By BA Staff AirAsia India today announced that the airline has been granted the no objection certificate by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and will begin the process of obtaining an Air Operating Permit and prepare to kick-start its operations. AirAsia submitted a request to start a joint venture to begin AirAsia India earlier this year, partnering Tata Sons Limited …

By BA Staff To mark the birth anniversary for the father of India, Air France KLM, a member of the Sky Team alliance announced a special online contest for all their Air France and KLM follower base in India. KLM India team will quiz their fans each day on location for two photographs of iconic Mahatma Gandhi statues around the …

By BA Staff Wizz Air Ukraine, announced today its third base which will open on 30 April 2014 in Lviv to Ukrainian travellers and visitors with one new based Airbus A320 aircraft, the 5th in the Ukraine. In addition to the existing routes to Venice Treviso, Dortmund and Milan Bergamo, Wizz Air Ukraine announced five new routes to Barcelona Girona, …

By BA Staff The Philippines’ leading low-cost carrier, Cebu Pacific Air (PSE:CEB) increased operations from its Visayas hubs, in line with its continued push for more tourism and trade in the destinations it flies to. From January to August 2013, the number of passengers through the airline’s Iloilo hub went up by 33%, while guests to and from its Cebu …

By BA Staff Virgin Australia today announced that it will commence direct flights between Brisbane and Cloncurry in regional Queensland on 27 November 2013. Virgin Australia’s 98 seat Embraer E190 jet will operate a return Brisbane-Cloncurry service on Wednesdays and Fridays.  Virgin Australia Chief Commercial Officer Judith Crompton said: Cloncurry is an important regional centre that has seen strong growth …

By BA Staff Boeing and WestJet announced today that they have firmed up an order for 65 737 MAX airplanes, fulfilling the carrier’s letter of intent to purchase the airplanes announced on Aug 29. The order, valued at $6.3 billion at list prices, consists of 40 737 MAX 8s and 25 737 MAX 7s. The airplanes are a key component …

By BA Staff Scoot, the high density, low cost wing of Singapore Airlines, announced the launch of flights, subject to regulatory approval, from Singapore to Hong Kong, making Hong Kong the fast-growing airline’s 12th destination. Starting 15th November 2013 you’ll be able to fly Scoot to Hong Kong and tickets will go on sale from 30 September 2013 at 0900 …

By BA Staff Peach Aviation Limited announced today that it had started servicing an Okinawa to Taipei route. The Okinawa to Taipei route is Peach’s first international route departing from and arriving at Naha airport, and is the first Japanese airline to operate regular international flight services from Naha airport in approximately 11 years. Peach Representative Director & CEO Shinichi …

By BA Staff The General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), the sole regulator of all licensed airfields within the UAE, has certified Al Maktoum International Airport at Dubai World Central (DWC) for passenger operations after assessing and confirming full compliance of the aerodrome with its stringent requirements. In a letter issued by GCAA’s Air Navigation and Aerodrome department yesterday, the regulator …

 By BA Staff Boeing and Air Lease Corporation (ALC) announced today that they have completed an order for 30 787-10 and three 787-9 Dreamliners. The order, valued at $9.4 billion at list prices, fulfills the commitment originally announced during the 2013 Paris Air Show in June. ALC Chairman and CEO Steven Udvar-Hazy had this to say about the partnership: “We …

By BA Staff Boeing projects that the Asia Pacific region will continue to lead the globe in demand for hundreds of thousands of new commercial airline pilots and maintenance technicians to support expanding demand for new airplane deliveries over the next two decades. The 2013 Boeing Pilot and Technician Outlook calls for 192,300 new commercial airline pilots and 215,300 new …

By BA Staff Harbin Hafei Airbus Composite Manufacturing Centre (HMC), a joint venture between Airbus and its Chinese partners, has started to deliver elevators for the Airbus A350 XWB programme. A ceremony was held today in Harbin for the delivery of the first ship set of elevators. The elevators manufactured at HMC are delivered to Spain-based Aernnova Aerospace (ANN), who …

By BA Staff Starting today, Alaska Airlines will inaugurate nonstop service between Portland, Oregon and Dallas/Fort Worth. Joe Sprague, the airline’s vice president of marketing, had this to say about the route: “Portland-Dallas is the eighth new route we’ve added from the Rose City since June of last year. Our customers will not only enjoy convenient nonstop flights, but also …

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 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 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