This is a photo of the bar in the first class cabin of Kingfisher Airlines' new A330-200, which made its first flight between Bangalore and London today. It's not quite a shower, but it's still pretty outlandish.

But the bar isn't the only swanky amenity on the new international flights. Economy passengers also get plenty of booze--if not from a wetbar--in addition to USB power outlets, full sized pillows and blankets, a 10-inch IFE screen with live TV and access to email. Seat pitch in the back of the plane is a relatively generous 34 inches.

And while all this good stuff is flying to and from London, Kingfisher is also sprucing up some newly acquired planes in India. With its takeover of Air Deccan complete, the five-year-old low cost carrier is being rebranded as Kingfisher Red.

Related Stories:
· Kingfisher Airlines [Official Site]
· Air Deccan Is Now Kingfisher Red [Times of India]
· More Details Emerging on Kingfisher Airlines Expansion [Jaunted]]]> pbb 2008-09-03T16:00:22-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/8/27/63650/7622

The V Australia part of Virgin might be worried about red tape right now, but Down Under domestic carrier Virgin Blue is getting excited about throwing more and more routes the way of travelers. And we have to say we like that in an airline.

New on the map this week are flights centered on the Western Australian capital, Perth. As well as doubling flights between Perth and northern tourist spot Broome, Virgin Blue is adding flights from Perth to Pilbara region towns Newman and Karratha, perfect bases for exploring the national parks and desert up there.

The new flights start in October and the probable prices haven't been announced yet, but they're bound to be lower than the small fortune people have been paying on these routes until now.

Related Stories:
· Virgin Blue Announces Major WA Expansion [Peanuts]
· Red Tape Worries V Australia [Jaunted]
· Virgin Blue coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: purpleairplane]
]]> amandak 2008-08-27T09:33:17-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/8/25/165612/678

More details are emerging about Indian carrier Kingfisher Airlines, which plans to start flights between Heathrow and India next month. If all goes smoothly, the three-year-old upstart could be landing in San Francisco before the end of 2008.

Billionaire Vijay Mallya runs the show, and he tells the Financial Times:

That Kingfisher is establishing the base for its widebody long-haul operations at the recently opened Bangalore International airport, which with Hyderabad is leading the drive to modernise Indian airport infrastructure in an effort to catch up with the very fast growth of the Indian aviation market.

And though it's slowing growth on the domestic front, Kingfisher is already exploring a code sharing partnership with the SkyTeam, which counts Air France and Delta among its members.

Related Stories:
· Kingfisher Stretches Its Wings [FT]
· New Routes: Kingfisher Airlines Expanding to UK, US [Jaunted]
· New Routes coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Wikimedia]]]> pbb 2008-08-25T17:00:17-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/8/20/14214/8575

We kid you not. Indian carrier Kingfisher Airlines plans to start flights into London Heathrow next month, and flights between Bengaluru (Bangalore) and San Francisco and New York could soon follow.

Kingfisher plans to use brand-new Airbus jets on the routes, which will help with fuel economy. The carrier is also known for its in-flight service, which Skytrax says is on-par with what you'd experience on Cathay Pacific, Qatar Airways or Singapore Airlines. (Having foxy flight attendants probably won't hurt either.)

Still, will the expanded business model be a success? One industry insider says it all depends:

Kingfisher is banking on its product--selling of business class--or front end is very important in international flights and if they manage 80 percent occupancy then they will do fine--otherwise it could be disastrous on their balance sheet.

Related Stories:
· Kingfisher Airlines Set to Launch International Ops [MoneyControl]
· New Routes coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Wikimedia]]]> pbb 2008-08-20T15:00:13-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/8/7/153445/4210

Continuing the trend of foreign carriers that are doing just fine despite doom and gloom in the US aviation market, Copa Airlines is adding new service to cities across South America and the Caribbean and will add six new planes to its fleet by the end of this year.

All the new routes will be out of Tocumen International Airport in Panama, the airline's long-time base, and will serve Aruba, Bolivia, Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela. Service starts in December.

On the aircraft front, six new Boeing 737s will bring the Copa fleet up to 43 planes. The carrier also already owns more than a dozen Embraer 190s, which are about to get really popular in Brazil.

Related Stories:
· Copa Airlines Announces Expansion Plans [Official Site]
· New Routes coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: egmb757lover]]]> pbb 2008-08-07T15:45:06-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/7/30/125541/727

OpenSkies, the premium transatlantic airline launched by British Airways, recently announced it would start Amsterdam-New York service. But the bigger news from the airline is that it's about to rip out all its economy class seats.

Yep, now that Eos, MaxJet and Silverjet have left the market, OpenSkies is going all business class, removing the 30-passenger economy cabin and filling the space with 12 "Prem+" seats with 52 inches of pitch and 140-degree recline. With the existing premium seats and first class, the carrier's one 757 will only carry 64 passengers at a time.

Why the change? The managing director of the carrier, Dale Moss, told Cranky Flier Brett Snyder that those economy seats were "a distraction." Seems he'd rather focus on new destinations instead: Boston and Washington are candidates for future service, as are Barcelona, Brussels and Milan.

Related Stories:
· OpenSkies to Add Amsterdam Flights [Airline Biz Blog]
· OpenSkies' Earth-Shaking Announcement [The Cranky Flier]
· All Business Class Carriers coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Wikimedia]]]> pbb 2008-07-30T13:00:02-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/7/23/1175/86607

Just because Toncontin International in Tegucigalpa, Honduras is one of the most dangerous airports on Earth doesn't mean Delta doesn't wanna fly some jets down there. So starting December 18, subject to governmental approval, the airline plans to start daily 737 service to TGU out of Atlanta.

A couple of things are worth noting, first and foremost the fact that the brand-new 737-700s Delta plans to use will be small and nimble enough to handle the short runway and high altitude at Toncontin. Still, if you're not a fan of elaborate airborne maneuvers, you'd probably prefer flying into San Pedro Sula, less than a couple hours away, where the runway is big, flat and, you know, not deadly.

Also worth mentioning is that, yes, indeed, flights are being allowed into TGU. After a crash at the airport earlier this year, Honduran President Manuel Zelaya ordered all flights diverted to Palmerola Air Base, north of Tegucigalpa. But on July 7, Toncontin was reopened to commercial flights because the military installation still wasn't ready to handle passengers.

Related Stories:
· Details on Delta's New Service to TGU [Official Site]
· World's Most Dangerous Airports: Toncontin, TGU [Jaunted]

[Photo: egmb757lover]]]> pbb 2008-07-23T11:20:22-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/