Aviation

What’s the world’s cheapest international airline?

According to the rome2rio Survey The topic of airline pricing never gets old. The last 12 months has brought numerous changes to the airline scene, from Norwegian Air’s new star status to British Airway’s recent foray into the budget scene. You can now research your flights screen-free through Amazon Alexa or Google Home as airlines jump into the AI space. And the gap between the front and the back of the plane is ever-growing, with major airlines rolling out a ‘basic economy’ class (that we think is closer to cattle class) and adding fees on everything from luggage to seat assignments. What’s certain is that getting from A to B has never been so full of choice, confusion and chaos – and comparing flight prices has never been more difficult.

To better understand the value for customers offered by the world’s airlines, we’ve gone back to what we love most: hard data. Just like in our oh-so-popular reports from 2012 and 2016, our data science team analysed economy-class airfares displayed by Rome2rio over a two month period, totalling some 1.5 million price points, to provide a snapshot of global pricing (in US$ per km) across international and domestic carriers. We wanted to get a sense of the world’s most affordable airlines, and the cheapest – and most expensive – countries to travel in right now. For the full details of the analysis

(Report : rome2rio)

Top 25 airlines by average price (US$) per kilometre on international flight searches

AirAsia X- 0.07
Air India Express- 0.08
Indonesia AirAsia-0.08
Primera Air-0.09
IndiGo Airlines-0.10
Etihad-0.10
Ryanair-0.10
Qantas-0.10
WOW air-0.10
Virgin Australia-0.10
Oman Air-0.10
Jet Airways-0.10
Air India Limited-0.10
SriLankan Airlines-0.11
Qatar Airways-0.11
Hainan-0.11
Kuwait Airways-0.11
AirAsia Philippines-0.11
Royal Brunei Airlines-0.11
China Southern Airlines-0.11
Lion Mentari Airlines-0.11
Jetstar-0.11
Gulf Air Bahrain-0.11
Cebu Pacific-0.11
Emirates-0.11

https://jetlinemarvel.net/2018/05/16/wow-air-introduces-first-ever-flight-india/

Aviation

COMAC Unveils Plans for the C929 to Rival Airbus and Boeing

After the success of China’s first C919 aircraft, the country is setting its sights on developing a larger plane. COMAC (Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China) has officially confirmed plans to build a widebody aircraft, marking a significant step in its aircraft lineup.

Traditionally, Airbus and Boeing dominate the widebody aircraft market, with decades of expertise in developing planes and engines capable of carrying heavy payloads. China, which currently relies on imported engines, is now aiming to challenge these giants with its own widebody jet, the C929, designed to compete with the Airbus A350 and Boeing 777.

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The C929 will be China’s first independently developed long-range widebody aircraft. It adheres to international airworthiness standards and boasts independent intellectual property rights. The baseline version is designed to seat 280 passengers and offers a range of 12,000 kilometers, catering to global demand for both regional and international air travel.

Russia, which also needs reliable narrowbody and widebody aircraft, could become a key customer for the C929. Additionally, China plans to target the broader Asian market as it continues to expand its aviation capabilities.

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China’s aviation progress includes the ARJ21 (now called C909), a regional jet with 100 seats for shorter routes, and the C919, a narrowbody jet with 180 seats designed to rival the Boeing 737 MAX and Airbus A320. Both models have found increasing demand in the domestic market.

At China’s largest air show in Zhuhai, COMAC announced that Air China will be the launch customer for the C929 widebody jet, though details about order size and delivery timelines were not disclosed.

Other major deals announced by COMAC include:

Hainan Airlines: Firm orders for 60 C919 and 40 C909 regional jets.
Colorful Guizhou Airlines: 30 C909 jets, with 20 firm orders and 10 provisional agreements.

The C929, renamed from the CR929 after Russia withdrew from the joint development project in 2023, is expected to carry 280–400 passengers with a range of 12,000 kilometers, competing directly with Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner.

According to COMAC’s deputy general manager, Tong Yu, the first fuselage section of the C929 is expected by September 2027, with prototype test flights anticipated soon after.