Tata-owned carrier Air India has announced that starting March 1, 2024, it’ll operate a daily round trip between Mumbai and Bhuj. The airline will use an Airbus A320 family aircraft bearing flight number AI601. It will depart from Mumbai at 0705 hours and land in Bhuj at 0820 hours. The return service, AI602, will leave Bhuj at 0855 hours and arrive in Maharashtra’s capital at 1010 hours. Bookings for these flights are now open across all Air India’s authorised channels, including the airline’s official website.

This direct connection between the two cities will open the gates for passengers to international destinations across North America, the UK, Singapore and Dubai (UAE). Moreover, those flying in from Bhuj can get connections to about 20 Indian cities.

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On New Year’s Day, UAE’s national carrier, Etihad, commenced direct flights to two new destinations in India. These are daily services to Kozhikode (CCJ) and Thiruvananthapuram (TRV), both in Kerala state. The airline will use the Airbus A321 on these routes. With these two routes, Etihad has increased its direct services to India to ten cities.

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Last year, the carrier reintroduced its nonstop flight to Kolkata. Moreover, it bumped its daily services to Delhi and Mumbai, two of its most popular routes, from two per day to four times a day.

From March 31, 2024, Etihad will further bolster its international network with a service to Boston, USA. Soon afterwards (May 1, 2024), it will commence direct flights to Nairobi, Kenya. Also, its summer schedule includes inaugural nonstop flights to Nice, France, and to the Greek isles of Mykonos and Santorini.

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The first A321Neo assembled at Airbus’ newest A320 Family Final Assembly Line (FAL) in Toulouse, France, has been delivered to Turkey’s low-cost carrier Pegasus Airlines. The new facility is in the former A380 “Jean-Luc Lagardère” building. After the four-engined double-decker went out of production in 2021, the assembly line was retooled to produce the A321Neo, accounting for approximately 65 per cent of the A320 Family orderbook.

Together with the other A320 Family FALs in Hamburg (Germany), Mobile (USA) and Tianjin (China), the newest one in Toulouse will help Airbus meet its target of producing 75 A320 Family jets every month in 2026.

Pegasus Airlines, which has 68 A320Neo aircraft on order, has a fleet of 93 Airbus aeroplanes – 6 A320ceo, 46 A320neo and 41 321neo. The A321Neo, the largest derivative of the A320neo family, can fly with up to 50 per cent SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel). Its maker claims that over 5,600 A321Neos have been purchased by more than 100 operators globally.

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South American airline group LATAM has announced that it has ordered five additional Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. This order will further strengthen its rank as the largest operator of such type of widebody jet in Latin America. Also, the group has confirmed that these five aircraft will be powered by General Electric (GE) Aerospace’s GEnx-1B engines. This move makes the Chile-based LATAM the first airline in Latin America to opt for the GEnx powerplants. The group last utilised a GE Aerospace engine nearly twenty years ago.

With the latest order and other scheduled deliveries of the same aircraft in the coming years, LATAM’s fleet will comprise 46 Boeing 787s. Compared to pre-pandemic levels, that is an increase of 20 aeroplanes. The twin-engined widebody long-haulier can fly 300 passengers 7,565 nautical miles, just over 14,000 kilometres.

LATAM Airlines currently has 332 aircraft in its fleet, comprising 56 Boeing passenger aircraft (767, 777 and 787), 256 Airbus jets (A319, A320, A320neo, A321, A321neo) and 20 freighters. Earlier this year, it took delivery of the first of 76 Airbus A321neo on order.

Africa’s largest carrier, Ethiopian Airlines, has inked a loan agreement with Citi. Worth USD 450 million, it is to finance five new Boeing aircraft – three 737-8s and two 777F (cargo). For Citi, this loan agreement is the largest for aircraft financing in Ethiopia in the last 10 years.

The airline will take delivery of all five jets before December comes to a close. Once done, its fleet will expand to 150. Where the 737-8s will help the carrier bolster its short- and medium-haul network, the 777 Freighters will further boost Ethiopian Cargo & Logistics Services’ stature to become the largest cargo network operator in the continent.

Ethiopian Airlines presently serves 135 passenger and cargo destinations worldwide, including 63 in Africa. Besides the belly hold capacity in passenger aircraft, the airline’s cargo and logistics arm covers 67 dedicated services using 17 freighter jets. By 2035, the airline aims to expand its fleet to more than 270 aircraft.

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