Cleared To Approach: The Aviation Blog

 Introduction: The Airbus A321-LR presents a compelling concept within the aviation industry. In a nutshell, it's a narrow-body, diminutive (compared to other aircraft which fly its routes) aircraft, with much lesser seating, but can fly long-haul routes. Airlines such as JetBlue have introduced transatlantic flights with the A321-LR. Disadvantages: The A321-LR has a limited cargo capacity as well as a much smaller cabin size, so, airlines are unable to maximize on customers in premium-cabins, due to lesser available seats. They will not be able to add first-class suites either. Some of these passengers, who are willing to pay a premium for better service, will drift towards wide bodies.  The single aisle also prevents airlines from offering amenities such as lounges/bars or larger bathrooms prevalent on widebodies, for premium cabins. Moreover, the smaller aircraft significantly decreases the number of crew on board. This is an issue as on long-haul flights, crew need to rest...

 NEWS HEADLINES THIS WEEK: Spirit Airlines Files for Bankruptcy Protection: Spirit Airlines was the 7th-largest passenger carrier in North America in 2023, as well as the largest Ultra-Low Cost carrier in NA. It is widely renowned for being a No-Nonsense Ultra Low-Cost Carrier, charging extra for checked-in and carry-on bags. However, it has proved to be imperative, providing budget-friendly tickets and allowing those who previously couldn’t, to fly. On the 18th of November, Spirit Airlines filed for bankruptcy protection after compiling losses every quarter as well as a failed attempt at a merger with JetBlue. India Makes Aviation History: On November 17, 2024, India made aviation history recording a whopping 5 lakh (500,000) passengers in a single day. In total, 505412 passengers were transported over 3173 domestic flights. This is a historic milestone in the rapidly developing Indian aviation industry. Delhi Pollution Affects Aviation: Due to intense toxic smog being experienced...

 

Plane Theory: Akasa Air has the Best Pilots (In Indian Aviation)? As I was having a conversation with an Akasa Air Captain and FO, both of whom were former Jet Airways pilots. Soon, I was hit with the revelation that most senior Akasa Air pilots would be from Jet Airways. Jet Airways was one of India's premier FSCs, operating a large fleet of 192 aircraft. Out of these, 139 were Boeing 737s and 10 were 777s. The airline filed for bankruptcy and ceased operations on the 17th of April, 2019. IMAGE: Jet Airways 787s collecting dust near IGI Terminal-2 Since Jet Airways was one of India's greatest airlines, it had superior pilots compared to others. These pilots, many of whom saw expertise operating Boeing Aircraft, had very few places to go. SpiceJet and Air India Express were some options, but they in total operated approximately 70 Boeing 737s, and are extremely low-cost airlines. This is where Akasa Air comes into the picture- an airline which is not too premium yet has good se...