Yearly Archives: 2018

Singapore Airlines begins operations with Bangalore bound regional A350

First A350 XWB of Singapore Airlines receives the traditional water cannon salute at Singapore Changi airport.

Singapore Airlines has begun operating its regionally configured Airbus A350-900 aircraft. The airline flew the inaugural flight of the new product from Singapore to Adelaide, Australia. The aircraft is configured 303 seats with 40 business and 263 economy seats. The product is the same regional product found on the airline’s Boeing 787-10. The business class features a 1-2-1 layout with …

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NokScoot begins Delhi-Bangkok flights

Thai low cost carrier NokScoot has begun flights between Delhi and Bangkok.  The airline which is a joint venture of Thai carrier Nok Air and Scoot which is a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines. The airline operates a fleet of five ex-Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-200ERs which are configured in a 24 business and 391 economy configuration. One of the airlines 777s …

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Embraer delivers 1,500th E-Jet to Horizon Air

Brazillian airframer Embraer has delivered the 1,500th aircraft of it’s E-Jet family to Horizon Air. The airline which is a subsidiary of Alaska Air will have a fleet of 26 E175 by the end of the year, with four more jets scheduled for delivery in 2019. John Slattery, President & CEO, Embraer Commercial Aviation.“Delivering our 1,500th E-Jet is no small feat. Over …

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Lion air charters a ship to search for #JT610 black box

Indonesian carrier Lion Air has chartered a ship from a Dutch company to search for the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) of JT610. JT610 crashed on 29 October, when the brand new Boeing 737 MAX crashed into the ocean minutes after its takeoff from Jakarta. The carrier has said that the ship MPV Everest, will arrive in the Indonesian town of …

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Pictures: First ANA A380 in special Sea Turtle livery

The first Airbus A380 destined for Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways (ANA) has been rolled out of the paint shop at the manufacturer’s plant in Hamburg, Germany. The aircraft is painted in a special Hawaiian Green Sea Turtle livery. The airline has three of the super jumbos on order – each of which will be painted in a different colour …

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United announces Delhi to San Francisco flight

United Airlines Boeing 787 N29907. Photo copyright Vedant Agarwal.

United Airlines has announced a number of new routes from its hub in San Francisco. The airline will begin flights to: New Delhi, India (daily) Amsterdam, Netherlands (daily) Melbourne, Australia (3x weekly) Seoul Incheon (Adding second daily frequency) Toronto, Canada (2x daily) Tahiti, French Polynesia (year-round flights, previously seasonal) Auckland, New Zealand (year-round flights, previously seasonal) Non-stop San Francisco to …

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Jet Airways announces code-share with flynas

Jet Airways' Boeing 737-800 VT-JBD

Jet Airways has announced a code share agreement with Saudi Arabian low cost carrier flynas. As part of the agreement, Jet Airways will place its flight codes on flynas flights between Dammam, Jeddah and Riyadh. The airline will also place its code on flights to Medina, Gizan, Taif and Abha from the three cities. flynas will place its codes on Jet Airways flights from Jeddah to Mumbai, Riyadh to Mumbai and …

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Jet Airways offering up to 30% off on global sale

Jet Airways has announced a global sale on tickets through its domestic and international network. The airline is offering up to 30% off on flights on its network and on connections with its codeshare partners Air France and KLM. To take advantage of this sale: Tickets must be booked by 11th December 2018. For international bookings, travel can begin after …

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Spicejet to add 14 flights from Bangalore, Hyderabad to Kochi, Port Blair, Kolkata and more

Low cost carrier Spicejet is adding eight new direct flights from Hyderabad to Kolkata, Pune and Coimbatore. The airline will operate these flights daily commencing on 1st January 2019. Flight No. Origin Destination Departure Arrival Frequency SG 749 Hyderabad Kolkata 7:15 am 9:25 am Daily SG 750 Kolkata Hyderabad 9:55 am 12:05 pm Daily SG 751 Hyderabad Kolkata 4:45 pm …

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Video: Emirates, Etihad, Air Arabia and Fly Dubai fly in formation

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has four airlines, the two best known are Emirates and Etihad from the emirates of Dubai and Abu Dhabi respectively. Fly Dubai is a low-cost carrier based in Dubai and Air Arabia is based in Sharjah, another of the seven emirates. The UAE was celebrating its 47th national day over the weekend. This year has …

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Singapore Airlines to add second flight to Bangalore with an A350

First A350 XWB of Singapore Airlines receives the traditional water cannon salute at Singapore Changi airport.

Singapore Airlines will add a second flight to Bangalore from 17 May 2019. The airline will operate the second flight with its regionally configured Airbus A350-900 three times a week. The airline currently operates a daily flight with a Boeing 777-200ER. Flight Number Origin Destination STD STA Frequency Existing 777 Service SQ502 Singapore Bangalore 2005 2150 Daily SQ503 Bangalore Singapore …

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Jet Airways hurts its brand, cuts meal service in economy

Jet Airways Biryani Festival.

Financially beleaguered carrier, Jet Airways has desperately trying to cut costs both operationally and at the cost of the passenger. After recently announcing that it would end lounge access for its frequent flyers, the airline has announced that it will cut meals for all economy passengers except for JetPrivilege Platinum and Gold members on certain fares and full fare “flex” …

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Why is IndiGo risking a firestorm over web check-in charges?

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

India’s largest domestic carrier IndiGo, found itself at the centre of a public relations firestorm when it announced a policy change and decided to universally charge for seat allocation during web-check-in. In a rather casual manner the airline clarified that those who did not wish to pay the charge could come to the airport and have a seat auto-assigned. Opposing …

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Airbus delivers the first A330neo to TAP

TAP Air Portugal has become the first airline to take delivery of the Airbus A330neo. The aircraft an A330-900neo was the first of a 21 aircraft order placed by the Portuguese carrier. The aircraft which is leased from Avalon features 298 seats configured in a three-class layout with 34 business, 96 economy plus and 168 economy class seats. It is …

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Jet Airways ends lounge access for Gold and Platinum members

Jet Airways' Boeing 737-800 VT-JBD

Jet Airways is in the midst of a financial crunch. The airline has had issues paying its staff and reportedly grounded aircraft. Lately, the airline has also had to make cuts to its passenger experience with meal quality reportedly going down. The airline had also stopped access to the lounge at Mumbai airport due to a dispute with the airport …

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Lounge Review: Qatar Airways Lounge Terminal 4 London Heathrow

Qatar Airways Lounge at Terminal 4, London Heathrow.

Despite having flown Qatar multiple times out of the EU before, this was the first time I was flying them directly out of London. My original itinerary had be taking a mid day flight to be followed by a stopover in Doha. Unfortunately the night before, I had to make a last minute change to get back to Bangalore a …

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Route transfers between Scoot, SilkAir, and Singapore Airlines to affect India

Singapore Airlines (SIA) is re-jigging routes between its low-cost subsidiary Scoot, which took over TigerAir, and its regional subsidiary SilkAir, as the latter mergers into it. A number of destinations in India are affected. Between April 2019 and end 2020, Scoot will take over some of SilkAir’s routes over the next two years, and also transfer some routes or services …

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Why the Jet Airways acquisition will be good for the Tatas

VT-JAX Jet Airways Boeing 737 MAX 8. Image copyrighted. Do not reproduce.

The potential of the Tatas acquiring the beleaguered Jet Airways, raises a lot of questions. Bangalore Aviation presents an operational analysis on where and why the acquisition makes sense and what it would need to go through. This analysis focusses on the Tatas acquiring Jet and merging it with Vistara, the brand of Tata SIA Airlines Limited, the joint-venture of …

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Boeing joins the first flight test 777X, making it the longest passenger jet

777X Final Body Join_FT1_Saddle Fixture

American air framer has joint the major fuselage sections of the first 777X aircraft which will make its first flight in 2019. The ‘final body join’ saw Boeing engineers connecting the airplane’s nose, mid and aft sections. The aircraft now measures 252 feet long (77 meters) from nose to tail, making it the longest passenger aircraft the manufacturer has ever …

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Jeju Air signs deal for 50 737 MAX

Korean low cost carrier Jeju Air has placed an order for 40 737 MAX 8 airplanes with options for 10 additional aircraft. The order including options is valued at $5.9 billion at list prices. The aircraft will be delivered between 2022 and 2026. The airline which began operations in 2005 as Korea’s first LCC operates an all Boeing fleet of …

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