China Eastern to connect launch flights to Kolkata

China Eastern Airlines on Friday said it will start flight to connect Kolkata and Kunming, the capital of Yunan province of China from October 30.  These flights will be operated three times a week. Presently, China Eastern has flight to New Delhi and is planning to connect more cities in future.

British Airways lists India as second largest market after US

British Airways has listed the India as the second largest market after the US and the third after Australia in terms of its revenue share.  The premier airline, which used to operate 19 weekly flights to Indian destinations two years ago, now operates 43 services from London Heathrow to five cities here.  Asked whether the British carrier would deploy the largest aircraft, Airbus A-380, or the long-haul Boeing B-787s on the India sector, he said the airline’s policy was to consolidate and then expand on the existing network.

Jet Airways launches Delhi-JFK flight

After claunching Mumbai-Brussels-Newark with daily flights in September 2007, Jet Airways on Friday announced the launch of its daily flight from Delhi to New York’s John F Kennedy (JFK) international airport via its newly-opened European hub in Brussels.Beginning October 28, the Delhi-New York (JFK) flight will be operated by Jet Airways’ brand new Boeing 777-300 Extended Range (ER) aircraft, configured for eight first class suites, 30 seats in Premiere Class and 274 in the Economy class.

Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal said that his airline would also launch flights from Indian cities to Chicago, Washington and Los Angeles. Mumbai-Shanghai-San Francisco flights will also be operational by next year. The number of flights passing through Brussels will go up from the current 21 to 56 very soon.

Singapore Airlines’ A380 takes off

Its a historic day in the pages of aviation history. The first A 380 flight by Singapore Airlines from SIngapore-Sydney took off from the beautiful Changi Airport this morning.  The historic first commercial A 380 flight boasts of a luxurious suites with sliding doors, double beds, bar and the quietest interior in any plane.

With 455 passengers, some of whom paid tens of thousands of dollars for a seat in aviation history, the superjumbo left Singapore for Sydeny at 8:16 a.m. on a 7 1/2-hour flight that launches a new era in air travel. Also on board flight SQ380 are a crew of about 30 including four pilots. The double-decker A380 ends the nearly 37-year reign of the U.S.-made Boeing 747 jumbojet as the world’s most spacious passenger plane.  “This is indeed a new milestone in the timeline of aviation,” said Chew Choon Seng, chief executive of Singapore Airlines.

Chew, flanked by two flight attendants, greeted passengers with a smile and a nod as they boarded the aircraft, which is as tall as a seven-story building. Each wing is big enough to hold about 70 mid-sized cars.

SIA auctioned most of the seats on the inaugural flight on eBay, raising $1.26 million for charity. The highest bidder was Briton Julian Hayward who bought two suite seats for $100,380. He was the first passenger to board.

Air Canada plane makes unauthorized runway incursion at Osaka Kansai

An Air Canada passenger plane, bound for Vancouver, entered a runway at Kansai International Airport without traffic control permission on Saturday just before a Japan Airlines plane was about to land on the runway, but an accident was averted after the JAL plane aborted its landing, the transport ministry said Sunday. 

The JAL plane was about 2.7 kilometers from the border of the runway at an altitude of about 130 meters when the instruction was issued, the ministry said. It landed 15 minutes later.

SilkAir to start Kovai-S’pore direct flight

SilkAir, has announced first ever direct service between Singapore and Coimbatore. Coimbatore makes Silk Air’s third destination in South India, after Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala. The flights will be a thrice weekly service launching October 28. SilkAir would operate Airbus 319 for the route with 120 seats, including 8 business class and 112 economy class seats.

Dreamliner will come late for AI

Air India’s induction of Boeing 787 ‘Dreamliner’, scheduled for September 2008 , will be delayed to 2009 after the US manufacturer announced last week that it had problems with suppliers. Air India, among the early customers for the aircraft, has ordered 27 such planes. The aircraft were to be used to expand Air India’s services to Tokyo, Australia and Washington. The Indian carrier will be compensated for the impact on its schedule, though the amount is still to be decided.  Boeing senior vice-president sales, Dinesh Keskar, said that Air India will be compensated for the delays just like the other carriers who had scheduled for the 787 induction. Details of the new schedule are still being worked out, he said. Boeing’s other customer for the 787 in India is Jet Airways. However, deliveries to Jet are unlikely to be impacted, as they were scheduled only in 2011, by which time the kinks are expected to be ironed out.

Jet Airways orders 20 Boeing 737-800

Boeing has revealed that Jet Airways has ordered 20 of its popular 737-800 aircraft. The order is valued at nearly $1.5 billion at list prices.  Jet Airways is expeected to receive deliveries of the same around 2011 and is expected to use the same to replace older aircraft and to add more short haul domestic and International routes.

200 Posts…10000 Hits

Last night this blog had its 200th Post and its 10000th hit. All this has come in a matter of 3 months or so. I personally thank all the readers for reading my blog. I am humbled by the response to this blog. I request all users to keep those comemnts coming.

Thank you once again! Be rest assured that this blog will continue for years to come and will serve as a huge aviation news repository!

Sydney man pays $110,000 for A380 flight

SINGAPORE Airlines today unveiled the identity of the mystery bidder who paid more than $US100,000 ($110,000) for a seat on the inaugural flight of the Airbus A380 between Singapore and Sydney.

Julian Hayward, a 38-year-old Briton based in Sydney who sold his internet business in 2000, said he wanted a “little bit of history” by flying in seat 1A in the first class area of the plane on next week’s journey. Singapore Airlines staged an internet auction for tickets on the October 25 Singapore-Sydney flight, raising $US1.3 million ($1.44 million) for charity.

Alaska Airlines becomes first to test in-flight wireless internet

Alaska Airlines will be the first U.S. airline carrier to test satellite internet service on their flights. The wireless internet will be tested on one plane. If that goes well all 114 of their planes will get the service. They’ll put the service on a Boeing 737 jet next spring. The connection will hold over water and across international borders. They fly to Alaska, Hawaii, Canada and Mexico.

Finnair seeks to grow Asia service, turn Helsinki into key transfer hub

Finnair said yesterday it has approved a new long-term plan that focuses on developing Europe-Asia services with a future goal of also boosting North America-Asia service by turning Helsinki Vantaa into a significant connecting hub.  Finnair said total annual passengers carried are expected to rise from 9 million currently to more than 20 million by 2017.

SIA finally gets its hands on first A380

There was a guarded sigh of relief in Toulouse yesterday as Airbus handed over the first of 19 A380s to launch customer Singapore Airlines, and a clearly delighted SIA CEO Chew Choon Seng said, “better late than never.”

The 60 business class and 399 economy seats virtually are identical to those unveiled in the 777-300ER last year. The business class seats, in a 1-2-1 configuration, are located on the upper deck along with 84 economy seats in a 2-4-2 configuration. On the main deck, economy seats are 3-4-3. There is only one standup self-serve bar, which is found in business class. There are no lounges.

Air Arabia begins flights to Bangalore

Air Arabia has announced that it will begin service to Bangalore from Oct 15. Initially Air Arabia will operate four flights a week between Bangalore and Sharjah, but daily flights from Oct 29.

Bangalore is Air Arabia’s ninth destination in India, and increases Air Arabia’s total destinations to 37, a network that stretches from Eastern Europe, through the Middle East and North Africa, to South Asia.

 

Bangalore is one of India’s most dynamic cities, and has been India’s leading centre for information technology, earning the nickname of the silicon valley of India.

SilkAir reduces flights to Yangon

SilkAir has cut its weekly flights to Yangon from 14 to 12, the Singapore Airlines subsidiary said Tuesday.Next month, the airline will reduce the number of flights to 10 per week but will still fly twice daily to the Myanmar city on most days of the week.

The airline has seen a ’slight lag’ in passenger bookings amid unrest in the country, a spokeswoman said.

Singapore Airlines flights will be increased if demand picks up, she said.

Airbus looking at a stretch A380

While Singapore Airlines has been busy showing off its new A380 super jumbo in Toulouse, the giant’s manufacturer, Airbus, is already speaking of a stretch version of the plane that would even further expand the number of seats on offer.

A light and sound show accompanied a formal handover ceremony in the French city of Toulouse, as Singapore Airlines splashed its livery all over the double decker passenger plane ahead of its inaugural commercial flight from Sydney to Singapore next week.

Singapore’s A380 has no first class

“THERE is no first class on this plane, sir. This is Suite Class,” repeats the Singapore Airlines flight attendant as she shows off the front of the plane to curious onlookers.

First class has been rejected by the Asian carrier as a label for the 12 seats on the plane that feature 58cm flat-screen televisions, sheets by French designer Givenchy and a full-length bed with separate mattress.  For couples with the money, there is an option to join two suites together to make a double bed, forming a self-contained bubble for two with closed sides and complete privacy.

The business class area will have the biggest business seat of any airline, measuring 87cm across, while economy passengers will benefit from extra legroom and a more spacious cabin area. Singapore Airlines has fitted just 471 seats in the 600 sq m of floor space available in the double-decker plane, which can take a maximum of 853 passengers in an all-economy configuration. 

The “suite class” seats on the Singapore-Sydney route, on which A380 flights will begin regularly from October 28, are to be 40-80 per cent more expensive than first class on a Boeing 747, a spokesman said.

The price of a suite is to be about €8000 ($12, 639).

Amazing stuff though. This heralds a new era in the chapter of aviation.

Fears over safety at Heathrow after jets collide on runway

Two packed passenger aircraft collided at Heathrow airport last night as they taxied on a runway in preparation for take-off.

Panic on board was reported as passengers were evacuated after a British Airways Boeing 747 clipped the wing of a Sri Lankan Airlines Airbus A340, bound for the Maldives.

Just about 90 days back, 2 BA planes were involved in a similar collision, when they ran into each other while one was reversing. Last night’s incident occurred at 10.13pm.

Plane catches fire during landing in Istanbul

A plane carrying 156 passengers from Egypt to Poland caught fire during a emergency landing at Istanbul on Thursday. The fire was put off and there were no reported casualties. The plane’s landing gear had developed a fault and caught fire as the aircraft it landed and it overshot the runway. The small blaze was quickly put out.

JetBlue Named Best U.S. Airline by Conde Nast Traveler Readers for Sixth Year in a Row

JetBlue Airways (Nasdaq:JBLU) took home the Best Domestic Airline title from the Conde Nast Traveler’s 2007 Readers’ Choice Awards for the sixth consecutive year. The prestigious travel award was presented to the seven-year-old low-fare, high-frills airline during a ceremony last night in New York.

JetBlue CEO Dave Barger said. “JetBlue is only seven years old, so to be named America’s best airline for six years running truly speaks to our efforts every day to be a different kind of airline, and to bring humanity back to air travel. This recognition is a testament to our crewmembers who go out of their way for our customers every day, and who take great pride in creating a unique and valuable travel experience for them. On behalf of our entire team, thank you very much.”