Vinay Bhaskara

MAP: Kingfisher to drop service to 13 destinations, cut 20+ routes

Apparently the fallout from Kingfisher’s sudden cancellation of flights a couple of weeks ago has not yet ended. A report from airlineroute.net shows that Kingfisher may be cancelling a few additional domestic flights. The following destinations will be cancelled outright; some of these were not currently operated but rather placed into the GDS. Destinations are spread out across India, but …

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Will Kingfisher Airlines survive in the long run?

In the wake of Kingfisher’s unprecedented cancellations last week, we here at Bangalore Aviation wanted to take a look at some potential issues that haven’t been brought up regarding Kingfisher’s long term viability. In light of reports that Kingfisher is close to a US $370 million equity deal with a large private investor and banking consortium, it is helpful to …

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Strategic analysis of Kingfisher Airline’s Q2 FY12 results

Despite the extremely muted optimism of my co-author, Devesh Agarwal, Kingfisher’s results for the past quarter were on a number of levels, worse than those of Jet Airways. Given that Devesh has already provided a very succinct analysis of Kingfisher’s results, I will simply add in a few of my own thoughts focusing on past lesson and future strategy for …

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Jet Airways Q2 FY 2012 financial analysis – costs up on fuel and currency, yields down due to Air India price cuts

Note: JetLite financial results will be analyzed separately For the first financial analysis of Q2 FY 11-12, we will be taking a look at India’s largest international carrier, Jet Airways, who posted a net loss of Rs. 713.57 crore in the quarter, down sharply from a net profit of Rs. 12.43 crore during the same period last year. Jet posted …

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BREAKING: Jet Airways posts 713.6 crore loss in Q2 of FY 11-12

Mumbai based full service carrier Jet Airways has posted a Rs. 713.6 crore loss in the second quarter of FY 2011-2012, up from a loss of Rs. 156.8 crore in the first quarter. The carrier made a profit of 12.43 crores in the same period last year. Here are some of the key metrics for Jet Airways’ second quarter Revenue …

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Can Hong Kong Airlines make long haul premium-class only service work

Picture by Alex Chau. Used under GNU License. On November 7th, 2011, Hong Kong based Hong Kong Airlines, a subsidiary of Hainan Airlines Group, announced that it would be launching an all-premium nonstop service between Hong Kong and London, beginning in March of 2012. The service will be offered on Airbus A330-200 aircraft configured in two classes; Club Premier and …

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DGCA orders foreign airlines to shelve fees for second checked bags

On October 25th, India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DCGA) announced an unprecedented rule; it has banned foreign airlines from charging fees for second checked bags. Up until around 3 years ago, most world airlines (including Western ones) allowed passengers to check two bags of up to 23 kg for free. But the global financial crisis, coupled with rising competition …

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Siuchan Airlines orders 20 COMAC C919

On October 21st, 2011 , Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC for short) announced an order from Siuchan Airlines for 20 of its narrowbody C919 aircraft. Earlier in the week, COMAC had won an order for 45 C919s from Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd.’s leasing arm. The COMAC C919 is a large narrowbody aircraft designed to compete with …

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Delta Air Lines expands Economy Comfort Service

Earlier today, Delta Air Lines announced that it would be expanding its popular economy comfrot service to all domestic aircraft. 550 mainline aircraft, as well as 250 2-class regional jets will be configured with the new seating. Earlier this year, Delta implemented an international Economy Comfort section on 170 aircraft. The new economy comfort sections will be installed in the …

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China Eastern cancels Boeing 787 Dreamliner order, goes with Airbus A330s

On October 17, China Eastern Airlines announced that it would be converting its order for 24 Boeing 787s into an order for 45 Boeing 737 narrowbodies, citing extended delivery delays for the 787 program. Additionally, the carrier announced an order for 15 Airbus A330 aircraft, while simultaneously selling its 5 Airbus A340-300s back to Airbus. China Eastern Airlines Airbus A330-200. …

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Latest AMR financial results validate American Airline’s large narrow-body order

Earlier today, AMR corporation, the parent company of American Airlines, announced its financial results for the third quarter of 2011. Traditionally, the third quarter is the strongest financial quarter for US airlines. However, AMR posted a net loss of $162 million, $0.48 per diluted share. This stood in contrast to their $143 million net profit in the third quarter of …

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Finally!!! Boeing delivers first Boeing 747-8F freighter to Cargolux. Second today.

by Vinay Bhaskara On 12th October, Boeing finally delivered the first new generation Boeing 747-8F freighter to Cargolux, ending a three week dispute with the carrier over compensation for the aircraft. The aircraft bears registration number LC-VCB. Click on image for a high resolution view Cargolux was seeking additional compensation due to performance shortfalls of the 747-8F with regards to …

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IndiGo to launch service to Kathmandu from late October

IndiGo, India’s fastest growing airline, will be introducing service to Kathmandu from late October of this year. The Delhi-Kathmandu flights will be served once daily on Airbus A320 aircraft from 28th October. Flight schedules for the new flights are as follows: 6E031 ~ DEL: 1055 ~ KTM: 1300 – 320 Daily 6E032 ~ KTM: 1400 ~ DEL: 1550 – 320 …

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Copa Airlines seeks elegant and glamorous look in cabin crew uniforms

Last week, Panama City based Copa Airlines announced a re-vamp of its employee uniforms (cabin crew, ground staff, and salespeople). Copa Airlines is a full service carrier, with its largest hub at Tocumen Airport in Panama City. The carrier leverages its location at the peak of South America to connect passengers throughout the Americas. Unlike its Central American competitor TACA, …

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The History of Air India Part 2

by Vinay Bhaskara Earlier this week, the second part of my story of the history of Air India was posted over at AirlineReporter.com. This second part covers the tumultuous 1970s at Air India and Indian Airlines. I have posted an excerpt from that article here, but click on over to AirlineReporter.com for the full story. Link to Story Air India …

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Breaking: All Nippon Airways (ANA) pilots threaten strike

The pilots at All Nippon Airways (ANA) have threatened to strike on October 1st, 2011 (this Saturday). No international flights will be affected by this action, but numerous domestic flights may be cancelled and/or delayed. For passengers planning to fly ANA Group domestically (within Japan) on October 1st, the following are some contact numbers: ANA Reservations Center: 0570-029-222 (within Japan)ANA …

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Emirates to begin flights to Seattle; Dallas-Fort Worth

by Vinay Bhaskara Emirates, the world’s fastest growing airline, announced today an expansion of its North American network. Beginning February 2nd, 2012, Emirates will serve Dallas-Fort worth once daily nonstop from Dubai. On March 1st, 2012, they will also add daily flights to Seattle-Tacoma. Emirates flights to Dallas will be served with 266 seat Boeing 777-200LR aircraft. The aircraft are …

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Commercial Aviation News Briefing: September 26th

by Vinay Bhaskara India: Air India launches austerity drive Air India, in a move that defies its traditional profligacy, will be launching an austerity drive beginning October 1st. Rohit Nandan, Air India’s chairman, related in a memo that Air India will be enacting the following initiatives.Payments on reimbursements of entitlements and vouchers will be cut by 10%, in addition to …

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Commercial Aviation News Briefing: September 23rd-25th

by Vinay Bhaskara Starting this week, we will be providing readers with an intelligence brief recapping the major commercial aviation news from India, and the rest of the world. India- Cathay Pacific and Jet Airways re-shuffle Delhi – Hong Kong Cathay Pacific and Jet Airways both announced major changes to their operations on the Delhi- Hong Kong sector for IATA’s …

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Trip Report: Lufthansa to Switzerland- Part 2

by Vinay Bhaskara Earlier this year, I took a trip to Switzerland on Lufthansa. The first part of this trip report was published during my time at FlyerTalk’s The Gate blog, so this part covers the return trip (a review of the lounges at both Zurich Kloten and Frankfurt will be published at a later date). As I mentioned in …

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