Bangalore Aviation

Unusual images: Srilankan Airlines A320 returns home to Bangalore

2009-11-06T06:04:00.003+05:30

I am frequently asked "what is the joying of spotting?" to which I reply "each aircraft has a history and a story to tell.

At first glance there is nothing out of the ordinary about this photo of Srilankan Airlines Airbus A320-232 registration 4R-ABH arriving at Bangalore.

This is the ONLY -232 in the UL fleet. So what? one might ask.

This airframe MSN 2914 was first delivered in late 2006 to the erstwhile Bangalore based Air Deccan, as VT-ADS.

Air Deccan was acquired by and merged in to Kingfisher Airlines. For a brief period VT-ADS operated as the "Simplifly Deccan" brand of Kingfisher before being returned to the lessor and parked in Phoenix. (Photo courtesy Sean D'Silva)

In March this year, MSN 2914 was leased to Srilankan Airlines and registered 4R-ABH.

In September, Srilankan Airlines received a major boost when Kingfisher Airlines withdrew its Bangalore Colombo service, thus prompting VT-ADS to return back home to Bangalore, this time as 4R-ABH.

It is just nice how the dots connect up.

Have a great weekend and thanks for visiting Bangalore Aviation.

See more photos on JetPhotos and on Flickr

Emirates expands capacity to Bangkok, Sydney, Manila and Jakarta

2009-11-05T23:54:00.004+05:30

Dubai based Emirates airlines is undertaking a major expansion of it's capacity adding 17 flights per week to Bangkok, Sydney, Manila and Jakarta. This represents a massive 13% increase in seat capacity and takes the airline's operations up to 187 flight per week.

Starting December 2009, Emirates will introduce a fourth daily service to Bangkok, a third daily service to Sydney, two additional flights to Manila and one additional service to Jakarta.

Bangkok
Emirates’ fourth daily service to Bangkok comes into effect on 2nd December operated by a state-of-the-art Boeing 777-300 in a three class configuration (12 First, 42 Business and 310 Economy Class seats).

An additional 161 tonnes of cargo capacity introduced per week per direction will be introduced on the route.

Sydney
Starting 2nd December, Sydney will receive its third-daily Emirates flight on Mondays, Wednesday, Fridays and Sundays. The service will be stepped up to cover Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays with effect from 2nd January 2010, bringing Emirates’ weekly capacity to 70 flights. Emirates will take on the European heavyweights since the flight’s departure from Sydney has been timed to offer ‘same day service’ to Europe – one of Australia’s key outbound markets. The new flight offers Sydneysiders the opportunity to have breakfast in Sydney, lunch in Dubai and dinner in Europe.

The additional services combined with Emirates’ recent interline agreement with Virgin Blue offering convenient domestic connections within Australia extended the airline's footprint to interior cities of Australia.

Manila
In December Emirates will enhance its existing EK 332 service to Manila to include Thursdays, and EK 334 to include Mondays. Post expansion the operation will grow from 12 flights a week to 14 flights or a double-daily service on every day of the week. The additional flights will be operated by a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft offering 42 Business and 400 Economy Class seats, as well as 16.7 tonnes of cargo capacity.

Jakarta
The Indonesian capital city will receive an additional Emirates service with effect from 6th December, bringing its total operation to 11 flights per week. The service will operate to Jakarta every Sunday, returning to Dubai the following day. The ultra-modern Emirates' Boeing 777-300ER aircraft in a two-class configuration of 42 Business and 400 Economy will be used.

Photos: Airbus A330-200F freighter first flight

2009-11-05T22:36:00.004+05:30

The new dedicated Freighter variant of the Airbus A330 Family, the A330-200F took to the skies today for a four hour maiden flight over Toulouse, France, marking the start of a 180 hour flight-test and certification campaign, prior to delivery to launch operator, Etihad Crystal Cargo, in the summer of 2010.

The new A330-200F is designed as a medium sized medium range freighter in two different operational configurations carrying 64 metric tonnes over 4,000 nautical miles or 7,400km, or 69 metric tonnes up to 3,200 nautical miles or 5,930km - non-stop.

In a clear poke at the delays in the 787 program at competitor Boeing, the Airbus A330-200F features the slogan "the right aircraft, right now" on it's fuselage.

The aircraft has already gained 67 firm orders with nine customers, and has a memorandum of understanding with Turkish THY Airlines for two more.

Aircraft spotting: Unusual images - Diarrhoea aboard Malaysia Airlines Boeing 737-800

2009-11-05T06:00:00.002+05:30

On October 29th I was very surprised to see this Malaysia Airlines Boeing 737-800 departing for Kuala Lumpur in the evening, since the flight is scheduled around 01:00 at night.

Click on the image for a larger view.

We were informed that the Captain suffered a severe case of diarrhoea while operating the incoming flight. Since the flight between Kuala Lumpur and Bangalore is just a little over three hours, the crew operates the return leg too. The Captain was unable to perform his duties and the flight had to be delayed till he recuperated and was strong enough.

I am not going to comment about airline food.

See more photos on JetPhotos and on Flickr

Aircraft spotting: Unusual images - Russian foreign minister on Ilyushin IL-96-300PU

2009-11-04T06:00:00.003+05:30

On October 29th Bangalore hosted a tri-lateral summit on terrorism between the foreign ministers of Russia, China, and India.

Russian foreign minister then departed for Moscow on Rossiya Airlines presidential fleet Ilyushin Il-96-300PU.

Click on the images for a larger view.

See more photos on JetPhotos and on Flickr

UPS releases Mobile app for iPhone

2009-11-03T22:50:00.003+05:30

UPS has released an iPhone based application for tracking and managing shipments on the road.

The UPS Mobile App for iPhone offers the following features.

Track - See recent tracks and assign shipment nicknames, when you log-in with your My UPS ID. Or track by number with no log-in required.
Ship - Log-in with your My UPS ID to access address book, payment info, and other preferences from ups.com. Create shipping labels, then email, and print.
Location - Find the nearest UPS service locations, powered by the iPhone's GPS.
Quote - Estimate shipment costs and delivery times.

For shipping and advanced tracking features a My UPS ID login is required. The ID is only available at the main UPS site and not on the iPhone app.

The UPS Mobile App works with iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS and iPod Touch® devices running 3.0 software or later. The UPS Mobile App can be used over voice or Wi-Fi connections.

For non iPhone users, UPS has a light weight mobile site.

Aircraft spotting: Unusual images - Indigo airline's newest Airbus A320-232 VT-IGH

2009-11-03T06:00:00.001+05:30

We were leaving for the day and something made me look up. Along came this Indigo Airlines plane and I scrambled to get my camera and take this picture.

This is IndiGo's newest aircraft VT-IGH, having joined the fleet just last month. The IGx series of registrations from A-G have been taken up by the Indira Gandhi flight academy.

Click on the image for a larger view.

See more photos on JetPhotos and on Flickr

Aircraft spotting: Unusual images - Air India Boeing 747-400

2009-11-02T18:00:00.000+05:30

The last month of airplane has been eventful to say the least. This week we feature unusual or rare aircraft and events from Bangalore.

Memories of Air India always invoke visions of The Maharajah, and no aircraft in the Air India fleet symbolises it better than the Boeing 747. Air India was one of the earliest adopters of the Jumbo Jet, and my first memories of flying was in 1972 from Bombay (now Mumbai) to New Delhi on board its first Boeing 747-200B named Emperor Ashoka, registration VT-EBD.

Air India used to fly a 747 to Bangalore almost 10 years ago, but it was replaced by an Airbus A310, and then Bangalore became the exclusive domain of the erstwhile Indian Airlines which even today operates its international services from Bangalore using an Airbus A319.

There was a buzz of excitement when on October 27th, Air India brought in its Boeing 747-400 Ajanta, registration VT-ESP on a special charter to transport pilgrims performing the Haj.

Click on the image for a larger view.

See more photos on JetPhotos and on Flickr

Air France to receive it's first Airbus A380 superjumbo today

2009-10-30T11:35:00.007+05:30

In what is sure to be a lavish ceremony Toulouse, France head-quartered Airbus S.A.S. will deliver to French national airline Air France the carrier's first A380 superjumbo registration F-HPJA MSN033 at Hamburg, Germany.

The A380 features the new livery of Air France which was unveiled earlier this year, but F-HPJA will not be the first aircraft to wear the new livery. It was on Good Friday April 10th earlier this year that Air France took delivery of the 777th Boeing 777, in this case 300ER registration F-GZND, and the first aircraft to wear the new Air France livery. See the video here.

Both Airbus and Air France have set up special websites where you can watch the delivery ceremony live starting at 10:00GMT (15:30 IST). Airbus website. Air France website. Air France also has a video showing how it has prepared for the arrival of the 560 ton behemoth.

Air France will be the first European airline to take delivery of the A380 and will join three other carriers already operating the superjumbo -- Singapore Airlines, Emirates and Qantas.

Singapore Airlines took delivery of the first production A380 on 15th October 2007 and now has ten aircraft in operation on routes from Singapore to Hong Kong, London, Sydney, Melbourne and Tokyo.
Emirates took delivery of its first A380 on 28th July 2008 and now has five aircraft in service on routes from Dubai to Toronto, Bangkok, London, Sydney and Auckland.
Qantas received its first A380 on 19th September 2008 and now has four aircraft in operation on routes from Sydney to Singapore, London and Los Angeles, and from Melbourne to Los Angeles.

Air France will deploy its new A380 on the Paris Charles De Gaulle (CDG) to New York John F Kennedy (JFK) route.

The Air France A380 will have seating capacity for 538 passengers. 9 in La Première (First) on the upper deck, 80 in the Affaires-Business cabin on the upper deck and 449 seats in the Voyageur-Economy cabin, located on both decks (343 in the main deck and 106 on the upper deck).

The aircraft features "mood lighting". The lighting is not only a key element in the feeling of comfort for passengers, but also plays a role in synchronizing the body clock. On board the Air France A380, different lighting environments exist depending on what passengers are doing on board.

Air France has come up with several different lighting ambiances, depending on the cabin and the various flight phases.

The lighting in the La Première cabin is mostly red and orange, which blends in well with the beige and red colour scheme in this cabin. Light-blue lighting predominates in the Affaires cabin, giving it an elegant and modern feel. In the Voyageur cabin, light colours give passengers a feeling of comfort and serenity.

Lighting is at its most intense during boarding and disembarkation. While the aircraft is taxiing, the lighting is dimmed to adapt to the take-off and landing phases. At meal times, the lighting is similar to that of a restaurant in all three cabins. The lighting is gradually increased as passengers are waking up instead of the sudden harsh light in many of commercial airliners of today.

There are six bars on board. One exclusively reserved for La Première customers, two in the Affaires cabin and three in the Voyageur cabin. Throughout the flight, these bars offer passengers a drink and a snack, which are available depending on the flight time.

The in-flight entertainment system is completely new, with wider screens and easier navigation. In addition to video on demand (VOD) entertainment system, passengers can also see live images throughout the flight taken from an external mini-camera located on the tail fin.

Air France is the first airline in the world to equip each seat in the Affaires and Voyageur cabins with a USB socket, enabling passengers to download contents such as flight schedules, information on Air France, destination guides, games for children, relaxation videos and podcasts. However no information is available if passengers can plug in their iPods or iPhones like on the Singapore Airline's Airbus A330 cabin.

Visit here for more details on the cabin. For the Air France A380 overview (in pdf format) click here.

Bienvenue F-HPJA.

Images courtesy Air France

Spotting humour - Twinkle Twinkle little star in various Indian music styles and accents

2009-10-29T21:06:00.006+05:30

A fellow co-founder of the Bangalore Spotters Group is ace photographer Praveen Sundaram better known as Photoyogi.

Being a seasoned photographer, well trained by his famous photographer father, he is able to keep his cool and shoot with a steady hand even in the most strenuous conditions.

This cool however, does not extend to us lesser mortals, and the jovial natured Praveen has a never ending stream of rib-splitting jokes. Somehow, he unintentionally lets one go just a few moments before a plane lands or takes-off, making our spotting life very humorous but yet very difficult, since we are too busy shaking with laughter to take a steady shot.

Two days ago while spotting at the airport we landed up discussing the nuances of the various Indian accents and Praveen kept cracking both Avinash (a.k.a. iPilot777) and me, up with his interpretations. "Welcome on flight won jheero yait. Thees Yairbus yaircraft haas yait exeets. Two in front two in rir, and four woverwing exeets"

As a special treat to Praveen and in thanks for all the shots he has made us miss, here is Revathy Sankaran singing "Twinkle Twinkle little star" in the many Indian accents and song styles.

But all said and done, we love you Prav, and thanks for being our friend.

Hindustan Aeronautics to produce Boeing 777 flaperons in Bangalore

2009-10-28T16:42:00.007+05:30

Boeing and Bangalore based Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) signed an agreement recently for the production of flaperons for use on Boeing’s 777 series commercial jetliner. The work will be performed in HAL's Bangalore complex.

The 777 flaperons, a highly complex composite assembly is instrumental in controlling the airplane’s maneuverability in flight. Referred to as a “control surface” flaperons work both as an aileron to control roll and as a flap to control lift.

Aerospace majors across the globe are increasing their sourcing from India mostly driven by costs but also driven by off-sets. For every commercial or military aircraft procured by the Government of India, there is an element of off-sets wherein the seller commits to procuring and exporting from India a certain percentage of the sale value typically between 30%~50%.

Air India's mammoth order on both Boeing and Airbus as well as the Indian armed forces procurement of the Boeing P-8I, and other aircraft have produced a bonanza for the Indian aviation industry. The upcoming and much anticipated $10+ billion MMRCA (medium multi role combat aircraft) procurement by the Indian Air Force is expected to catapult aviation sourcing from India.

Orders from private airlines though, do not produce off-sets since they prefer to obtain a lower buy price for their aircraft.

India's low fare carriers SpiceJet and IndiGo power ahead with profits

2009-10-28T06:00:00.000+05:30

While India's three legacy carriers Air India, Jet Airways, and Kingfisher Airlines struggle with mounting losses, the low fare carriers IndiGo and SpiceJet are making steady progress and have declared profits. (Read related SpiceJet story).

Over the year the two airlines have followed similar yet distinctly different business models from each other on their path to profitability and increased market share -- IndiGo at 14.2% and SpiceJet close behind at 13.2%.

Yet, these two carriers today offer services both free and paid which makes them virtually identical to their full service carriers, with the exception of free food served on board, which makes wonder how their are in the black while the big three are on financial life support ? The simple answer is efficient operations streams. Both SpiceJet and IndiGo have a cost per seat kilometre which is half that of the low fare offerings of their legacy competitors.

While SpiceJet is keeping it's Boeing 737 aircraft procurement on hold, partly due to the slowdown, and partly keeping in view their plans to commence international services next year, IndiGo has been busy fulfilling part of it's mammoth 100 Airbus A320-232 aircraft order, adding one every quarter and expanding its domestic footprint.

High efficiency and predictability in terms of one time departures have made both these airlines favourites amongst travellers -- a lesson being learned very quickly by their competitors.

Earlier this year we had written about the "fine strokes" IndiGo is making to keep costs under control and Bangalore Aviation was the only online publication to be invited for a meet with SpiceJet CEO Sanjay Aggarwal. Over the last week two newspapers have done very interesting profiles of both airlines which are well worth reading. The Mint on IndiGo and The Business Standard did an interview with SpiceJet's Aggarwal.

Recently we did a comparison of Indian low fare carriers vs. the low cost carriers in other parts of the world. Aggarwal's reply on the cost structures faced by airlines in India summarises the reason why Indian low fare carriers cannot follow the tactics of a RyanAir to be low COST.

How do you manage to keep your cost to half that of what full-service carriers cost?
Many of the charges like those levied by airports or the aviation turbine fuel are the same for both full-service carriers and us. In fact, since our planes are newer, our lease charges tend to be higher. So our scope to cut costs is quite limited, especially in comparison to LCCs abroad which fly to different airports where charges are lower. In India, we are able to bring our cost down by utilising aircraft more — on average, our utilisation of aircraft is around 15 per cent more than that of the full-service carriers. Once we get to fly international flights, this will allow us to buy vastly cheaper fuel, apart from tapping into a growing demand segment — so flying international is an important part of lowering our cost structures further.

Despite the massive reduction in air fares over the last decade, in India air travel is still a luxury and Indians expect to be pampered even at the back of the bus. SpiceJet and IndiGo both deliver a value for money and this is the winning solution in these tough times.

Continental to join the Star Alliance today

2009-10-27T20:29:00.003+05:30

Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) is poised to join Star Alliance today following months of preparations for the first-ever transition of a major airline from one global alliance to another.

A live video webcast of the joining ceremony where Continental will become a member of Star Alliance is available via a link at continental.com or via this link

Within the last 48 hours, Continental has entered into bilateral commercial agreements with all of the existing 24 Star Alliance members, including reciprocal earning and redemption of frequent flyer miles.

In addition, Continental has signed code-sharing agreements with four Star Alliance members – United, Lufthansa, Air Canada and bmi. Code-sharing with additional airlines in Star Alliance will be implemented in the coming months.

Continental has pursued an extensive transition plan to facilitate the alliance change, including:

Airport co-locations: By the end of this year Continental will physically move airport operations at 11 airports around the world to be closer to other Star Alliance partners. Today Continental moved to Terminal 1 at Frankfurt and on November 1, to the South Wing of Terminal 1 at Tokyo's Narita airport. Co-location moves have been made at Beijing, Chicago, Honolulu and Shanghai.

Airport and aircraft sign replacement: Continental has removed all signage referring to its former alliance and is in the process of deploying extensive Star Alliance branding throughout its airport facilities and on its aircraft. To remind customers of the transition, every main cabin entry door in Continental’s fleet will display a message saying, “You’re About To Get The Star Treatment.”

Booking class realignment:In order to make its 23 single-letter fare codes compatible with Star Alliance airlines Continental has revised the fare codes stored in over 6 million passenger reservation records that are active during the transition.

Customer service policies: The complimentary baggage allowance for Continental’s Platinum and Gold Elite customers, as well as Star Alliance Gold customers from other member carriers, has increased to three bags weighing up to 70 pounds each, for consistency with the established Star Alliance Gold benefits.

Frequent flyer program changes and elite customer recognition: Recently, Continental’s OnePass frequent flyer program unveiled a new reward chart that enhances OnePass and makes it more compatible to other programs in Star Alliance. OnePass members will be able to accrue mileage and book reward travel on Star Alliance airlines (and vice versa) effective today.

Technology and systems changes: Projects large and small, have been completed in order to facilitate the change to Star Alliance, including:

updating customer information systems and booking records to ensure frequent flyer elite recognition across the Star Alliance network
implementing new frequent flyer processes for mileage accrual and award redemptions
developing through check-in abilities with all Star Alliance members
connecting to the Star Alliance Data Network for real-time alliance flight information

Virgin Atlantic's legal actions threaten Delta, Jet Airways, Cathay Pacific, and Air Canada

2009-10-26T05:10:00.002+05:30

In 2003 Virgin Atlantic introduced the "Herringbone design" seat layout in it's "Upper Class" on which it had spent £50 million designing.

Contour, the Welsh seat manufacturer that built these seats for Virgin, sold the unusual design to other airlines. Virgin claiming that it owned the patent on the seat design took Contour to court to stop it making any more copies. Virgin’s argument was initially rejected, but the UK Court of Appeal recently upheld their patent application.

It is almost certain, that Virgin will file for an injunction against Contour to prevent it making any more of the seats. In parallel Virgin is taking legal action against US carrier Delta, Air Canada and India's Jet Airways, all of whom bought the Herringbone seats from Contour. Hong Kong based Cathay Pacific is also facing similar legal action for buying similar seats from another manufacturer.

If Virgin’s legal action is successful all these airlines could be forced to remove these seats from the planes and refit them with other cabin seating, which would be extremely expensive and time consuming.

It is more likely that these affected parties will try and reach and out of court settlement with Virgin and pay many millions.

Update 1 - October 27

The court decision is available via this link
The patent documents are available via this link

Thanks to the knowledgeable folks at Airliners.net.

Surveillance video footage of Sudan Air Boeing 707 crash at Sharjah

2009-10-23T20:10:00.004+05:30

Gulf television has broadcast surveillance video footage of the Azza Transport Boeing 707-300 freighter, registration ST-AKW which crashed at Sharjah while performing freight flight SD-2241 from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates to Khartoum in Sudan on Wednesday October 21.

The video shows the 707 climb out normally though the actual lift-off is out of view 23 seconds in video). A large part appears to have fallen off the aircraft 11 seconds after the airplace climbs out of view (around 38 seconds in to video). The place re-appears in to view (around 54 seconds in to video) in a nearly 90 degree right bank i.e. wings vertical to the earth, before impacting in to the ground.

Hat tip to Simon Hradecky at AVHerald.

Air France, Lufthansa, and British Airways to reduce Bangalore and India operations

2009-10-22T06:30:00.006+05:30

European majors Air France, British Airways, and Lufthansa are reducing their flights to the silicon city of India and the home of Bangalore Aviation -- Bangalore.

Air France and Lufthansa cut frequency

From the soon to start Winter schedule, Air France and Lufthansa will reduce their current daily operations to six flights a week. Air France flies an Airbus A330-200 on the Bangalore Paris CDG route, while Lufthansa flies a Boeing 747-400 on the Bangalore Frankfurt route.

Coincidentally, both carriers will remove their Tuesday operation.

Smart reduction by British Airways across India

British Airways too will downsize its operations to Bangalore, but from the Summer 2010 schedule which commences end of March.

In a smarter move compared to its two European counterparts, British Airways will reduce its daily Boeing 747-400 to a daily Boeing 777-200. It is when airlines cut frequency, that passengers start looking for other options.

The 777 will be a three class configuration without the First Class, i.e. Business, Economy Plus and Economy. Again a smart move since Bangalore is a corporate destination and traditionally Bangaloreans and companies based here, have always looked to value for money.

The Winter schedule is the peak season for travel for India with millions coming to India for the holidays, while Summer is the peak season for trans-Atlantic travel. To best capitalise, British Airways is replacing all of its 747 operations with 777 operations across India in the Summer 2010 schedule and will expectedly deploy the 747s on trans-Atlantic routes.

A summary of the changes expected.

Bangalore (BLR)
7 x 747 with First >> 7 x 777 no First

Mumbai (BOM)
7 x 747 with First >> 7 x 777 with First
7 x 777 with First == 7 x 777 with First

Delhi (DEL)
10 x 747 with First >> 7 x 777 with First, 7 x 777 no First

Hyderabad (HYD)
5 x 777 no First >> 5 x 767 no First

Chennai (MAA)
5 x 777 no First == 5 x 777 no First

Nasty immigration rules

Most European carriers are suffering the results of immigration rules of their respective countries that can only be termed as nasty. Most countries require "transit visas" for passengers who are merely connecting to another flight. Not only do they add needless costs, they also create a sense of demeaning, and sure enough when there are missed connections, bureaucratic snafus that result in travel ordeals for the passenger and PR nightmares for the airlines.

The litany of incidents where passengers are forced to spend the night on terminal floors with little or no food or water thanks to these snafus occur with such regularity that the stiffest British upper lip, most efficient German, or completely aloof Frenchman, go running for cover.

The Gulf carriers enable passengers to bypass these visa rules while offering new lavish airport terminals and fantastic shopping.

The "Gulf Factor"

Pride may lead European airlines to deny it, but they cannot ignore the "Gulf Factor". Led by Emirates, gulf carriers are marching across the Indian skies. Since 2008, Emirates has been steadily crowding out both foreign and Indian competitors. British Airways withdrew from Kolkata while Lufthansa cut back frequencies. KLM withdrew from Hyderabad, and Air France and Singapore Airlines cut back on Chennai. With Qatar Airways and Etihad not too far behind Emirates on their Indian expansion plans, the future scenario does not show improvement for the European carriers.

As an example; the number one destination from Bangalore is San Francisco. Emirates offers the same one stop service via Dubai to San Francisco as any other European. Add to this low pricing, good service and fast connections, Emirates is poaching passengers from all the European carriers, repeating what it is doing across the globe.

Unfortunately European carriers are suffering the results of their governments' immigration policies and need to work with their governments to help prevent further erosion of their Indian market share.

Sharjah airport shut down after Sudanese Boeing 707 crashes

2009-10-21T18:45:00.003+05:30

News reports are indicating that a Sudanese Boeing 707 cargo plane with six persons on board crashed and burned on take-off from Sharjah International Airport (IATA:SHJ, ICAO:OMSJ) in the United Arab Emirates around 15:50 local. The Boeing 707 crashed about two kilometres from the airport soon after taking off from Sharjah to Khartoum, the Sudanese capital.

Eye witnesses say the airplane veered sharply to the right after take-off and flipped before crashing a few miles past the runway. The airport is currently closed.

View images of the crash here and here.

Officials have not disclosed the name of the airline involved, but the airport's website had listed a Sudan Southern Air flight SOO951 scheduled to depart at 15:30.

Gulf News is reporting that Khaled Al Qassimi, director of civil aviation at Sharjah airport, said rescue personnel haven't so far found any of the crew. Mr. Al Qassimi is also reported to have said "The place is contained. All the fires are extinguished," "we are the picking up bits and pieces for the investigation."

The shut down of Sharjah airport has left low cost carrier Air Arabia scrambling for alternate airports and runways for its flights.

Jet Airways shifts to Terminal 4 at London Heathrow

2009-10-21T17:48:00.003+05:30

Jet Airways has moved from from Terminal 3 to Terminal 4 at London’s Heathrow Airport.

The departures concourse has been newly refurbished and now offers a larger check-in area, with high ceilings and brighter lighting, making it easier and quicker for passengers to check in. Jet Airways’ check-in counters are now located in Zone C, with desks 1-6 in operation for the morning departure and desks 1-11 in use for the evening flights.

Premiere (business) and first class passengers will have access to Etihad's newly opened lounge in Terminal 4 which is located opposite gate 10. The new premium lounge is stylishly designed and furnished with the best of luxuries, including a well stocked bar, playroom, and seating space for 120 guests.

Air India increases ex Bangalore flights in new schedule

2009-10-21T15:39:00.004+05:30

State carrier Air India (AI) has announced its winter schedule which comes into effect from 25 October which highlights a significant increase in commitment to Bangalore.

The airline will be operating around 130 flights per week ex Bangalore to various destinations in the country and abroad, offering around 17,000 seats weekly.

The carrier is introducing new "same day return" flights on regional routes, which allow early morning departures and late evening arrivals, facilitating business passengers to conduct a full day of work at their destination. Air traffic on regional routes fell sharply during the slowdown as passengers shifted to buses and trains to save costs.

Bangalore-Hyderabad

Air India will provide 17 flights a week in this sector with an additional capacity of around 2,000 seats per week.

A new daily service IC-917, which will depart Bangalore 08:10 arrival Hyderabad at 09:15. The complementary flight IC-915 will arrive from Hyderabad at 07:30.

In the evening, IC-916 will depart Bangalore 18:50 and arrive Hyderabad 19:40, while the incoming flight IC-918 from Hyderabad will arrive in Bangalore at 17:45 providing a daily day return connection between the two cities.

The existing thrice a week flight, IC-977 departing Bangalore at 16:50 pm on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays arriving Hyderabad at 18:10 will continue.

Bangalore-Chennai

A new daily flight, IC-509, departs Bangalore at 07:45 to arrive at Chennai at 08:30. The incoming flight from Chennai, IC-909 will arrive Bangalore at 09:00.

In the evening, the existing flight IC 911 will depart Bangalore at 16:35 pm to arrive Chennai at 17:35 and the incoming flight IC-511 from Chennai, will arrive in Bangalore at 17:25.

Given the distance of the Bengaluru International Airport from the city, the Bangalore departure is much too early. Network planners at Air India do appear to have done their homework.

Bangalore-Kochi

This is a "bundled" service involving Chennai. The morning flight is Bangalore-Chennai-Kochi vv, while the evening flight appears to be a Chennai-Bangalore-Kochi vv.

The morning flight IC-509 to Kochi will operate via Chennai, leaving Bangalore at 07:45 arriving Kochi at 10:25.

The evening flight IC-511 departs Bangalore at 18:10 arrives Kochi at 19:20 daily.

The incoming flights from Kochi will arrive in Bangalore at 07:10 in the morning and 17:25 in the evening daily, providing a day return connection.

Bangalore-Pune

Air India has made this route via Hyderabad. Very poor planning which ensures that Air India will not be the preferred option for travellers who would instead use the services of Jet Airways, Kingfisher and other carriers who operate this one hour flight, direct.

Air India flight IC-917 from Bangalore to Pune, departs Bangalore 08:10 arriving Pune at 11:15. The return flight from Pune, IC-918 will arrive in Bangalore at 17:45.

Image: Boeing delivers Cathay Pacific a new 777-300ER in special oneworld livery

2009-10-20T16:12:00.005+05:30

Boeing delivered on Saturday, a new 777-300ER registration B-KPL to Cathay Pacific Airways, painted in a special oneworld livery to highlight the alliance's 10th anniversary.

Image courtesy Boeing. Click on image for a high resolution view.

The airplane is the 12th Boeing 777-300ER for Cathay Pacific and brings the airline's 777 fleet to 29 airplanes, which includes 12 777-300s and five 777-200s.

Images: First Airbus A330-200F freighter revealed

2009-10-20T00:04:00.003+05:30

Image courtesy Airbus S.A.S. Click on image for a high res view.

The first A330-200 Freighter test registration F-WWYE MSN 1004 was revealed as it emerged from the paint shop in St. Martin in Toulouse in preparation for the flightline.

The aircraft should be handed over to the Airbus flight-test department in about 10 days and the maiden flight is scheduled for November 2009.

There are currently 67 firm orders from nine customers for the new freighter which is expected to commence delivery during the summer of 2010.

Wishing you a very happy Diwali

2009-10-16T14:10:00.002+05:30

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 to the retailers' delight.

Diwali is the abbreviation of the Sanskrit word "Deepavali" - Deepa meaning light and Avali, meaning a row signifying the row of lights which form the festival's main attraction.

It symbolises that age-old culture of the world which teaches us to vanquish ignorance that subdues humanity and to drive away darkness that engulfs the light of knowledge. Diwali, the festival of lights, even today in this modern world, projects the rich and glorious past and teaches us to uphold the true values of life.

Diwali celebrations are spread over five days and all the days except Diwali are named according to their designation in the Hindu lunar calendar.

Dhanatrayodashi or Dhan teras: Dhan means "wealth" and Trayodashi means "13th day". Thus, as the name implies, this day falls on the 13th day of the second half of the lunar month. It is an auspicious day for shopping of utensils and gold based on the belief that on this day Amrit - the nectar of immortality came out during the churning of the great ocean by the gods and the demons.

Naraka Chaturdashi: Chaturdashi is the fourteenth day on which demon Narakasura was killed by god Krishna - an incaranation of god Vishnu (the preserver of life). It signifies the victory of good over evil and light over darkness. In North India it is called "Chhoti Diwali" - "chhoti" meaning small marked by the lighting of 11 lamps. In south India, this is the actual day of festivities with many waking up well before dawn, having a fragrant oil bath and wearing new clothes and performing special prayers to lord Krishna or Vishnu for liberating the world from evil. After the puja, children burst firecrackers heralding the defeat of the demon. As this is a day of rejoicing, many will have very elaborate breakfasts and lunches and meet family and friends.

Lakshmi Puja: This day marks the most important day of Diwali celebrations in North India. At sunset there is a special worship of Ganesh, the god of wisdom and remover of obstacles, Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, and Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge, and the lighting of 21 oil lamps and one of clarified butter which will burn all night long, followed by a grand dinner with family and friends. Crackers and fireworks last long in to the night signifying the celebration to welcome prosperity and well-being.

Bali Pratipada or Balipadyami: In North India, this day is celebrated as the "new year" by the trading community since Diwali used to traditionally mark the end of the financial year. The homes and offices of friends and family are visited to offer greetings. In the south, this day commemorates the victory of Vishnu in his dwarf form Vamana over demon-king Bali, who was pushed to the nether world and the return of Bali to earth from the nether-world.

Bhaiduj: On this day, brothers visit their sisters to express their love and affection for each other building on the aspect of most Indian festivals -- bringing together families. In north India traditionally girls would be married to boys of distant villages. In a time when there were no long distance communications, Bhaiduj ensured the well being of the sister when the brothers would visit along with gifts for the in-laws. This festival is ancient, and pre-dates the festival of 'Raksha Bandhan' where the sister visits her home to be pampered by her family and to tie "rakhi" to her brother.

Bangalore Aviation wishes all it's readers a happy, prosperous, joyous and safe Deepavali.

Air Asia to commence services to Kochi, Trivandrum, Kolkata

2009-10-15T06:06:00.000+05:30

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 Bengal capital of Kolkata on November 19th.

These daily services will use Airbus A320s and Air Asia will be the sole carrier on these three routes.

Air Asia already operates on the Kuala Lumpur-Tiruchirappalli (Trichy) route.

Video: Emirates Boeing 777-300ER take off from Bangalore

2009-10-14T15:00:00.000+05:30

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.

Jet Airway's latest Boeing 777-300ER VT-JET parked in the desert in Arizona

2009-10-14T06:48:00.001+05:30

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 N834BA made a flight to the Pinal Airpark in the desert at Marana in Arizona to be parked till Jet Airways takes delivery.

Photo copyright: Nick Dean, AirlinersGallery

Already Jet Airways had leased out eight of its twelve Boeing 777-300ER fleet, four each to Gulf Air and Turkish Airlines, retaining just four aircraft for its operations.

With Gulf Air cancelling the lease and returning the four aircraft, the Mumbai based carrier is already scrambling and there are no clear plans on if, let alone when, VT-JEL will ever join the fleet or be leased or sold away to some other airline similar to the sorry saga of the Kingfisher Airbus A340-500s to Arik Air.