SpiceJet’s Chief Commercial Officer, Samyukth Sridharan, said that the company inducted 22nd aircraft and wanted to expand its presence in the Southern region. Madurai is among the top three industrial towns of Tamil Nadu. It is the only airport in India serving six Lok Sabha constituencies, he says. adding that the company is eager to announce Madurai as its 20th destination.”

Kingfisher Airlines, India’s only Five Star airline rated by Skytrax, launched a daily direct flights between New Delhi—Ludhiana (Punjab) route. The launch of this new route marks the first time that Kingfisher Airlines is commencing operations from Ludhiana and Kingfisher Airlines is currently the only private airline to offer services to Ludhiana.

Thai Airways International (THAI) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Airbus for the purchase of seven more A330-300s. The aircraft will be delivered from the end of 2011 and will join an existing fleet of 20 A330-300s flying to destinations across the Asia-Pacific region, says a press statement at the Airbus website.
The MOU was finalised on July 21, 2010 at the Farnborough International Airshow in the UK by Captain Montree Jumrieng, THAI Managing Director of Technical Department and John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer, Customers.
“THAI has selected the …

Airbus’ latest joint venture in China, Harbin Hafei Airbus Composite Manufacturing Centre (the manufacturing centre), has signed a contract for the work package of A350 XWB belly fairing parts with the Spain-based Alestis Aerospace. As one of Airbus’ tier one suppliers, Alestis is specialized in the design, development, certification, manufacturing and support of complex carbon fiber aerostructure, stated the company.

Under the contract, the manufacturing centre will become the sole supplier of certain parts of the A350 XWB belly fairing to Alestis. Alestis will be responsible for the design, material review …

The Boeing Company and Argon ST entered into an agreement for Boeing’s acquisition of Argon ST in an all cash tender offer and merger for $34.50 per share, or approximately $775 million, net of cash acquired. The agreement to acquire Argon ST, a leading developer of command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) and combat systems, advances Boeing’s growth strategy and expands the company’s capabilities to address the C4ISR, cyber and intelligence markets, stated the company.
“Combining the strength of Boeing with the experience of Argon ST will significantly …

Boeing has finalised an order with Air China, the flag carrier of the People’s Republic of China, for 20 Next-Generation 737-800 jetliners, stated the company. Air China operates international and domestic passenger and cargo services. The carrier will use the airplanes to expand its domestic routes.
“Our long-standing and productive partnership with Air China goes back to the airline’s beginning and we’re proud to be part of their success,” said Jim Simon, vice president, China sales, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “Air China’s order reflects our solid partnership and the proven performance of …

As part of expanding its network in India, German aviation group Lufthansa will add 9 flights on its India route and deploy larger aircraft on Chennai-Frankfurt sector from the coming winter. The group will offer 75 weekly flights to and from India as against 66 now, a company release said.

British Airways has come out with special offers for Indian students travelling abroad for studies out of Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai. British Airways also offers each student to carry 23 kilos of free excess baggage when flying to the UK, Europe, Canada and USA. Students travelling from Hyderabad benefit from a discount of Rs 4,000 on all bookings.

Doha-based airline, Qatar Airways, is planning to expand its international flight operations by launching six new routes in Europe and Asia from October 2010. Qatar Airways will phase in the route expansion over a four-month period with daily flights to Phuket – after Bangkok, its second destination in Thailand – from October 11. The new flights will operate via Kuala Lumpur.

Qatar Airways inducted brand new Boeing B777 Freighter into cargo operations. Qatar Airways’ first B777F flight began its journey from Doha to Amsterdam after the cargo flight was delivered in Doha recently. The company will add three more new Boeing B777 Freighters to its fleet in a span of one year.