Monthly Archives: June 2017

Etihad Airways eliminates free chauffeur service for premium passengers

Etihad Chauffeur Service

Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways is eliminating its complimentary chauffeur service for its business and first class passengers at all its international destinations. A paid option “at specially negotiated rates” will replace the free service. Economy class passengers can also avail the new paid service, and Etihad Guest members will accrue frequent flier points. The cutback is part of a series …

Read More »

Jet Airways adds Air France, KLM, Delta code-shares on new flights

Jet Airways Boeing 777-300ER VT-JEG performing flight 9W117 from London approaches Mumbai airport

Jet Airways is enhancing its existing code-share agreements with Air France, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, and Delta Air Lines. All three foreign carriers are anchor members of the Skyteam alliance. The Indian carrier will place code-shares of the three Skyteam airlines on its new flights between Mumbai Paris, Chennai Paris, Bangalore Amsterdam, and its third Mumbai London Heathrow flight. Air …

Read More »

Airbus unveils A380plus, an enhanced version of the superjumbo

New split winglets proposed on the A380plus. Airbus image.

European airframer Airbus unveiled a development study for an enhanced version of the A380 superjumbo, the “A380plus”. The study is a bid by the company to re-engergise sales of the world’s largest passenger aircraft that have been stagnant for over a year. It also appears to be an effort to bridge the requests of the largest A380 customer, Emirates airline, …

Read More »

New Airbus A320 Airspace interior set to debut in 2020

Airbus A320 Airspace cabin. Entrance area lighting. Airbus image.

European airframer Airbus has developed a new cabin concept for its best-selling narrow body A320 family of jetliners called Airspace. Just as its competitor Boeing borrowed cabin concepts from the 787 Dreamliner and incorporated it in to the 737, Airbus has borrowed concepts from the A350 and the A330neo for the Airspace interior to offer similar designs in both the …

Read More »

India and Australia remove immigration departure cards from July 1

Immigration counters at New Delhi IGI airport. Picture courtesy Wikipedia.

Purely as a coincidence, India and Australia will both remove the immigration departure cards effective July 1. India used to require its citizens to fill up the card for all international departures. Foreign citizens were exempt. In case of Australia all passengers had to fill up the card. The India requirement for foreigners, including Persons of India Origin (PIO) and …

Read More »

Inflight Review: Malaysia Airlines: Economy: 737-800: Bangalore – Singapore

This was my first trip on Malaysia Airlines and my first international flight out of India on a narrow body in eight years. Why not fly Bangalore to Singapore direct instead of the roundabout Bangalore – Kuala Lumpur – Singapore?  I am a oneworld frequent flier and Malaysia Airlines is a member of the alliance. The other option would have …

Read More »

Video: MRJ being painted in ANA livery

The Mitsubishi Regional Jet arrives at the 2017 Paris air show. Mitsubishi Image.

The Mitsubishi Regional Jet is making it’s European debut at the 2017 Paris Air show at Le Bourget Airport. The aircraft on display is FTA-3, the third test aircraft. Mitsubishi ferried the aircraft from the MRJ Flight Test Center, Moses Lake, Washington via Winnipeg and Goose Bay, Canada and Keflavik, Iceland to Paris. FTA-3 originally bore the Mitsubishi corporate livery …

Read More »

Spicejet to buy 40 Boeing 737 MAX 10s

Low cost carrier SpiceJet has signed a memorandum of understanding with Boeing for 40 737 MAX airplanes at the 2017 Paris airshow which kicked off today. The deal, valued at $4.74 billion at current list prices, includes 20 new orders for 737 MAX 10’s and converts 20 of the carriers existing MAX 8 orders to MAX 10’s. With this order …

Read More »

Qatar Airways: Operations largely unaffected by middle east ban

Qatar Airways A7-BAC Boeing 777-300ER.

Middle eastern carrier Qatar Airways has stated that operations out of it’s Doha hub are largely unaffected by the gulf ban with the vast majority of flights operating as scheduled. The airline has flown approximately 1,200 flights between Doha and its network in the past week and has said that 90 per cent of those flights departed within 15 minutes …

Read More »

Spicejet Q4FY17 results analysis

Spicejet Boeing 737-800WL VT-SGK at New Delhi airport.

Spicejet reported the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2016-2017 results on June 3, 2017, a Saturday, not a working day for the financial markets. The timing of the results announcement was as interesting as the results themselves. Overall, the results were below analyst expectations and are reflective of the intensely competitive fare and capacity environment in Indian aviation. Key financial …

Read More »

Doha ATC and Qatar Airways overcome Arabian airspace restrictions

Qatar Airways Airbus A340-600.

One has to tip their hat to both the air traffic control at Doha as well as Qatar Airways for handling the airspace restrictions imposed by their immediate neighbours Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and Yemen in the wake of the cessation of diplomatic relations between these countries and Qatar. As their screen shots from FlightRadar24 …

Read More »

Emirates, flydubai, Etihad suspend Doha flights amidst middle-east diplomatic row

Gulf area map courtesy NOAA.

Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have severed diplomatic relations with the tiny peninsular state of Qatar claiming the latter’s support of terrorism. The four nations have cut all land, sea and air contacts too. Qatar, which boasts the highest per capita income in the world, shares its sole land border with Saudi Arabia which …

Read More »

GVK exits Bangalore airport. To focus on Mumbai airports.

The main passenger terminal building at Bangalore Airport.

Debt burdened GVK Power and Infrastructure Ltd will sell the last of its stake in Bengaluru International Airport Ltd. (BIAL), approximately ten per cent, to Fairfax India Holdings, for Rs. 1,290 crore (about $200 million). BIAL is the operator of the Kempegowda International Airport. In an announcement to the stock exchange the company said “This is to inform you that …

Read More »
+OK