Finnair celebrates its 90th anniversary

By BA Staff

Finnair celebrated its 90th anniversary on Friday, 1 November 2013.

 The world’s fifth-oldest airline still in operation, Finnair was established in 1923.

Today, Finnair specialises in flights between Europe and Asia, offering direct connections from Helsinki to over 60 European destinations and 13 Asian destinations.

Over eight million passengers per year fly on Finnair’s all-Airbus fleet.

CEO Pekka Vauramo says:

“We build on a legacy of building better connections between Europe and Asia and our vision of doubling our Asian revenue by 2020."

Finnair celebrated its 90 years of flying in various ways. As one of the special events to mark its jubilee year, Finnair distributed a special Finnair-themed edition of the Donald Duck comic book to all passengers on long-haul flights on Friday, 1 November. Finnair also commissioned a special batch of posters by Finnish graphic designer Erik Bruun to celebrate its 90th anniversary.

As part of the jubilee year, Finnair renewed its service concept and now uses tableware and textiles designed by Marimekko for Finnair on all flights in both Business and Economy Class. (See video below)



In addition, Finnair launched cooperation with two renowned Finnish chefs, Pekka Terävä and Tomi Björck, in September. (See video below)



The entertainment systems of Finnair’s aircraft have also been upgraded, nearly doubling the selection of entertainment on long-haul flights with 72 films and over 150 television programmes available in both Business and Economy class.

Finnair is harmonising its fleet and became the first airline to take delivery of the new Airbus 321 Sharklet aircraft in September. Finnair is also installing new, fully reclining seats in most of its long-haul fleet from January 2014 onwards. See fleet video below.



In spring 2014, Finnair will open a new Premium Lounge at Helsinki Airport. The Premium Lounge will be located next to the existing Finnair Lounge between gates 36 and 37 in the non-Schengen area and will complement its services. As part of the renewal, a sauna and private showers will be opened between the lounges, and a new tax free shop will be opened in front of the existing Finnair Lounge.

Finnair has received international recognition in its anniversary year: Finnair became the first airline to be selected in the Leadership Index of the global Carbon Disclosure Project on carbon dioxide emissions. Finnair is also the only Nordic airline to be awarded four stars by Skytrax, and it has been named Northern Europe’s Best Airline at the World Airline Awards for the last four years. In addition, it was recently named Best European Airline at the annual TTG Travel Awards. Finnair is a member of oneworld alliance, which is formed by the world’s leading airlines.

See more videos from Finnair celebrating various aspects of their 90 years in aviation.

Read more »

Airbus A380 completes five years in service with Emirates

by BA Staff

Emirates A380 arriving at London Heathrow airport. CC License

The Airbus A380 marked a major milestone this month with the five-year anniversary of its service entry in the fleet of Emirates – the largest operator and and largest customer for the superjumbo.

This Dubai-based carrier has conducted some 20,000 round trip flights since initiating A380 operations in August 2008 with a Dubai-New York flight. In five years, Emirates’ fleet has grown to include 35 A380s, which have flown some 265 million kilometres in total, while travelling to 37 airports worldwide and carrying more than 18 million passengers.

With Emirates, the A380 has served a variety of routes to some of the world’s key destinations, ranging from its longest non-stop flight – Dubai to New York (11,023 km.) – to the shortest, covering 1,900 km. between Hong Kong and Bangkok. Along with major hub airports, the aircraft is used to such cities as Jeddah in Saudi Arabia; Toronto, Canada; Manchester, England and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The airline’s growing network will add service with this behemoth jetliner to Brisbane, Australia; Los Angeles; Mauritius; and Zurich by January 2014.

More than 7,000 cabin crew members support Emirates’ growing A380 fleet, along with nearly 670 flight deck crew. As a humorous anecdote, we reported a story where the Emirates flight crew found the A380 too quiet to sleep!!! Read the story here.

Emirates further optimised A380 operations through Dubai International’s Concourse A that opened in January 2013 as the world’s first purpose-built A380 terminal, serving as the dedicated home of a fleet that will grow with its total 90 aircraft on order. Read the story here.

Coinciding with the five-year anniversary, Emirates partnered with Google to launch the world’s first A380 “street view.” To take this interactive tour of the Emirates A380 cabin – which features private suites and shower spas in first class, flat-bed seats in business and extra room with custom lighting in economy class – read our story.

Read more »

Bangalore Aviation celebrates its fifth anniversary today. Thanks to our readers and supporters.

Five years ago to the date, Bangalore Aviation started its journey. 1,929 articles later, we have grown to become one of the best aviation blogs in the world. All thanks to you - our valued readers and supporters, within and outside the aviation industry.

On this anniversary I would like to share with you some of the highlights of our site, and some of the memorable articles, in my humble opinion, at Bangalore Aviation over the last five years. If I have missed any out please do share via the comment system.

In 2008, I started Bangalore Aviation to offer independent information and views on the aviation scenario in Bangalore. As you know Bangalore Aviation is a labour of love and not driven by commercial considerations. This ensures our independence and our ability to call a spade a spade. We may not be mass market, but I believe our ranking shows that we are respected.

When ever we visit trade shows, it thrills us, that journalists from the largest of news organisations to the smallest, senior to newbies, say hello to us, and tell us they are following us. It means a lot.

Over the years, we expanded our horizons to cover three distinct niches - airlines, airports, and aircraft, both in written form, and in photographs.

Highlights of the Bangalore Aviation site

Logo

Our logo has been designed by a dear supporter, Narayan Gopalan. He is an ace visualiser and brand consultant. Feel free to contact him for your needs. Thanks Narayan.

Our stats and rank

Our total page views and global rank is displayed in the right side-bar of the web page. As of today we are over 3.3 million page views, and ranked 10th globally amongst aviation blogs. Mobile users, and e-mail subscribers will not see these badges. So please do visit the main site, at least once in a while.

Social Media and off-line reading.

To offer you the ability to read us at your convenience. Visit the siderbar on the top right of the page to explore our three methods:

• Daily e-mail subscription delivering new article snippets once a day direct to your mailbox.
• RSS feeds to read the snippets and visit the site for articles you find interesting
• Google Currents. The newest reader for IOS (iPhone and iPad) and Android (phones and tablets) devices. We need your support to grow our subscription base. Subscribe and download from here.

On Twitter, we have the official BangaloreAviation account (@BLRAviation). Both Vinay and Devesh have individual accounts also. Please follow all three accounts on Twitter.

We are also present on Facebook, Google+, and on Pinterest. Please do visit our pages and give us a thumbs-up.

Commenting system

We are very proud of our commenting system which is powered by Disqus, and used on many sites across the world. One of the best comments received in our early days is posted in this story.

We always welcome and receive regular interaction from our readers and are thankful to each of our commenters for sharing their time and thoughts. The most recent comments are posted in the bottom right of the page.

We are open to both brick-bats or bouquets.

You like us? great, please post that.

You have an alternate view? we welcome it; please post that too.

You disagree with us? share your views, we may not be correct and will be honoured to correct our stand, if needed.

You want to abuse us, sorry this is where we draw the line. We always post comments as long as they are not derogatory, personal or foul.

Due to the richness of the Disqus system, at present the commenting system is limited to the full web version. We are working to bring it on to the mobile platform.

Recommendations

To improve the site experience, we have recommendations to additional articles at the end of the page. Check them out. Again this is limited to our full web version. We are working to get this on the mobile version.

Due to the richness of Disqus, this commenting system is available only in the full web version online. We are working on bringing it to the mobile version as well.

The right sidebar

Is a treasure trove of snippets of information like subscription links, translation links, the most popular articles of the last 30 days, recent article, our ENTIRE archive, our rankings, links to get the latest stock prices on the Indian airlines, our blog roll recommending other sites to visit, etc. It all there to explore.

Some of our memorable articles

The last five years have been a challenge, but fun filled. The early years were devoted to airports and the challenges faced by the Bengaluru International Airport to get going. We had stories like holding BIAL to a higher standard and what an airport truly is and its economic and human impact. A trip report and how BIAL corrected the short-comings of its early days, and I was truly privileged to be given a "behind the scenes" look at how an airport functions by no less than the Chief of Operations, at that time, Marcel Hungerbuehler.

Two articles I am especially proud of, were the "Sanity Check" articles. The first found fault in the government's grandiose plans for a high speed rail link to airport, and as a responsible citizen, in the second, we proposed an alternate solution for rail connectivity.

As a consumer advocate and a believer in fair play, we wrote how passengers pay as much as 600% more fees to airports than airlines do.

Our analysis articles covered the crash of 2008, the cautious recovery in 2010 (also published in The Mint), and all the analyses, annual or topical or financial by Vinay Bhaskara.

Our exclusive one on one interviews with leaders in the aviation business are sought after. Sanjay Aggarwal and Neil Mills of SpiceJet, Dinesh Keskar of Boeing, Giorgio De Roni of GoAir, Masaru Onishi of Japan Airlines, and G.M. Toh of Singapore Airlines are just a few gurus who shared their insights with all of us.

An innocent question on an aviation forum made us write one of our most popular articles, a prosumers reference to technical information on runways. Another reference we are proud of is the series on the unique tail-art of Air India Express' Boeing 737s. In historical reference, my most emotion provoking article, for me at least, still remains the one on Concorde. We also covered the 40 year old rivalry between Boeing and Airbus.

Stories containing images of cabins are very popular. All of us like to research what to expect. Jet Airways' Boeing 777, Singapore Airlines' Airbus A330-300, Cathay Pacific's new Premium and International Economy class, or Air India's Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Humour and the unusual punctuated the otherwise serious business of aviation. Be it how Kingfisher Airlines made pigs and dogs fly, or the fire raising African mangoes, the award chopsticks of Japan Airlines, or how the A380 is too quiet for Emirates' pilots to get sleep.

One airline that has always attracted attention is Kingfisher Airlines. Bangalore Aviation detailed the initial signs of implosion at the airline when it sold its A340-500s to Arik Air of Nigeria, who gained a lot from the Doctor's extravagance. We covered the national carrier Air India, how it is abused, how do we solve the conundrum, or warning for the government to act. We also covered the meteoric expansion of the unofficial national carrier, Emirates.

The human nature for salaciousness drove many of the more regrettable stories of crashes and incidents like this video of the crash of a FedEx MD-11F at Tokyo Narita.

And we cannot complete our journey without all those beautiful images. Check out our photo albums here and here.

While thanking you for supporting us for the last five years, we will endeavour to repeat this exercise five years hence.

- Devesh Agarwal

Read more »

Video: AirAsia's "awesome" 10th anniversary ad

Malaysian low cost carrier AirAsia has released an ad titled "Awesome AirAsia" to commemorate its 10th anniversary.



It sort of reminds me of Virgin Atlantic's 25th anniversary "Still Red Hot" ad.

A hat tip to Shashank Nigam at Simpliflying for the lead.

Read more »

Bangalore Aviation completes four years, passes one million visitors mark

Dear Readers,

We began our journey four years ago on 14 March 2008, and with your support, friendship and love, have grown to become one of India's leading aviation websites.

Today we get over a 100,000 pages views a month from across the world and are acknowledged for our independent analysis.

We are deeply thankful and grateful to the over one million unique visitors who have graced the pages of Bangalore Aviation and have showered us with bouquets and brickbats. Both help us constantly improve.

On behalf of Vinay and Vedant

I extend our kindest regards

Devesh Agarwal
Editor

Read more »

Flightglobal's excellent perspective on the Boeing 747 on it's 40th anniversary

2010 is the 40th anniversary of the commencement of commercial operations of the venerable Boeing 747 'jumbo jet'. On this anniversary Flightglobal has put together an excellent historical perspective on the Boeing 747 which is well worth a read.

Also do take the time to read Bangalore Aviation's historical perspective on the 40 year old rivalry between Boeing and Airbus - Part 1 and Part 2.

Read more »

First anniversary of Bangalore airport: BIAL CEO Marcel Hungerbuehler interview - Part 5

Today, we conclude our continuing series of interviews with Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL) CEO Marcel Hungerbuehler on the first anniversary of Bengaluru International Airport. Yesterday in part four, we focussed on the future and airport expansion. Today in the last part five we focus on Marcel Hugerbuehler the man.

Most people associate Marcel Hungerbuehler's predecessor Albert Brunner with the Bengaluru International Airport. What many are unaware of, is Marcel's role leading up to the opening of the airport last year. His practice of PPP of a different kind -- Patience, Perseverance, and Persistence had, and still has, a profound role.

Professionally, I have found him to be what I would describe as a "pragmatic optimist" always looking at the positive side of things, and always willing to explore and support new ideas, but with the pragmatism 40 years in the industry brings.

Q1. What are Marcel Hungerbuehler 's experiences in India both professional and personal. What has he learnt? What has he liked? What has he disliked?

My wife and I have made this city home for the last two years. I feel Indians by nature are warm and friendly people and that makes my stint here a pleasure. We enjoy the company of our wide circle of friends in India. We are especially grateful to our landlord/landlady for introducing us to their wide circle of friends. Interacting daily with my Indian colleagues, friends and professional associates has resulted in us picking up a lot of the Indian culture. I have done a bit of local travel to Ooty and Kabini and the agriculture college is great place for a weekend run. I participated again in the Sunfeast World 10K run through the streets of Bangalore on May 31st.

We hope you liked the week long series of articles. Please do give your feedback via the ratings system and your comments.

Read all articles on Bengaluru International Airport
Read all articles on the first anniversary interview with Marcel Hungerbuehler

Read more »

First anniversary of Bangalore airport: BIAL CEO Marcel Hungerbuehler interview - Part 4

In the continuing series of interviews with Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL) CEO Marcel Hungerbuehler on the first anniversary of Bengaluru International Airport, yesterday in part three, we focussed on the airlines. Today in part four we focus on the future and expansion of the airport.

Part 4 - The future expansion of Bengaluru International Airport

Q1. Is BIAL committed to the "Express Terminal" ?
Q2. Many people believe that the express terminal is going to be of a "non-permanent" design, and may not offer all the amenities as the regular T1. It will in effect lower the current brand positioning of BIA.
i. BIAL's response on this?
ii. Can BIAL share some plans / drawings / artists impressions ?
Q3. What are your plans for T2?
i. What will be a traffic number that BIAL will consider as a trigger point for commencement of construction of T2 ?
ii. Can BIAL share some plans / drawings / artists impressions ?
iii. Many industry experts feel that T2 should be a full dual level terminal typical of international designs with departures on the upper level and arrivals at the lower. Is it? Or will you continue with the side-by-side design like T1 ?

The airport is built on a 4,000 acre plot of land and what you see today is just Phase one of the Master Plan. The next expansion will include extending the apron from the current 42 aircraft parking stands to 62. Additionally, the current terminal building will be expanded to accommodate the increase in passenger traffic.

With the existing infrastructure, the airport can easily handle the passenger traffic for the next couple of years. The next step after this will be construction of the second terminal and runway – a mirror image of the airport infrastructure that one sees today. From this you will gather that this airport will be a work in progress project for the next 10 to 15 years with gradual but continuous expansion phases, the way it was initially envisioned and planned.

Even with the current slowdown, the traffic figures in this region are set to stabilize and grow at a steady pace. Reacting to this growth, we will continue to realize our master plan and expand to accommodate increased traffic in terms of aircraft movements and passengers.

Details of the second terminal and runway are yet in the planning stages. Their specifications depend on a wide range of factors like traffic forecasts, the type of aircraft that the airport will be handling, requirements of airlines operating a few years from now, etc. These details are dynamic and will constantly be changed to align with the need of the hour.

We will start with the detailed planning of the expansion of the terminal buildings next year.

To build an “Express Terminal” integrated into the present Terminal is still an option.
------------

I find the answers to the delicate question of expansion extremely guarded. BIAL appears to be keeping it's cards very close to it's chest. This could be as a result of the on-going probe by the Joint House Committee. What is your view?

Please visit tomorrow for the conclusion and part five - Marcel Hungerbuehler

Read all articles on Bengaluru International Airport
Read all articles on the first anniversary interview with Marcel Hungerbuehler

Read more »

First anniversary of Bangalore airport: BIAL CEO Marcel Hungerbuehler interview - Part 3

In the continuing series of interviews with Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL) CEO Marcel Hungerbuehler on the first anniversary of Bengaluru International Airport, yesterday in part two, we focussed on the revenue streams. Today in part three we focus on the airlines and routes present and future.

Part 3 - Airlines

Q1. Which airlines is BIAL targeting and trying to invite to Bangalore to commence operations ?
Q2. The foreign members of the airline operators committee (AOC) is complaining they are being discriminated against since BIAL is offering discounts to domestic airlines including those who take extended periods of credit, when compared to them who pay on time. Any comments ?
Q3. What is Marcel Hungerbuehler's take on the airlines situation in Bangalore personally. Do you feel there is adequate (a) International Capacity (b) Domestic Capacity? Where are the opportunities to grow?

With regard to new airlines, BIAL is constantly looking at attracting new airlines to make Bangalore a regional hub for South India. Currently, we are focusing on bringing in airlines like Air Asia, Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways, China Eastern Airways, China Southern, Jazeera Airways, Japan Airlines, ANA Airways, Private Air and many more to connect the city to destinations like Abu Dhabi, Doha, Bahrain, Guangzhou, Beijing, Narita, Tokyo and Amsterdam.

However, we need to be realistic, airlines hardly ever take up new routes during an economic downturn as it normally takes three years for a new route to reach break-even. Yet we are happy to note that the number of international flights to/from Bangalore have increased by 21% in 2008/9 compared with 2007/8. This is one of the reasons why Routes has awarded BIAL with the marketing prize this year.

BIAL does not discriminate in pricing between international and domestic airlines, but has logically based its pricing depending on the weight and type (wide body and narrow body) of the aircraft. Landing, parking and aero bridge prices depend on which category the aircraft falls into.

For 2009/10, the capacity is certainly adequate as many airlines operate with a seat load factor around 70%. This is not enough for a profitable operation, neither on international nor domestic routes.

Please visit tomorrow for Part four - Future expansion

Read all articles on Bengaluru International Airport
Read all articles on the first anniversary interview with Marcel Hungerbuehler

Read more »

First anniversary of Bangalore airport: BIAL CEO Marcel Hungerbuehler interview - Part 2

In the continuing series of interviews with Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL) CEO Marcel Hungerbuehler on the first anniversary of Bengaluru International Airport, yesterday we focussed on the past. Today in part two we focus on the present and more specifically revenue streams.

Part 2 - Revenue streams

Q1. Can BIAL provide a rough break up of revenue streams. Passenger, Flight Operations, Cargo, Non-Aero ? Values are preferred.
Q2. The slowdown and resultant financial difficulties of airlines is impacting all airport operators. How is BIAL coping ? In particular with Kingfisher Airlines which is leading the industry in losses and for whom Bangalore is the base.
Q3. Globally airports are increasing the reliance on non-aero revenue and crossing the 60% mark. How and by when does BIAL plan to reach this?
Q4. How critical is UDF (User Development Fee) to BIAL operations ? For how many years can passengers expect to pay UDF?
Q5. Given the slowdown in aviation, why is BIAL not using the land to promote non-aero revenues faster ?
Q6. What support or awareness does BIAL require from government, from industry, from citizens ?
Q7. With the introduction of cost recovery on freight, BIA is fast becoming an airport which is high in cost to do business in. At a time when industry is seeking to curtail costs, how does BIAL intend to deal with potential challenges like diversion of freight business to alternate ports etc.

Revenues from any airport are divided into aeronautical and non aeronautical. We have just completed a year of operations and still stabilizing. However, the bulk will come from aeronautical revenues, of which UDF forms a significant component. Revenues from parking, advertising, retail, Food and Beverage, etc. are considered traditional forms of non aeronautical revenue streams.

However, the concepts of airport cities and aeronautical SEZs (Special Export Zones) are fast catching on in India and in the coming years will form a major chunk of the airport’s non aeronautical revenues. The slowdown as you are aware is not only in the aviation industry, it is also in the real estate market. BIAL is currently in talks with developers and will begin the construction of the airport city in the first half of 2010.

Large investments are required to build infrastructure like roads, water supply and sewage for the airport city and SEZ. The time frame for them to break even is long – it could take 10 to 15 years to begin yielding profits. BIAL envisions the airport city to be a flourishing destination where people come to the airport not only to fly, but also to shop, eat and do business. It will be unfair to expect someone who comes from the city to shop for a shirt or watch a movie, to pay for infrastructure used by another to fly. Hence, profits from one source is not used to offset the other.

Retail is a key component of the non aeronautical services offered at the airport and also drives the overall passenger experience. Our expectations from the retail segment are modest given that it is a relatively new concept in India. However, our concessionaires have meticulously derived their concepts and best efforts are on to ensure we exceed our customer expectations.

UDF is classified as an aeronautical revenue source, used for the development, management, maintenance and operation of the airport and is charged only to embarking passengers. World over UDF (sometimes simply called “passenger fee” or “airport tax”) is charged to passengers and it has not been a deterrent as the passenger understands that it is an essential source of revenue for the sustenance of the airport. Gradually in India too, this concept of the user paying for the infrastructure he uses will gain ground and acceptance. Just like the way a passenger pays toll to access a highway that is in turn utilized towards the upkeep and maintenance of the said highway, similarly, UDF is charged.

Cost recovery is not imposed on trade by BIAL. [Editor's note: Cost recovery has been imposed by the Government of India. It is applicable at only Bangalore and Hyderabad airports. A most unfair approach from the government in my opinion.]. As far as operating costs are concerned, Bengaluru International Airport offers competitive rates at the cargo terminals. The add-on charges were not envisaged and they are a recent addition. We still believe that Government will reverse those charges so that trade is benefited. It is certainly unusual for a country to have all costs of Customs, a sovereign function, passed on to the trade. BIAL is committed to providing the best service and quality with international facilities at our both cargo terminals.

Please visit tomorrow for Part 3 - Airlines at BIA present and future

Read all articles on Bengaluru International Airport
Read all articles on the First Anniversary Interview with Marcel Hungerbuehler

Read more »

First anniversary of Bangalore airport: BIAL CEO Marcel Hungerbuehler interview - Part 1

Bengaluru International Airport was India's first greenfield private airport conceived. In 1991, just as then Finance Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh began the much heralded liberalisation of the Indian economy, the concept of a privately operated airport was born.

Bangalore was still to emerge on the Indian map, forget the global stage. Air passenger traffic was not even one million passengers per year.

The ultra-radical concept set the standard and passed through many milestones and hurdles to be finally fructified on May 24, 2008.

The airport operator Bengaluru International Airport Limited (BIAL) is celebrated a month long "first anniversary party" which includes a shopping and cultural festival. On this first anniversary I bring to you a five part interview with BIAL CEO Marcel Hungerbuehler and assess the past, the present, and the future.

Part 1 - The past.

Q1. How do you gauge the past year?
Q2. What does BIA need to improve on?
Q3. What are the strengths of BIA?
Q4. What lessons has BIAL learnt from its operating experience?

From an operations point of view, the first year has been critical for the stabilization of the airport processes and facilities. The feedback of the airlines and passengers matter the most to us. We provide cost competitive environment for the airlines to operate in and the passengers receive hassle free services, so both are happy with the new airport.

With that said, the challenge is more from an industry point of view. One should take serious cognizance of the current threat of our sector being at “crossroads”, though at the same time remain undaunted enough to carry the progressive reforms and policies in the sector forward. When has the global aviation sector not had crises? There is a call for innovation and for efficient management of our systems. The work on developing and modernizing airport infrastructure must continue in order to avoid capacity constraints, improve air space efficiency and minimize costs. As the air traveller becomes discerning, it is imperative to ensure that we do not create any inequities in his overall airport experience.

It is important to recognize that the opening up of the skies has allowed many to realize the convenience of air travel. It is time that we took an alternate view of looking at our available transportation systems. India’s diversity and breadth mandates that we move away from the current either/or approach to transportation solutions and look at integrating airports with other modes of transportation like railways and roads/highways, enabling seamless transportation to all parts of the country.

We are proud of the high service standard reached after only one year of operation. Departure punctuality reached 89% !! in April 2009, [departures within 15 minutes of scheduled time are considered "on-time" as per international norms]. Baggage delivery remained constant over several months and stands at 7minutes of the first baggage being on the belt. To name just two.

Editor's note: See previous article detailing performance

Please visit tomorrow for Part 2 - Revenue Streams

Read all articles on Bengaluru International Airport
Read all articles on the First Anniversary Interview with Marcel Hungerbuehler

Read more »