Bangalore Aviation News, Reviews, Analysis and opinions of Indian Aviation

Continental Airlines has announced that it should join Star Alliance on October 27, 2009. Continental will end its participation in SkyTeam after its last scheduled flight on Oct. 24, 2009. Continental’s transition from SkyTeam to Star Alliance is a strategic change, originally announced in June 2008. Continental’s OnePass members do not need to make any changes to their OnePass accounts …

Southwest Airlines is offering its passengers additional discounts with airfares starting at $59 one-way to select destinations nationwide. Fares must be purchased by Sept. 3, 2009, and are available for travel everyday except Fridays and Sundays from Sept. 9, 2009, through Jan. 7, 2010. Examples of fares include (see Additional Fare Rules below): $59 one-way between Las Vegas and Phoenix …

As a youth, I fascinated by this production on national integration by India’s state owned broadcaster Doordarshan. Titled “Mile Sur Tumhara Mera toh sur bane hamara” – if your tune matches mine, the melody is ours. This video launched the “Mera Bharat Mahan” (My India is great) campaign on Independence Day 1988 and has become an anthem showcasing Unity in …

On the eve of India’s Independence Day, the Indian Air Force’s multi-billion dollar medium multi-role combat aircraft (MMRCA) procurement moved up a stage this evening. A pair of the first of the contenders — the Boeing F/A-18F Super Hornet arrived at Bangalore’s HAL Airport for the technical evaluations, along with their mother ship the McDonnell Douglas DC-10-40 Omega Tanker. The …

Under pressure from domestic carriers it appears that the Government has grounded the India plans of FlyDubai, the low-cost airline floated by the Al-Maktoum royal family of Dubai. The airline had sought permission for flights to Chandigarh, Coimbatore and Lucknow with tourist destinations like Goa to be added later. Obviously this has made the Ministry of Civil Aviation re-think it’s …

Jet Airways will launch a new daily flight on the Hyderabad-Dubai sector, using a two class Boeing 737-800 aircraft, effective August 16, 2009, marking Jet Airways’ first international service from Hyderabad. The airline currently flies twice daily to Dubai from Mumbai, and daily from Delhi and Chennai. Effective August 16, 2009 to October 24, 2009,9W 550 will depart Hyderabad at …

The fourth fire station at New Delhi Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport has been commissioned to handle emergency situations at airside or terminals as part of the Airport Rescue and Fire Fighting (ARFF) facilities. The fire fighting force has also risen by 33 to 189 members who were inducted after their training in Malaysia, Delhi and Hyderabad ARFF plays extremely …

An Indigo airlines Airbus A320-232 registration VT-INA performing flight 6E-203 from New Delhi IGI airport to Kolkata NSCB airport with 123 passengers and 6 crew was delayed due to an anonymous phone call threatening that a bomb has been placed on the flight. The call was made to Indigo’s call centre at around 16:00 local (11:30Z) scheduled to depart at …

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has released a Proposal for an Airworthiness Directive (PAD) requiring all Airbus A330 and A340 aircraft currently equipped with Thales pitot probes should be equipped with Goodrich pitot probes on position 1 (Captain) and 3 (Standby) instead, while pitot probe 2 (first officer) should be upgraded to the enhanced Thales pitot probe type BA …

Notam for Airspace Closure on August 12 and August 15, 2009 due to Independence Day Due to Independence Day Parade and Rehearsal the airspace will be closed only for non-scheduled aircraft on the following days: Wednesday, August 12, 2009 : From 1300 hrs to 1500 hrs IST (GMT+5.5).Saturday, August 15, 2009 : From 0600 hrs to 1000 hrs and from …

Boeing delivered the first C-17 Globemaster III airlifter to the Qatar Emiri Air Force yesterday. Qatar became the first Middle East nation to order the C-17 when it signed an agreement with Boeing on July 21, 2008, for the purchase of two advanced airlifters and associated equipment and services. Boeing will deliver Qatar’s second C-17 later this year. The company …

Despite the downturn in the IT market, San Francisco is still one of the top destinations from Bangalore – if not first, then definitely a close second, and Singapore Airlines and fellow Asian carriers Dragonair and it’s parent Cathay Pacific has traditionally dominated this market. Traditional thinking at airlines believes that passengers prefer a shorter flight to arrive at their …

Last Tuesday, I had the opportunity to interact with Mr. Axel Hilgers, Director South Asia for German carrier Lufthansa, which was recently voted by CNBC as the best foreign airline in India. I began by asking him about Lufthansa’s newly launched 44 seat all business class Boeing 737 Business Jet (BBJ) service between Mumbai and Munich five times a week, …

Steve Frischling, the author of Flying with Fish, has written two excellent and must read articles, for any traveller, on thieves at airports and on-board flights – yes even on board flights, thefts do occur. He goes in to extensive details on how thieves operate and how best to avoid being a victim. Article on airport thievesArticle on in-flight thieves …

Image copyright Airbus, photographer C. Brinkmann This second-generation of CFRP (Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastic) fuselage demonstrator was designed to be very close to the final design of the A350 XWB fuselage as it will be used for certification of design principles and sizing methods. The barrel demonstrator measures 18 metres in length and more than six metres in diameter. Its …

About two weeks ago, Air India announced it was going to extend its low cost operation Air India Express in to the domestic market. Across Twitter, Facebook and other social networking sites I detected a snigger from many fellow aviation bloggers and enthusiasts – Air India, a national carrier going low cost ? How low can Air India fall ? …

Blue Dart Aviation is a dedicated freight only airline in India, and the only operator of the Boeing 757 in India. Aircraft name ‘Vision VIII’ registration VT-BDM is a Boeing 757-200 PCF (passenger converted freighter) and here it is coming to to land on runway 27 at the Bengaluru International Airport in the early morning of June 14th. My friends …

British Airways is reducing the free baggage allowance for its trans-Atlantic economy class passengers. World Traveller (economy class) passengers who take trips to or from the Americas (except Brazil) from October 7th or later will get only one free checked bag instead of the current two, according to the policy change announced Friday, July 31. On the same date sports …

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has approved the Aero-Instruments 0851HL-AI Pitot Probe as a replacement part on Airbus Airbus A318, A319, A320, A321, A330 and A340 series airplanes airplanes flown worldwide. Each Airbus commercial aircraft has three Pitot Probes, which are the primary air speed sensing components on aircraft and are designed with integrated electrical heaters to prevent icing. …

Two milestones were achieved last week on Thursday July 30th. In Toulouse, Airbus S.A.S. delivered its 1000th A330/A340 family aircraft an A330-343X. MSN1035 test registration F-WWKS was handed over to Thai Airways International at a special ceremony. The aircraft equipped with Rolls Royce Trent 772B-60 engines is registered HS-TEP. Thai increases its in-service A330/A340 fleet to a total of 25 …