Leading the way with Women in Aviation

American Airlines hired the first female graduates from the American Airlines Cadet Academy to join the mainline flight deck as first officers at the 2023 Women in Aviation International Conference. In addition to this special milestone, American extended 52 pilot job offers at the conference — the only mainline airline carrier to do so.

The American Airlines Cadet Academy, which celebrates its five-year anniversary in July, provides a structured platform to eliminate the financial barriers prospective pilots face. The Cadet Academy supports the growth of American’s pilot population while creating greater diversity amongst the future and current pilot ranks — with more than 30% of enrolled cadets being female. The Cadet Academy helps close the gap between dreams and an attainable future in aviation for those who didn’t know it was possible.

American’s commitment to encouraging a positive, inclusive and equitable culture for all team members is unwavering, and American is focused on diversifying the flight deck with the most qualified aviators while investing in the future.

Budget airline Allegiant shows off a new one-of-a-kind livery on an Airbus A320

Allegiant unveiled a special addition to its fleet this week: a one-of-a-kind livery designed by – and for – the airline's employees.

 

The new design, displayed on the tail and fuselage of an Airbus A320, is one of only six Allegiant aircraft featuring a special livery.

It is not often that Allegiant alters its famous sunburst livery, CEO John Redmond told a crowd of employees during a ceremony at Punta Gorda Airport in Florida Tuesday. But the company wanted to honor employees in a very public and permanent way.

"We wanted to find a way to show the world that our employees are the lifeblood of Allegiant,"  Redmond said. "This new livery is more than just a coat of paint, it's a symbol of the collective strength and resilience of being Allegiant Proud. We hope it serves as a reminder of the incredible things our employees can accomplish when we work together."

The livery is not only dedicated to Allegiant employees; the design was inspired by them. Employees were asked to submit words describing what they loved about Allegiant. Dozens of their choices, including "bold," "amazing," "limitless" and more, adorn the aircraft's fuselage, surrounding Allegiant's motto of "Together we fly."

The aircraft will be based in Punta Gorda, a community that endured the full force of Hurricane Ian when it hit Southwest Florida in September.

RAF Shadow Mk2 surveillance aircraft fleet to benefit from a bespoke UK-based training system

The Shadow Mk1 fleet, which provides the MOD with battle-winning intelligence gathering, is being expanded and upgraded, with Shadow Mk2 due to enter service in 2024 under a £110M contract placed with Raytheon UK in 2021. This contract secured 150 highly-skilled jobs, including specialist aerospace skills and apprentices at its Broughton facility in North Wales, and hundreds more within Wales and wider-UK supply chain.

Royal Air Force personnel currently travel overseas for simulator training, but under a new £11.5M contract placed by Defence Equipment & Support with Raytheon UK, crews will be able to train on a Full Flight Simulator for Shadow Mk2 on home soil.

The removal of overseas travel will reduce the MOD’s carbon footprint, increase access to quality training and is set to save up to £200,000 a year in efficiencies.

The capability – a King Air 350 simulator – will also ensure the UK’s intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, reconnaissance (ISTAR) Force is able to better support existing UK and overseas commitments.

The contract award for a UK-based Full Flight Simulator follows the successful and on-time delivery of two strategic programme milestones in the preceding months.

The news comes as Raytheon UK announced that it has passed a Critical Design Review (CDR) on its work to increase the current fleet of six reconnaissance aircraft to eight and to integrate the latest UK Sovereign Defensive Aids Systems.

The Critical Design Review confirms the baseline configuration for the aircraft, defining the equipment fit which will maintain this leading capability.

Based at RAF Waddington and flown by 14 Squadron, Shadow forms a key part of the RAF’s ISTAR force by gathering intelligence via its high-definition electro-optical and electronic sensors. Once data is gathered, satellite communication links enable the information to be assessed while the aircraft is airborne during a mission.

The simulator is expected to be in service with Shadow crews by late 2024.

/Read more about the RAF Shadow Mk1 (mod.uk)

A Royal Air Force RC-135 Rivet Joint has been refuelled by a United States Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker on recent operations.

A Royal Air Force RC-135 Rivet Joint has been refuelled by a United States Air Force KC-135 Stratotanker on recent operations.

The Rivet Joint is a dedicated electronic surveillance aircraft that is widely employed on military operations to monitor, collect, and analyse selected communications and radar signals.

They are flown by 51 Squadron who are based at RAF Waddington and are part of the RAF's Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) Force.   The aircraft have also recently been refuelled by a French Air Force C-135FR Stratotanker, demonstrating the ongoing interoperability of NATO aircraft on operations. Integration with the French Air Force shows support to the Combined Joint Expeditionary Force, which is an Anglo-French military force.

Air Marshal Harvey Smyth, Deputy Commander (Operations) said:  "The ISTAR Force has been exceptionally busy throughout this last year, particularly our Rivet Joint capability, which has been operating at almost 200% from previous norms. Flying from the Barents, via the Baltics, Eastern Flank, into the Black Sea and the Eastern Mediterranean, our ability to collect intelligence data, and process it at pace has proved vital, and has been right at the very heart of intelligence provision for NATO."

Like the United States Air Force’s KC-135, the RAF’s Voyager aircraft regularly delivers fuel to partner nation forces to extend the duration and range of the flights.

This Red Nose Day, British Airways is proud to have raised an incredible £27.3 million for Flying Start....

This Red Nose Day, British Airways is proud to have raised an incredible £27.3 million for Flying Start, through the airline’s global charity partnership with Comic Relief. The money has been raised over the past 13 years, since the partnership’s launch in 2010.

British Airways is celebrating raising more than £27 million for its global charity partnership with Comic Relief by challenging the GB Rowing Team to race a British Airways aircraft

To celebrate this ‘oarsome’ milestone, British Airways teamed up with Comic Relief celebrity supporters Alison Hammond, Rylan and Sir Steve Redgrave to find out if one of its aircraft could beat the GB Rowing team in a race next to London City Airport.

Never one to shy away from a challenge, rowing legend Sir Steve Redgrave brought together medal-winning members of the GB Rowing Team to take on the challenge. The World Champions and Olympians in the mixed eight boat comprised a cox, four female and four male rowers, who took on a British Airways Cityflyer Embraer 190 Aircraft.

Funds raised for Comic Relief through the Flying Start partnership support charities in the UK and around the world

Ahead of the race, Alison Hammond gave words of wisdom to the rowing team, showing them some of her own special warm up tips. At the same time, Rylan prepped the airline’s crew, before both celebs took to the water to cheer everyone to the finish line.

The race took place at London City Airport, next to the Royal Albert Docks with the runway running parallel to the water where many Olympic and World Champion rowers train.

A video of the special challenge can be viewed below and customers will also be able to watch it on British Airways’ inflight-entertainment system later this year.

Customers can donate to Flying Start by visiting here.

JetBlue to offer 200 daily flights at Orlando International Airport....

New daily service to the Dominican Republic

JetBlue has announced new nonstop service between Orlando International Airport (MCO) and two top Caribbean destinations, as the airline unveils new plans to bring more low-fare, high-quality flights to Central Florida. Launching in November 2023 and out for sale today, JetBlue will fly from Orlando to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic and Santiago, Dominican Republic (a). After its planned combination with Spirit, JetBlue expects to reach 200 flights a day in Orlando by 2027.

“We are pleased to share our plans to deliver more growth and more jobs in Central Florida, enabled by Florida’s booming economy, our combination with Spirit and as part of the growth commitments we agreed to with Florida Attorney General Moody,” said Robin Hayes, chief executive officer, JetBlue. “This growth will establish JetBlue as Orlando’s national low-fare carrier of choice, ensuring customers don’t have to choose between low fares and a great experience.”

“JetBlue’s new daily service to the Dominican Republic is a welcome addition to Orlando International Airport,” said Kevin Thibault, CEO of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority. “As an anchor in our innovative Terminal C, JetBlue continues to provide travelers with options to experience desirable destinations, including Orlando, recognized as one of the most visited cities in the U.S. These expanded routes help Orlando International deliver connectivity and strengthen our position as a major economic generator in the region.”

Central Florida Wins With More Low Fare, High Quality Options

Since Orlando became a JetBlue focus city 15 years ago, customers across Central Florida have embraced JetBlue’s compelling offering of low fares and a much-loved experience, including the most legroom in coach (b), free seatback entertainment, free Fly-Fi high speed internet (c), free snacks, and friendly service.

Air Canada is one of the 50 Most Engaged Workplaces for 6th year in a row

Achievers recognizes firms that celebrate, support and engage employees

Air Canada has been recognized as one of Achievers 50 Most Engaged Workplaces® for 2023. It is the sixth consecutive year Air Canada has won the award, given for innovative engagement and recognition practices that elevate the employee experience.

"At its heart, Air Canada is a customer service business, and we rely on our highly motivated and dedicated employees to deliver on that promise each and every day. We put a premium on all our people throughout our company because each of them is essential and they are the best at what they do. We are always devising new ways to support them so that they can continue to succeed, and it is gratifying that Achievers recognizes these efforts," said Arielle Meloul-Wechsler, Executive Vice President, Chief Human Resources Officer and Public Affairs at Air Canada.

Planned environmental solutions in the new passenger departure terminal of Vilnius Airport: from smart lighting systems to almost seven times less CO2 emissions

Planned environmental solutions in the new passenger departure terminal of Vilnius Airport: from smart lighting systems to almost seven times less CO2 emissions. 

At the start of this year, intensive construction of the new passenger departure terminal at Vilnius Airport began. It is planned that the first passengers will depart from this terminal at the beginning of 2025. According to Kristina Greiciute, Environmental Project Manager at Lithuanian Airports, the new terminal will be the beginning of a big change, and solutions will be oriented towards all areas of operation, including environmental protection. She states that among the most important expected changes are the reduction of thermal energy, improvement of energy efficiency, installation of a solar power plant, smart lighting systems, and reduction of CO2 emissions.

"We are constantly trying to improve in all areas and implement innovations. We aim to optimize our operations in such a way as to significantly reduce the amount of CO2 emissions and ultimately become a climate-neutral airport," said K. Greiciute.

The existing status quo

K. Greiciute states that currently seven topics are highlighted in the strategy of Lithuanian airports, among which there are two essential priorities — noise pollution and climate change. Infrastructural projects, including the new passenger departure terminal at Vilnius airport, are linked to climate change mitigation initiatives.

For example, efforts are being made to implement parts of the planned environmental solutions related to electricity, thermal energy, and fuel consumption in various vehicles already, without waiting for the completion of the construction of the new terminal. The car park is constantly being updated, and the number of hybrid and electric cars is increasing. This way, according to the expert, fuel consumption is reduced.

"Meanwhile, when it comes to electricity, today we already have the opportunity to produce it ourselves because a solar power plant is installed on the roof of our VIP terminal. We also have the opportunity to buy green electricity, and this is done at all three air gates — Vilnius, Kaunas, and Palanga," said K. Greiciute.

It is said that until there is an opportunity to buy green thermal energy from centralized heat networks, the only solution is lower consumption or self-production. Although the existing infrastructure limits the possibility of self-production of thermal energy, the new terminal will introduce technologies that will allow for reduced consumption of thermal energy. Speaking about green thermal energy, K. Greiciute said that the new passenger terminal will be the first object of this size in the infrastructure of Lithuanian airports which will use very little thermal energy. In addition, it will be possible to produce it with the help of special heat pumps.

Energy efficiency

"In the long run, the implemented technological solutions will allow us to switch to technology, when we will switch to green thermal energy production or we will be able to use the energy that we produce with the help of the solar power plant installed on the roof of the new terminal," said K. Greiciute.

Norwegian unwraps its winter season 2023-2024 schedule

The budget European airline Norwegian has wrapped details of its winter flight schedule which includes services to Sofia and Porto.

144 routes to 65 destinations are on the schedule for the next winter season, and Norwegian continues to fly to Nordic citizens’ favourite cities and vacation spots in southern Europe. Tickets are available for immediate booking.

"Next winter, we have 144 routes within and between the Nordic countries and to destinations in Europe. We continue our most popular routes, and the mix of destinations gives customers the opportunity to fly with us to dream vacations with sun and beach, art and culture, or activity holidays," said Magnus Thome Maursund, commercial director of Norwegian.

Norwegian continues with direct departures to exciting destinations in Europe from all the major Nordic airports, such as Oslo, Stockholm, Copenhagen and Helsinki. In addition to direct routes from Bergen, Trondheim, Stavanger, Haugesund, Ålesund, Tromsø and Sandefjord in Norway and from Gotland in Sweden and Aalborg in Denmark.

Some routes to the most popular ski destinations in the Alps will be announced later. Norwegian operates a summer and winter programme that changes twice a year, respectively at the end of October and the end of March. In a few weeks, the summer programme will start with 300 routes to 114 destinations. Among many popular and familiar destinations, the summer programme also contains some new destinations including Bari, Skopje, Porto, Bologna, Bucuresti, Sofia, Milano/Bergamo, Alanya/Gazipasa, and Thessaloniki.

London Stansted tops 25 million passengers in the last year......

London Stansted welcomed more than 1.7 million passengers in February 2023, up 49% on the same month last year, when Covid-19 testing requirements began to ease for travellers.

The monthly total was equivalent to 92% of the passengers passing through the airport in February 2019, prior to the impacts of the pandemic.

The number of passengers using London Stansted in the 12-months ending February 2023 totalled 25 million, up 183% on the previous year.

Stansted has connections to more European destinations that any other UK airport, and this was reflected in the most popular places flown to during the month.

The top five destinations in February were:

1.    Dublin

2.    Istanbul

3.    Rome

4.    Edinburgh

5.    Bergamo (Milan)

Meanwhile, Emirates’ service to Dubai, which will operate twice a day from 1st May, continues to be very popular, with thousands of people flying to the Middle East hub during February to visit the UAE or access the airline’s global network of 150 onward destinations.

Also, London Stansted marked the 10th anniversary during the month of the airport’s acquisition by MAG, a period that saw more than 200 million passengers travelled through Stansted on 1.3 million flights served by 85 airlines to 299 destinations in 52 countries.

Nick Millar, London Stansted’s Operations Director, said:  “February was another strong month for passenger growth at London Stansted as we welcomed more than 1.7 million passengers to the airport. As a result, we have now served more than 25 million passengers in the last year, a clear indication of the airport’s excellent bounce-back following the easing of travel restrictions 12 months ago.

February passenger numbers up at VINCI Airports

Traffic in VINCI Airports’ network continued to recover in February. At the airports in Portugal, Serbia, Mexico and several countries in South America, it is significantly higher than before the health crisis. Overall, traffic in February is at 89% of its 2019 level.

As the world’s leading private operator in its sector, VINCI Airports manages 65 airports across 12 countries in Europe, Asia and the Americas. Thanks to its expertise as a global integrator, it develops, finances, builds and manages airports, leveraging its investment capacity and know-how in optimising operational performance, modernising infrastructure and steering their environmental transition.

One of the leading airports for VINCI is London Gatwick on the Surrey / Sussex border.  The airport will be welcoming two new restaurants and wine bars this spring – Vagabond Bar & Kitchen and South Downs Sparkling Wine Bar – showcasing a vast array of the best local wines, beers and produce from across the region, alongside global options.

Award-winning urban winery, Vagabond, will be opening its second airport outlet and largest single site, when it lands at Gatwick’s South Terminal in May. South Downs – its sister bar - is a brand-new concept exclusive to Gatwick, and will open a few weeks later.

Vagabond will provide passengers with a choice of more than 80 wines from around the world, via its bespoke self-serve dispensing machines – a fun and easy way for passengers to discover new wines and sample before committing to a glass or bottle.

SAS adding 10 more routes....

To meet the increasing demand for travel, SAS adds yet another 10 routes and more frequencies for the upcoming summer and autumn. Starting in June, SAS also resumes traffic to Tokyo.

With summer just around the corner, SAS continues to ramp up by offering customers an additional 10 European routes as well as adding frequencies to popular Mediterranean destinations such as Alicante, Malaga, Mallorca, Split and Sicily. These additional destinations come on top of 20 new, previously announced routes.

SAS continues to plan for a busy summer to Italy with up to seven daily flights from Scandinavia to Milan and more flights from Copenhagen to Florence and Naples. SAS is adding more domestic flights from Oslo to Bergen, Stavanger, Trondheim and Ålesund as well as more flights from Copenhagen to Ålesund. More seats and flights are also offered between Stockholm and Helsinki.

“We are delighted to welcome our passengers back and seeing the desire to travel continuing to rise. SAS is increasing capacity this summer, adding more routes and additional flights to popular destinations. We are also glad to return to beautiful Tokyo with three weekly flights in June and to launch our new routes to Newark,” says Erik Westman, EVP Network and Revenue Management.

Continuing to grow presence in the US, SAS starts operating flights from Gothenburg and Aalborg to Newark, New York with an Airbus A321LR.

As of June, SAS resumes traffic to Haneda, Tokyo three times a week. Prior to that SAS will operate several flights to Tokyo in April to accommodate for the high demand around Easter. The route will be operated by Airbus A350 aircraft.

During spring, SAS also adds a third weekly service on Copenhagen-Shanghai. 

SAS’ aircraft fleet includes some of the most environmentally friendly aircraft on the market with significantly lower emissions and less noise than previous-generation aircraft – as demonstrated by both the Airbus A350 and A321LR on long-haul routes, and Airbus A320neo on short-haul where emissions are reduced between 15% and 30%.

Manchester Airports Group airports in great shape ahead of start of summer season

Passenger volumes across Manchester Airports Group (MAG) in February were 90% of those seen pre-pandemic.

MAG, which owns and operates Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands Airports, served 3.5 million passengers in February.

That marked an increase of 47% on February 2022, when Covid-19 testing requirements began to ease for travellers.

Manchester Airport served 1.7 million passengers last month, representing the highest proportion of 2019 traffic across MAG, at 93%.

London Stansted also handled 1.7 million passengers across the month - representing 92% of travellers served in 2019. East Midlands Airport’s traffic for the month was 64% of pre-pandemic levels.

In February, London Stansted marked 10 years of MAG ownership, over which time the airport’s passenger figures rose from 17 million in 2013, to 28 million in 2019 – now making it one of the UK’s largest airports. Since acquisition, MAG has invested millions of pounds in the airport’s facilities and introduced new airlines including Jet2 and Emirates.

London Stansted now serves more European destinations than any other UK airport, and in 2021 secured planning permissions to increase its passenger capacity to 43 million passengers per year.

All three of MAG's airports are continuing to provide good service levels to passengers as the industry nears the official start of its summer season. Service levels have been primarily driven by recruitment over the last 12 months, where since February 2022, MAG has welcomed more than 1,600 new security officers, over 1,000 of which were at Manchester Airport.

MAG served 3.5 million passengers in February, equivalent to 90% of pre-pandemic levels

MAG’s rolling 12 months passenger total stands at 53 million

In February, London Stansted marked 10 years of MAG ownership, celebrating its increase in passenger numbers and airport investment since 2013

GOL Linhas Aéreas, Brazil’s largest domestic airline teams up with Sabre for Ancillary IQ

The Sabre Corporation, a leading software and technology provider that powers the global travel industry, and GOL Linhas Aéreas, Brazil’s largest domestic airline, today announced the carrier’s successful implementation of Sabre Ancillary IQ™, an AI-based solution designed to help create personalized offers for travellers and drive incremental ancillary revenue opportunities for airline customers.  

Ancillary IQ supports airline retailing strategies by dynamically pricing individual ancillaries and enabling the creation of ancillary bundles. This solution uses machine learning to identify ancillary buying patterns in real-time and optimize pricing to increase conversion and ensure that travellers can easily book the experience that they want. The initial implementation of Ancillary IQ with GOL will focus on seats with additional ancillaries becoming available later this year. 

New non-stop seasonal flights between Montreal and Amsterdam for this summer to be introduced by Air Canada

Air Canada today announced the addition of new, non-stop seasonal flights between Montreal and Amsterdam for this summer. Flights will operate five-times weekly with the airline's state-of-the-art Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, and conveniently link to and from Air Canada's extensive North American network at its Montreal global hub. 

"We continue to see strong demand for travel to Europe and we are thrilled to increase service and add new, non-stop service between Montreal and Amsterdam for summer 2023, complementing our year-round service between Toronto and the Dutch capital. With up to double daily flights between Canada and Amsterdam this summer from two of our global hubs, customers on both sides of the Atlantic have an abundance of convenient choices to visit and explore each other's countries and beyond. Customers can start planning ahead and book with confidence. We look forward to welcoming you onboard," said Mark Galardo, Senior Vice President Network Planning and Revenue Management at Air Canada.

Air Canada's newest route from Montreal further strengthens its position as the leading trans-Atlantic carrier serving the city, offering the most destinations and available seats, as well as providing an additional important economic link between the two cities with the Dreamliner's cargo capabilities.