Aviation

A woman books the entire Air India Business Class cabin for her pet dog’s flight.

An Air India flight’s entire business class cabin was reserved for a dog owner’s pet. On September 15, the dog boarded an Air India flight from Mumbai to Chennai.

A woman reserved the entire business class cabin on an Air India flight to treat her dog to a luxurious travel experience. On September 15, Air India AI-671 flew from Mumbai to Chennai. The woman paid a whopping 2.5 lakh rupees to book the entire cabin for her furry child, Bella. She, her pet, and her servant had the entire cabin to themselves for two hours. It was the J-class cabin, which had 12 seats. The price per seat is 20,000. The woman reserved all 12 seats for her dog.

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Air India is the only domestic airline in India that allows domestic pets in the passenger cabin. Passengers are allowed to bring up to two pets under certain conditions. Typically, a pet is assigned a seat in the last row of the scheduled class. Pets must pay additional fees when flying with Air India. Air India will have flown around 2000 pets on domestic flights by 2020. However, this was most likely the first time someone reserved an entire cabin on an Air India flight for a pet. She paid 2.5 lakhs for the business class cabin. An official told ANI, “The average business class cost for Mumbai-Chennai is around Rs 20,000, and the said female passenger paid Rs 2.5 lakh for the trip.”

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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.