First flight of Airbus A320 neo

The A320neo is airborn for the first time 2014.09.25. Photo: Airbus.

Portable Electronic Devices (PED) on board

Portable Electronic Devices (PED) is now allowed on board on European Flights.

Portable Electronic Devices (PED) include any kind of electronic device brought on board the aircraft by a passenger such as a tablet, a laptop, a smartphone, an e-reader or a MP3 player.

From the 26 September 2014 EASA has made it possible for airlines to allow passengers to use their PEDs throughout the flight, regardless of whether the device is transmitting or not, i.e. in ‘aeroplane mode’ or not.
It is now up to each airline to allow the use of PEDs or not.

In order to do this, the airlines will have to go through an assessment process, ensuring that the aircrafts are not affected in any way by the transmission of signals from the PEDs.

For safety reasons, EASA describes certain conditions for using such devices on board aircraft operated by European airlines. Based on these conditions, airlines may describe when PEDs can be used. In other words, airlines may be more restrictive than the EASA provisions are.

Because it is a decision of each airline, you may experience differences among airlines whether and when PEDs can be used. In addition, you may experience differences within one airline depending on the type of aircraft you are flying on.

As a passenger you should be aware of the following:

1. If you are unsure on the use of PEDs, you may check the airline’s website prior to the flight.
 
2.  Please remeber that the safety briefing provided by the airline crew is for your benefit. Please pay attention and listen carefully.
  
3. Airline crew may request at any time to switch-off all PEDs and to stow them.
  
4. Passengers must  follow the instructions given by the airline crew as safety is the responsibility of everyone on board the aircraft. Safety is everyone’s priority.

Source: EASA

Least expensive flights in India

GoEuro (www.goeuro.com), the online platform that compares and combine trips by train, bus and plane throughout Europe, has released its worldwide Transportation Price Index based on the train, bus and flight information for 51 countries across five continents.

The U.S. came in as the 22nd least expensive out of 51 countries ranked in the Global Transportation Price Index.

Taking into account factors including distance, scheduling and taxes, GoEuro compared the cheapest bus, train and flight connections between the two most populous cities in each of the countries, among other routes, and analyzed the data in the price index.

Countries were then rated according to average price per 100km for each type of transportation.

On average, in the U.S., flights costs $ 10.36 / 100km.
The most expensive country for transport overall is Switzerland, where flights cost $125.07/100km.
The cheapest country for transport overall is South Africa, where flights cost just $11.63/100km.

India came in as the 14th least expensive out of 51 countries ranked in the Global Transportation Price Index.

Finland tops the list with the most expensive flights with 107 Euro / 100 km.
India is the least expensive nation to fly in with an average cost of 8 Euro / 100 km.

On average, in India, flights cost $ 10.20 / 100km.

The cheapest country for transport overall is South Africa, where flights cost just $ 11.46 / 100km.

The cheapest countries for air travel are India ($ 10.20 / 10 0km), Malaysia ($ 11.26 / 100 km) and South Africa ($ 11.46 / 100 km), whilst the most expensive are Finland ($ 136.83 / 100 km), Switzerland ($ 123.20 / 100 km) and Lithuania ($ 114.99 / 100 km).

Air India New Star Alliance Member

Photo: Air India

Star Alliance welcomed Air India as the first Indian airline to join a global alliance in July 2014.

This makes connecting to, from and across India easier. Anyone who does business in India will appreciate that it is never done in one place.
A morning in Delhi airport illustrates flying is simply part of the daily commute.

With Air India being a member of Star Alliance, you can fly into one of the 12 international airports and connect to over 60 other destinations across India, making it easier for you to reach every business centre.

The biggest airport hub where Star Alliance connects nationally and internationally, is the brand new Terminal 2 in Mumbai.
This state-of-the-art airport with 188 check-in counters enables you to travel into and on from India’s financial and economical capital more comfortably.

All Star Alliance flights to Delhi operate via the same place:
Terminal 3, so you don’t have to change to another terminal between flights, which could cut down your connection times.

Star Alliance Member Airlines 2014

Adria Airways JP
Aegean Airlines A3
Air Canada AC
Air China CA
Air India AI
Air New Zealand NZ
ANA NH
Asiana Airlines OZ
Austrian OS
Avianca AV
Brussels Airlines SN
Copa Airlines CM
Croatia Airlines OU
EGYPTAIR MS
Ethiopian Airlines ET
EVA Air BR
LOT Polish Airlines LO
Lufthansa LH
Scandinavian Airlines SK
Shenzhen Airlines ZH
Singapore Airlines SQ
South African Airways SA
SWISS LX
TAP Portugal TP
THAI TG
Turkish Airlines TK
United UA

Source: Star Alliance

Air India New Star Alliance Member

The top 20 safest Airlines 2014

Photo: Air New Zealand

1. Air New Zealand, index: 0,007

2. Cathay Pacific Airways, 0,008

3. Finnair, 0,010

4. Emirates, 0,010

5. Eva Air, 0,010

6. British Airways, 0,011

7. Tap Portugal, 0,012

8. Etihad Airways, 0,012

9. Air Canada, 0,012

10. Qantas, 0,013

11. Qatar Airways, 0,013

12. All Nippon Airways, 0,015

13. Virgin Atlantic Airways, 0,015

14. Hainan Airlines, 0,015

15. Virgin Australia, 0,015

16. Jetblue Airlines, 0,015

17. KLM, 0,015

18. Lufthansa, 0,016

19. Shenzhen Airlines, 0,018

20. Easyjet, 0,018

Source: JACDEC.

Cathay Pacific Airways best Airline 2014

Photo: Cathay Pacific Airways

Photo: Cathay Pacific Airways

The Skytrax awards are based on a survey of 18.85 million airline passengers from around the world.
Passengers from more than 160 countries participated in the latest survey, which covered 245 airlines worldwide.

Cathay becomes the first airline to win the award four times, having previously taken the title in 2003, 2005 and 2009.

Garuda Indonesia took out the award for the best cabin crew, ahead of Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines.

Singapore Airlines won the award for best first class cabin, Qatar for best business class and Korea's Asiana for best economy class cabin.

Among budget airlines, AirAsia and offshoot AirAsia X took out the top two spots, with Jetstar ranked fourth best.

The awards are not without controversy.
Etihad Airways announced it would withdraw from the awards, citing unhappiness with Skytrax's rating system.


World's top 10 airlines

1. Cathay Pacific Airways

2. Qatar Airways

3. Singapore Airlines

4. Emirates

5. Turkish Airlines

6. ANA All Nippon Airways

7. Garuda Indonesia

8. Asiana Airlines

9. Etihad Airways

10. Lufthansa



Best inflight entertainment

1. Emirates

2. Singapore Airlines

3. Turkish Airlines

4. Qantas

5. Cathay Pacific Airways

6. Virgin Atlantic

7. Qatar Airways

8. Air New Zealand

9. Virgin Australia

10. Etihad Airways

Best cabin crew

1. Garuda Indonesia

2. Cathay Pacific

3. Singapore Airlines

4. Asiana Airlines

5. Malaysia Airlines

6. Qatar Airways

7. EVA Air

8. ANA All Nippon Airways

9. Thai Airways

10. Hainan Airlines


Source: worldairlineawards.com