Tirana becomes a new base for Wizz Air

Wizz Air, has opened a new base in Tirana and based an Airbus A320 at Tirana International Airport. Along with the establishment of the new base and complementing the already operated ten routes, Wizz Air announced 15 new routes to eight countries from Tirana starting from July 2020, bringing the total to 25 destinations from Tirana International Airport. The two other aircraft are expected to arrive in two weeks’ time, the company announced.

“It is a very important day for us and hopefully Wizz Air will remain strong in the market while serving to many Albanians in different destinations. This means economic growth, new opportunities to travel and hope that borders will be open soon for all the Albanian citizens that would like to visit Europe and not only. Two more aircraft are expected to be based at TIA and this will be a good sign for a great restart of all our operations hopefully”, said Chief Operation Officer of Tirana International Airport, Mr. Volker Wendefeuer.

Wizz reopens Skopje base

Wizz Air, the leading low-cost airline in Central and Eastern Europe has reopened its Skopje base, and it has restarted the routes from both Skopje and Ohrid airports on 1 of July. Passengers can book flights on a total of 34 routes to some of the most popular countries such as: Germany, Italy and Sweden.

To help passengers and crew travel safely and worry-free, Wizz Air has implemented additional hygiene measures to support physical distancing during boarding and enhanced cleanliness on board. As part of the measures to protect the health of customers and crew, customers should check-in and make any purchases online, such as paying for additional bags, to reduce non-essential interaction at the airport. To contain the spread of possible infection, passengers are kindly asked to adhere to the new physical distancing rules both during boarding and disembarkation.

Alitalia to operate 1000 weekly flights this month

Alitalia will increase number of flights and destinations served in July. During the month, the Airline will operate over 1,000 weekly flights reaching 13 new domestic and international airports: Amsterdam, Athens, Boston, Malta, Nice, Tel Aviv, Tirana, Tunis and in Italy Brindisi, Florence, Lampedusa, Pantelleria and Reggio Calabria.

Alitalia will operate 60% more flights compared to June and l double number of services compared to May. Alitalia aircraft will fly on 52 routes (22 more than June) to 37 airports, including 19 in Italy and 18 abroad. Seats offered in July will grow by 60% compared to the previous month.

The Alitalia flight schedule in July will mainly include the reopening of international air services from Milan and the increase of international flights from Rome, as well as the increase of services from Northern Italy to Southern Italy and the Italian islands.

Cathay Pacific 2019 Sustainability Report Out Now

Major milestones included a new single-use plastics reduction target and the launch of our Cathay ChangeMakers community programme

The Cathay Pacific Group today released its 2019 Sustainable Development Report, providing a comprehensive overview of Cathay Pacific’s and its subsidiaries’ approach to and performance in the areas of environmental, social and governance that are of great importance to our stakeholders.

 

In his message in the report, Cathay Pacific Chief Executive Officer Augustus Tang writes: “At the time of preparing this report, a public health emergency has rocked the global economy. It feels more important than ever to foster positivity, to protect our people, to strengthen our communities and to confront the major challenges we face. We are very determined to play our part in this hugely important undertaking; one which requires us to be financially successful but in a socially and environmentally responsible manner. Our commitment to developing sustainably with transparency and accountability is undiminished.”

Increase on Venice - Rome route

The Italian carrier Alitalia has doubled the number of frequencies on the Venice-Rome route, which remained active during the lockdown period of Italy for the pandemic from Covid-19.

Services between Venice and Fiumicino airport run from two to four a day, with the addition of a flight departing from the "Marco Polo" at 6:50 a.m. and another scheduled at 21:40 from Rome, in order to guarantee round-trip trips for those departing from Venice. The other flights on this route take off at 15:25 (from Venice) and 13:30 (from Rome).

In accordance with current legal requirements, all Alitalia aircraft are sanitized every day with products of high sanitizing power and, thanks to HEPA filters and vertical circulation, the air on board is not only renewed every three minutes, but is 99.7% pure, as in a sterile room.

All passengers are then required to hand over a self-certification prior to boarding which attests that they have not had close contact with people with Covid-19 pathology. Passengers must also wear a protective mask on their arrival at the airport and during the flight.

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With over 50 hotels in the pipeline, Accor intensifies the development of its lifestyle brands

TRIBE will arrive in Paris this fall, followed by Amsterdam, Warsaw and other launches planned for key gateway cities such as London, Berlin, Brussels, Lisbon, and Vienna in Europe to start...

Accor is stepping up its ambition in the lifestyle sector with TRIBE, a rapidly expanding midscale brand, which is exceeding initial expectations and planning to open more than 50 hotels globally... In Europe, in addition to Paris, Amsterdam or Warsaw where hotels have already been signed, projects in iconic locations such as Berlin, London Brussels, Lisbon and Vienna are currently being finalized. Over the next five years, the brand is planning to open a total of 150 hotels worldwide aimed at a new generation of travelers in search of refined yet affordable experiences.

“Accor is a global leader in the lifestyle segment, thanks to its 11 disruptive brands, including TRIBE and its 50 hotels in the pipeline. The brand is going from strength to strength and is continuing its international expansion with the development of numerous projects. In line with the Group’s growth targets, TRIBE has established itself as the new standard in the world of lifestyle hospitality” said Gaurav Bhushan, Chief Development Officer, Accor.

The end of the line for the jumbo.........

The jumbo is coming to the end of the line.....

The US aviation giant Boeing along with its numerous suppliers agreed on the number of parts it would need for the last 747's to be built more than a year ago, according to industry sources reported Reuters this weekend.

If confirmed,  this would mean the end of the jumbo,  the hump,  the lump,  the big bird, the queen of the skies and the stalwart of long-haul passenger jet transport of the '70s and '80s, in two years time. 

Boeing President and Bill Allen and Pan Am CEO Juan Trippe (right) celebrate the launch of the Boeing 747 “Jumbo Jet” in 1968.Photo Boeing

For many a long year the instantly recognizable 747 has plied the major air routes of the world, first as a passenger jet and then as a giant delivery truck, which, it can be argued kept the production line ticking along, longer than should have been expected.

Now the end of the line for these big beasts of aeronautical wonder is in sight,  but not just insight,  it is just around the corner.  The last order for a passenger version came in 2017 -  but not from an airline,  but U.S. administration needing a recognizably American replacement for the modified 747-200s that became the Boeing VC-25s which are perhaps wrongly better known as 'Air Force One'.  So, a couple of 747-8 jets from cancelled orders are being repurposed, modified and made into flying command posts for the next U.S. President.

Lockheed Martin Delivers F-35 Distributed Mission Training Capability

F-35 Simulators Connect for the First Time with other

USAF Aircraft at Nellis AFB

Lockheed Martin, the Joint Program Office and the U.S. Air Force successfully connected the F-35, F-22, F-16 and E3 Sentry in a highly contested simulated environment during a Distributed Mission Training final acceptance test at Nellis AFB, Nevada. This simulated training event was the first time these platforms were connected virtually. Additional platforms such as the F-15 can also connect into this shared virtual environment.

The F-35 DMT capability creates interoperability across military platforms for continuation training and large force exercises. The initial delivery at Nellis AFB is a major step forward as it establishes the framework for F-35 simulators around the world to interconnect.

Qatar Airways now demands passengers wear face shields in addition to a face masks

The Doha based airline has now announced another layer of protective equipment required for all passengers -  a face shield.......not in place of a face mask,  but in addition to it.

The airline has decided to make the new rule mandatory for all passengers,  even children over the age of two, and must be worn from when they are received - either at check-in at  Hamad International Airport (HIA) or at the departure gate at all other airports.

Once on the aircraft, passengers will be provided with a complimentary protective kit which contains a single-use surgical face mask, large disposable powder-free gloves and an alcohol-based hand sanitiser gel. In Business Class customers will also be offered an additional 75ml sanitiser gel tube.

The double layer of protection may seem to be excessive and will undoubtedly make it more difficult for people to breath onboard a hit and stuffy packed jet, but will it make people safer?  

Yes and no,    yes the added protection of a face shield can, according to public health experts in the UK, but the added level of protection in an aircraft,  where people are all facing the same direction, with seats in front, acting as a major barrier, is so infinitely small it is negligible. 

British Airways will resume flying to more destinations across its network this month

British Airways is back in the air and throughout July the UK's major flag carrier and legacy airline will resume flying to more destinations across its network, albeit offering fewer frequencies due to the reduced demand in the wake of the global coronavirus pandemic. 

BA will return to more short-haul destinations by the end of July, including Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kosovo, Morocco, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Turkey. Domestic flights will resume between London and Belfast, Inverness, Jersey, Manchester, Newcastle and Newquay and the airline will move to double daily services to Edinburgh and Glasgow.

British Airways will also return to a small number of its normal long-haul routes by the end of July. Services will resume across the Americas including flights to Bermuda, Dallas, Miami, Seattle and Toronto. These join flights to San Francisco, which restarted in June along with destinations served throughout, including Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York (JFK) and Washington, with a very reduced schedule. The Caribbean will also see British Airways return from July to Barbados and Kingston.

Boutique hotel brand, Hotel Indigo, opens first hotel in Cyprus

IHG Hotels & Resorts opens the first and only branded boutique hotel in Cyprus - Hotel Indigo Larnaca. Each of the hotel’s 40 bedrooms are all uniquely designed and inspired by Cyprus’s craft heritage with balconies overlooking the picturesque city of Larnaca. Just a five-minute drive from the airport, the hotel is centrally located in one of Larnaca’s most historic areas, near the church of St. Lazarus and close to Finikoudes and Mackenzie beaches.

Within walking distance to the beach, the hotel combined two traditional Cypriot beach homes into a new hotel, marrying design elements from both old and new. The bedrooms have a modern yet contemporary feel by merging raw concrete with locally - made, brightly - coloured traditional textiles and light wooden furnishings. The en-suite bathrooms have spa-like rain showers, with brushed concrete flooring and original Cypriot tiling. All the balconies are fitted with traditional Mediterranean yellow shutters, reminiscent of old Cyprus, and mimicking the sunset amongst the surrounding mountains.

Massive loss for SWISS in first-quarter 2020

European airline racks up CHF 84.1 million loss

in first-quarter 2020

As a result of the coronavirus pandemic and its unprecedented impact on the air transport sector, SWISS incurred an operating loss of CHF 84.1 million for the first quarter of 2020 (which compares to an operating profit of CHF 48.3 million for the prior-year period). First-quarter revenues also declined to CHF 923 million, some 20 per cent below their prior-year level (Q1 2019: CHF 1.15 billion ). SWISS  transported 21.4 per cent fewer passengers in the first three months of 2020 than it had in the same period last year. First-quarter systemwide seat load factor amounted to 73.3 per cent, a decline of 5.3 percentage points. No forecasts can currently be made of results for 2020 as a whole, in view of the still highly unpredictable nature of the present developments.

‘Because I’m a Londoner’ New photo competition launched to capture 'London’s New Normal'

Visit London has teamed up with Photocrowd and the Museum of London, to offer Londoners a chance to showcase the best of their local area and the people and places of London, as restrictions begin to ease and the capital emerges from lockdown. Entrants do not need to be professional photographers to join the contest, just have a phone or camera at the ready.

The free to enter the competition, part of the #BecauseImALondoner campaign, encourages participants to share what they love about London. Launching on Saturday 4 July, and coinciding with the opening of many of the things that Londoners have been patiently waiting to see and do, it aims to encourage residents to safely explore their own areas.

It offers the capital’s city dwellers a chance to support their local area, by highlighting people enjoying nearby businesses and venues; from markets, independent shops and hairdressers, to museums or a legendary community restaurant and everything in between.

A Royal Navy patrol helicopter is the eyes in the sky over the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean.

Photo Royal Navy

A Royal Navy patrol helicopter is the eyes in the sky over the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean.

The Wildcat from Yeovilton-based 815 Naval Air Squadron has left her mothership, RFA Argus, to work on maritime security patrols alongside the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Service (RTCIPS).

203 Flight, which has already had a jam-packed deployment in the region since arriving in April, has gone ashore for a few weeks for scheduled maintenance ahead of potential hurricane season missions, but also to complement the local police’s operations.

Photo Royal Navy

The Wildcat is equipped with cutting-edge sensors and radars, making it a world-class aircraft for reconnaissance and patrol sorties.

Aircraft Lighting Market Worth $1,987 Million by 2030

                                       According to the new research report "Aircraft Lighting Market published by MarketsandMarkets, the Aircraft Lighting Market is estimated to be USD 826 million in 2020 and is projected to reach USD 1,987 million by 2030, at a CAGR of 9.2% from 2020 to 2030. 

The increasing demand for better flight experience and comfort, as well as the rise in air passenger traffic, are leading to the rise in aircraft orders across the globe. These factors are anticipated to drive the growth of the aircraft lighting market during the forecast period.