Aircraft manufacturer Airbus is indeed heading into the fourth quarter of the year on a high note as AirAsia X, the long-range premium branch of AirAsia Group, has placed a firm order to Airbus for another 12 A330-900 and 30 A321XLR aircraft. The contract was inked today in a well attended signing ceremony in Kuala Lumpur. Air Asia recently received its first A330neo as reported here. https://aviationroundtable.blogspot.com/2019/08/air-asia-takes-delivery-of-its-first.html?m=1 In a statement to mark the occasion, Sri Tony Fernandes, Chief Executive Officer of AirAsia Group, present at the event, said that “This request comes to reaffirm the choice of the A330neo as the most efficient option for our future fleet of wide-cabin aircraft. In addition, the A321XLR, with greater autonomy than any other single-aisle aircraft, will facilitate the introduction of new services to other destinations. Together, these aircraft form the perfect combination for long-range and low-cost operation...

The first Airbus A350 of Air France have finally completed it's maiden flight. This is a major step leading to the delivery of the brand new aircraft to the Airline in the coming weeks. The Airbus A350 will be fitted with 34 seats in Business class, 24 seats in Premium economy and 266 seats in economy. Air France a Sky Team alliance member currently have 28 firm orders for the A350. With a current fleet of over 220 aircrafts serving over 200 destinations worldwide, Air France is pursuing a vigorous fleet renewal module in abid to boost it's operations. The brand new A350 aircrafts on order will replace the Airbus A340-300 and also the older Boeing 777 currently in their fleet. Picture Credit: Airbus.

Qatar Airways announced the addition of flights to Langkawi, Malaysia. Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive,Mr. Akbar Al Baker, hosted a press conference to announce the new route. The new service to Langkawi, starting 15 October 2019, is part of the airline’s strong expansion plans in Southeast Asia and marks Qatar Airways’ third destination in Malaysia after Kuala Lumpur and Penang. Qatar Airways will initially start with four-times weekly Langkawi services via Penang with an increase up to five-times weekly services from 27 October 2019 on its Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, featuring 22 seats in Business class and 232 seats in Economy class, with spacious cabins and specially-designed interiors. Langwawi is a tourist delight with forested hills, stunning white-sand beaches and glimmering turquoise waters are among the reasons why travellers enjoy Langkawi Island, an archipelago of 99 picturesque islands surrounded by the azure Andaman Sea on Malaysia’s west coast. Known as ‘t...

The first A220-300 for EgyptAir has successfully completed its inaugural test flight from the Mirabel assembly line. The first of 12 aircraft EgyptAir has on order is due to be delivered to the Cairo-based airline in the coming weeks. The A220 for EgyptAir will provide passengers with superior comfort, its innovative cabin design featuring the widest economy seats of any single-aisle aircraft, and panoramic windows for more natural light. The aircraft, which is outfitted with a brand new cabin layout of 134 seats, will now enter its final phase of completion before delivery. The A220 delivers unbeatable fuel efficiency and true wide-body comfort in a single-aisle aircraft. The A220 brings together state-of-the-art aerodynamics, advanced materials and Pratt & Whitney’s latest-generation PW1500G geared turbofan engines to offer at least 20% lower fuel burn per seat compared to previous generation aircraft. With a range of up to 3,400 nm (6,300 km), the A220 offers the performa...

An ANA -All Nippon Airways Boeing 787-8, registration JA808A performing flight NH-963 from Tokyo Haneda (Japan) to Beijing (China) with 225 people on board, was descending through about 5500 meters (FL180) towards Beijing when the crew illuminated the fasten seat belt signs. Shortly afterwards the aircraft encountered turbulence causing serious injuries to four people on board. The aircraft continued for a safe landing on Beijing’s runway 01 about 30 minutes later. The injured were taken to hospitals. One of the injured was a lady (60) diagnosed with the fracture of her right instep. Turbulence are natural phenomenon that do occur during flight. The importance of ensuring you have your seat belt always fastened cannot be over emphasized. Picture credit: ANA

Dubai International Airport DXB have announced over half-a-million people are expected to arrive into Dubai on Emirates flights from Tuesday, August 20, through to the beginning of September 2019. Travel is expected to reach an all-time high in the coming weeks as the summer holidays come to an end. “With another record breaking period coming up when it comes to passenger arrivals, we want to ensure that Emirates customers coming back to Dubai have the best experience possible starting from disembarkation through to every touchpoint and have positioned extra resources to ensure a speedy arrival journey," said Mohammed Mattar, divisional senior vice president, Emirates Airport Services. Emirates airlines has a number of services and initiatives in place to ensure stress-free movement from gate to arrivals, eliminating potential bottlenecks and cutting wait-times for passengers to complete their formalities. After disembarkation, passengers with restricted mobility can boo...

Cabo Verde Airlines, the Cape Verdean airline, will start flying to Lagos Nigeria, from December 9th 2019. The connection between Sal and Lagos will be operated five times a week, on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, with a Boeing 757, with 161 economy class seats and 22 Business class seats. The inaugural flight is scheduled for December 9th, departing from Amílcar Cabral International Airport (Sal) at 20:50 local time and arriving at Murtala Muhammed Airport (Lagos) at 02:10 local time. All flights will connect to Sal Island, Cabo Verde Airlines' international hub, and will make connections to Lisbon (five times a week), Washington DC (three times a week) and Boston (once a week), as well as to the airline’s destinations in Brazil - Salvador, Porto Alegre, Recife and Fortaleza.  In addition to the hub connections on Sal Island, Cabo Verde Airlines' Stopover program allows passengers to stay up to 7 days in Cabo Verde and thus explore the various e...