That Aviationist

The World’s Best Airlines 2017 Revealed Skytrax, a review website for airlines and airports, has just released its annual list of World’s Best Airlines as part of the Skytrax World Airline Awards. While a couple of familiar names have taken out the top spots, there are a few new names that have edged their way into the top 10. 1. Qatar Airways Qatar Airways has been named the best airline in the world for 2017 by the leading consumer-aviation website Skytrax. The Gulf-based carrier was presented with the honor at Tuesday’s World Airline Awards at the 2017 Paris Air Show. 2. Singapore Airlines Singapore Airlines, a perennial favourite in the awards was ranked No. 2 in the world, also receiving awards as the Best Airline in Asia, the World’s Best Business Class seat and for having the Best Premium Economy Onboard Catering.  3. ANA All Nippon Airways ANA is the largest airline in Japan by revenues and passenger numbers. Founded i...

They know the rules of the game Here is a secret about the flight attendents that you did not know. The major part of their work is handing out food to the passengers but they themselves never satiate their hunger onboard. Here is why: It's not just about the taste They don't avoid the microwaved food just due to the bad taste. According to experts, not feeding your taste buds onboard actually reduces the jet lag. Bad for belly Travelling on a high-altitude zone does great damage to your body which includes shutting down of the digestive sytem. Though after landing the metabolism process starts, it is advisable for the passsengers to restrict themselves to water. Say no to the food Body starts working hard to digest the food you intake in the course of your journey. Consequently, passengers feel more tired and exhausted. The solution: Skip the meal and be more alert from next time you go on a flight. Easier said than done...

Time to break free For almost a half-century there’s been a clear speed limit on most commercial air travel: 660 miles per hour, the rate at which a typical-size plane traveling at 30,000 feet breaks the sound barrier and creates a 30-mile-wide, continuous sonic boom. The ground-level disturbances that result—shattered windows, cracked plaster, maddened farm animals—have kept supersonic travel mostly off-limits since 1973, when the Federal Aviation Administration banned its use over US soil. Sonic boom to hum That may be changing. In August, NASA says, it will begin taking bids for construction of a demo model of a plane able to reduce the sonic boom to something like the hum you’d hear inside a Mercedes-Benz on the interstate. The agency’s researchers say their design, a smaller-scale model of which was successfully tested in a wind tunnel at the end of June, should cut the six-hour flight time from New York to Los Angeles in half. NASA proposes spending $390 milli...

New heights of self check-in! When a new terminal opens in 2017 at Singapore's Changi Airport, the world's best for five years straight according to a survey, passengers will be able to, in theory, go through check-in to boarding without speaking to another person. Next generation of automation Automation is important for the city-state as it faces a labor crunch across many of its industries. It is also key for Changi given it is the world's sixth busiest for international traffic and is already operating close to total capacity, having last added a terminal almost a decade ago. Face says it all Changi will be using facial recognition technology to offer self-service options at check-in, bag drop, immigration and boarding at the new terminal T4 - which according to Corrine Png, CEO of transport research firm Crucial Perspective Pte, "will be the first in Asia to do so". Changi's dream project Changi expects the a...

Fly Good Feel Good US talk show host Dr Mehmet Oz collaborated with Turkish Airlines for a Fly Good Feel Good project that aims to help improve the flying experience. To launch the partnership, Oz boarded a flight from Istanbul to New York over the weekend, offering tips and recommendations to the flight’s 300 passengers over the in-flight entertainment system. Here are a few of his tips on topics such as jet lag and travelling with children: Jet lag *When possible, try to book your arrival time during daylight hours. *The day before your flight, set your watch to the local time of your destination. * If you’re travelling eastbound, try to condition your body clock by waking up earlier for a few days before your flight. If you’re travelling west, go to bed a little later and sleep a little longer in the mornings. Solution * Eat light on the plane. * Avoid caffeine, carbonated drinks and alcohol in-flight. * Take a vitamin C supplement. *Try to ...

Vistara initiates a special plan In a first, the New-Delhi based airline Vistara is trying to bank on some show of chivalry and start offering help to solo women fliers with its newly launched 'Woman Flyer service' Reverting to old-school ways Vistara would aid women fliers traveling alone with their luggage, escort them to and from ground transportation, and give them exclusive window and aisle seats on their flights. The airline says the service is gathering popularity rapidly with around 75 to 100 women using the complimentary service each day. India a no-go for female travellers? By 2019, India is thought to become the world’s sixth-largest business travel market, but the problems for India’s tourism flow directly from cultural issues around gender inequality and baseless stereotypes in Indian society. Also, with its infamous reputation of being unsafe for women— particularly since the brutal 2012 gang rape in Delhi, the country might well lose ou...

New Delhi:-                      Airports owe Rs 735.3 crore to the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), the paramilitary force that guards them, with Delhi International Airport (DIAL) accounting for close to 90% of the total.   Arrears from 59 airports across the country have swelled 39% in the past one year, which has prompted CISF director-general OP Singh to write to aviation secretary RN Choubey to get the outstanding amount cleared.  “Out of the total pending dues of Rs 735.33 crore, an amount of Rs 655.40 crore relates to DIAL alone,” the letter wrote in June read. Singh urged the secretary to instruct the Airport Authority of India and private airport operators to clear the arrears.  The escalating arrears is a matter of grave concern. It has attracted adverse comments from statutory bodies including the Comptroller and Auditor General and the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Home Affairs,...

New Delhi:-                      Helicopter services under the regional connectivity scheme will be permitted only for Jammu and Kashmir, the north-eastern states, Andaman and Nicobar as well as Lakshwadeep islands, the government said today.   These areas have been identified as "high priority" and the government is likely to ease norms for bidding in order to improve air connectivity in these parts of the country.  The first round of bidding for selected routes under the RCS scheme was held in March and a total of 128 routes were awarded to five airline operators. The next round of bidding is likely to to be held later this month.  The scheme, also known as UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik), aims at improving air connectivity for tier-2 and tier-3 cities as well making flying affordable for the masses by capping air fares at Rs 2,500 km for an hour-long flight in a fixed-wing aircraft and for a thi .....

New Delhi:-                      India needs infrastructure and trained manpower to sustain the growth of its civil aviation sector, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha said on Tuesday.   "Land for airports development" and skilled manpower are required to sustain the growth being witnessed by the sector, he said at an event here to launch skill development initiative for aircraft maintenance engineers (AMEs).  The initiative comes after a report submitted to the Civil Aviation ministry highlighted that 72,900 technicians and AMEs will be required by the industry by 2035.  However, aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation's data showed that only 3,644 basic licenses and only 159 type rated AME licenses were issued in the last five years.  On an average, eight AMEs are required for maintenance of an aircraft. This figure assumes significance in the light mega  aircraf...