Bangalore Aviation News, Reviews, Analysis and opinions of Indian Aviation
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 …
Read More »Analysis: SriLankan Airlines to grow its Indian operations
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 »Infographic: India’s ten busiest airports: June 2013 vs. June 2012
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 …
Read More »Analysis: Jet Airways to add second daily flight between Mumbai and Singapore
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 …
Read More »High resolution photos of South African Airways A320, French Air Force A400M, Turkish Air Force A400M
Courtesy Airbus S.A.S. some high resolution photos for your enjoyment. South African Airways takes delivery of its first two A320s ‘classic’. Enjoy the livery. The French Air Force (Armee De L’Air) took delivery of the first A400M transporter. Not high resolution. The first flight of the first A400M destined for the Turkish Air Force. All images are courtesy and copyright …
Read More »Japan ‘bans’ Air India’s Dreamliners
Japanese government irritated by Air India’s inefficiency About three weeks ago I wrote debunking the myth being created by the Air India management and their political bosses about the fuel efficient Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft being the saviour of the beleaguered national carrier. Read the Op-Ed piece here. In June no less than the Indian civil aviation minister, Ajit Singh, …
Read More »High resolution photos: Indian Air Force C-130J Super Hercules lands at Daulat Beg Oldi
by Devesh Agarwal Yesterday, we wrote about the world record breaking effort of the Indian Air Force landing one of its C-130J Super Hercules strategic air transporters at the world’s highest airfield at Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO). Read the story here. With a hat-tip to Shiv Aroor, we present some high resolution pictures of the ‘Herc’ at DBO. The aircraft …
Read More »Boeing Reaches 250,000-Kit Milestone for JDAM Weapon Program
Boeing’s defense arm today reached a major milestone with the production of its 250,000th Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) guidance kit. Find the details in the press release below. 20th August 2013 ST. CHARLES, Mo., Aug. 20, 2013 – Boeing [NYSE: BA] today marked its recent production of the 250,000th Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) guidance kit, a major …
Read More »787 Dreamliners alone cannot save an inefficient Air India
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 »Airbus A380 airline-wise seating configurations compared
We have published a article with an updated seat chart, see it here. Early next year Qatar Airways will become the eleventh operator of the Airbus A380 super-jumbo. We have researched and produce below an airline-wise A380 seat configuration infographic for comparison. Airbus had original projected the aircraft in a three class 555 seat configuration. We have also reached some …
Read More »Analysis: Air India to begin several new routes – including San Francisco and Madrid?
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 …
Read More »Photos: Lufthansa Boeing 747-8i First Class
By Devesh Agarwal In late April, on a business trip, I flew from Bangalore to Frankfurt aboard Lufthansa’s newest Boeing 747-8i D-ABYH. She is named Thüringen after the state located in central Germany with its capital at Erfurt. While the business class was packed, the First Class was strangely empty. As we were flying over Europe, a kind and cooperative …
Read More »Bengaluru International Airport renamed as Kempe Gowda International Airport
The renaming of Bangalore’s Bengaluru International Airport (BIA) to Kempe Gowda International Airport received approval from the Union Cabinet yesterday. The lower house of the state legislature, the Karnataka Legislative Assembly, passed a unanimous resolution on December 10, last year and the upper house, the Karnataka Legislative Council, also passed a similar resolution two days later to rename the airport. …
Read More »Emergency services at Indian airports capable of handling Asiana San Francisco type crash
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 …
Read More »Vested interests shaping government policy helped AirAsia partner Tatas too
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 …
Read More »Airport lounge report: Iberia Dali business class lounge: Madrid Barajas Terminal 4
During my trip from Barcelona to Lisbon via Madrid (read trip report here), I had intentionally chosen a long layover at Barajas airport as I wanted to both see the famous wavy ceilings which created quite a ripple (yes, the pun is intentional) when the airport opened in 2006, and I also wanted to explore the Iberia lounge at its …
Read More »Jet Airways request slots at Amsterdam for Winter 2013 season; no flights to Newark
As Bangalore Aviation reported last month, Indian full service carrier Jet Airways is likely to move its long standing trans-Atlantic scissors hub to Amsterdam in conjunction with its new part-owner Etihad Airways. Late last week, Jet applied for the following slots at Amsterdam for the IATA Winter 2013/14 season. 9W 224 – DEL – AMS –> arr: 09.40 333 daily …
Read More »Boeing launches 787-10 Dreamliner. An Airbus A330-300 replacement?
At the Paris Air Show, as expected, US airframer Boeing has launched the 787-10 Dreamliner, the third member of the 787 family. The second member of the family, the 787-9, is in final assembly in Everett, Washington, USA, and is set to make its first flight later this year. Video and analysis at the end of the article. Final assembly …
Read More »Flight review: Iberia domestic business class: A320: Barcelona Madrid Lisbon
Last week, I reviewed Iberia’s domestic Business Lounge in Barcelona. Today, I focus on my first flight with Iberia from Barcelona to Lisbon, via Madrid. This was also my first flight in business class. Barcelona El Prat – Madrid Barajas Flight IB2713. Airbus A320. Seat 5F. Business Class Departure – 18:50, on-time For intra-Europe and many north African flight, most …
Read More »Lounge review: Iberia domestic lounge: Barcelona El Prat airport
Flying Iberia was supposed to be a flight of many firsts for me so when I was given an option between Vueling and Iberia, I chose Iberia gleefully to be my 32nd airline. This was part of my recent trip to Barcelona and an open jaw return from Lisbon, on Emirates. I have made some observations about Emirates and it’s …
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