In the journey of global aviation, 2014 will be remembered for one singular incident, the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH-370 with 239 passengers and crew on board. That was not all as another of Malaysia Airlines flight MH-17 was shot down while flying over Ukraine. The year ended with the mysterious crash of yet another airliner of a South East Asian carrier, AirAsia Indonesia.

Nearer home in India, there was turbulence of another kind—mainly financial—leaving all the airlines, with the exception of IndiGo, struggling to survive. While the existing airlines struggled, two new ventures have hit the Indian skies reviving hope that the airline industry still has prospects. 2014 indeed has been an unforgettable year. Here are some of the events that grabbed the headlines.

3.2 Billion Passengers Fly

Some 3.2 billion passengers used air transport for their business and tourism needs in 2014, according to preliminary figures on scheduled services released by the International Civil Aviation Organisation. The annual total passenger traffic was up approximately five per cent compared to 2013 and is expected to reach over 6.4 billion by 2030, based on current projections. Aircraft departures reached 33 million globally during 2014, establishing a new record and surpassing the 2013 figure by roughly one million flights.

Firm Orders by Air Costa

Embraer SA signed an agreement with India’s Air Costa for a firm order for 50 E-Jets E2s with an additional 50 purchase rights. The acquisition is a mix of 25 E-190- E2s and 25 E-195-E2s and has an estimated value of $2.94 billion based on 2014 list prices. The purchase rights are for an additional 25 E-190-E2s and 25 E-195-E2s, bringing the total potential order to up to 100 aircraft and can reach $5.88 billion if all are exercised. This transaction raises the total E-Jets E2 orders to 200 firm and 200 options/purchase rights since the launch of the E2 programme in June 2013.

Air Costa has become the first customer of E-Jet E2s in the Indian market and will take delivery of the E-190-E2 in 2018. The E-195-E2 is scheduled to enter service in 2019. Today, the airline flies four E-Jets, two E-170s and two E-190s. Air Costa is based out of Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh.

“E-Jets have proven their ability to stimulate traffic and sustain airline profitability while providing affordable and comfortable air travel to people in emerging markets like Brazil and China. I see the domestic Indian market developing in a similar way with both the current E-Jets and of course the E2s. I congratulate Air Costa for its vision in seizing the opportunity to bring greater connectivity within India and we are sincerely grateful for the airline’s confidence in Embraer,” said Paulo Cesar Silva, President and CEO, Embraer Commercial Aviation.

India’s New Civil Aviation Minister

Prime Minister Narendra Modi appointed Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju as the Civil Aviation Minister. Raju has already initiated a number of measures to re-energise the Indian civil aviation Industry.

Born in 1951, Raju belongs to the royal state of Vizianagaram in Andhra Pradesh. He had his education in Scindia School, Gwalior, Hyderabad Public School and V.S. Krishna College, Visakhapatnam. He was elected from the Vizianagaram assembly constituency consecutively for seven terms, first time as Janata Party candidate in 1978 and in the remaining elections as part of Telugu Desam. He held office as Excise Minister and Commercial Taxes Minister in the N.T. Rama Rao’s Cabinet. Later, he held Finance and Legislative Affairs Ministry and Revenue Ministry in the N. Chandrababu Naidu’s Cabinet. He is Politburo Member in TDP and won the 2014 Lok Sabha elections from Vizianagaram.

Successful Mission to Mars

India became the fourth nation to execute a successful mission to Mars—a success made even sweeter by the fact that it was the first ever country to succeed in its maiden attempt. Prime Minister Narendra Modi pointed out that the mission cost just $74 million, much less than that of Hollywood film Gravity. Dubbed as ‘Mangalyaan’, the mission to Mars has been described as a technological feat that will allow India to flex its ‘interplanetary muscles’. Mangalyaan is among the 25 ‘Best Inventions of 2014’ listed by Time magazine that are ‘making the world better, smarter and—in some cases a little more fun’.

Airbus Delivers the First A350 XWB to Qatar Airways

Qatar Airways took delivery of its first A350 XWB at a launch ceremony in Toulouse. Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, Akbar Al Baker, said, “In the seven years since we first placed our order for this new aircraft type at the Paris Air Show investing in a partnership programme with Airbus, there has been significant growth in the airline industry.

Airbus has 778 aircraft on order from airlines, with Qatar the largest customer with 80. The first of 80 A350-900 on order from Qatar will undertake its first commercial flight on the Doha-Frankfurt route in January 2015.

A320neo Makes Maiden Flight

The prototype Airbus A320neo (new engine option) made its first flight from Toulouse/Blagnac Airport on September 25. The aircraft was flown by Airbus Experimental Test Pilots Philippe Pellerin and Etienne Miche de Malleray. They were accompanied in the cockpit by Flight Test Engineer Jean-Paul Lamnert. Monitoring the aircraft’s performance on board were Flight Test Engineers Manfred Birnfeld and Sandra.

The first flight marked the start of a 3,000-hour flight test programme that will eventually involve eight aircraft – two A319neos, four A320neos, and two A321neos that will evaluate both new engine options, the PW1100G-JM and the CFM International LEAP-1A turbofan.

MH-370 Mystery

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH-370 was a scheduled international passenger flight that disappeared on March 8, 2014, while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Flight MH-370 last made voice contact with air traffic control at 01:19 MYT on March 7 when it was over the South China Sea, less than an hour after takeoff. The aircraft disappeared from air traffic controllers’ radar at 01:21 MYT. Malaysian military radar continued to track Flight MH-370 as it deviated from its planned flight path and crossed the Malay Peninsula, went out of the range of Malaysian military radar at 02:15 MYT while over the Andaman Sea, 370 km Northwest of Penang in Northwestern Malaysia. Neither the crew nor the aircraft’s communication systems relayed a distress signal, indications of bad weather or technical problems before the aircraft vanished. The aircraft, a Boeing 777-200ER, was carrying 12 Malaysian crew members and 227 passengers from 15 nations.

Despite a major multi-national search effort, till date there have been no answers on MH-370. The current phase of the search is a comprehensive coverage of the seabed which began in October 2014 and is expected to take up to 12 months and cost over AU$52 million.

MH-17 Disaster

Malaysia Airlines Flight MH-17 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur that crashed on July 17, 2014, having been shot down, killing all 283 passengers and 15 crew on board. The Boeing 777-200ER airliner lost contact about 50 km from the Ukraine-Russia border and crashed near Torez in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine, over territory controlled by pro-Russian separatists.

According to American and German intelligence sources, the plane was shot down by pro-Russian separatists using a Buk surface-toair missile fired from the territory which they controlled.

Embraer Delivers 500th Phenom

Embraer Executive Jets has delivered the 500th Phenom family jet, a significant achievement only five-and-a-half years after entry into service of the first aircraft. Winners of various innovation and design awards, the Phenom 100E and the Phenom 300 are bestin-class jets, having redefined the entry-level and light jet segments with the latest generation technology, a new style concept, premium comfort, performance and reliability.

The commemorative aircraft, a Phenom 300, was delivered to Prime Fraction Club, a fractional ownership company that sells, manages and coordinates the utilisation of assets among its members in Brazil. Prime Fraction Club operates three other Phenom jets, in addition to helicopters, boats and sports cars.

AirAsia India Takes off

AirAsia India is an Indo-Malaysian lowcost carrier. Announced on February 19, 2013, the airline is a joint venture with AirAsia Berhad holding 49 per cent stake, Tata Sons holding 30 per cent and Telestra Tradeplace taking up the remaining 21 per cent in the airline. The joint venture would also mark Tata’s return to the airline industry after 60 years. AirAsia India commenced operations on June 12, 2014.

AirAsia is the first foreign airline to set up a subsidiary in India. AirAsia India appointed management consultant Mittu Chandilya as CEO. The airline’s first Airbus A320-200 flying from the Airbus factory in Toulouse, France, landed at the Chennai International Airport on March 22, 2014. They have received in-principle approval to import 10 A320-200 aircraft.

Indonesia AirAsia Flight Crashes

Weather was the “triggering factor” in the crash of Indonesia AirAsia Flight QZ8501 with icing likely causing engine damage, Indonesia’s meteorological agency said as divers prepared to search the plane wreckage.

The Airbus A320-200 crashed while negotiating a thunderstorm en route from Indonesia’s second city Surabaya to Singapore. There were 162 passengers and crew on board. Rescue and relief operations are continuing as only 48 bodies have been found at the time of writing. Also the black box (flight data recorders) has been located.

Boeing’s CST-100 spacecraft

NASA has approved the completion of Boeing’s first milestone in the company’s path towards launching crews to the International Space Station from the US under a groundbreaking Commercial Crew Transportation Capability contract. The Certification Baseline Review is the first of many more milestones, including flight tests from Florida’s Space Coast that will establish the basis for certifying Boeing’s human space transportation system to carry NASA astronauts to the space station. The review established a baseline design of the Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 spacecraft, United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, and associated ground and mission operations systems.

On September 16, NASA unveiled its selection of Boeing and SpaceX to transport US crews to and from the space station using their CST-100 and Crew Dragon spacecraft respectively. These contracts will provide US missions to the station, ending the nation’s sole reliance on Russia and allowing the station’s current crew of six to grow, enabling more research aboard the unique microgravity laboratory.

Gulfstream Tops with 19 Records

The National Aeronautics Association, which serves as the national authority for all aviation record-setting activity in the US, recently released its tally for 2014. Once again, Gulfstream Aerospace dominates the list, with no fewer than 19 records for a combination of altitude, speed and/or distance. This is more than the records claimed by all other airframe manufacturers combined including Airbus, Boeing Business Jets, Bombardier, Cessna and Embraer.

Most of the records set by Gulfstream aircraft were the result of new-model introductions. The G-280, with its ability to climb directly to 43,000 ft, set the pace, with 13. Placing a distant second was the G-650, with five records. However, since its first flight in November 2009, the G-650 has claimed 42 speed records including one in an aroundthe-world flight.

China’s First Regional Jet Certified

Powered by GE’s CF34-10A, the first Chinese regional jet developed by Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd called the ARJ21-700 aircraft has received its Type Certificate from the Civil Aviation Administration of China on December 30 in Beijing, paving the way for the aircraft’s entry into service.

The Chinese company will be looking to developing international markets with Africa clearly on the agenda. Earning a US Federal Aviation Administration type certification is a precondition for the ARJ21-700 to enter the global aviation market.

Record Orders by IndiGo

IndiGo has placed an order for 250 single-aisle aircraft, valued at $25.70 billion at $102.8 million per aircraft. The airline and its two co-founders US-based non-resident Indian Rakesh Gangwal and InterGlobe Enterprises’ Group Managing Director Rahul Bhatia concluded an MoU with Airbus SA to buy 250 Airbus A320neo family aircraft.

“This order reaffirms IndiGo’s commitment to the long-term development of affordable air transportation. The additional aircraft will enable us to continue to bring our low fares and courteous, hassle-free service to more customers and markets and will create more job opportunities,” IndiGo President Aditya Ghosh said in a statement.

Dassault Rolls out Falcon 8X

Dassault Aviation launched the Falcon 8X, the newest addition to the Falcon family in the ultra longrange category. The Falcon 8X will offer a range of 6,450 nm and will feature the longest cabin of any Falcon. Moreover, it will offer the same low operating economics and the remarkable operating flexibility for which all Falcons are known.

With eight passengers and three crew, the Falcon 8X will be capable of flying 6,450 nm non-stop at Mach 0.8. It will be powered by an improved version of the Pratt and Whitney Canada PW-307 engine that equips the Falcon 7X. Combined with improvements to wing design, the new power plant will make the 8X up to 35 per cent more fuel efficient than any other aircraft in the ultra long-range segment, affording a corresponding savings in operating costs.

The Falcon 8X is expected to have a balanced field length of about 6,000 ft and an approach speed of 106 kts at typical landing weight. The Falcon 8X will be equipped with a totally redesigned cockpit modelled after the Falcon 5X. It will feature a new generation of the EASy flight deck equipped with a head-up display that combines synthetic and enhanced vision and offer a dual HUD capability. First flight is expected in early 2015 with certification in the middle of 2016 and initial deliveries before the end of 2016.

Vistara Launched

The Tata Sons-Singapore Airlines joint venture unveiled the brand name of its new airline ‘Vistara’ and said it would launch operations in January 2015.

The Delhi-based airline has already decided to lease 20 Airbus A320s, including seven A320neo series planes which have the latest technology on board. The airline plans to have a 20-aircraft fleet in five years.