• SriLankan Airlines in the context of the country’s financial meltdown

    SriLankan Airlines in the context of the country’s financial meltdown

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    Whither the national airline? With the country embroiled in a financial meltdown of unprecedented proportions, on Wednesday, July 20, 2022, Parliament confirmed Ranil Wickremesinghe as the nation’s eighth Executive President by a clear margin. One of the many challenges facing the new President is the future of the state-owned national carrier, SriLankan Airlines. A perennially…

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  • Air Italy in controlled shutdown

    Air Italy in controlled shutdown

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    Airline bankruptcies usually happen suddenly. Passengers are stranded all over the network and chaos reigns. Air Italy (formerly Meridiana) has given two weeks notice and will cease operations on February 25th 2020. This is an unusually prolonged period between announcement of a shutdown and ceasing flights. It appears that flights for the next fortnight will…

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  • Flying the A380 Part 1- published in 2008

    Flying the A380 Part 1- published in 2008

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    Flying the A380 By A Double-Decker Bus Driver Originally published on : 28 December 2008 The first day of a pilots’ type conversion course is always special. Learning to fly a new ‘bird’ is a treat that all pilots look forward to, but not without a touch of nostalgia. We tend to become attached to…

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  • Indigo – the regional success story

    Indigo – the regional success story

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    Indigo Airlines – India’s success story Indigo Airlines (ICAO:IGO IATA:6E) has emerged as the clear front-runner in a crowded airline space in India. With over 200 A320 family aircraft and 23 ATR-72s, IGO is the largest Indian carrier by any standard: aircraft employed, passengers carried, market share, revenue generated and profits declared. What terrifies the…

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  • Flying the A380 Part 2 – written and published ten years ago

    Flying the A380 Part 2 – written and published ten years ago

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    Flying the A380 by A Double-Decker Bus Driver 18 J a n u a r y 2 0 0 9 Puny is what most human pilots feel as they approach the simulator every six months, with their licenses and livelihoods at stake. But facing up to a simulator as part of a transition course is…

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  • Who killed the A380?

    Who killed the A380?

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    Who killed the Airbus A380? As American author Mark Twain remarked in 1897, “The report of my death was an exaggeration.” The Airbus A380, flagship of the world’s largest airliner manufacturer and culmination of an estimated USD 16 billion development program, is alive and well. Currently flying with 14 of the world’s most prestigious airlines,…

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  • The father of Airbus

    The father of Airbus

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    Roger Beteille – the man who reinvented the commercial airliner The visionary engineer, pilot and manager who led Airbus to some its most significant decisions, passed away last month. Roger Béteille, who was the head of French aircraft manufacturer Sud Aviation’s flight testing section, was made technical director of the infant Airbus consortium when it…

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