How to: Avoiding thieves at airports and on-board flights

Steve Frischling, the author of Flying with Fish, has written two excellent and must read articles, for any traveller, on thieves at airports and on-board flights - yes even on board flights, thefts do occur.

He goes in to extensive details on how thieves operate and how best to avoid being a victim.

Article on airport thieves
Article on in-flight thieves

With the upcoming independence day weekend, many people are travelling, hopefully these tips will help you avoid being a victim.

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Airbus completes A350 XWB all CFRP fuselage demonstrator test barrel

Image copyright Airbus, photographer C. Brinkmann

This second-generation of CFRP (Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastic) fuselage demonstrator was designed to be very close to the final design of the A350 XWB fuselage as it will be used for certification of design principles and sizing methods.

The barrel demonstrator measures 18 metres in length and more than six metres in diameter. Its three sections closely reflect the final design of the A350 XWB fuselage and were used to develop and validate the complete process chain from the manufacture of individual panels, frames and clips, to shell assembly and section assembly and the production of circumferential joints.

The main objective of Barrel 1B is to support the validation of design principles and sizing methods. The tests performed on this barrel will mainly focus on the fatigue and damage tolerance of the composite structures, since the barrel will be part of the certification of the aircraft.

Innovations include the production of large CFRP panels - the largest with a chord length of 5.5 metres-automated shell assembly, section assembly, and tolerance management, particularly for circumferential joints. The extensive use of CFRP is a significant advance with the panels, frames, window frames, clips, and door all being made from it, with a hybrid door frame structure consisting of CFRP and titanium being used for the first time.

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New age low fare carriers – great value for money and a far cry from RyanAir

About two weeks ago, Air India announced it was going to extend its low cost operation Air India Express in to the domestic market. Across Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites I detected a snigger from many fellow aviation bloggers and enthusiasts – Air India, a national carrier going low cost ? How low can Air India fall ?

It got me thinking, what is the benchmark of a low cost carrier?

Surely this poor view must have come from impressions of RyanAir - an organisation so cheap that it will even sell lavatory facilities or standing room tickets given the chance.

Where do carriers like Southwest Airlines or JetBlue or Virgin America stand? How do these “low fare” carriers compare to the US legacy carriers like American, Continental, Delta, United, and US Air, especially in light of the latter's service cutbacks and “ala carte” pricing?

How do Indian “low fare” carriers IndiGo, SpiceJet, JetLite, Jet Airways Konnect compare to other airlines in the US, or European or Asian low cost/low fare counterparts?

I search of answers I embarked on a two week quest. The answers in my comparison study revealed some very interesting results.

Southwest Airlines, JetBlue, Virgin America, EasyJet and most Indian “low fare” carriers like SpiceJet and IndiGo compare favourably to their “full service” counterparts.

What did surprise me, is despite it's "charge for everything" approach, RyanAir does not offer a significantly lower fare than it's other low fare competitors. Is the RyanAir myth just a creation?

Airline	Seat Pitch	Seat Width	Food	Beverage	Water	Baggage	Airport Check-in	One-way fare
SpiceJet	32”	17”	Buy	Buy	Free	20kg / 44 lbs	Free	$65.90
IndiGo	30”	17.7”	Buy	Buy No hot bev	Free cups. Bottle $0.60	20kg / 44 lbs	Free	$65.90
Kingfisher Red	31”	17.8”	Free	Free	Free	25kg / 55 lbs	Free	$67.94
JetLite	31”	17”	Buy	Buy	1 Bottle Free	25kg / 55 lbs	Free	$67.94
Jet Airways Konnect	30”	17”	Buy	Buy	1 Bottle Free	25kg / 55 lbs	Free	$67.94
Southwest	33”	17”	NA	Free	Free	2 pc	Free	$285.70
JetBlue	34”	17.8”	Free Snacks	Free	Free	1 pc	$2	$209.60
Virgin US	32”	17.7”	Buy	Free	Free	$15 / pc	Free	$225.60
EasyJet	29”	18”	Buy	Buy	Buy	20kg / 44 lbs	Free	$137.75
RyanAir	30”	17”	Buy	Buy	Buy	Pay	Pay	$157.35
Legacy (AA CO DL UA US)	31”	18” Airbus or 17” Boeing	Buy	Free	Free	Per Bag 1st$20 2nd$30 3rd$125	Free	$333.60
Air Asia	30”	17”	Buy	Buy	Buy	Kg. Slab 15$1.50 20$16.50 25$31.44	Free	$56.00

• One way fare was checked for a flight of approximately 2 hours flying time with a six day advance purchase.
• RyanAir does not provide details. However their Boeing 737-800 aircraft configuration is the same 189 all economy seats as most other low fare carriers.
• Indian carriers are prohibited from serving alcohol on domestic flights so beverage comparison is limited to non alcoholic drinks only. Most US and European carriers charge for alcoholic beverages.
• EasyJet charges for baggage check-in and these fees are included in the fare.

Compared to most of the full service legacy carriers across the world, these value carriers offer a fantastic product in terms of value for money. When compared to legacy carriers in the United States in most cases value carriers offer superior services right from the booking to on-board the flight, newer aircraft, and many more included services like baggage allowance and airport check-in, for free in their bouquet.

With the cutbacks in service levels, the introduction of a-la carte pricing coupled with reasonably high fares, should the legacy carriers in the United States be even considered “full service” any more? The answer is a resounding no.

In Europe too, some legacy airlines like British Airways are beginning to experiment the US in service level cutbacks, and will soon feel the pinch of the value carrier even harder.

The expectations from a value carrier is in many ways dictated by the service levels of a full service carrier. In most Asian countries, two factors come in to play.

First is the lack secondary airports, thereby making the airport cost structure the same for the value carrier when compared to the full service carrier. Value carriers have narrower options to obtain better efficiencies than their full service counterparts, which they achieve by :

• turning around their planes faster. 30 minutes compared to 40~45 minutes
• using a lean staff structure. Typically only one gate agent compared to four or five

and other techniques common to value carriers across the world like common aircraft type, single class cabin, less food, less waste, higher aircraft usage etc.

Second, the higher service levels of the legacy carriers in Asia forces the value carriers to offer a superior service and more "freebies". Indian value carriers do not charge for over-sized luggage, unaccompanied minors service, and when connecting to international flights, offer their passengers a two piece baggage instead of the traditional 20 kg allowance.

In India, the only difference I could find between the full service carriers Air India, Jet Airways and Kingfisher was the availability of reading material, a hot meal on flights greater than one hour and free flow of beverages and water on board. The service levels of Kingfisher Red are almost the same as the regular Kingfisher with free hot snacks, mileage accrual, reading material, in flight entertainment system, right down to a valet service, but then Kingfisher is the exception not the norm.

The value carriers like IndiGo and SpiceJet even have a "frequent flier" program for corporate travellers. Both airlines reserve their first five rows which have extra legroom, while SpiceJet adds a hot continental breakfast. GoAir too has introduced a concept of a "Business class" for an additional $20 where the legroom is increased to 34", meals are complimentary, the middle seat is left vacant, free baggage allowance of 35kgs/77lbs, and rebooking fees are waived.

Traditional Indian hospitality, and the concept of Atithee (guest is greater than me) ensure smiling faces, helpful attitudes, and attentive service, regardless of airline.

I was rather surprised at the fares. Indian carriers have surprisingly low fares, despite facing fuel costs which are almost double that of the international rates, and infrastructure and equipment costs in line with international norms. It will be great to hear from some informed readers on the possible reasons other than sheer competition since both SpiceJet and IndiGo both appear to be making profit.

What is an airline? Is it a transport business? or is it a hospitality business?

For RyanAir and most US legacy carriers, it appears to be the former. For the luxurious Emirates and Singapore Airlines it is probably the latter, but the sweet spot appears to be somewhere in between, but regardless it always boils down to Quality, Cost, Delivery, Service i.e. offering your customer the maximum value for their money.

It will be great to hear from Bangalore Aviation readers on what differences you perceive between the "value" and the "full service" carriers.

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Image: Early morning contrails - Blue Dart Boeing 757-200PCF

Blue Dart Aviation is a dedicated freight only airline in India, and the only operator of the Boeing 757 in India.

Aircraft name 'Vision VIII' registration VT-BDM is a Boeing 757-200 PCF (passenger converted freighter) and here it is coming to to land on runway 27 at the Bengaluru International Airport in the early morning of June 14th.

My friends often ask me what pleasure do I get from airplane spotting, the answer is this photograph.

See more of my spotting pictures on JetPhotos.

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British Airways reducing free baggage allowance

British Airways is reducing the free baggage allowance for its trans-Atlantic economy class passengers.

World Traveller (economy class) passengers who take trips to or from the Americas (except Brazil) from October 7th or later will get only one free checked bag instead of the current two, according to the policy change announced Friday, July 31. On the same date sports equipment such as skis and bicycles will be counted in the total.

It appears that competitor Virgin Atlantic is still following the existing practice of allowing economy class passengers to check-in two bags. For passengers from India, the Gulf carriers have the most generous baggage rules.

The new policy will not affect British Airway's first class and Club World (business class) passengers, who will still be allowed to check three bags when flying to and from the Americas.

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Aero-Instruments Pitot Probe approved by FAA for use on Airbus aircraft

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has approved the Aero-Instruments 0851HL-AI Pitot Probe as a replacement part on Airbus Airbus A318, A319, A320, A321, A330 and A340 series airplanes airplanes flown worldwide.

Each Airbus commercial aircraft has three Pitot Probes, which are the primary air speed sensing components on aircraft and are designed with integrated electrical heaters to prevent icing.

The Pitot Probes made by another vendor, Thales of France, have been under suspicion in the crash of Air France AF-447. In addition to the standard AA type probes of Thales, even the new modified BA type probes are under suspicion after a recent incident involving an Air France A320 aircraft registration F-GFKJ where all airspeed information as well other air data related indications were lost in the cockpit, and the autopilot and autothrust systems dropped off-line.

In granting Parts Manufacturer Approval (PMA) for the Aero-Instruments 0851HL-AI Pitot Probe, the FAA concluded that the part meets or exceeds the agreed upon certification plan, which was based on the requirements of TSO C-16A, including the icing requirements outlined in SAE AS393, AS8006, and BS2G.135.

Aero-Instruments will be the third manufacturer of these Pitot Probes. The other being Goodrich of the US.

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Thai Airways receives 1000th A330/340 family; Emirates is largest Boeing 777 operator

Two milestones were achieved last week on Thursday July 30th.

In Toulouse, Airbus S.A.S. delivered its 1000th A330/A340 family aircraft an A330-343X. MSN1035 test registration F-WWKS was handed over to Thai Airways International at a special ceremony.

The aircraft equipped with Rolls Royce Trent 772B-60 engines is registered HS-TEP.

Thai increases its in-service A330/A340 fleet to a total of 25 aircraft, comprising 15 A330-300s, four A340-500s and six A340-600s. The airline also operates a fleet of 17 A300-600Rs on its regional network.


At Seattle, Boeing delivered to Emirates the airline's 78th 777.

With it's new Boeing 777-300ER registration A6-ECS, Emirates passes Singapore Airlines as the largest Boeing 777 operator in the world, who has 77. The Dubai-based carrier is also the only airline to operate every model type of the 777.

Its current 777 fleet comprises three -200s, six -200ERs, 10 -200LRs, 12 -300s, 45 -300ERs, and two 777 freighters. Emirates received its first 777, a Boeing 777-200, in 1996.

Images courtesy Airbus and Boeing

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Air France opens bookings for A380 flights; to auction inaugural seats for childrens projects

Air France has decided to auction 380 seats on each of its two inaugural flights on the Airbus A380 superjumbo, operating from Paris to New York on 20 November and from New York to Paris on 21 November 2009. This exclusive auction sale, the terms of which will be presented at a later date, will take place on the Internet in October 2009 and will be available to all markets.

The winners will travel on the A380 outbound inaugural flight to New York and return on a commercial flight. Departures will only take place from Paris and New York.

The profits of this operation will be used to fund three humanitarian projects supported by the Air France Foundation for children in distress:

• in France (Marseille) “Association Arts et Développement”: street art workshops in city neighbourhoods;
• in South Africa (Johannesburg / Soweto, Alexandra and Witbank): “Fançois-Xavier Bagnoud Association”, an after-school program dedicated to orphans affected by AIDS;
• and India (New Delhi): “Association Plan France”: project aimed at improving living conditions for child workers.

Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, Chief Executive Officer of Air France said

“Since 1992, the Air France Foundation has supported over 500 projects in 67 countries in order to enable sick and disabled children, as well as those in great distress, to have access to education, leisure activities and culture. We believe it is important that the first Air France Airbus A380 flight should not simply symbolize a technological achievement at the service of our customers, but also an operation in support of those in distress.”

The first commercial A380 Paris-New York flights will start operating from November 23, 2009 and bookings are open as from today.

Information and bookings are on the Air France website or it's travel agents.

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Strike threat by private Indian airlines fizzles out - why it was doomed to fail

Within the weekend the threatened strike action by the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) on August 18th has fizzled out.

On Friday July 31, the FIA members barring state owned Air India, took India by storm and announced they would suspend all domestic flights on August 18th in protest of the vindictive tax policies on the aviation industry specifically aviation turbine fuel (ATF), high costs at airports, and a whole host of other reasons.

The audacity of the move took the breath away of the business community in India. Never before had an industry body taken so militant a step, but the suspension call was doomed to fail.

On Friday itself Air India said it would mount additional flights and could press the high capacity wide bodies like the Boeing 747-400 and 777-300ERs in to domestic service. At the same time the civil aviation minister Mr. Paful Patel issued a stern warning to all the airlines that the suspension would not be tolerated.

It was clear that the government, even the sympathetic Patel, would not do anything to help the airlines with a gun pointed to their head. Any sign of acceptance, even for the most legitimate of reasons, would bring forth a swarm of demands from all business quarters. If push came to shove most experts and I felt, that the government would resort to invoking the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) which would force the airlines to operate.

Aviation Turbine Fuel is most definitely vindictive taxed commodity. For long I have railed against the ridiculous taxation and pricing structure on ATF which is the life blood of airlines.

Read related articles here, here and here.

Civil aviation minister Patel is well aware of this and has been leading a lonely crusade to convince the reluctant minsters of finance Mr. Pranab Mukherjee, and petroleum Mr. Murli Deora, and the various state governments.

Karnataka, the home state of Bangalore Aviation, is one the worst offenders with a ridiculous 28% tax on ATF. This policy has forced airlines to practise tankering on their flights to and from nearby Hyderabad which has only a 4% tax on ATF.

The call for reduction of airport charges is hollow since they are quite reasonable in India on airlines while being punitive on passengers.

For obvious reasons Dr. Mallya raised the spectre of bailout trying to justify on the Air India bailout. The Air India bailout is already unpopular and seen as a waste of tax payer money, Dr. Mallya's call just broke the camel's back and even his alliance partner Jet Airways distanced themselves.

Overall, the populace feel the financial problems of the airlines especially the full service carriers Air India, Jet, and Kingfisher, are of their own making, (some of the reasons like reckless expansion and high overheads are covered in my earlier article). This view is reinforced by the fact that value carriers like IndiGo and SpiceJet have returned to profits by keeping a tight reign on their costs enabling them to offer a value for money service thus increasing their market share.

The additional reasons of global economic meltdown and the 26/11 terror strikes in Mumbai which led to a severe dent in tourist traffic also fell on deaf ears since this has affected businesses across the world not just the India and not just Indian airlines. Everyone feels that the airlines who did not have a risk mitigation policy in place, should just suck it up and bear it, just like everyone else.

On Saturday morning, value carrier IndiGo announced that it would operate flights on the 18th, and by evening, SpiceJet was already sitting on the fence. At the same time the ministry of civil aviation ratcheted up the pressure by involving the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). Unlike the US Federal Aviation Administration, the Indian DGCA is purely a regulatory body, and airlines know all to well they cannot afford to be on their wrong side.

The final blow came on Sunday with India's low cost airline pioneer Captain G. R. Gopinath coming on national media and confirming the view that the full service carriers need to reduce their costs and the industry as a whole should further cut capacity. SpiceJet too backed out. With airlines carrying over 40% of passenger traffic not supporting the suspension call, by the evening the FIA was in full retreat.

In my humble opinion the FIA was wrong to call for a suspension of flights in the first place, but having called for it, the FIA should have carried through their call. Instead their half-hearted approach has left them with a PR nightmare.

Their legitimate grievance against high and irrational taxation on fuel has been drowned out, and the hand of their champion in government, civil aviation minister Praful Patel's hand has been weakened in the on-going battle.

Now the airlines will have to take their begging bowl to a more hostile government as well as a more hostile public.

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A tale of four Kingfisher tails

On a recent spotting trip I took a rather rare picture of four Kingfisher aircraft, two Airbus A321-200s flanking the two Airbus A330-200s lined up in a row at the Bengaluru International Airport.

From left to right all Kingfisher all Airbus : A321-200 VT-KFZ, A330-200 VT-VJK, A330-200 VT-VJP, A321-200 VT-KFS.


Come September 15th we in Bangalore will miss this sight since Kingfisher is withdrawing it's Bangalore London A330 based service.

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Video: Jet Airways latest Boeing 777-300ER VT-JEL destined for Turkish Airlines THY

Caught at Boeing Paine field are two videos of Jet Airways latest Boeing 777-300ER. MSN 36563 is registered VT-JEL. Due to the slowdown in air traffic, this aircraft is most likely destined as the fourth aircraft leased by Jet to Turkish Airlines THY.

Powered by General Electric GE90-115B1L engines this aircraft features the uber-luxurious Jet Airways cabin with 8 private suites in First Class, 30 lie flat seats in a herringbone configuration in Business, and 274 seats in Economy. Compare this to Air India's Boeing 777-300ER with a 4/35/303 configuration.

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