The first ever Airbus 321neo has been introduced by Air India, a Tata Group company. On Saturday, the VT-RTD-registered aircraft departed from Hamburg, Germany towards Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi.

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#FlyAI: We're thrilled to welcome our Airbus A321 Neo (VT-RTD).

We look forward to welcoming you onboard! #TheAIFleet #A321Neo #TravelExperience pic.twitter.com/P4aWm4mTzF

— Air India (@airindiain) March 26, 2023

Air India wrote on Twitter, “The Airbus A321 Neo, the newest member of our AI Family, is ready to be welcomed (VT-RTD). We are eagerly awaiting her arrival after it took off from Hamburg. The first A321 Neo (equipped with CFM LEAP 1A Engines) kind of aircraft to be accepted by AI is this one.”

#FlyAI: All set to welcome the newest entrant to our AI Family- Airbus A321 Neo (VT-RTD). It’s taken off from Hamburg & we can’t wait to see her land here!
This is the 1st A321 Neo (fitted with CFM LEAP 1A Engines) type of aircraft to be inducted by AI.

Pic 3 by @flightradar24 pic.twitter.com/a23l4iPOAi

— Air India (@airindiain) March 25, 2023

The plane touched down at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL). Since being acquired by Tata Group last year in January 2022, this is the first narrowbody aircraft that Air India has received.

The Airbus A320, A320neo, and A321neo, all from the European aircraft manufacturer, will be joined by the narrow-body aircraft on the domestic routes by which they will be used. An agreement between Air India and Airbus was just completed, and it calls for the purchase of 250 aircraft. Both Airbus narrow-body and wide-body aircraft will be added to Air India.

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“Airbus and Air India are experiencing a historic time. According to Christian Scherer, Chief Commercial Officer and Head of International at Airbus, “India is on the verge of a revolution in international air travel, and we are honored that our partnership with the Tatas and our aircraft solutions will write that new chapter for the country’s air-connectivity.”

The A321neo is the single-aisle Airbus model with the longest fuselage, comfortably seating 180 to 220 passengers in a conventional two-class configuration and up to 244 in a higher-density configuration.

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Qantas will resume direct flights between Melbourne and Tokyo for the first time in more than three years, creating more options for Australians traveling to Japan.

The new service is the first non-stop flight between Melbourne and Tokyo’s Haneda International Airport by any airline, saving passengers nearly two hours of travel to downtown Tokyo compared with Narita Airport, which the flight operated to before the pandemic.

Qantas Takes off again between Brisbane and Tokyo(Opens in a new browser tab)

The year-round flights will operate four days per week with an Airbus A330 aircraft and add to Qantas’ existing flights from Sydney and Brisbane to Haneda Airport. Together, these flights offer customers more than 420,000 seats between Australia and Japan annually and the choice of double daily flights to Tokyo.

Qantas has this week announced a multi-million dollar investment in new menus, larger meals and premium produce across all cabins in its regional, domestic and international network, including flights to Tokyo. The new menu changes will roll out on 29 March and will feature seasonal ingredients, including plant-based options, coinciding with Autumn. Seasonal grilled chicken, steamed rice, miso soup with Japanese pickles, and pork ramen with pickled shiitake mushroom, shallot and nor, are some of the items which feature on the menu for Qantas’ flights between Australia and Tokyo.

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The Melbourne-Tokyo (Haneda) route launch will be soon followed by the national carrier’s new Melbourne-Jakarta service which is set to commence in mid-April.

The Qantas Group operates up to 35 return flights per week from Australia to Japan. This includes Qantas’ flights from Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney to Haneda and Jetstar’s flights from Cairns to Narita and Osaka, and Gold Coast to Narita.

The most well-known Middle Eastern airlines are providing special Ramadan meals to its customers. Emirates, Qatar, and Etihad have developed distinctive food in response to the holy month of Ramadan.

Emirates

Emirates is preparing thousands of Ramadan meal boxes for fasting passengers both onboard and Iftar boxes at boarding gates, an array of religious content and Ramadan series on ice, and traditional Ramadan refreshments and meals in the lounges.

The Ramadan meal boxes will include light dishes and starters such as hummus and spinach bil zeit, Greek salad and cauliflower bil tahini, falafel sandwiches, pasta salad and fried aubergine with mint, zaatar chicken salad and cauliflower bil tahini, chicken musakhan sandwiches with Arabic bread, as well as staples like traditional dates and refreshing laban. A smaller Iftar box will also be served at boarding gates at Iftar time including all the essentials to comfortably break the fast.

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Emirates’ Ramadan and Iftar boxes will be served to complement the regular hot meal service and menu’s will be refreshed on a weekly basis to ensure a best-in-class dining experience during the Holy Month. The boxes will be served on flights to select destinations during times that coincide with iftar, on flights to and from the Gulf region, as well as flights catering to Umrah groups traveling to Jeddah and Medina during the month of Ramadan.

Qatar Airways

It offer a bespoke Iftar to passengers on board and at Al Safwa, Al Mourjan and Global Premium Lounges. Special Ramadan offerings will be available on flights to the GCC, Middle East, and some Indian Sub-continent, African and Asian destinations.

Similarly, Qatar Airways Al Safwa First Class Lounge and Al Mourjan Business Lounge will announce the prayer call; in readiness for passengers to utilize the prayer rooms.

Travelers can choose from a selection of traditional Ramadan favorites for a fulfilling dining experience in addition to the Qatar Airways customary dining experience served alongside Qatar Airways’ signature Ramadan-themed lantern.

Etihad Airways

Following the FAA’s Safety Summit last week, the agency issued a safety alert with specific steps it wants airlines, pilots and others to take.

The FAA is urging the following actions:

• Ensure pilots and flight attendants have the same understanding of what “sterile flight deck” means and the risks associated with extraneous communication during this time.
• Emphasize the importance of awareness of the aircraft in relation to taxiways, runways and other aircraft. This includes reviewing the following previously published SAFOs:
  • 17012, High Collision Risk During Runway Crossing
  • 11004, Runway Incursion Prevention Actions
  • 08001, Flight crew techniques and procedures to enhance taxi, pre-takeoff, and after-landing safety to reduce the risk of runway incursions
• Encourage personnel to identify and report existing and emerging safety issues through voluntary reporting programs and understand the usefulness of voluntary reporting systems for the operation in which you are engaged.
• Reinforce adherence to published processes and procedures, including checklists, Air Traffic Control instructions, and internal company procedures.
• Ensure Safety Management Systems are accounting for the high rate of change and churn in the industry.

El Al Israel Airlines announced on Thursday that it would resume flights to India in October after a three-year break, citing reduced flight times because of the ability to fly across Saudi Arabia and Oman.

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Using Boeing 737 aircraft, Israel’s national airline will fly four times a week from Tel Aviv to Mumbai. The trip should take 5.5 hours instead of the previous 7.45 hours. Moreover, it will operate twice-weekly flights to New Delhi on larger Boeing 777 or 787 aircraft. El Al reported that the flight time on the trip will decrease to 6.5 hours from 9.

After the recently obtained clearance to fly over the skies of Saudi Arabia and Oman, the introduction of the new routes is now feasible, according to El Al.

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Israeli travelers and businessmen enjoy India. El Al has started using the new route on flights to Asia since Muscat joined Riyadh in allowing Israeli civilian overflights last month. El Al claims that the new Saudi corridor will enable it to increase its service to Australia and Asia.

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Archer Aviation Inc. and United Airlines announced plans to launch the first air taxi route in Chicago, between O’Hare International Airport (ORD) and Vertiport Chicago. Vertiport Chicago, North America’s largest vertical aircraft takeoff and landing facility, is located in the Illinois Medical District near the Chicago Loop.

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This site was selected as the takeoff and landing site for this airport to city center route because of its unparalleled convenience, access and service. From there, passengers will be able to travel to and from ORD via Archer’s Midnight aircraft in approximately 10 minutes. A similar trip by car can take upwards of an hour or more during rush hour traffic.

United and Archer’s goal for its UAM network is to provide residents and visitors in the Chicago Metropolitan Area with a safe, sustainable, low noise, and cost-competitive alternative to ground transportation beginning in 2025. Chicago is the third most populous city in the United States, a center for business, innovation and investment, and home to United’s headquarters.

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This makes it a unique city for Archer and United to build out. The early launch routes will focus in on airport to city center transportation service, which are referred to as “trunk” routes. Once the trunk routes have been established, the next step will be to build out “branch” routes to connect to surrounding communities.

ComEd, the Midwest’s largest utility company, will work with United and Archer to establish the power infrastructure necessary to support eVTOL aircraft operations in and around the Chicago Metropolitan Area.

A Southwest Airlines flight’s safe landing on Wednesday is credited to an off-duty pilot who acted quickly after one of the two flying pilots became suddenly ill.

Southwest Flight 6013 had taken off just after 6:30 a.m. heading for Columbus, Ohio, according to the flight-tracking site FlightAware. As it was airborne, one of its pilots “required medical attention,” a representative for the airline stated, without revealing information about the health condition.

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The pilot then fell unconscious, and the crew moved him to the back of the aircraft where they began to treat him. The flight’s off-duty pilot, who travelling to be a passenger, went to the cockpit and handled radio communications for the duration of the flight. After returning to Las Vegas, the aircraft’s first officer landed at Harry Reid International Airport a little more than an hour after takeoff.

In a statement, Southwest said that a credentialed pilot from another airline who was on board “entered the fight deck and aided with radio communication as our Southwest pilot flew the aircraft.”And grateful for the off-duty pilot’s support and help. “We praise the crew for their professionalism and appreciate our customer’s patience and understanding regarding the circumstance,” Southwest stated in a statement. The FAA said it is investigating the incident.

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