Air India to fly only Boeing 777's on India-US route

With the introduction of 777-300ER service from Newark’s Liberty International Airport on September 1, all of Air India’s flights between the United States and India will now be via new Boeing 777 aircraft. The airline’s daily non-stop flights to Mumbai and Delhi from JFK International Airport in New York have been operating with 777-200LRs, and their daily service to Delhi from O’Hare International Airport in Chicago is also aboard 777-300ERs. With an average age of less than one-and-a-half years, Air India now has one of the youngest fleets of Boeing 777s in the airline industry.

All of Air India’s 777 flights offer Economy, Executive and First Class service. Economy Class features a seat pitch of 34" for comfort, a therapeutic footrest and built-in 10.6" LCD monitor. Executive Class passengers enjoy the comfort of flat beds with a pitch of 76", with privacy partitions and 15.4" LCD screens. First Class cabin boasts compartments with flat beds with a pitch of 80" for the ultimate comfort, a built-in massage system, buddy seat, and a large 23" LCD screen.

Etihad Airways offers inaugural fares from India to Chicago

Etihad Airways will start flights to the Chicago from September 2, 2009. Passengers flying to Chicago from Mumbai, New Delhi and Chennai can avail of inaugural fares starting at Rs 47,000 (all inclusive) and from Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Kozhikode at Rs 53,000 (all inclusive) for a limited sale period until September 30, 2009. The airline will operate a three cabin Airbus A340-500 wide body aircraft on the Abu Dhabi to Chicago service which is configured to carry 240 passengers with 12 in First Class, 28 in Business Class and 200 in Economy Class.

Chicago will be Etihad Airways second US destination joining its popular daily flight to New York. The launch of services will also add to the airline’s network in North America, which includes Toronto and enjoys an average seat factor of more than 80 per cent. The new service to Chicago’s O’Hare airport will increase the airline’s global flight network to 55 cities and follows confirmation that Etihad Airways will also begin flights to Melbourne, Athens and Istanbul this year.

Spicejet to start more flights to Goa from Mumbai & Bangalore

SpiceJet is going to introduce more flights to Goa from Mumbai and Bangalore before the festival season. The second flight connecting Goa and Mumbai will start from September 11, 2009. The additional flight from Bangalore to Goa will start from October 25, 2009. With these new flights, SpiceJet’s daily departures will increase from 125 to 129 by October end this year.

British Airways launches special offers ex-India

British Airways is launching a 25% discount offer to its First and Club World (Business Class) customers travelling from India to London, Europe and the US. The special offer is valid till this month end from five cities in India - Chennai, Hyderabad, New Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru. Tickets are valid for a year. Outbound travel must happen between August 28, 2009 and December 31, 2009. Judy Jarvis, Regional Commercial Manager for South Asia, British Airways said, "This deal offers our customers substantial savings when travelling in First and Club World. At three quarters of the actual price, customers can pamper themselves onboard British Airways and travel in luxury and comfort when making that long journey."

Air India cargo plane escapes major disaster at Mumbai

A major disaster was averted on at the Mumbai airport, when the pilot of an Air India cargo plane spotted fire raging in a consignment that was to be loaded onto the aircraft. Preliminary investigation showed the consignment contained matchboxes and incense sticks, categorised by the aviation industry as "dangerous goods". "I am terrified and shocked. Think what could have happened ? The time the fire was detected, the aircraft would have been airborne. This needs to be properly investigated, Captain AK Malhotra, commander of the aircraft, said.

Minutes before the flight’s takeoff, it was scheduled for 11.30 pm, but was delayed, the shipment lying close to the plane caught fire at 11.42 pm. The crew that noticed the fire found no commercial personnel near the aircraft. Captain Malhotra said the rules stipulated that the pilot of the aircraft should be informed about the presence of the consignment of dangerous goods. But he knew nothing about the presence of such a consignment. He said he would not fly the aircraft until he gets satisfactory explanation from the management.