Monthly Archives: March 2016

GVK to sell 33% stake in BIAL to Fairfax

The main passenger terminal building at Bangalore Airport.

As part of its debt reduction exercise, GVK Power & Infrastructure Ltd, which leads a consortium owning Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL), through wholly owned subsidiary GVK Airport Developers, has announced it will sell a 33% stake in the airport operating company to Prem Watsa promoted Fairfax India Holdings Corporation and Fairfax Financial Holdings Limited for Rs. 2,149 crore (approx …

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Jet Airways begins operations from Amsterdam

Ambassador of Netherlands to India, handing over the boarding pass to the first passenger in Delhi

Jet Airways has begun operations from it’s new European hub at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport yesterday. 9W 232 from Mumbai departed at 0225 hrs (IST) 9W 234 from Delhi at 0235 hrs and 9W 233 from Toronto at 1935 hrs (local time). All three flights landed at Amsterdam on schedule. Read our analysis on Jet Airway’s shift to Amsterdam. Before the …

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Tatas and its nominee Directors to take majority stake in AirAsia India

S Ramadorai, Ratan Tata, Tony Fernandes and Mitu Chandilya with AirAsia staff

Tata Sons Limited and its nominated Directors Mr. S. Ramadorai (Chairman) and Mr. R. Venkataramanan, have together entered in to an agreement to take over the stake of Arun Bhatia promoted Telestra Tradeplace Limited in Air Asia India Limited, to gain a majority stake in the airline. Air Asia India is a joint venture promoted by Tony Fernandes promoted AirAsia …

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Jet Airways shuts Brussels hub; to evacuate stranded passengers today

Jet Airways Airbus A330-300 VT-JWQ. Image copyright Vedant Agarwal.

India’s Jet Airways which used Brussels as its European scissor hub has effectively closed the hub by cancelling all flights till March 27. From March 27, the airline was already scheduled to commence operations via its new Amsterdam hub. Recovery flights For passengers affected by the Brussels airport bombing, the airline has transported them to Amsterdam in The Netherlands, and …

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Pegasus orders five Boeing 737-800s

Pegasus Boeing 737 Boeing Image.

Turkish low-cost carrier Pegasus Airlines has finalized an order with American airframer Boeing for five 737-800 aircraft, valued at approximately $ 505 million at current list prices. The airline along with its subsidiaries Air Manas and IZair currently operates a fleet of 58 737’s. Pegasus has also ordered 57 Airbus A320neo’s and 18 A321neo’s for it’s future fleet.

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Jet Airways cancels Brussels flights for today and tomorrow

Jet Airways Airbus A330-300. Image courtesy Jet.

India’s Jet Airways which uses Brussels as its scissor hub at Europe has announced cancellation of its flights between Brussels and Mumbai, Delhi and Toronto over the next two days i.e. March 23 and 24. March 23, 2016: Flights from Brussels to Newark, Toronto, Mumbai and Delhi March 23, 2016: Flights from Newark and Toronto to Brussels March 24, 2016: …

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Many killed in Brussels explosions. 2 Jet Airways staff injured.

Jet Airways Airbus A330-300 VT-JWQ. Image copyright Vedant Agarwal.

Brussels’ Zaventem airport and metro system were attacked by multiple bombings. Bombs exploded earlier this morning near the check-in area. The authorities have shut down the airport and the metro system. The French-Belgian border is sealed. Media reports on the number of casualties and injuries vary. CNN quoting Belgian media reports 23 deaths, while BBC reports 13 deaths. Other media …

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Our condolences on FlyDubai #FZ981

flydubai Boeing 737-800 A6-FEO. Photo copyright Vedant Agarwal.

By now, you must have read about the fatal accident of FlyDubai flight FZ981 at Rostov on Don in Russia. In my humble opinion Simon Hradecky runs Aviation Herald, the world’s best aviation incident / accident reporting site. Quoting just a part of his report “A Flydubai Boeing 737-800, registration A6-FDN performing flight FZ-981 from Dubai (United Arab Emirates) to …

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Exclusive photos from inside IndiGo’s A320neo

Indigo Airbus A320neo VT-ITC. Copyrighted image. Re-use prohibited.

Bangalore Aviation was one of the first allowed on board IndiGo’s newest plane, VT-ITC, the Airbus A320neo it took delivery of just last week. We bring you exclusive shots from inside the cabin. For now we all can relax. IndiGo has opted to retain the existing 180 seat configuration which is common to its existing A320 classic fleet. The airline …

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Indian aviation largely overlooked in the 2016 budget

The nightly aircraft line-up tail parade at the apron of Kempegowda International Airport Bangalore

For all the talk of the Government promoting aviation and as the industry watched with baited breath, the budget seems to have continued the Modi-government’s ignoring of  civil aviation. The sum-total budget proposals pertinent to aviation do not even warrant us writing an article. If anything, they could likely be summed up in an SMS message. Namely, Aviation turbine fuel (ATF) …

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GoAir relocates all Mumbai operations to Terminal 1B

GoAir Airbus A320 VT-WAI lands at Mumbai airport. Photo by Devesh Agarwal.

The Wadia promoted, Go Airlines will move its arrivals to Terminal 1B at Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA), Mumbai, from tomorrow, Tuesday, March 15, 2016. With this, the airline will consolidate all its operations to Terminal 1B. GoAir was operating in a split mode with departures from Terminal 1B and arrivals in Terminal 1A. GoAir was the last airline operating …

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Boeing develops self-cleaning airplane lavatory

Boeing self cleaning toilet prototype. Boeing image.

Engineers and designers at American airframer Boeing has developed a self-cleaning lavatory prototype that uses ultraviolet (UV) light to kill 99.99 percent of germs in just three seconds. The cleaning system which can be activated after each use, will disinfect all the surfaces using Far UV light. Far UV is safe for humans and is activated only when the toilet …

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United announces full-time return of president & CEO Munoz

United Airlines Boeing 787 N29907. Photo copyright Vedant Agarwal.

Oscar Munoz (57), president and chief executive of United Airlines, who has been on medical leave since October 2015 after suffering a heart attack will resume his position full-time on 14 March. Brett Hart, the Chicago based airline’s EVP and general counsel has been serving as acting CEO. In early January, Munoz underwent a heart transplant but participated in United’s …

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Analysis: How will IndiGo integrate the Airbus A320neo?

IndiGo's first A320neo. MSN6799. VT-ITC. Photo courtesy the airline.

Indigo received their first Airbus A320neo (new engine option) today and within a week of the Directorate General’s of Civil Aviation approval with type certificate. With a few more formalities the aircraft will be ready to fly the Indian skies making Indigo the first Asian and Indian operator of the new aircraft. Other airlines (GoAir, Vistara and Air India, all have …

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IndiGo becomes first Asian and second global operator of the A320neo

IndiGo's first A320neo. MSN6799. VT-ITC. Photo courtesy the airline.

India’s largest domestic airline Indigo, has taken delivery of the first of its ordered 430 Airbus A320neo (new engine option) at Toulouse, France, today. The airline accepted the airframe, MSN 6799 (manufacturer’s serial number) at 1212Z which is 17:42 Indian Standard Time. The aircraft will be registered VT-ITC. Its sisters VT-ITA and VT-ITB will join the fleet later. VT-ITC will …

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Embraer unveils second generation E190-E2 aircraft

Brazilian manufacturer Embraer revealed the first of its line in second generation airliners at its headquarters, São José dos Campos, Brazil. Belonging to the E-Jets clan, the aircraft is expected to make its first flight in the second half of 2016 with first deliveries to be expected in 2018. The second generation aircraft uses new Pratt & Whitney PW1900G geared …

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Vistara increases its flights 25% to 400 weekly. Additional Bangalore Delhi flight

Vistara Airbus A320 VT-TTC arrives at Bengaluru performing the airline's inaugural flight UK889 from New Delhi.

The Tata Singapore Airlines promoted airline Vistara, has announced a 25% increase in the number of flights it will operate in the Summer 2016 schedule starting from April. The airline has commenced new services to Jammu, Kochi (Cochin), and Srinagar. The airline has also added an additional flight on the New Delhi Bengaluru route allowing for same day returns. The …

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Qatar Airways enhances in-flight entertainment content

Qatar Airways In flight entertainment system. Image courtesy the airline.

National carrier and oneworld alliance member Qatar Airways has upped the game in the in-flight entertainment (IFE) arena. The Doha based carrier is now offering up to 3,000 inflight entertainment options on board its flights compared to 2,000 earlier. From March the airline offers a selection of up to 550 movies, 1,400 episodes of TV shows, 1,000 audio selections, and …

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Bombardier starts C series European route-proving flights from Zurich

Bombardier CS100 in SWISS livery.

As the second CS300 aircraft completed its first flight in Mirabel, Quebec, Canada, last week, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft has commenced European route-proving flights with the smaller CS100 aircraft for launch customer Swiss International Air Lines (“SWISS”). The airframer has already conducted a similar exercise for North America last year. The month long exercise operated with a dedicated aircraft will visit …

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