded Everett Delivery Center (EDC), from which, deliveries of the 747-8, 767, 777 and 787 will be effected. The 180,000 sq. ft. facility triples the amount of office, conference and delivery operations space as the old EDC and is designed to increase operational efficiencies. The building features three floors dedicated to customers and the delivery …