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

The Ministry of Civil Aviation has instructed the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to resume scheduled international flights as per pre-COVID bilateral agreements from 15 December 2021. All scheduled international flights to/from India were halted from 23 March 2020 when India went into lockdown, following this international flights gradually restarted with the vande bharath repatriation flights, which were followed by …

In 2018, it was announced that Silkair the wholly owned subsidiary which operated narrow body aircraft would be merged into the parent airline Singapore Airlines which up until that point exclusively flew wide-bodies. At the same time it was announced that the erstwhile Silkair aircraft would receive a cabin upgrade to bring the passenger experience on par with the parent …

American aircraft manufacturer Boeing has announced an order for 72 Boeing 737 MAXs from Akasa Air, the new airline founded by ex-Jet Airways CEO Vinay Dube with funding from Rakesh Jhunjhunwala. The order which is valued at nearly $9 billion at list prices, which would have been placed at a sizeable discount as per industry norms includes two variants of …

The Jet Airways revival is stalled over the issue of the grant of slots. Jet’s position is that they should be able to reclaim the slots that were “temporarily assigned” to other airlines. The government on the other hand has indicated that the government will consider the airline’s request for slots as per existing policy. Effectively saying that Jet would …

Aero India 2021 began on the 3rd of February and on display were three of the Indian armed forces latest additions, the Dassault Rafale EH, Boeing CH-47F Chinook and the Boeing AH-64E Apache. Dassault Rafale EH There are five Dassault Rafales at the show, these aircraft are part of the 36 aircraft order placed by the Indian government in 2015. …

by Sanjiv Kapoor Former COO, Spicejet and former CSCO of Vistara I keep getting questions on testing and quarantine requirements for those returning to India on the scheduled “air bubble” flights from places like the US, UK, EU, and UAE, as well as on the special ad-hoc “Vande Bharat Mission” or VBM flights that operate from time to time from …

The Q2FY21 results of India’s second-largest low-cost carrier point to the continued fragility of the airline’s financial health driven by large accumulated losses, questionable revenue recognition policy and uncertainty surrounding the resumption of international airline operations currently suspended on account of the pandemic. SpiceJet Q2FY21 results snapshot (in INR) comparisons to Q2FY20 ● Revenues ₹1,305 crores (down by 54%) ● …

The Tata Singapore Airline joint venture Vistara recently took delivery of its first Airbus A321neo. This aircraft is the 93.5-ton maximum take-off weight (MTOW) version fitted with one additional centre tank (ACT) which will allow it airline to fly as far as Istanbul or Manila from the airline’s New Delhi hub. Vistara is expected to use their A321neos for these …

by Sanjiv Kapoor Former COO, Spicejet and former CSCO of Vistara This guide has been updated. Please click here to view the updated guide. I keep getting questions on testing and quarantine requirements for those returning to India on the scheduled “air bubble” flights from places like the US, UK, EU, and UAE, as well as on the special ad-hoc …

Earlier this morning the Supreme Court ruled on the issue of airlines refusing to issue refunds to passengers who had booked tickets and were unable to fly during or after the lockdown. While the judgment is fairly detailed, broadly it states that: If a passenger or travel agent has booked a ticket during the lockdown period (from 25th March, 2020 …

Vistara (Tata-SIA Airlines) will become the first Indian airline to offer passengers in-flight internet connectivity. The service will be available on flights operated by the airline’s Boeing 787s between Delhi and London. The airline is offering the in-flight internet free of charge to all passengers as an introductary offer. Vistara has said that it will use the introductary free period …

The Tata Singapore Airlines brand Vistara, has released a new set of in-flight safety videos for display on their new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner and Airbus A321neo aircraft. Vistara new inflight safety video in English (A321) Vistara new inflight safety video in Hindi (B789) A journey across India Vistara has chosen Yoga. Their new in-flight safety video goes beyond the aircraft …

Vistara has officially announced that it will begin operating flights to London Heathrow on the 28 August 2020. BangaloreAviation had previously reported that the airline would likely begin flights this month. The service which will be operated thrice weekly will be operated under the bilateral transport bubble between India and the United Kingdom. The airline is announced one-way fares of …

Middle eastern carrier, Emirates has announced that it will operate repatriation flights between Dubai and Bangalore on 21, 23 and 25 August 2020. The schedule for these flights are: Flight Number From To Departure Arrival EK 565 BLR DXB 10:25 12:45 EK 564 DXB BLR 03:15 08:55 The flights can be booked on Emirates website and are shown as being …

The Board of Directors of Interglobe Aviation Limited, the company that operates IndiGo, has approved raising additional equity of up to Rs 4000 crore by way of a Qualified Institutional Placement (QIP) as the airline strengthens its war chest to tide over the downturn in aviation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Read: Indigo’s Q1FY21 results analysis: Highlighting the depth of …

German flag carrier Lufthansa will resume inbound passenger operations to India from 13 August 2020. The routes being reinstated are: Frankfurt to Delhi (Airbus A340-300) Munich to Delhi (Airbus A350-900) Frankfurt to Bangalore (Airbus A330-300) Frankfurt to Mumbai (Airbus A330-300) The airline has already been operating outbound flights from the three cities to Frankfurt and Munich. As per the latest …

Social media chatter indicates the Tata – Singapore Airlines joint venture Vistara will commence its maiden long-distance international flights this Independence Day with flights between New Delhi IGI and London Heathrow. The flight will be operated by Vistara’s sole Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner (click the link for cabin images), though the airline is expected to receive its second 787 in about …

An Air India Express Boeing 737-800 operating flight IX1344 from Dubai to Kozhikode Calicut airport landed at the airport but overshot the runway and fell into a valley. The aircraft has broken into several pieces. The aircraft involved was VT-AXH, delivered to the airline in November 2006 and carried the Gateway of India / India gate tail art. Rescue services …

The government of Karnataka has issued revised guidelines for international arrivals into the state. Passengers must pre-register before travelling As with the earlier guidelines, all passengers must pre-register on the Karnataka COVID war room website at least 72 hours before travel. Categorized arrivals All passengers will be categorized on arrival. Passengers showing any symptoms of COVID-19 will be sent to …

The Corona pandemic continues to impact traffic volumes across the globes. Airports that were once bursting at the seams are now eerily silent while many of the terminals remain empty. Runways that would count seconds until the next arrival and departure now wait longingly for aircraft to alight. The buzz of jet engines has been interspersed with large periods of silence. …