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The world knows of the endless disputes between the French and the Germans. This dispute reached new heights on board a recent Lufthansa flight. LH687 from Tel-Aviv to Frankfurt had a few dozen French tourists in economy class who, in good humour, started a pillow fight in the cabin. Naturally the Lufthansa cabin crew rushed to defend the pride of …

A Jet Airways Boeing 737-800 registration VT-JGJ performing flight 9W2451 from Kolkata to Bangalore, India with 150 passengers on board, touched down very hard on runway 27 at 08:25 (02:55Z). The resultant force ballooned the aircraft back in to the air around 20 feet. Due to the impact the aircraft was de-stabilised and due to strong cross-winds prevailing, appeared to …

Airport lounges are a critical benchmark, and a key selling point for airlines across the world. Be it for their premium class passengers or their loyal and frequent fliers, airlines spend millions of dollars on these oases of peace, calm, exclusivity and privacy and rightly so. In this day where passengers are treated more like cattle than humans, a little …

JetLite, the former Air Sahara and now wholly owned subsidiary of Jet Airways India Ltd, has unveiled a new uniform for its staff as the airline commences a strategy of brand enhancement. Unlike the very modern and western look projected by the cabin crew uniforms of parent Jet Airways, the new blue and white uniforms of JetLite, with their embroidered …

Virgin Atlantic Airways recently unveiled a new aircraft livery and brand identity for the airline. The new design which will be applied progressively to all of the company’s 38 aircraft, was showcased on one of Virgin Atlantic’s Boeing 747-400 aircraft G-VROC named Mustang Sally. The carrier last had a makeover in 2005.The Virgin Atlantic name, previously on the front end …

I still remember it as vividly as any recent memory. 25 years ago today, August 2, 1985, it was just after 6pm in the evening and like most residents of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, I was just sitting down to dinner and watching the prime-time evening news. At 18:05 (00:05+1 Z) a six year old Delta Airlines Lockheed L-1011-385-1 TriStar …

Gurgaon, India based value carrier SpiceJet has placed a fresh order for 30 addition Boeing 737-800 aircraft, with deliveries commencing from 2014. The new aircraft will incorporate the new, spacious 737 Boeing Sky Interior (click link for images) with soft blue cove lighting, curving architecture and larger window that will offer a sense of spaciousness in the cabin and comfort …

Last week on July 20, Boeing [NYSE: BA], delivered to the U.S. Navy the first F/A-18 Super Hornet featuring a gun bay door manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) based in Bangalore, India. F/A-18 featuring HAL made gun bay door. Click on image for a high resolution view. These gun bay doors are the product of the first military contract …

Indian Navy officers along with Boeing have successfully completed the final design review (FDR) for the P-8I, India’s long-range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft based on the Boeing 737 commercial airplane. Completion of the FDR locks in the design for the aircraft, radar, communications, navigation, mission computing, acoustics and sensors, as well as the ground and test support equipment. …

Sky Team alliance members Air France-KLM and Delta announced a special promotion called the ‘Early Bird offer’ for passengers flying economy class from September 10 to October 10, 2010. To avail the offer, customer needs to book the tickets by August 15, 2010. The offer is subject to availability of seats. The fares are inclusive of all applicable taxes and …

Dubai based Emirates airlines operated the first commercial A380 flight to India on July 15. It was a rain soaked day, but the excitement was palpable for this one-off flight. The flight proved the A380 capabilities of Indira Gandhi International airport at New Delhi. Now it remains to be seen if Emirates will pip Lufthansa and be the first airline …

A Jet Airways turbo-prop ATR72-500 (ATR72-212A) registration VT-JCA performing flight 9W2510 from Indore to Ahmedabad airport with 57 passengers and four crew on-board had a nose wheel collapse soon after landing at Ahmedabad airport around 21:20 (15:50Z). The airplane is blocking the single runway of the airport. All passengers and crew are safe and were de-planed via stairs and taken …

American Express has expanded it’s Platinum Card® Airport Club Access benefit program to include access to 17 US Airways Clubs across 13 cities. The most interesting part of this tie-up is that unlike the program’s existing arrangements with American Airline’s Admirals Club®, Continental Airline’s Presidents Club, Delta Sky ClubTM, which require card-holders to be flying that particular airline, cardholders can …

As the world economy slowly rebounds, the 2010 edition of the Farnborough air show is turning out to be an order feast for the duopoly of Boeing and Airbus S.A.S, along with orders for newcomers Sukhoi and regional jet manufacturer Embraer. The show began with Boeing Commercial Airplanes President and CEO Jim Albaugh saying “The market is clearly coming back …

On October 21, 2009, India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation issued Air Transport Circular 10 of 2009 which outlined a series of steps meant to ease congestion of flights at Indian airport, most particularly Mumbai and Delhi. One of the steps outlined required for the commander of a domestic flight to call for ATC clearance delivery within 45 minutes to …

I achieved a small measure of fame today. I am the Top Photographer on the airline picture website JetPhotos.net. Reasonably certain it is in no small measure to these two photos. Photo 1. – Founder’s Plaza at Dallas Fort Worth airport. One the best plane spotting locations in the world. Photo 2. – A night view of the ramp at …

Delhi based value carrier IndiGo is known for its catchy advertising. With very little product differentiation between all the value carriers, on-time performance is a major draw for passengers. Playing to its strengths IndiGo has been advertising its industry leading on-time performance across TV channels in India, with this spiffy advertisement. What are your views on this ad ?

Between October 2009 and April 2010, passengers and airlines alike, had to put up with runway closures as Mumbai Airport International Ltd. (MIAL), the operators of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) at India’s financial capital, Mumbai, re-carpeted and re-built the secondary runway 14-32. (For details on runway numbering please read this article). The runway now boasts a smoother surface, …

Hong Kong’s old Kai Tak airport shut down in 1998, but its memories will remain for a long time. One of the most famous memories of Kai Tak, thrilling and yet terrifying, was the approach to Runway 13. Be you a pilot or a passenger, you either loved it or were terrified by it. There was no middle ground. To …

British Airways is taking delivery of its first Boeing 777-300ER registration G-STBA. The new aircraft will offer 297 seats in a four class configuration including First, Club World, World Traveller Plus and World Traveller. G-STBA features an all-new interior including the new World Traveller (economy) and World Traveller Plus (premium economy) cabins along with a new in-flight entertainment (IFE) system …