Last week, purely as a fun story, we posted a computer generated image of Mumbai airport’s new Terminal 2 and asked you to spot some inconsistencies. Time for the answers and for you to compare your observations with your fellow readers. Going clockwise from the bottom left. The graphic designer forgot that there are no traffic signals in the middle …
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Above is a computer generated image (CGI) aerial view of the new terminal 2 at Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA), which was recently inaugurated. There are four or five inconsistencies on the air-side, reflecting a time when the CGI was made. Just for fun; can you spot them? Use the light-box image to enlarge the photo and then use …
Read More »In June last year, India’s civil aviation regulator the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) allowed for unbundling of value added services by airlines, which allowed, amongst other things, airlines to charge for advance booking of preferred seating. [bsu_pullquote]“Seat offered on opt-in charge basis shall not exceed 25% of the total seat configuration of the aircraft” – DGCA, Air Traffic …
Read More »Last the week the newswires were abuzz with stories about Indian budget carrier SpiceJet ordering up to 40 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. While the ordering of the new fuel efficient MAXs is a foregone conclusion, given the airline’s need to continue its growth, the timing is not certain. What is certain is the airline’s precarious financial position. For the second …
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While the establishment in both the civil aviation ministry and national carrier Air India continue to blow sunshine in our faces, and was eloquent about the “great recovery” by the airline, a story in The Hindustan Times newspaper shows how abysmal is the airline’s actual performance. The story headlines “Crew shortage holds up AI flight at Frankfurt” but the actual …
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Value of orders at the show exceed India’s annual tax revenues The recently concluded Dubai Air Show 2013 broke all records for aircraft orders placed at an air show. Driven by the “Gulf Big 3”, Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Etihad Airways, the show clocked orders exceeding a mind-boggling, $206 billion, underscoring the power shift in the commercial airline industry to …
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Two days ago, when gulf major, Etihad Airways, announced its intention to fly between Abu Dhabi and Los Angeles, we at Bangalore Aviation were the first to indicate that Etihad’s announcement was a pre-cursor to its purchase of Boeing 777-200LRs from Air India. Yesterday, it was confirmed that Air India will indeed sell five of its eight Boeing 777-200LRs to …
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Several pieces of routes news from Pakistan emerged over the past week, and Bangalore Aviation has prepared a summary of these changesGulf Air increases frequency to Pakistan Bahrain based Gulf Air has added 7 new weekly frequencies on its offering to Pakistan, from mid-December 2013, bringing its total Pakistani operation to 21 flights per week to four destinations. A summary …
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Bangalore-Abu Dhabi-Chicago, Mumbai-Abu Dhabi-New York, Delhi-Abu Dhabi-Newark amongst new flights requested by Devesh Agarwal and Vinay Bhaskara Image Credit: Etihad Airways On the back of the new bilateral air services agreement which has almost quadrupled capacity, Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates, will greatly increase both seats and flights for travel to and from India, …
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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 …
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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 …
Read More »by Devesh Agarwal Some helpful advice from a frequent traveller, which should, hopefully, make your air travel journey more pleasant for the staff, you, and your fellow travellers. Mumbai CSI airport. Domestic departure terminal 1B. Photo copyright Devesh Agarwal. Used with permission. 1. Be over smart In the post 9/11, 26/11, 7/7 world, airports and the people working there are …
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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 …
Read More »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 …
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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 …
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Recent media reports blare the headline The Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the latest acquisition of Air India, is likely to shore up the fortune of India’s national carrier. This is backed by the many advertisements portraying some of the top Indian CEOs, giving big thumbs up after travelling in the next generation flying machine of India’s national carrier. Various media reports …
Read More »by Vinay Bhaskara Earlier this month, erstwhile Indian national carrier Air India placed a tender asking for fuel supply contracts at 9 different stations as seen below. The tender includes Sydney, where Air India is planning to launch 4 weekly nonstop and 3 weekly one-stop flights (in a triangle routing with Melbourne) on-board the carrier’s new Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Australian …
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The recent crash of Asiana Airlines flight OZ-214 at San Francisco International airport showcased the quick and heroic efforts of both the airport’s emergency fire and rescue services and the cabin crew. Praise has flowed to both of these sets of people for their actions which resulted in minimal loss of life and injuries. Prompted by this crash, Bangalore Aviation …
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Aviation insiders have known for many years what AirAsia boss Tony Fernandes dared publicly state the day before yesterday, after his meeting with civil aviation minister Ajit Singh. Vested interests have shaped, nay, distorted Indian civil aviation policy. One of the more shameful rules of Indian civil aviation is the policy of allowing Indian carriers to operate international flights only …
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The official version of the press release from the Press Information Bureau of the Government of India. India and United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed an MoU on Air Services, following the two-day bilateral negotiation at Abu Dhabi today. The UAE had urged India to allocate additional 40,000 seats per week, grant Goa, Pune, Amritsar and Lucknow as additional points of …
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