AirAsia, one of the leading no-frills airlines, plans to expand flight route in India. It plans to add four direct flights connecting Bangkok with Kolkata, New Delhi, Amritsar and Mumbai from May this year.

“New Delhi and Mumbai sectors will be serviced by Air Asia X, low cost long haul carrier via new Airbus A330, while Amritsar and Kolkata will be serviced by AirAsia, low cost short haul airline by Airbus A320 aircrafts,” Kathleen Tan, head, (regional head – commercial), AirAsia, told reporters in Mumbai on Tuesday.
(continue reading…)

Taking advantage of down market prices, United Airlines said on Tuesday it placed a $10 billion-plus order for 50 wide-bodied jetliners divided between Airbus and Boeing Co, in a bid to slash fuel costs and emissions.

United, a unit of UAL Corp, has letters of intent to order 25 of Boeing’s 787 Dreamliners and the same number of A350 planes from its European rival Airbus, part of EADS, following a six-month contest. The carrier also has future purchase rights for 50 of each aircraft.
(continue reading…)

United Airlines announced on Tuesday that it has ordered 25 Airbus A350XWB aircraft and 25 Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft and has future purchase rights for an additional 50 of both types of aircraft.

These orders follow a six-month request for proposal process, resulting in agreements with both Airbus and Boeing that allow United to meet its financial and operational objectives.
(continue reading…)

Air Austral, which links islands in the Indian and Pacific Ocean with France, became the first airline to order the Airbus SAS A380 super-jumbo in an 840- passenger configuration for budget class trips to Paris.

The airline has ordered two of the world’s largest passenger plane, with an option for two more, Airbus Chief Operating Officer John Leahy said at the Dubai Air Show today. The first of the double-deck aircraft enters service in 2014. (continue reading…)

Nine passengers will have the privilege of flying First Class on each Air France A380 flight starting November 23 when the airline begins commercial flights between Paris and New York. Refined and luxurious, Air France’s First Class is staking its claim as the “most private cabin” of all the A380s in service.
(continue reading…)

Starting today, the French airline began auctioning off seats on the jet’s two inaugural flights from Paris to New York on Nov. 20 and from New York to Paris on Nov. 21. The auction, on eBay, goes through Oct. 21. (continue reading…)

Boeing said on Thursday its 787 Dreamliner would finally make its first flight by the end of this year, with initial delivery expected in the fourth quarter of 2010.

Shares of the Chicago-based company rose to a five-month high as the statement helped answer questions that have surrounded the lighter, more fuel-efficient 787 aircraft, said Alex Hamilton, an analyst with Jesup & Lamont Securities. (continue reading…)

A component suspected of playing a role in the crash of Air France 447 over the Atlantic Ocean on June 1 has also malfunctioned on at least a dozen recent Northwest Airlines flights, federal investigators have discovered.
(continue reading…)

Britain pledged 340 million pounds in loans to European planemaker Airbus to win work, in a move set to aggravate a trans-atlantic dispute over aerospace industry aid.

Britain agreed to the loan on Friday to make sure parts for Airbus’s planned A350 widebody passenger jet are built in Britain, but it is likely to face fierce opposition from the United States and Airbus’s arch rival Boeing. (continue reading…)