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Launch customer and German flag carrier Deutsche Lufthansa AG has taken delivery of the first Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental (747-8i or 748i), the latest variant of probably the most recognised airplane in the world. Lufthansa is getting the airplane which is registered D-ABYA ready for its delivery flight to Frankfurt on May 1. Boeing will host a celebration with senior executives …

Image courtesy Wikipedia. At a time when the Indian airline industry is already reeling under the double whammy of lowering economic output and sky-rocketing fuel prices, passengers and airlines are going to get hit by a massive hike in both passenger and aeronautical charges at the national capital New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA). The airport operator Delhi International …

Vinay Bhaskara India is the second largest market for German carrier Lufthansa, after North America, in numbers. In return the all member airlines of the “Lufthansa Group” including SWISS, and Austrian Airlines devote a considerable share of their fleet to India, while Brussels Airlines has a strategic partnership with India’s largest private carrier Jet Airways. Most Lufthansa loyalists were excited …

All 127 people, 118 passengers and nine crew, on board a Bhoja Air flight are feared dead in a crash near the national capital of Islamabad in Pakistan. Bhoja flight B4-213 had departed from the commercial capital of Pakistan, Karachi. There was severe weather in the area of the crash. The aircraft last made contact around 18:20 local (13:20Z) and …

The government of India will allow aviation companies to borrow up to $1 billion (Rs. 5,100 crore) collectively and up to $300 million individually, from overseas, via the external commercial borrowings (ECB) route, as per a statement released by the finance ministry today. In his Budget speech last month, the Indian Finance Minister had announced that companies in the aviation …

The Indian Government is expanding its Tourist Visa on Arrival (TVOA) scheme, first introduced in 2010 to the nationals of 11 countries, Japan, Singapore, Philippines, Finland, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar and Indonesia. The TVOA facility is only available for arrivals at the four metro airports, Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. The government has also expanded the purpose …

On the sidelines of the India Aviation 2012 show at Hyderabad, Devesh Agarwal had an exclusive one-on-meeting interview with Dr. Dinesh Keskar, President, Boeing International Corporation India Pvt. Ltd., and Senior Vice President of Sales, Asia-Pacific and India, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Dr. Keskar also chairs the Committee on Aviation at the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) which …

Today, the space shuttle Discovery performed her final flight; atop the modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA). Here she is, touching down at Washington Dulles airport (IATA: IAD). Here is a video from NASA showing her departing Florida. Thanks for the memories Discovery.

Amidst all the turmoil in the Indian airline sector, one airline has stood out as a beacon of profitability in the surrounding gloom. Low cost carrier (LCC) IndiGo has once again posted a net profit for the fiscal year ending March 2012, according to a report in the Financial Chronicle. “We have recorded profits in 2011-12 too though it’s likely …

ANA9397 the delivery flight of a brand new All Nippon Airways (ANA) Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner is making aviation history as it flies to its destination, Tokyo’s Haneda airport, today. Image courtesy FlightAware It is the first time a 787 Dreamliner has flown powered, at least in part, by sustainable biofuels. The delivery flight between Boeing’s Delivery Center in Everett, Wash. …

Malaysian low cost carrier AirAsia has released an ad titled “Awesome AirAsia” to commemorate its 10th anniversary. It sort of reminds me of Virgin Atlantic’s 25th anniversary “Still Red Hot” ad. A hat tip to Shashank Nigam at Simpliflying for the lead.

Editor’s note: This is Part 1 in a series of analyses answering the question: “What should Jet Airways do with its international operations?” Parts 2 and 3 will cover the idea of a Mumbai hub and the fate of Jet’s 777-300ER fleet. Photo courtesy Jet Airways Late last week, a report emerged from the Economic Times of India that India’s …

Earlier this week, Boeing released some of the confirmed design details for its re-engined 737 MAX narrow-body program. The new series of aircraft is expected to retain significant commonality with its predecessor, the Boeing 737NG program, however unlike Airbus’ competing A320neo re-engine program, there are tangible changes being made between the 737NG and 737MAX due to the increased engine diameter …

Yesterday the government announced a massive Rs. 30,000 Crore ($5 billion) bailout of national carrier Air India. The government has justified this this bailout to ostensibly protect the jobs of the over-bloated workforce of 30,000 employees at the airline. Simple maths effectively translates the infusion to Rs. 10 million per employee, a figure the average Indian cannot even hope to …

If you can get away from the self-promotion in this 9.5 minute video, it is an interesting fantasy on what flight could look like in the 2030~2050 time frame, and how technologies being developed today, military and civil, will play a part. In this 3.5 minute video the cabin of the concept plane. The one question that is asked in …

Image courtesy Lufthansa At the ITB show in Berlin, German carrier Lufthansa announced a new media campaign titled “nonstop you”. The new campaign attempts to build on the carrier’s strong reputation amongst business travellers and also targets leisure travellers more directly than before. Signifying a change in focus by airlines across the globe this year, the campaign focuses on the …

Continuing our weekly interactive post where we seek your views, this week we discuss Kingfisher Airlines. Whether due to his own poor planning and execution, or as some conspiracy theorists will have you believe, there is no doubt, in the case of Kingfisher Airlines, Dr. Vijay Mallya has been systematically pushed against the wall. Kingfisher Airlines is now a weight …

Last month Dubai based Emirates airline received the 1000th Boeing 777 to be built. The aircraft is registered A6-EGO and performed its delivery flight, from Everett to Dubai, on March 21, 2012. Since then the airline has sent this aircraft to many cities across the world, including the capital of India’s neighbour Bangladesh, Dhaka. Image generated courtesy GCMAP. The most …

2011 was a banner year for airlines and airports around the world, who reveled in the restored economic growth. And nowhere was that air travel growth more apparent than at Doha International Airport, which saw passenger traffic grow to an all time record of 18.1 million passengers, growth of 15.24% versus 2010. The graph below shows the five year trend …

The first Airbus A350XWB entered the final assembly line at Toulouse earlier this week. Enjoy the photos which are courtesy Airbus S.A.S. Have a great weekend.