Emirates Expanding Flights to Bangalore

United Arab Emirates' national carrier, Emirates Airline, is on an expansion spree. Starting new month, India's economically-thriving southern region will be the destination point for eight new flights a week for the airline. 

At present, Emirates serves south India with flights to Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram.  This 31 weekly flights offers over 8,000 passenger seats and 500 tons of cargo capacity.

Balgalore is home to more than 1,600 tech firms, including international companies such as Cisco, Sun Microsystems, IBM, Compaq, Intel, and Accenture. The city is considered the IT nerve-center of Asia.  According to Software Technology Parks of India, Balgalore exported UDS$1.6 billion in five months this year, with exports to Europe and North America growing at a pace of 20 percent.

Emirates will operate the Airbus A330-200 and the Boeing 777-200 to Bangalore.

China Orders Airbus Aircraft

China expects to sign a deal with Airbus for a major order.  Concurrently, Airbus has signed an agreement that might pave the way to opening an assemby line in China.  Such a move is unprecedented for Airbus, which assembled planes now only in its largest home countries, France and Germany.

The Chinese government may purchase as many as 150 signle-aisle Airbus planes.  That order would be valued at approximately USD$9.6 billing at list prices. 

Last December Airbus company officials and Chinese Premier Wen signed an agreement that spells out greater cooperation.  An assembly line for its single-aisle planes in China, if that takes place, would have great marketing value for Airbus in China.  However, though highly visible, final asembly represents only a small fraction of the total cost of building an aircraft.

Demonstrating the country's voracious appetite for aircraft, China has also recently crafted a similar deal with Boeing Co. for as many as 150 single-aisle 737 jets, including 70 firm orders.  Chinese aviation authorities have said they plan to acquire as many as 650 single-aisle jets in the next five year.

Sky Europe and Wizz Air are Europe's Fastest-Growing Low-Fare Carriers

It's not only Asia, the Middle East and the U.S. where strong growth is occurring in commercial aviation; Europe is also experiencing rapid growth.  Wizz Air and Sky Europe are emerging as Central and Eastern Europe's fastest-growing low-fare carriers, according to Aviation Week magazine.

Both airlines have been taking advantage of the EU's eastward expansion, which has added 10 countries to the EU common aviation market. 

In key Central and Eastern European markets, capacity has skyrocketed, according to GCW Consulting's Vice President Anita Mosner.  Low-fare carriers combined to achieve a 41% market share in Poland, 24% in Hungary, and 14% in the Czech Republic. Slovakia's Bratislava Airport, the main base for Sky Europe, has experienced a growth in seat capacity of 424% in three years.  Budapest capacity is up 72%; Prague is up 62%; Vienna 35% and Warsaw 75%.  But growth at some of the areas regional airports, which have had little air service in the past, is even outstripping those impressive major airport growth rates.

Sky Europe stated operations in 2002 on a single domestic route. They now have a fleet of 16 aircraft with 16 more on order.  Sky Europe has built up a network of 70 routes in 19 European countries.

Privately-held Hungarian airline Wizz Air expects to post its first-ever profit this year.  The airline launched operations mid-year 2004, a mere 19 days after Poland and Hungary joined the EU.  They have a fleet of 9 Airbus A320s; Wizz Air placed an order with Airbus for 12 dditional aircraft last year at the Farnborough Air Show -- and placed a follow-on order this year for 20 more.

U.S. Regional Airlines Continue To Grow

Regional Airline Association has released statistics showing the increases in passenger miles flown.  Regional airline revenue from passenger miles totaled nearly USD$16 billion for first quarter 2006, a gain of nearly 5% over the same period last year.  The industry completed 1.13 million departures, with an overall average load factor of nearly 72%. 

SkyWest Airlines, American Eagle and ExpressJet were ranked as the three largest regional airlines in terms of passengers flown for the first quarter.  The 15 largest US passenger-carrying regional airlines are SkyWest, American Eagle, ExpressJet, Mesa, Atlantic Southeast, Comair, Pinnacle, Horizon Air, Chautauqua, Air Wisconsin, PSA, Mesaba, Trans States, Shuttle America and Piedmont.

Regional airlines often hire pilots with fewer flight hours than the major airlines require.  As a result, it can be an excellent career path for young pilots.  For more details on this, call Phoenix East Aviation and ask to speak to an Admissions Officer.  You could be flying for one of these airlines sooner than you think! Phoenix East is ready to help make that possible.

Airports Scrambling to Make Room for Huge Airbus Jetliner

Airports around the world are working to prepare for the arrival in 2007 of the huge Airbus A380 superjumbo jet, a plane so large that some airports must build new facilities to accommodate it. 

Dozens of airports around the world are scrambling to reinforce runways, widen taxiways, speed up baggage-handling systems and build high capacity gates with supersized lounges.  This is necessary to handle the expected crush of people and luggage brought on by an aircraft capable of seating more than 850 -- that's no typo -- 850 passengers.  This is nearly TWICE as many passengers as the largest Boiing 747 jumbo jet held.

Cities that Airbus expects will have the most A380 traffic by 2023 are London, Tokyo Narita, Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok, Dubai, Beijing, Seoul, Los Angeles, Shangai, Frankfurt, Taipei, Tokyo Haneida, Paris, Sydney and New York.  San Francisco has already added the latest enhancements to a terminal capable of handling the A380.

Miami, Dallas-Fort Worth and Orlando have taken steps to get ready for A380 flights. Though Los Angeles boasts more jumbo-jet traffic than New York, the airport faces tough challenges in revamping its cramped, 1960s facilities to get ready to become the busiest U.S. gateway for the A380.

If your dreams include flying this awesome aircraft, call Phoenix East today.  Talk to an Admissions Officer about how to get started on a professional jet pilot career path. 

JetBlue Airways Adding New Cities

The growth continues! JetBlue Airways is adding six new cities in six weeks.  It's now flying to Houston's Hobby Airport and to Nashville, TN.  This week the airline will add Aruba, Sarasota/Bradenton FL, Tucson AZ and Columbus, OH.