By BA Staff Image Credit: Virgin America San Francisco-based Virgin America reported its preliminary operational results for August and August year-to-date. Virgin America’s August 2013 traffic (revenue passenger miles) decreased 5.1 percent on capacity (measured in available seat miles) that was 5 percent lower than in August 2012. Load factor was 82.2 percent, which is unchanged from the same month …

By BA Staff Photo Courtesy Lufthansa Group At Lufthansa’s First Class terminal at Frankfurt International Airport, Lufthansa received the International Five Star Diamond Award from the American Academy of Hospitality Sciences (AAHS). The academy honoured three accomplishments of Lufthansa’s premium service portfolio: the Lufthansa First Class onboard its intercontinental fleet, the Lufthansa First Class Terminal in Frankfurt and the Lufthansa …

By BA Staff Photo Courtesy Embraer Executive Jets Embraer Executive Jets presented its China Executive Aviation Market Outlook 2014-2023 during the press conference held today at the Chinese International Business Aviation Show (CIBAS) 2013, in Beijing, China. The Company forecasts that a total of 805 executive jets will be in demand the Chinese market over the next decade. The large-cabin …

By BA Staff VistaJet, the leading Global business aviation company, and Jet Aviation, a leading business aviation services company, announced today that Jet Aviation Flight Services will operate and manage a U.S.-based fleet of Bombardier Global jets for VistaJet’s Flight Solutions Program. Service on the first three aircraft is scheduled to begin in March 2014, with the U.S. fleet expected …

By BA Staff Japan Airlines is set to introduce its “original aroma” at its international and domestic lounges in Japan starting from September 20, 2013. JAL has two original aroma oils that are aimed towards creating a more comfortable and graceful atmosphere with a peace of mind to their customers when they are waiting for boarding at their lounges in …

by Devesh Agarwal Its Friday, the 13th, and many a frequent flyer will sympathise with the bad-luck of the passengers on Singapore Airlines flight SQ503 from Bangalore to Singapore earlier this morning. The inbound flight SQ502 from Singapore scheduled to arrive at Bangalore around 10pm, was diverted to Chennai due to the runway closure at Bengaluru International Airport following the …

by Devesh Agarwal A montage of photos to create a globe. Image courtesy BA. British Airways has calculated the number of essential people involved in the customer journey in order to fly. It is 96 different roles, across 18 different departments, using over 11 external suppliers in the process. This figures rises to 107 for premium customers, which normally includes …

by Vinay Bhaskara and Devesh Agarwal Earlier this month, defunct Indian carrier Kingfisher Airlines, which has been grounded since 20th October, 2012 when the Indian regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) suspended its flying license, filed its annual report for fiscal year 2012-2013. Instead of focusing on finding a way to pay off the nearly Rs. 7,000 Crore …

by BA StaffOneworld member SriLankan Airlines has apparently cancelled its daily Airbus A320 service between Colombo and Kozhikode, Kerala from the end of August (26th August to be exact). The services were run with the schedules below: UL169 ~ CMB-CCJ ~ D: 1130 A: 1520 ~ A320 ~ x3UL169 ~ CMB-CCJ ~ D: 1350 A: 1510 ~ A320 ~ 3 …

by Devesh Agarwal IndiGo Airbus A320 VT-IGV at Bengaluru International Airport. Photo copyright Vedant Agarwal. Used with permission. At approximately 20:10 (14:40Z), an IndiGo Airbus A320-232 registration VT-IGV performing flight 6E-125 from New Delhi to Bangalore, with 110 passengers and six crew (two pilots, four cabin crew), veered off the runway 27 while attempting to land at Bengaluru International Airport …

by Devesh Agarwal Through non-official channels a promotional video by Air India of their new Boeing 787. Now that the airline has a new toy to play with, all the 777s procured just a few years ago lie forgotten and rotting on the tarmac. Read my op-ed piece here. You can also see our cabin walk-though pictures and video here.

by BA Staff Doha-based Qatar Airways has announced a frequent flyer programme (FFP) partnership with its oneworld sponsor, British Airways. From October 1 onwards, Qatar Airways Privilege Club members and British Airways Executive Club members can earn and redeem miles on each other’s flights.

By BA Staff Subject to Government Approval, Avianca, the flag carrier of Colombia, will start a route from San Salvador to Newark from December 2013. The flight will be operated by a TACA Airbus A320 with TA-coded flight numbers. TA398 SAL0835 – 1430EWR 320 DTA399 EWR1545 – 1955SAL 320 D

by Vinay Bhaskara A report in Ch-Aviation is stating that proposed domestic start-up Zexus Air, to be based at Delhi, is planning to acquire four Embraer E175LR regional jet aircraft (with manufacturer serial numbers [MSNs] 17000277, 17000287, 17000291, and 17000309), as per its application with India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for an air operator certificate (AOC). The aircraft were …

by BA Staff In a major milestone for the Airbus A320neo (new engine option) family jetliners, CFM International, kicked off its engine certification programme for its LEAP-1A turbofan engine which will power the new aircraft. CFM LEAP-1A turbofan for A320neo on the GE test rig. Photo courtesy Airbus S.A.S. The engine conglomerate conducted the first run of the engine at …

by BA Staff Dallas-Fort Worth based American Airlines will soon become the first airline to utilise an Airbus A321 aircraft outfitted with a three-class cabin, including full lie-flat seats in business and first class when it receives Sharklets equipped A321ceo (current engine option) jetliners later this year American Airlines new Airbus A321, first class. Image courtesy Airbus S.A.S. In addition …

by Vinay Bhaskara A report in the Macau Business Daily states that Gurgaon based low cost carrier (LCC) SpiceJet is planning on launching nonstop flights between Delhi and Macau. SpiceJet has already won approval from the Indian government to launch Delhi-Macau, likely using Boeing 737 equipment. But it has not yet filed for approval from the Macau government. A Macau …

By BA Staff United Airlines plans to announce a new nonstop service from its Chicago Hub at O’Hare International Airport to Elmira, N.Y., and State College, Pa using its United Express regional brand. The airline also plans to begin new service from Chicago to Topeka, Kan., subject to government approval. Terminal 1 houses the United Airlines hub and departures for some …

by BA StaffKenya Airways is set to receive a Boeing 777-300ER this October to commence revenue service in November. The aircraft, which seats 400 passenger in a 2 class configuration (28J / 372Y), will be the largest aircraft in the airline’s fleet to date. Dr. Titus Naikuni, Kenya Airways Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, had this to say …

by BA StaffeasyJet, one of the largest low cost carriers (LCC) in Europe, has announced two new routes from its Northern Ireland base at Belfast International Airport. Starting in summer 2014, easyJet will introduce new nonstop flights from Belfast to Bordeaux, France and Jersey in the Channel Islands. Ali Gayward, easyJet’s Northern Ireland head had this to say about the …