Modifying an aircraft’s interior is a mammoth task. In addition to vast amounts of money, it takes the plane out of service for a noticeable period. The latter is always a painful subject for airlines, as a grounded aircraft equals a huge sales loss. Also, the timelines can vary since the modification project is with third-party entities.

Air India has set the ball rolling for the Indian aviation industry. It has become the first airline to receive the Design Organisation Approval (DOA) from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which is designated as CAR 21 approval. This will allow the carrier to modify aircraft interiors in-house. That should positively impact operational efficiency and make Air India more self-sufficient.

The airline collaborated with Tata Technologies to improve the interiors of its aircraft per the CAR 21 approval guidelines. The duo plans to integrate digital thread solutions and modern-day Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) services.

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The Latvian national carrier airBaltic has launched its 2024 winter schedule comprising nine new routes from its three bases – Riga, Tallinn and Vilnius. One of those routes went live today with the airline’s A220 connecting Riga with Madeira, Portugal. The per-sector flight time is approximately five minutes shy of six hours. This route and two others were announced in March this year.

On October 25, airBaltic began operating flights from Riga to Sharm El Sheikh (Egypt). The carrier connected Latvia’s capital with Hurghada (Egypt) the following day. Two more new routes from Riga are in the pipeline. One will go live on November 8 (to Rzeszow, Poland), and the other is scheduled for December 22 (to Riga-Innsbruck, Austria).

airBaltic will launch flights from Tallinn to Kittilä (Finland) on December 21 and to Barcelona (Spain) on February 19, 2025. Similarly, the carrier will begin operating flights from Vilnius to Oslo Torp (Norway) on October 29 and to Düsseldorf (Germany) on October 31.

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According to Etihad’s Chief Revenue and Commercial Officer, Arik De, the airline has witnessed significant demand on its Toronto and Boston routes. As a result, the UAE national carrier has made changes to up its game.

Starting October 27, 2024, the airline introduced its all-new Airbus A350-1000 on its Abu Dhabi-Toronto route. In addition to the latest interior design, the new aircraft has 44 seats in Business Class, opening options for travellers on a route that runs daily. Flight EY 0021 departs the UAE capital and lands in Toronto at 2:35 and 8:15, respectively. The return service—FY 0022—leaves from Toronto at 14:20 and arrives in Abu Dhabi at 12:10 the next day.

On the other hand, Etihad has decided to increase flight frequencies on its Abu Dhabi-Boston route to daily from November 1, 2024. This is quite a move for a route the airline introduced about six months ago. A Boeing 787-9, bearing flight number EY 0007, will depart from Abu Dhabi and land in Boston at 9:30 and 14:40, respectively. Those travelling the other way will board flight EY 0008, which will take off from Boston at 16:10 and arrive in Abu Dhabi at 13:05 the next day. All times mentioned are local.

Also Read: Etihad Announces More Direct Flights To Dusseldorf And Copenhagen

After revealing the names of two new destinations a few days ago, Air India Express (AIX) is back with another announcement. The airline has introduced a new daily service that directly links Vishakhapatnam with Vijayawada. The flight departs from Vishakhapatnam at 9:35 and lands in Vijayawada at 10:35. The return leg takes off from Vijayawada and arrives in Vishakhapatnam at 19:55 and 21:00, respectively.

Vishakhapatnam and Vijayawada become each other’s third direct destination for AIX. From Vishakhapatnam, the airline also serves nonstop flights to Bengaluru and Hyderabad. With one stopover, passengers can connect to 21 domestic destinations and three international locations. Similarly, AIX also flies direct flights to the capitals of Karnataka and Telangana. The carrier offers passengers connections to 15 domestic cities and one international destination with just one stop.

Starting December 1, 2024, Air India Express (AIX) will have two new destinations join its ever-expanding network. The airline will link Jammu with Srinagar and Delhi and connect Sir Vijaya Puram (Port Blair) with Bengaluru and Kolkata. All connections will be flown at least once every day.

An AIX flight will depart Delhi at 10:45 and land in Jammu at 12:10. The return service is scheduled to leave at 15:45 and arrive in the national capital at 17:20. Both sectors will operate once daily. From Jammu, the Srinagar-bound service will depart at 12:40 and reach its destination at 13:40. Those travelling the other way will board the AIX flight that leaves Srinagar and land in Jammu at 14:15 and 15:10, respectively. These two sectors will also operate once per day.

Linking Karnataka’s capital with the Andaman & Nicobar Islands capital will be AIX’s one daily service, departing from the former at 10:50 and landing at the latter at 13:15. The return flight will leave Port Blair and land in Bengaluru at 13:50 and 16:20, respectively. Between Kolkata and Port Blair, the carrier will operate two daily services, leaving the capital of West Bengal at 5:40 and 9:20 and landing at Port Blair at 7:50 and 11:40, respectively. The opposite sector’s timings are 8:35 and 12:20 departure and 10:45 and 14:35 arrival.

Once the routes mentioned above are live, Port Blair and Jammu will become AIX’s 46th and 47th destinations in its network.

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