Greater Bay Airlines orders 15 Boeing 737 MAX 9 Aircraft.....

Greater Bay Airlines has put in an order for 15 737 MAX 9 aeroplanes, with a further commitment for five 787 Dreamliners.  

The new Hong Kong-based carrier said the 737 MAX 9 will form the backbone of its future fleet as it seeks to operate more flights between Hong Kong and major cities in Asia and Mainland China. GBA plans to leverage the 737 MAX 9's enhanced capacity and range to lower trip costs and expand its network.

"The 737 MAX 9 will allow GBA to open up new routes from Hong Kong with unmatched economics," said Wong Cho Bau, chairman of GBA. "The new order will bring fantastic growth possibilities to GBA and enable us to strive for excellence in an innovative way for our valued customers."

GBA is an all-Boeing carrier currently operating a fleet of three 737-800 jets with flights to four destinations, including Bangkok, Taipei, Tokyo and Seoul. The airline also plans to bring in a number of additional 737-800s to meet its expansion needs before the arrival of the 737 MAX 9.

"GBA's commitment for 737 MAX 9s is a major endorsement of our 737 MAX family and its ability to serve new markets," said Stan Deal, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "The 737 MAX 9 will provide GBA with unmatched efficiency and reliability and lower operating costs, while continuing to provide a premium on-board experience for its passengers."

JetBlue and Spirit confident that the proposed merger is procompetitive

JetBlue Airways Corporation and Spirit Airlines, Inc. have responded to the filing of a complaint by the U.S. Department of Justice (the “DOJ”) seeking to block the companies’ merger:

JetBlue and Spirit will continue to advance our plan to create a compelling national challenger to the Big Four airlines, which control about 80% of the market after years of industry consolidation that the DOJ itself approved. By coming together, we will expand JetBlue’s unique offering – where customers do not have to choose between a low fare and a great experience – to boost competition nationally.

JetBlue has proven its ability to force the legacy carriers to react to JetBlue’s low fares and award-winning service. The DOJ itself said that “In the face of consolidation, JetBlue has provided an important and steadfast source of competition” and that “JetBlue’s reputation for lowering fares is so well known in the airline industry that it has earned a name: the ‘JetBlue Effect.’” (a).

JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes said: “Customers deserve a competitive airline marketplace and we will pursue this merger to ensure they get it, continuing to disrupt the legacy airlines with low fares and award-winning service that even the DOJ has applauded. We believe the DOJ has got it wrong on the law here and misses the point that this merger will create a national low-fare, high-quality competitor to the Big Four carriers which – thanks to their own DOJ-approved mergers – control about 80% of the U.S. market. There is too much at stake for the DOJ to prevent us from bringing the JetBlue difference to more customers in more markets.”

Spirit CEO Ted Christie said: “We disagree with the DOJ’s decision to seek to block the proposed merger, which will benefit consumers and employees. We will vigorously defend our position that a combined JetBlue and Spirit will be a game changer for customers nationwide, creating the most compelling national low-fare challenger to the dominant U.S. carriers. Together, we intend to democratize flying for travelers across the country – a goal we believe is worthy of the government’s support.”

ULCC Market Will Continue to Thrive as JetBlue Brings Much-Loved, Award-Winning Experience to Spirit Aircraft

Condor flies to Almería, Spain

Welcome to Andalusia: starting in summer 2023, Condor will fly to Almería. From May 12, Germany's most popular leisure airline will fly nonstop from Dusseldorf to the Spanish port city on Fridays. Not only is Condor adding another popular Spanish destination to its portfolio, but also offering the only direct connection from Germany. 

The flights are operated by an A320. Travel with Condor can be booked with tour operators and in travel agencies. Flight tickets are available as usual at www.condor.com and by telephone.

Almería is in the popular vacation region of Andalusia, in southern Spain. The charming city inspires with white houses, by which cozy lanes meander. Wide avenues of palm trees provide shade, as Almería is also known for its many hours of sunshine. One of the region's most famous sights, the impressive Alhambra city castle in Granada, is just under two hours away.

Boeing Begins MH-139A Grey Wolf Helicopter Production

Boeing will begin production on the first 13 MH-139A Grey Wolf helicopters, following the award of a $285 million U.S. Air Force contract for aircraft, sustainment and support services.

Deliveries to the U.S. Air Force are slated to begin in 2024

“Advancing the program from testing and evaluation to production is a major step toward entering the MH-139 into service and providing the U.S. Air Force with additional missile security for decades,” said Azeem Khan, Boeing’s MH-139 program director. “We are working diligently to begin deliveries next year.”

The MH-139A’s enhanced capabilities allow it to accomplish missions more quickly, quietly and efficiently. With a 50 percent increase in speed and range, and an increase of 5,000 pounds max gross weight, the aircraft can execute the U.S. Air Force’s mission of protecting intercontinental ballistic missiles across the country.

The MH-139A team consists of Boeing, as the prime contractor, and Leonardo as an original equipment manufacturer. Leonardo produces the helicopter at its plant in northeast Philadelphia, while Boeing is responsible for military equipment procurement and installation and post-delivery support of the aircraft. By offering a proven AW-139 platform and integrating additional military capabilities into the MH-139A, the Boeing-Leonardo team provides the U.S. Air Force with the most capable product for the mission.

“My teammates at Leonardo, together with Boeing, are eager to continue our partnership and ensure the success of the MH-139A program,” said Clyde Woltman, CEO of Leonardo Helicopters U.S.

Budget airline Norwegian posts strong traffic figures in February

Norwegian delivers strong traffic figures in February 

Norwegian had 1.2 million passengers and a load factor of 84 percent in February. The airline experienced high demand for winter holiday travels and is currently preparing to welcome both corporate and leisure passengers as it ramps up capacity when moving from the winter to summer schedule.

In February, Norwegian had 1.2 million passengers, an increase of 83 percent from this month last year. The load factor was 84 percent. Many Nordic travellers took advantage of the winter holidays, flying with Norwegian to warmer places in the Mediterranean and popular winter destinations in the Alps. In addition, a high number of travellers used the winter break to book their Easter travels, long weekends in May and summer holiday flights with Norwegian.

“We are satisfied with the traffic figures this past month, and we are particularly pleased with a load factor of 84 percent. This demonstrates Norwegian’s ability to offer an attractive product to passengers throughout the year, even during the seasonally slower winter months. High load factors also increase our fuel efficiency, an important parameter from a sustainability perspective,” said Geir Karlsen, CEO of Norwegian.

Norwegian had 1,173,408 passengers in February, up 83 percent from February 2022. The capacity (ASK) was 1,826 million seat kilometres, while actual passenger traffic (RPK) was 1,530 million seat kilometres. In February, Norwegian operated an average of 64 aircraft and 99.4 percent of the scheduled flights were completed. Punctuality, the number of flights departing within 15 minutes of scheduled time, was at 85.4 percent in February.

Eurowings Holidays expands....

Eurowings Holidays, the tour operator brand of Eurowings, which is operated by the HLX Group Vacation is expanding its offering of holiday packages.

Growing brand benefits for tourism comeback.

Eurowings Holidays targets 1,000 vacation guests per day in the current year.

Eurowings Holidays covers the entire range of travel preferences, from city breaks and beach vacations to all-inclusive and family vacations and last-minute offers. The advantage for travelers: Eurowings Holidays combines know-how from two areas – an efficient airline and efficient tour operator. In doing so, Eurowings works closely with the HLX Group of Karlheinz Kögel, who looks back on 35 years of experience in travel sales and tourism and is considered a pioneer of “dynamic packaging” – the flexible combination of different travel services.

“Since the end of the Covid pandemic, we have seen a significant increase in bookings via Eurowings Holidays,” says Michael Erfert, Head of Sales, Distribution & Digital at Eurowings and Managing Director of Eurowings Digital GmbH. “We want to use this upswing to establish ourselves among the top 10 German tour operators in the coming years. To this end, we are currently recruiting a large number of IT and marketing experts at Eurowings Digital in the Cologne startup campus Carlswerk – 30 of around 150 planned new hires will work exclusively on the expansion of Eurowings Holidays alone.”

“Nothing will remain as it was – the traditional sales channels will change. Through digitalization and artificial intelligence, airlines and also hotels will be able to go completely new ways. With Eurowings Holidays, we will link these channels,” explains Karlheinz Kögel, who has been running the tour operator brand Eurowings Holidays with his HLX Group since December 2019.

Targeted customer approach via digital channels

In the future, Eurowings is set to play an even greater role in its partnership with HLX: for example, the airline's digital division will take over web development, marketing and data analysis going forward. In addition to this, the Eurowings Holidays offering will be be integrated even more deeply into the company's own homepage eurowings.com. This will make it possible to offer customers fully comprehensive, attractive travel packages in addition to flights. Flexibility is also an important plus with Eurowings Holidays: the booked vacation can be rebooked free of charge up to 14 days before the start of the trip and can also be cancelled for a small fee of 50 euros.

.

WestJet adds more seats with increased flight frequencies to summer schedule

Canadian airline WestJet has announced significant increases to its summer schedule bringing more seats and additional flight frequencies to popular routes across its network. With nearly 600 daily departures during peak travel days, WestJet's summer schedule enhancements will bring more opportunities for Canadians to travel seamlessly across the airline's domestic, transborder and international network this summer.

"Providing our guests with even more opportunity to travel across our network this summer comes as a result of a thoughtfully designed schedule that balances the high demand for travel alongside a reliable and resilient operation," said John Weatherill, WestJet Group Executive Vice President & Chief Commercial Officer. "With more seats available for booking and added capacity on popular routes, our summer schedule reflects a strengthened commitment to providing seamless domestic and transborder connectivity for our guests."

Highlights of WestJet's summer schedule increases over 2022:

    64 per cent increase in seat capacity to/from Regina

    46 per cent increase in seat capacity to/from Saskatoon

    44 per cent increase in seat capacity to/from Edmonton

    42 per cent increase in seat capacity to/from Winnipeg

    27 per cent increase in seat capacity to/from Calgary

    13 per cent increase in seat capacity to/from Kelowna

    5 per cent increase in seat capacity to/from Vancouver

Enhanced flight frequencies across popular domestic and transborder routes:

Route	2023 peak summer frequency	2022 peak summer frequency
Edmonton – Las Vegas	11x weekly	4x weekly
Edmonton – Los Angeles	7x weekly	4x weekly
Calgary – Denver	4x weekly	2x weekly
Calgary – Houston	13x weekly	7x weekly
Calgary – New York (JFK)	7x weekly	4x weekly
Vancouver – Saskatoon	7x weekly	4x weekly
Vancouver – Ottawa	11x weekly	5x weekly
Calgary – Yellowknife	14x weekly	7x weekly
Calgary – Windsor	7x weekly	3x weekly
Calgary – London, Ont.	14x weekly	7x weekly
Calgary – Montreal	20x weekly	13x weekly
Edmonton – Kelowna	35x weekly	27x weekly
Edmonton – Winnipeg	20x weekly	6x weekly
Edmonton – Yellowknife	7x weekly	3x weekly
Edmonton – Saskatoon	14x weekly	6x weekly
Edmonton – Regina	14x weekly	6x weekly
Edmonton – Victoria	20x weekly	13x weekly
Edmonton – Halifax	13x weekly	7x weekly
Winnipeg – Thunder Bay	13x weekly	7x weekly
Winnipeg – Saskatoon	12x weekly	7x weekly

Three new Airbus A350-900 aircraft for Air France

Air Lease Corporation, one of the leading aircraft leasing and management companies had agreed the long-term lease placements for three new Airbus A350-900 widebody aircraft with Air France.  According to ALC these aircraft are scheduled to be delivered to Air France in the second quarter of 2024 and come from ALC’s existing order book with Airbus. 

“This strategic lease placement of three new A350-900s is another important step in the long-haul fleet modernization of Air France,” said Steven Udvar-Házy, Executive Chairman of Air Lease Corporation.  “The Air France-KLM Group is our largest European airline leasing customer, encompassing not only Air France and KLM, but also includes Transavia Netherlands and Transavia France.  ALC also has nine new Airbus A321neo aircraft delivering to the Group between late 2023 and 2026, and five Boeing 737s delivering to Transavia during the first half of this year, all on long-term leases.”

FLYONE launches its next new flight destination - Zurich!

FLYONE continues to expand its flight network, adding new flights towards Milan, Rome, Berlin, Tbilisi, Valencia, Prague, Madrid, Munich and Zurich.

Zurich is the next new destination to be launched by FLYONE starting 25 June. A direct flight from Chisinau to Zürich airport offers passengers the possibility to travel comfortably and quickly. Most importantly, the price of a ticket is also affordable, it can be purchased at a price of 93 EUR.

With this new air route, FLYONE aims to satisfy the demand and create convenient connections between different cities.

This destination is launched twice a week, on Thursdays and Sundays, according to the timetable:

Chisinau (KIV) 12:30 - Zurich (ZRH) 14:10

Zurich (ZRH) 15:10 - Chisinau (KIV) 18:50

FLYONE was launched in 2016 and has managed in a short time to become one of the leaders of the aviation market in Moldova.

More recently, FLYONE has renewed its IOSA certification, the highest safety standard in operational management. Also in 2022, the company became a member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

FLYONE has been ranked monthly multiple times in 2018, 2019 and 2020 in the TOP 10 "Most punctual company" according to the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) category.

In December 2022, FLYONE Airlines SRL received the Air Operator Certificate from the Romanian Civil Aviation Authority (RCAA) and the license issued by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure.

During the same year, FLYONE managed to transport more than 1 million passengers and to launch 6 new destinations.

FLYONE ARMENIA, was launched in 2021, and in 2022 it became number 1 in Armenia.

As you know, FLYONE operates flights to 42 destinations.

24 Scheduled flights to Frankfurt, Tel Aviv, London, Parma, Verona, Dublin, Lisbon, Paris, Istanbul, Yerevan, Brussels, Dusseldorf, Nice, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Rome, Milan, Valencia, Berlin, Tbilisi, Prague, Madrid, Munich, Zurich and 5 charter flights to Antalya, Heraklion, Sharm El-Sheikh, Tivat, Hurghada.

With a stopover in Yerevan, FLYONE ARMENIA operates flights to Tbilisi, Lyon, Milan, Ekaterinburg, Vnukovo, Domodedovo, Saint Petersburg, Mineralnye Vody, Novosibirsk, Samara, Sochi, Istanbul, Paris, Dubai, Beirut, Tehran, Dusseldorf, Tel Aviv.

TUI adds more choice for 2024 from Norwich

The most popular destinations for holidaymakers flying from Norwich are; Tenerife, Majorca and Turkey

People from East Anglia are more likely to book a four-star, all-inclusive summer holiday for two adults, with 76 per cent booked without children

TUI flying offers nine routes from Norwich for summer 2024

TUI, the leading global travel and leisure company, has today added a further 1,500 hotels on sale across 22 destinations for UK guests for summer 2024 following strong bookings across seasons. Customers in East Anglia will be given more choice in popular destinations such as Ibiza, Menorca and Turkey from Norwich Airport.

With a total of 14 flights a week, TUI flying offers nine routes from the region, with the largest amount of flights to Palma Majorca, three times each week. 

New data revealed by TUI, shows that holidaymakers flying from Norwich are more likely to book a summer holiday to Tenerife, Majorca and Turkey on an all-inclusive basis, compared with those flying from Southampton, who are more likely to travel to Majorca, Jersey and Ibiza, on an all inclusive basis for their summer holiday. What’s more, a seven-night holiday has proven popular amongst people flying from Norwich, with the majority of customers booking four-star hotels, for two adults.

Andrew Flintham, Managing Director at TUI UK & Ireland commented: “We are proud of our unrivalled regional flying programme that operates from more UK airports than any other international airline, offering more flexibility and choice to our customers from 20 regional airports. Norwich has been a long-standing partner of ours and it’s great to see the evolution of this important partnership, which has sent more than 400K passengers on holiday in the past 10 years.

Aviation Capital Group Announces Delivery of One A320neo to SAS

Aviation Capital Group announced the delivery of one new Airbus A320neo aircraft on long-term lease to Scandinavian Airlines. Featuring CFM International LEAP-1A engines, this is the first of ten aircraft scheduled to deliver to the airline as part of a multiple-aircraft sale-leaseback transaction between ACG and SAS.

“ACG is honoured to welcome SAS as a renewed strategic partner. We are delighted to support the SAS FORWARD transformation plan with this sale-leaseback transaction for this latest technology and fuel-efficient aircraft,” said Tom Baker, CEO and President of ACG.

“We continue to make progress with our transformation plan and these new sale-leaseback agreements are an important part of that – securing competitive financing for our renewed fleet of modern and fuel-efficient aircraft. We are pleased to renew our long-term strategic partnership with ACG, one of the world’s leading aircraft financing partners,” said Anko van der Werff, President and CEO of SAS.

JetBlue to offer flights from New York To Paris

JetBlue will start a new transatlantic service from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport on June 29th, 2023. 

“Our successful London service proves customers can book low fares without compromising great service,” said Robin Hayes, chief executive officer, JetBlue. “We are excited to continue disrupting the transatlantic market and offer business and leisure customers traveling to and from Paris an opportunity to experience our highly acclaimed Mint and core products in a market that has suffered from high fares by legacy carriers for far too long.”

Flights will operate daily on JetBlue’s Airbus A321 Long Range (LR) aircraft with 24 redesigned Mint Suite® seats, 114 core seats and the sleek and spacious Airspace cabin interior. The A321 platform – offering the range of a wide-body but with the economics of a single-aisle aircraft — will allow JetBlue to effectively disrupt the market with the airline’s award-winning service and low fares on flights between the U.S. and Paris.

Seats on the new Paris route are on sale starting today with low fares for U.S.-originating travelers starting at $479 roundtrip for the airline’s award-winning core experience and starting at $1,899 for JetBlue’s premium Mint experience, available on jetblue.com.

France-originating travellers can enjoy special introductory roundtrip fares starting at €399 for core and €1,299 for Mint when booked through their preferred travel agent or online travel provider.

The airline’s Mint premium experience – which first raised the bar on transcontinental travel in the U.S. and was reimagined for transatlantic flying – offers customers a fresh choice when flying between the U.S. and Europe. JetBlue Mint features 24 fully lie-flat private suites with a sliding door – including two Mint Studio® seats – and a custom-designed seat cushion developed by innovative mattress company Tuft & Needle. Its proprietary T&N Adaptive® foam with a breathable cover creates a cool and comfortable sleep experience unlike anything in the sky. Mint also boasts countless intuitive design touches that help every customer feel at home in the air. JetBlue has also introduced its latest innovation – the stunning Mint Studio – offering even more space in a premium experience (d).

Eurowings doubles destinations from Berlin

Eurowings is taking off from the capital - just in time for the world's largest travel trade fair, ITB: Flight EW8536 to Malaga will open a new chapter for Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER) on 26 March at 5.35 am. Just in time for the Easter holidays in Berlin and Brandenburg, Germany's largest holiday airline is significantly expanding its range of attractive direct flight destinations at BER. Travellers will then be able to choose from 30 destinations with Eurowings, twice as many as before.

As part of the largest network expansion of the year, Eurowings is particularly expanding its services to Northern Europe: From the end of March 2023, the Lufthansa Group airline will connect the German capital non-stop with Gothenburg, Helsinki and Copenhagen. Heading south, Eurowings will in future offer direct flights from Berlin to the new destinations Graz, Ibiza, Nice, Porto and Zakynthos. At the same time, the airline is significantly increasing its connections to existing destinations: for example, the most popular island among Germans - Mallorca - will be served up to three times a day in future, for a total of around 20 times a week. The portfolio also includes more direct flights to the Canary Islands, such as Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Tenerife.

"Our growth in Berlin is an example of the first summer without travel restrictions and contact bans. Air traffic and tourism are breathing a sigh of relief – finally holidays, finally ITB again," says Eurowings CEO Jens Bischof ahead of the start of the world's largest travel trade fair in the Berlin exhibition halls. "As Germany's largest holiday airline, we belong to the capital, because it is an absolute tourist magnet and one of the most exciting major cities in Europe. But we also bring a lot to the capital. Passengers from Berlin and Brandenburg can look forward to numerous new Eurowings destinations that are at the top of the wish list of German vacationers.

JetBlue and Spirit have little overlap and its merger will increase competition.......airline says.

JetBlue released updated data, which further supports the disruptive role of the airline on the dominant, higher-price legacy carriers, and the pro-competitive impact the merger with Spirit will have on the industry.

Analysis Adds to Compelling Rationale for JetBlue-Spirit Combination

JetBlue is over 3x more effective than Spirit at bringing down competitor fares. JetBlue’s unique combination of low fares and great service is a competitive force that keeps the legacy carriers on their toes and results in lower fares. This is the “JetBlue Effect,” an outcome specifically cited by the U.S. Department of Justice. An economic analysis found that JetBlue is proven on average to be over 3x as effective at lowering legacy carrier nonstop fares than Spirit. With the scale unlocked by combining with Spirit, JetBlue will be able to bring down legacy carrier fares on more routes, benefitting more travelers than if JetBlue and Spirit continued as standalone airlines.

JetBlue and Spirit primarily compete with other carriers not each other. According to a third-party source published in April 2022 and reaffirmed with more recent data, JetBlue and Spirit have very limited overlap, and only overlap on 11% or less of the nonstop routes on which both of them fly. Instead, both carriers primarily compete against the dominant Big Four airlines.

Airbus welcomes Boeing to H175M Task Force for UK New Medium Helicopter competition

Airbus welcomes Boeing to H175M Task Force for UK New Medium Helicopter competition

Boeing has become the latest and final defence and aerospace company to join the H175M Task Force addressing the UK New Medium Helicopter requirement.

As training services partner, Boeing Defence UK will provide aircrew, groundcrew and maintenance training, if the super-medium class Airbus H175M, to be built at Broughton in Wales, is selected to replace the Airbus Puma HC2.

The company joins a UK-based industry team created to offer, supply and support the British-built H175M which includes some of the most respected players in international aerospace.

Managing Director of Airbus Helicopters in the UK, Lenny Brown, said: “Boeing Defence UK is rightly respected in this country for its long-standing support of the British Chinook and Apache fleets. As training services partner it completes a rock-solid line-up of UK-based first tier aerospace partners who bring a guarantee of world-class service provision to the UK Ministry of Defence for decades to come.”

“We are delighted to collaborate with Airbus and join their innovative team of aerospace leaders to meet the UK’s New Medium Helicopter requirement”, said Steve Burnell, managing director of Boeing Defence UK. “Our local team has supported the British armed forces for decades, sustaining hundreds of jobs across the country in helicopter training. As a member of the H175M Task Force, we look forward to leveraging our current expertise to ensure availability and readiness for the UK’s future helicopter fleets.”

Launched at the UK’s RIAT 2022 airshow, the H175M Task Force also includes defence and helicopter specialist Babcock fulfilling the critical role of support partner for the H175M in UK service at military operating locations.