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Since yesterday, India and Indians across the world are celebrating the festival of light — Diwali or Deepavali – the most significant festival in India. The closest equivalent I can think of is in the US, the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Since the Dussehra festival last month, there have been sales across the land, with people shopping away much …

Malaysian low-cost carrier Air Asia has confirmed dates to launch scheduled passengers services from Kuala Lumpur to three more cities in India. One November 12th, Asia Asia will begin services to Kochi (Cochin) the commercial capital of Kerala, four days later on November 16th to Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) the political capital of Kerala and three days after that to the West …

Bangalore Aviation regular Aditya Kamath recently flew the Emirates Boeing 777-300ER from Bangalore to Dubai. He made a video of the take off. Turn the volume up high to hear those great GE90-115B engines. Visit Aditya’s Flickr page to see some more photos from his trip.

Just about three months ago, Boeing 777-300ER (MSN 36563) which was destined to join the Jet Airway’s fleet as VT-JEL made its first flight. See videos here. In a sad commentary on the sorry state of the Indian airline industry, Jet Airways has indefinitely deferred the delivery of this aircraft. Last Thursday, the aircraft still registered in a Boeing registration …

In its “Bags fly free” series of ads, US low fare carrier Southwest Airlines hits out at the chargeable baggage policies of “full service” carriers like American, United, Continental, Delta, US Air, and British Airways. In India we are getting ready to celebrate the five days marking the festival of Diwali, the biggest holiday of the year. Travel is high, …

Last week it was reported that Flughafen Zurich AG, which operates the Zurich airport will sell 12% of it’s 17 per cent stake in the Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL), which operates the private Bengaluru International Airport, to fund its further growth in India. A lot of people asked me on Twitter why Unique Zurich was taking this step, and …

This edition of Smokin Touchdowns consists of new Airbus A320 aircraft from two of India’s low fare carriers–A320-214 VT-WAJ of GoAir and A320-232 VT-INZ which till early September was IndiGo airline’s newest. Click on the images to visit the Bangalore Aviation Flickr site for a larger view. To see more Smokin Touchdowns, click here.

A few days ago, while I was at the Bengaluru International Airport to receive Rotary International President Elect Ray Klinginsmith, I took these photos in the midst of a typical afternoon monsoon thunderstorm.

I am travelling to Thailand and Malaysia this week. Some night time long exposure images for your enjoyment. Last week we had Air France’s Airbus A330-203 F-GZCM baking in the sun due to a flight delay , here we have it’s sister F-GZCD getting ready to depart Bangalore for Paris Charles De Gaulle at it’s regularly scheduled time around 01:30. …

This edition of Smokin Touchdowns is all about Kingfisher Airline’s Airbus A320 fleet, featuring VT-KFC, VT-KFE, VT-KFX. To see more Smokin Touchdowns, click here. Today is Gandhi Jayanti, the birth anniversary of the father of India Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Across the nation it is a “dry day” i.e. all sales of alcoholic beverages is prohibited. As usual comments, bouquets or …

PTI reports that in a show of compassion, Air India staffers and officials at New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport, pooled money to pay for the ticket of a bereaved passenger who had to rush to Chennai but was short of cash. M Pandian had lost one of his dear ones in Chennai and reached IGI airport in the …

Last night as we watched the TV news my much better half commented “these Air India pilots are digging their own grave!!” It got me thinking of Julius Caesar’s famous quote, Veni Vidi Vici, but with a twist. Chairman Arvind Jadhav came, the pilots struck, the government compromised, and the continuing down slide at Air India won. Since it’s government …

Today is the major holiday of Dassera across India. Boeing’s 3000th 737NG delivered, Jet Airway’s Boeing 737-800 VT-JBL, jetting in the rain. Emirates Airbus A330-200 touches down in the rain. For more images visit our Flickr site or JetPhotos.

Following the shoddy reporting about the Air India fire earlier this month, Times Now TV has taken irresponsible reporting to a new height. In their blind quest to have “exclusive” and “breaking news” the channel has published not only their usual scaremongering story, but with a huge factual error. As per their website It was a close call for over …

On September 13th, I was extremely surprised to see an Air France Airbus A330-203 F-GZCM parked at Bengaluru International Airport since it was the middle of the day and Air France flights operate around midnight. Click on the photo for a larger view and an explanation why the aircraft was there. Undergoing considerable effort and pain I managed to get …

In this edition of Smokin Touchdowns we have GoAir, JetLite, IndiGo, and Air India in the erstwhile Indian Airlines livery. Apologies for the heat haze, it was a fiercely hot day. To see more Smokin Touchdowns, click here. As usual comments (bouquets or brickbats) are always welcome.

Most passengers and visitors to Bengaluru International Airport pass by the model of Kingfisher Airline’s Airbus A340-500 at the entrance without a second thought. When the airport opened in May 2008, Indian civil aviation knew no bounds, and everyone was waiting with baited breath for Kingfisher to announce it’s Bangalore to San Francisco non stop flight using the A340-500s. Then …

A herculean effort mounted by Secretary Civil Aviation Nambiar and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) chief Nasim Zaidi helped India pass the International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) program audit of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). During its 2006 audits, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) had found several violations of 300 guidelines. Shortage of skilled manpower was the …

Yesterday, Boeing and Qantas celebrated the arrival of the 75th Boeing 737 in the Australian carrier’s fleet. Qantas which has been flying Boeing 737s since 1986 specified special 2.5 meter high blended winglets, which further reduce fuel burn, thereby increasing range and payload. Since this aircraft will be deployed on the trans-Tasman Australia New Zealand route, Qantas aptly named the …

An Indian Air Force (IAF) AN-32 transport aircraft landed at Nyoma Advanced Landing Ground (ALG) in Ladakh at the northern tip of India at 06:25 (00:55Z) today. View Nyoma Advanced Landing Ground, Ladakh in a larger map Group Captain SC Chafekar touched down on the Nyoma airstrip located at an altitude of 13,300 feet with Air Marshal NAK Browne, Air …