Helvetic Airways changes Embraer order

Helvetic order upgraded from E190-E2 to E195-E2 model

Helvetic Airways has signed a commitment with the Brazilian aircraft manufacturer Embraer to convert four of their remaining firm orders to the larger E195-E2 aircraft. The original order, for 12 E190-E2s with purchase rights for a further 12, and conversion rights to E195-E2, was announced in September 2018. Embraer has so far delivered five E190-E2s to Helvetic Airways, and all deliveries of the remaining seven aircraft, including the four E195-E2s, will be completed before the end of 2021, with the majority in the first half of 2021.

The remaining firm order for the seven aircraft to be delivered has a value of USD 480 million, based on current list prices. With all the purchase rights being exercised, the deal has a list price of USD 1.25 billion.

Blue Air launches a new route to Amsterdam!

Blue Air launches a new route to Amsterdam!

Starting for September 4, Blue Air will launch daily flights to Amsterdam from its home base of Bucharest with prices starting at just €20.99.

The flights to the capital of the Netherlands will depart Bucharest at 08:20 and arrive in Amsterdam at  10:20 each day. The return flight departs 11:10 and arrives in  Bucharest at 15:10 local times. 

The carrier has also recently restarted scheduled flights to most of its traditional destinations from both Bucharest and Bacau. 

 From Bucharest Otopeni Airport: 

Belgium (Brussels), Cyprus (Larnaca), Denmark (Copenhagen), Finland (Helsinki), France (Paris Beauvais, Lyon, Nice), Germany (Cologne, Hamburg, Stuttgart), Ireland (Dublin), Italy (Florence, Milan Malpensa, Naples), Great Britain (Liverpool, London Luton), Romania (Cluj, Iași), Spain (Malaga, Valencia, Palma de Mallorca), Sweden (Stockholm).

More reward seats, more status support, more value for Qantas frequent flyers

More reward seats, more status support, more value

Qantas is making it easier for Frequent Flyers to use their points on domestic and Trans-Tasman flights, as more travellers look closer to home for their next holiday.

For the rest of 2020, Classic Flight Reward seat availability will be increased by up to 50 per cent to the most popular destinations in Australia and New Zealand including Cairns, Sunshine Coast, Sydney, Queenstown and Auckland (when flights recommence).

To help regular flyers maintain their travel benefits, Qantas Frequent Flyer will also be giving tiered members Silver and above a one-off Status Credits bonus to compensate for reduced flying activity.

The increased availability and status support are part of a raft of initiatives from the loyalty program designed to give members more value from their upcoming holidays and the broader program.

Ryanair To Fly Bristol Holidaymakers On Over 30 Routes In Summer 2020

Ryanair, announced it is offering over 30 routes to/from the Bristol as part of its Summer 2020 schedule. A Malaga service marked one of the first of Ryanair’s post-lockdown flights from Bristol airport on 23rd June and following the easing of travel restrictions by the UK Govt, Bristol holidaymakers can now look forward to planning a well-deserved summer getaway in their favourite spots in Spain, Italy or Greece. In addition to flights to/from destinations such as Valencia and Ibiza, Ryanair is launching a brand-new twice-weekly Bristol route to/from Vienna.

Ryanair’s Eimear Ryan said:  "We’re pleased to announce Ryanair is offering over 30 routes to/from the Bristol as part of our Summer 2020 schedule. A Malaga service marked one of the first of Ryanair’s post-lockdown flights from Bristol airport on 23rd June and our full Bristol Summer 2020 schedule now includes over 30 routes to leisure & business destinations across Europe, including summer favourites in Spain, Italy or Greece."

Boeing and U.S. Air Force Ink Historic Deal for F-15EX Fighter Jet

 The U.S. Air Force awarded Boeing a nearly $1.2 billion contract to build the first lot of eight F-15EX advanced fighter jets to help the service meet its capacity requirements and add capability to its fighter fleet. The award also covers support and one-time, upfront engineering costs. Already under construction at the Boeing F-15 production facility in St. Louis, the first two jets deliver next year. Read More: U.S. Air Force News Release.

The U.S. Air Force is also announcing the overall Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity contract with a ceiling value of nearly $23 billion for F-15EX.

“The F-15EX is the most advanced version of the F-15 ever built, due in large part to its digital backbone,” said Lori Schneider, Boeing F-15EX program manager. “Its unmatched range, price and best-in-class payload capacity make the F-15EX an attractive choice for the U.S. Air Force.”

Renovation of a runway at Lakeland Linder Airport in Florida completed

Hubbard Construction (Eurovia) completed the second phase of the project to renovate one of the two runways at Lakeland Linder Airport, located alongside the I-4 highway, halfway between Tampa and Orlando.

The project involves demolishing and recycling the existing runway on-site, installing runway lights and resurfacing a stretch 3.2 km long and 76 m wide.

Later this year a new Amazon Air is expected to open and new 42-acre site at the airport.  Lakeland Linder International Airport is also actively seeking commercial service targeting the Atlanta, Charlotte, and Washington, D.C. markets. Specific network service targets include American Airlines and SkyWest Airlines to Charlotte; United, Skywest, and Contour to Washington, D.C.; and Delta to Atlanta. Charlotte remains the airport's top target with its 100 connecting cities linking Lakeland to the global market and the availability of new gates coming online shortly to accommodate additional growth.

The Lakeland-Winter Haven metro area has almost 670,000 residents and has grown 12% since 2010. Similarly situated communities which currently have air service include Ft. Myers (722,336), Boise (691,423), Greensboro (662,079), and Syracuse (656,510) to name a few.

Lakeland is surrounded by four quickly growing airports with a combined 64 million passengers and 75 million annual seats available between them. However, with the area's growing population, facilities overcrowding, and increased demand for additional access points Lakeland is situated perfectly to seek out and start air service.

Global Airlines - Industry Market Research Report 2020

The "Global Airlines - Industry Market Research Report" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

Despite rising levels of airborne passenger and cargo traffic, revenue for the Global Airlines industry has grown sluggishly over the past five years as volatile fuel prices and growing competition have placed downward pressure on airline ticket prices and freight shipping rates, constraining industry revenue growth. Moreover, the total value of world trade has decreased over the past five years, limiting demand for cargo transportation services.

Ryanair to cut 1,000 Ireland-UK flights in August and September

Ryanair to axe around 1000 flights from its UK - Ireland flight schedules during August and September as Ireland continues with its quarantine period.

The airline says this will be a loss of over 200,000 passengers, which will have a detrimental effect on the Irish tourism industry and connectivity for Irish workers commuting particularly to/from the UK.

A spokesperson for Ryanair said:  “Last week when the UK and Northern Ireland removed travel restrictions on short-haul flights to/from the European Union, Ireland became the only country in the EU with a blanket 14 day quarantine restriction on all arrivals from EU countries, most of which have lower COVID case rates than Ireland.

Hyatt Announces Plans for Its First Hotel in Cyprus

Hyatt Hotels Corporation has confirmed, together with its partners, the plan to open the first Hyatt hotel on the island of Cyprus, Grand Hyatt Limassol. The 300-room luxury resort is expected to open in 2025 and signifies Hyatt’s continued growth into Europe’s leading travel destinations.

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The new-build beachfront resort will be situated at a Blue Flag beach east of Limassol, one of the island’s most cosmopolitan cities. With a prime beachfront location on the southern coast of the island and 300 bold, light-filled rooms offering sea views, Grand Hyatt Limassol will be a captivating destination within a destination featuring a stunning 43,000-square-foot (4,000-square-meter) beach club including premium spa and fitness facilities as well as an indoor pool and two outdoor pools. The resort will additionally offer five elevated food and beverage concepts as well as 15,000 square feet (1,400 square meters) of event space. Furthermore, Grand Hyatt Limassol will be a key element of Zaria Resort, a mixed-use luxury development, comprised of residential apartments and private villas totaling more than 861,100 square feet (80,000 square meters).

Virgin Atlantic confirms restructuring plan to keep it flying.

The UK based airline Virgin Atlantic that's partly owned by U.S. carrier has released more details of a special major refinancing plan that will keep it flying in the wake of the global COVID-19 crisis. 

On Tuesday the airline published details for the private-only solvent recapitalisation of the airline after talks with the UK government over a bailout failed to achieve the £500+ million it had asked for. 

This new solvent recapitalisation plan for the airline and holiday business will see the company through the worst of the crisis and enable to carry on flying, albeit with a smaller fleet and less staff.  The bulk of the plan isn't exactly new money,  it is more of deferring debt owed to creditors (£450 million) deferring payments to shareholders - Delta & Virgin Group mainly (£400 million).  New investment from Virgin Group (£200 million - partly proceeds from a sale of stock in Virgin Galactic). New investment from Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP - an investment management firm (£170 million) 

RAF Typhoons scrambled after bomb threat note found on Ryanair flight

Photo RAF /Crown copyright

Two RAF Typhoon jets from RAF Coningsby in Lincolnshire had to be scrambled on Monday to intercept and escort a Ryanair 737 after a note was found in one of the aircraft's toilets claiming there was a bomb on board.

The major security incident occurred around 18.40 on Monday evening when the flight from Krakow to Dublin was forced to divert to London Stansted Airport because of the note warning of explosives on the jet.

A spokesperson for Essex Police confirmed the incident and said "Following investigations on the plane, we have been able to establish there is nothing suspicious on board. The aircraft has been handed back to Stansted Airport and the operator. 

"Two men – aged 47 and 26 – have been arrested on suspicion of making threats to endanger an aircraft and are currently in custody."

Ryanair advised that a note was found in one of the aircraft's toilets claiming that there were explosives on the plane and said its crew followed normal procedures. 

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June performance and COVID-19 update from Delta Air Lines

The US Mega-carrier Delta Air Lines has released details of its June 2020 performance as well and detailing its continued response to the COVID-19 global pandemic. The airline racked up over $7 billion of losses during the month that saw a number of flights reinstated after a long period of grounding because of the lack of demand and travel restrictions.  “A $3.9 billion adjusted pre-tax loss for the June quarter on a more than $11 billion decline in revenue over last year, illustrates the truly staggering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our business. In the face of this challenge, our people have acted quickly and decisively to protect our customers and our company, reducing our average daily cash burn by more than 70 percent since late March to $27 million in the month of June,” said Ed Bastian, Delta’s chief executive officer. “Given the combined effects of the pandemic and associated financial impact on the global economy, we continue to believe that it will be more than two years before we see a sustainable recovery. In this difficult environment, the strengths that are core to Delta’s business – our people, our brand, our network and our operational reliability – guide every decision we make, differentiating Delta with our customers and positioning us to succeed when demand returns.” June Quarter Financial Results  Adjusted pre-tax loss of $3.9 billion excludes $3.2 billion of items directly related to the impact of COVID-19 and the company’s response, including fleet-related restructuring charges, write-downs related to certain of Delta’s equity investments, and the benefit of the CARES Act grant recognized in the quarter Total adjusted revenue of $1.2 billion, which excludes refinery sales, declined 91 percent versus prior year on system capacity reduction of 85 percent compared to the prior year Total operating expense decreased $4.1 billion over prior year. Total adjusted operating expense decreased $5.5 billion or 53 percent in the June quarter compared to the prior year, driven by lower capacity- and revenue-related expenses and strong cost management throughout the business At the end of the June quarter, the company had $15.7 billion in liquidity

First NATO exercise for RAF Poseidon

The RAF’s newest anti-submarine aircraft has participated in a multi-national training exercise for the first time since arriving in the UK in February.

NATO exercise Dynamic Mongoose has seen personnel from CXX Squadron join ships, submarines and aircraft from six nations to hone anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and anti-surface warfare skills with the new Poseidon MRA1 aircraft in the challenging North Atlantic.

Vice Admiral Keith Blount, Commander of NATO’s Allied Maritime Command said: “Exercises today seize opportunities for NATO and Allied nations to sharpen war-fighting skills by focussing on high-end capabilities. Dynamic Mongoose will ensure we remain prepared for operations in peace, crisis and conflict.”

Officer Commanding 120 Squadron, Wing Commander James Hanson said:  “Participation in Dynamic Mongoose offers the trained crews of CXX Squadron a chance to hone their skills cooperating with ships, submarines and aircraft from a number of NATO partner nations, as well as the Royal Navy.”

“The exercise offers my crews a great opportunity to be tested against highly professional opposition in the exercise environment, and I know that the crews have relished the chance to show what they can do with our extremely capable aircraft.”

KLM to offer new service to Cork

KLM expands its European network with Cork (Ireland). As of 3 August, the second-largest city of Ireland will be connected to Schiphol every day by KLM. Flights will be operated with the Embraer 175, with a capacity of 88 passengers.

KLM is in the process of slowly and carefully rebuilding its network. The number of destinations is growing rapidly, but the number of flights is still far from the pre-crisis level. KLM has opted to first offer customers as much choice of destinations as possible. After that, we will examine whether the number of flights to a destination can be increased or whether capacity can be increased by using a larger aircraft.

The opening of Cork was initially planned for the end of March. Due to the corona crisis it was postponed.

Flight schedule

Cork is the second destination in Ireland for KLM, next to Dublin. As of 3 August 2020, KLM will operate daily flights between Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and Cork Airport. The Embraer 175 has 20 seats in Business Class, 8 in Economy Comfort and 60 in Economy Class.

The flight schedule is as follows:

- KL1085 departs from Amsterdam daily at 12.05 and arrives in Cork at 12.55.

- KL 1086 departs from Cork daily at 13.25 and arrives in Amsterdam at 16.10.

All times are local.

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Heathrow wants the UK government to rush decisions as it releases its latest figures.

The management of London Heathrow Airport wants the government to rush through decisions to help them protect jobs and the airport's vast profits in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.

The UK's Government’s quarantine policy for international arrivals impacted load factors, which declined by 7% following its introduction in early June, compared to 2019. The airport says an exit plan is now more critical than ever, as long-haul flights remain grounded and more jobs continue to be put at risk in an industry crucial to rebuilding the UK economy.

 Heathrow urges Government to act faster on establishing Common International Standards that would allow safer travel to critical trading routes. Whilst steps toward travel corridors in July provide some hope for an initial recovery, the pace is too slow for the airports liking.