An Air India aircraft flying from Amritsar to Delhi on Thursday ran into such severe turbulence that three passengers suffered injuries, the inside part of a window panel came off and some overhead oxygen masks got deployed. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner had a very turbulent flight for 10 to 15 minutes during climb phase from 8,000 feet to 21,000 feet, the cause of which is being probed by the airline and aviation agencies. “The turbulence on AI 462 was such that the head of a seated passenger, who possibly did not have his seat belt fastened, hit the overhead cabin because of a bump. The person suffered injuries. Two more had minor injuries. The inside of a window panel (18-A) came off. The outside window did not break and there was no de-pressursation. Passengers were naturally terrified,” said sources. Some oxygen masks also dropped during the severe turbulent phase of the flight. The overhead panel cover of seat 12-U got cracks. “This was a freak high level turbulence. AI and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is probing it,” said a senior AI official. On landing in Delhi, the three passengers were taken to hospital. <br/>
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Portuguese charter operator Hi Fly is heading back to New Zealand to help cover for Air New Zealand, which faces more disruption because of problems affecting Roll-Royce engines on some of its Dreamliners. The charter firm provided cover for Air New Zealand for almost four months over the summer on Auckland-Perth and Auckland-Sydney routes, and Air New Zealand said it would return as disruption from engine issues could stretch for months. Air New Zealand said during the weekend that two aircraft would be grounded while engines were sent to Singapore for repairs. Last week more frequent inspections of some engines were ordered by aviation safety authorities. As a result, some Perth flights from Auckland and Christchurch have been cancelled and a Auckland-Sydney service has been scrubbed over the next week. Air New Zealand has confirmed Hi Fly is returning next month but has not specified which routes it will service. <br/>
Singapore Airlines’ subsidiaries Scoot and SilkAir are helping to increase the group’s overall operational performance as the carriers enjoy surging passenger demand. LCC unit Scoot is growing at a rapid pace, but traffic gains are more than matching its expansion. The subsidiary achieved traffic growth of 20.9% in March, with capacity increasing 10.8%. This caused load factor to rise 7.5 points to 89.2%. SIA said Scoot’s load factor was up in all regions it serves. Narrowbody subsidiary SilkAir is also experiencing strong growth. It saw a traffic increase of 23.7% in March, compared to a 17.5% capacity gain mainly in its north and west Asia markets. The carrier’s load factor climbed 3.6 points to 72.8%. Meanwhile, parent mainline carrier SIA achieved more modest improvements. It reported 4.1% traffic growth compared to a 1.4% capacity rise, resulting in load factor increasing 2.1 points to 82.2%. The carrier said load factor was up in all regions except Europe, which saw a “marginal decline as capacity growth outstripped demand.” SIA noted that its operating environment “remains challenging with efforts balance yields against current market pressures.” For the overall group, March passenger traffic rose 8.4% on capacity growth of 4.2%. Load factor increased 3.2 points to 82.9%.<br/>
Austrian Airlines will reveal a new branding May 15 when it rolls out its sixth Boeing 777-200ER in recognition of the carrier’s 60th anniversary. Austrian began operations on March 31, 1958. The first 777 to feature the new livery is currently in Hong Kong, where it is being modified and adapted to Austrian standards; it should arrive in Vienna in May. The former Aeromexico aircraft is on lease from Irish lessor AerCap. The new livery will be gradually introduced as each aircraft needs repainting—which will take about seven years. When the 2019 summer flight schedule takes effect, around 18 out of 82 aircraft are expected to feature the new branding. Features of the new livery include an optically enlarged empennage and visually highlighted chevron and wordmark. The typical Austrian salutation “Servus” will remain on the aircraft belly. Accordingly, all customer touchpoints and airport signage will be adapted.<br/>