by Vinay Bhaskara MEB3 carrier Emirates is launching daily nonstop services to Kabul, its first Afghan destination, from 4th December, 2013. The route will be served using 258 seat Airbus A340-500 aircraft in a 3-class configuration (12F / 42J / 204Y).Flight Schedules for the new route are as follows: Route Depart Arrive Duration Aircraft Dubai – Kabul 0955 1315 2:50 …

by Vinay BhaskaraEarlier today at Montreal’s shuttered Mirabel Airport (YMX), Bombardier’s new CSeries jet flew for the first time today. The flight of CSeries flight test vehicle 1 (FTV1 – a CS100) was performed under perfect weather conditions in Montreal, and also represented the first flight for engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney’s new PurePower geared turbo fan (GTF) engine. The …

by Vinay Bhaskara and Devesh Agarwal Earlier this month, defunct Indian carrier Kingfisher Airlines, which has been grounded since 20th October, 2012 when the Indian regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) suspended its flying license, filed its annual report for fiscal year 2012-2013. Instead of focusing on finding a way to pay off the nearly Rs. 7,000 Crore …

by Vinay Bhaskara A report in Ch-Aviation is stating that proposed domestic start-up Zexus Air, to be based at Delhi, is planning to acquire four Embraer E175LR regional jet aircraft (with manufacturer serial numbers [MSNs] 17000277, 17000287, 17000291, and 17000309), as per its application with India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for an air operator certificate (AOC). The aircraft were …

by Vinay Bhaskara A report in the Macau Business Daily states that Gurgaon based low cost carrier (LCC) SpiceJet is planning on launching nonstop flights between Delhi and Macau. SpiceJet has already won approval from the Indian government to launch Delhi-Macau, likely using Boeing 737 equipment. But it has not yet filed for approval from the Macau government. A Macau …

by BA StaffeasyJet, one of the largest low cost carriers (LCC) in Europe, has announced two new routes from its Northern Ireland base at Belfast International Airport. Starting in summer 2014, easyJet will introduce new nonstop flights from Belfast to Bordeaux, France and Jersey in the Channel Islands. Ali Gayward, easyJet’s Northern Ireland head had this to say about the …

by BA Staff Image Credit: Mopje18 Belgian charter operator Jetairfly has announced the launch of twice weekly flights between its home base at Brussels and Miami, commencing 4th April, 2014 using Boeing 767-300ER aircraft. Miami becomes the airline’s 107th destination around the globe, its 9th in the Americas, but its first in the United States. Jetairfly is a subsidiary of …

by BA StaffMiddle Eastern carrier Qatar Airways has announced an expansion of its Doha hub with new frequencies to Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East for the IATA Winter 2013/14 season. The details can be found below. Jakarta – Frequency increases from 11 weekly to double daily (14x weekly) Yangon – Frequency increases from 3x weekly to daily (7x weekly) Dubai – …

by BA StaffAlready one of the world’s fastest growing airlines, Central American Star Alliance carrier Copa Airlines is growing its hub at Panama City’s Tocumen International Airport further this winter by increasing frequencies to several destinations. San Jose (CR) – 8th daily flight introduced from 3rd October using Boeing 737-700 equipment, with schedule as below: CM116 ~ PTY-SJO ~ D:1526  A:1546 …

by BA Staff Image Credit: JetDriver South American oneworld member LAN Peru has announced that it is eliminating nonstop service between its hub at Lima, Peru and San Francisco effective 1st April, 2014. LAN inaugurated services to San Francisco just four years ago in 2010. LATAM Airlines S.A., the parent company of LAN Peru, will continue to serve the California …

by BA StaffLondon based full service carrier British Airways has already begun to announce changes to its long haul network for the Summer 2014 season. Bangalore Aviation has prepared a summary of those changes below. London Heathrow Accra – 10x weekly service introduced for Winter 2013/14 continues and sees capacity increase from daily Boeing 777 + thrice weekly Boeing 767 …

by BA StaffYesterday, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) announced that it has invited the Request For Qualification (RFQ) for selection of the prospective bidders for Chennai and Lucknow Airports for conversion of these airports to a Public Private Partnership (PPP). The RFQs will remain open till mid-October, and applications are allowed from a single entity or a consortium. As …

by BA Staff European SkyTeam member Air France has launched Airbus A380 flights to Shanghai’s Pudong International Airport today (2nd September 2013), beating Star Alliance rival Lufthansa as the first European carrier to offer A380 services from Shanghai by 24 days. The flight is currently (as of 8:00 am Bangalore time) in the air as the following screen cap from …

by BA Staff Image Credit: Devesh Agarwal As per the Airline Route blog, Indian national carrier Air India is reducing Delhi-Tokyo Narita this winter from five flights per week to four utilizing Boeing 777-200LR equipment. The new schedules for the flight are as follow: AI 306 departs Delhi at 21:10 on Tuesdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays ~ arrives to Tokyo …

Image Credit: Konstantin von Wedelstaedt by Vinay Bhaskara African carrier Ethiopian Airlines has announced a record net profit of 2.03 billion birr (US $107.6 million) for the period from July 2012 – June 2013, up 178% from 734 million birr (US $39.2 million)year-over-year (YOY). Operating profitability also rose a healthy 170% YOY to 2.7 billion birr (US $143.1 billion), from 1 …

by Vinay Bhaskara According to a report from the Press Trust of India, newly minted oneworld alliance member SriLankan Airlines is eyeing an expansion of its Indian operations by adding 12 new weekly flights to tap into its burgeoning hub at Colombo’s Bandaranaike International Airport. SriLankan Airlines chairman Nishantha Wickremasinghe had this to say about Sri Lankan’s plans We have not …

by Vinay Bhaskara June was a mostly positive month for traffic at India’s ten busiest airports. As the table below shows, traffic grew at eight airports, while declining at just two. Total traffic at India’s ten busiest airports grew around 2% year-over-year to roughly 10.7 million passengers, positive news after some declines in passenger traffic earlier this year. There were …

by BA.com staffWe have a three pieces of aircraft related news for you this Friday morning. 7th A380 delivered to Korean Air Image Credit: Airbus Seoul-based Korean Air took delivery of its 7th Airbus A380 earlier this week, with Manufacturer Serial Number (MSN) 126. The aircraft is registered as HL7621 and left Tolouse on 28th August. Korean Air’s A380 are …

by Vinay Bhaskara Image Credit: United Airlines With the announcement of thrice weekly San Francisco – Chengdu to commence in June 2014, Chicago-based full service carrier United Airlines has the planned the following long haul routes for its fleet of Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners in 2014. San Francisco – Chengdu –> 3x weeklySan Francisco – Osaka Kansai –> DailySeattle – Tokyo …

by Vinay Bhaskara Image Credit: Devesh Agarwal India’s largest full service carrier, Jet Airways, is adding a second daily flight between its largest hub at Mumbai, and Singapore. The second daily flight, effective 1st November 2013, will be served using 154 seat Boeing 737-800 aircraft in a 2-class configuration (16 J / 138 Y). The proposed new flights, 9W 10/9 …