Air France joint venture with Vietnam Airlines but will it lead to price fixing

Air France and Vietnam Airlines have joined together for a new venture that builds on the codeshare deal that already exists between the two carriers. The deal, due to start from November depending on approval from authorities, will see the two airlines co-ordinating their flight schedules to offer customers better connecting flights.

This latest announcement is part of a rapid and dramatic programme of global expansion from Air France, especially in the long-haul markets. The French giant has launched a new 'youth' 'trendy' airline, Joon, based only to the so-called millennials, which will be flying some routes to the US in cooperation with Delta and Virgin Atlantic. 

Garuda says goodbye to 747's

The Indonesian national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia has announced this week that it has ended all operations utilising the airlines Boeing 747-400 aircraft.

“The last flight of aircraft PK-GSH marked the retirement of all three Boeing 747-400s owned by Garuda Indonesia. From 1994 to 2017, Garuda Indonesia operated three B747-400 planes with registration numbers PK-GSI, PK-GSG and PK-GSH,”  Garuda Indonesia president director Pahala N Mansury said in a statement.

Turkish Airlines Offers Free Changes and Refunds on USA Flights

Following the suspension of visa services between the USA and Turkey, the national airline has introduced changes to its change and refund procedures.

Turkish Airlines advise for all passengers holding Turkish passports flying to the USA and all passengers holding American passports flying to Turkey on Turkish Airlines and AnadoluJet Turkey-USA and USA-Turkey flights between October 9th, 2017 and October 31st, 2017, with tickets issued on or before October 9th, 2017, the following procedure can be carried out till October 31st, 2017:

Read on for details of the changes in procedures -

18 New Routes, 11 New Destinations - Aegean Plans for 2018

Aegean has big plans for 2018,  they will introduce 18 new routes, 11 new destinations offer over 700,000 more seats than this year. 

In a press conference, the sunny airline announced their ambitious plans for next year,  the 11 new destinations from the Athens base are Turin, Palermo, Bologna and Lamezia Terme in Italy, Malaga in Spain, Basel in Switzerland, Zagreb and Zadar in Croatia, Vilnius in Lithuania, Cluj-Napoca in Romania and Skopje. The airline will also bring in 7 new routes from Greece’s regional airports Corfu - Moscow, Santorini - Tel Aviv, Mykonos - Tel Aviv, Mykonos - Beirut, Rhodes - Lyon, Rhodes - Beirut, Heraklion – Beirut. 

The airline will, they say, continue to strengthen his Athens hub, which brings benefits both for the city itself, as well as for other regions and islands of the country. The carrier will connect the Greek capital with 81 international destinations and the airline is also upgrading passenger lounges in Thessaloniki and Larnaca, they will also revamp a second airside lounge for passengers from outside the Schengen zone at Athens airport. 

Fire at Hong Kong Airport

A major disaster was narrowly adverted earlier in Hong Kong when cargo being loaded onto an American Airlines 777 burst into flames.

Dramatic images and videos of the incident where shared wildly on social media and yet despite how close the flames were to the aircraft, an initial inspection found damage was minimal.  As a precaution and to allow engineers and airline officials to examine the aircraft more closely American cancelled the flight to Los Angeles the aircraft was scheduled to operate.

Hong Kong Airport Authority said the fire, which happened at ground level, was rapidly extinguished and they were currently investigating the cause.

One person, a cargo loader, was injured in the incident, although his injuries are not thought to be serious. 

There were no passengers on the aircraft that was being loaded and prepared for the long-haul flight at the time of the incident. 

Read more to see videos of the incident -

KLM Seeking to shame low cost airline passengers

KLM - Royal Dutch Airlines have launched a virtual reality platform called KLM's Flight Upgrader to be used with a cardboard virtual reality headset in which passengers put their smartphones in to.

They are, they claim, expanding KLM's passenger our care to all flights – even budget ones! With this virtual reality platform, you can supposedly enjoy "top-notch free entertainment, tasty food, and chat with our caring flight attendants."

The Dutch carrier says handed out the headsets to budget airlines passengers at an airport and filmed it to show them what they're missing, or rather shaming them for choosing a lower priced airline than KLM.  In the video of the launch, the airline representative insults passengers choices by saying bad call and being generally dismissive of their right to make a free choice.

Read on to see the video - 

Aerolineas Argentinas Halt Caracas Flights

photo  Reuters 

The Argentine airline Aerolineas Argentinas has become the latest in a long list of air carriers to suspend flights to the Venezuelan capital, Caracas.

The airline cited concerns over security in Venezuela because of increasing criminal violence and political uncertainty, for the main reasons for suspending the service. It follows similar moves by many other airlines such as Air Canada, Aeromexico, Alitalia and Delta.

The International Air Transport Association warned Venezuela is becoming increasingly isolated as the situation in the country becomes increasingly volatile. "The situation has become increasingly difficult, most of Iata's members have left Venezuela. There are only six or seven carriers left operating a very low flight frequency." Peter Cerdá, the vice-president of IATA, said last week, "Venezuela is becoming disconnected, it's practically disconnected from the rest of the world, above all by air, and we can't see any solution in the short term."  Mr Cerdá said passenger traffic in Venezuela had dropped by 75% in the last four years.

British Airways increase Inverness services from Heahtrow

British Airways is to expand its Inverness – Heathrow service from seven to ten flights a week from March next year.

The new schedule, which will see a 30 per cent increase in capacity on the route, is the second major boost to the economy of the highlands and islands generated by British Airways, following on from the airline’s agreement with Scottish airline Loganair of an extended code share agreement, which came into effect at the beginning of September.

Phyllis Stuart, British Airways’ manager at Inverness said, “We’re delighted to be able to offer our customers more flights from the highland capital, offering more seats on the route after a successful first 18 months operating the route.

“Our new schedule, which will come into operation at the beginning of the summer 2018 flying programme, will mean that on three days of the week, Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays,  British Airways will offer customers a double daily service between the capital of the highlands and islands and London.

PIA to end US flights.

Pakistan International Airlines will be ending their US-bound flights from the end of October, a leading local news media outlet is reporting.

The airline is suffering huge financial losses on flights to and from the United States of America of up to 1.25 billion rupees a year according to the reports. However, the airline is facing much pressure from the government and leading politicians (most with dual nationality) to continue the services. 

Despite the local media reporting the end of US-bound PIA flights, we found they were still being offered for sale via the PIA website for dates after November and into next year.  

 "We are in the process of devising a strategy for our flights to the United States, and will have something more concrete by Monday", PIA Spokesperson Mashood Tajwar said while talking to local media. 

The grovelling memo from Ryanair getting short shrift from pilots.

photo pa

Earlier this week the boss of Ryanair, Michael O'Leary, sent a mega long letter to the pilots he thinks are just glorified taxi drivers, whose job he belittles as not very difficult at every opportunity, to get them to stay with the airline.

The letter offers the flyers better pay and conditions, or at least some of them, for the pay rises only effect a rather small percentage of pilots and doesn't apply to all bases.  In the letter, O'Leary also apologises for a multitude of short notices changes and disruptions to their rotas and pleads with them not to leave the airline.

The grovelling letter promises pay increases, loyalty bonus payments, improved rotas and better compensation for some pilots forced to work away from their home base, although none of which has been accurately costed - a point raised by many, including The Irish Air Line Pilots Association. There is also concern that this is just another example of Ryanair promising all sorts of benefits, but not actually delivering,  "Our members have experienced Ryanair promises before and therefore we will need to carefully consider each point before we decide on a response," said the association. 

Top Ryanair Exec Resigns - sort of...

Has one of Ryanair's top executives, with a 30-year career at the airline been forced out of a job as Michael O'Leary hunts for a scapegoat?

It would appear so, Michael Hickey, was the airlines' chief operating officer, was in part responsible for scheduling shifts for pilots, along with many operation functions has been 'forced' to resign, following the mass cancellations the airlines has inflicted on its passengers.

Many in the industry and media are speculating that Hickey had to go after a falling out with the egotistical megalomaniac O'Leary, who apportions the blame for the chaos squarely at the door of Hickey. This is the first of the senior management team to walk or be pushed from Ryanair since the fiasco began, some expect more before this time next week.

However, far from leaving the company forthwith, as one might have expected had relations between Hickey and O'Leary disintegrated to breaking point. No, Mr Hickey is going to stay with Ryanair, at least for the foreseeable future. Yes, he leaves Ryanair at the end of the month, but he stays on in an advisory role indefinitely, one the same salary with the same conditions and benefits. So he's resigned, but he's not going anywhere!

Read on to see what O'Leary said about the resignation.

New Spanish route for British Airways

British Airways will help people bask in beautiful Almeria next year when the airline starts a new twice-weekly service to the southern Spanish city from 27th March 2018.  Situated in the southeast of Spain and perfectly positioned on the Mediterranean Sea, Almeria is famous for its Spaghetti Western film sets, untouched beaches, white-washed villages and medieval history.

Flights will depart on Tuesdays and Saturdays from Heathrow Terminal 5 and operate until October 27, with hand baggage only, with return fares starting from £66 per person.

Sean Doyle, British Airways’ director of network and alliances, said: “We’re extremely happy to start flying to Almeria, situated on part of Spain’s most unspoilt shores. If you want to jump into crystal clear water, explore the volcanic cliffs of the Wild West and drink sangria in the desert, then this stunning part of Andalucía is a dream holiday destination.

More trouble ahead for Ryanair - legal action, sanctions and strikes

These are indeed rocky times for the Irish low-cost high-fees airline Ryanair, and those turbulent times for the airline are set to continue for quite some time to come.  Not only is the airline facing a multi-million euro compensation bill over the hundreds of flights it has cancelled, first over trying to get a better on-time performance and then pilot holiday issue. Now the arrogant airline is having to face a barrage of legal action and sanctions from numerous avenues. 

Following accusations of intimidating passengers as they attempt to claim compensation from the airline, FairPlane, the no win no fee law firm that specialises in flight delay claims, has written to Ryanair demanding an for an apology and damages after the airline sent letters to its customers who had instructed it to obtain compensation due under EU legislation.

Read more about the Ryanair being accused of defamation, harassment and unlawful interference as well as action from both the Belgian and Italian governments and a possible strike by staff.

Positive Month for Norwegian. September Figures Out.

The low-cost and high-quality airline, Norwegian had a great month in September as their latest figures demonstrate.  Once again the airline carried more than three million passengers in a single month. Indeed, over 3.1 million people travelled with the company in September, an increase of 14 percent compared to the same month the previous year. The growth is strongest on Norwegian’s intercontinental routes and the load factor has increased to 90 percent. 

3,165,031 passengers chose to fly with Norwegian in September, that's 386,225 more than the same month last year and the total traffic growth (RPK) increased by 29 percent, while the capacity growth (ASK) increased by 28 percent this month. The load factor in September was up 0.3 percentage points to 90 percent.

“We’re very pleased to see that more passengers are choosing Norwegian when they travel, not least business travellers.The demand is good and stable in Scandinavia, and the growth is highest on our intercontinental routes. Global expansion is important to position ourselves in a market with such strong competition, but also for creating economic value in the markets we operate,” said CEO of Norwegian Bjørn Kjos.

Delta's 13th Annual Breast Cancer One employee survivor flight takes off.

Nearly 140 Delta employee breast cancer survivors flew from Atlanta to Seattle on Monday to collectively celebrate their victories, share inspiring stories of courage, and raise money and awareness for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.


The survivors flew on "Breast Cancer One," Delta's pink ribbon-themed Boeing 767-400 aircraft that carries Delta's annual message of support for BCRF's mission to end breast cancer.

Experience the charter and hear personal stories from survivors, Delta leaders and a customer who bid her earned Delta SkyMiles for a chance to fly on the Pink Plane.

VIEW VIDEO: Delta's 13th Annual Breast Cancer One employee survivor flight

 ♻ We care about the environment, please think twice before you hit ‘print’  

Air France to go to Seattle

Starting 25th March 2018, Air France will begin another service to a US city. The French airline will inaugurate a non-stop direct service between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Seattle

The current plan is to operate up to five weekly flights will connect the two cities by Boeing 777-200, which has been equipped with the latest long-haul cabins in Business, Premium Economy and Economy, with a capacity of 280 to 312 seats. The flight operates in association with their transatlantic partner, Delta. 

Flight schedules -

AF338: leaves Paris-Charles de Gaulle at 13:30, arrives in Seattle at 14:20;

AF355: leaves Seattle at 16:30, arrives at Paris-Charles de Gaulle at 11:10.

Local times

Flights operated on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays

Many may only know of Seattle as the home to Fraiser Crane from the TV show, but the emerald city has far more to offer than just fictional radio shrinks!  The city is surrounded by water with lush vegetation and dominated by Mount Rainier.  There is a lot to offer the savvy European tourist, there are numerous stores for all tastes and pockets. The city also has a vibrant and bohemian atmosphere and environment with plenty of history, art and culture to soak up. Yes, it might be known as one of the wettest places in America, it is after all 'The Rain City' but there is so much more than a fair bit of precipitation in the air.   And whilst the city has a long history, it also has modern big business with Microsoft being here as well as one of the globes biggest aircraft manufacturers, Boeing, whose plant is a big as some small towns!

Expansion at Philadelphia for American Airlines

It's an exciting time for the folks at Philadelphia International Airport, just after Aer Lingus announced it will be flying to the refreshingly easy airport the transfer through, American Airlines advise an increase in services from the airport next year.

American announced yesterday it will begin year‐round, non‐stop flights between Philadelphia International Airport and four new cities beginning in 2018.  

The new destinations are 

San Antonio (SAT),

Texas; Madison (MSN), 

Wisconsin; Des Moines (DSM), Iowa, 

Omaha (OMA), Nebraska. 

In addition to these new routes, the US carrier announced that it would upgrade one of its daily flights to Los Angeles with A‐330‐200 aircraft, increasing capacity on that route. This change is expected to start on 25th March next year.

Read on for reaction to the announcement and the start dates for the new services. 

Aer Lingus to launch direct flights to Philadelphia

The Irish contingent of the International Airline Group, Aer Lingus has announced that it will begin non‐stop flights between Philadelphia International Airport from March 2018. 

The Irish carrier will fly from Dublin to Philadelphia  4 times weekly on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday all year round.  “We are very pleased to welcome Aer Lingus to Philadelphia and look forward to offering more non‐stop, year‐round service to Dublin,” said Airport PHL CEO Chellie Cameron. “This capital city is a gateway to the beautiful country of Ireland and to Europe. We are proud to expand our non‐stop international service and we are excited to enhance travel between Philadelphia and Ireland.” 

More on the new route, with the promotional video continues. 

SriLankan Airlines receives prestigious Four Star rating by Airline Passenger Experience Association

SriLankan Airlines added another feather to its cap by being honoured with a prestigious Four Star Rating by the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) in the first ever airline industry rating programme based solely on feedback from passengers.



Captain Suren Ratwatte, CEO of SriLankan Airlines, said: “We are delighted to receive this rating of excellence, which we consider extremely important since it was compiled using passenger feedback. We will continue our efforts to delight our customers and will aim to achieve Five Stars in the next edition of the rating.”


APEX (www.apex.aero) is the world’s only non-profit membership trade association dedicated to improving the entire airline passenger experience



Siva Ramachandra, Chief Commercial Officer of SriLankan, said: “This rating is the culmination of continuous teamwork and innovation by every employee of our airline and demonstrates that SriLankan has the ability to compete with the finest airlines in the sky.”


A total of 470 airlines worldwide were rated, with only 12% of airlines achieving five-star status and 14% reaching four-star status. Using a five-star scale, more than 500,000 flights were rated anonymously by passengers between 24th October 2016 and to 31st July 2017. Passengers rated their overall flight experience and also provided ratings in seat comfort, cabin service, food and beverage, entertainment and Wi-Fi. SriLankan Airlines was placed in the Major Regional Airline category, with the other categories being Global Airlines and Low-Cost Carriers.


The awards were presented at a gala ceremony in Long Beach, California on 25th September during APEX EXPO, a conference attended by more than 4,000 airline industry professionals which showcase the airline related technologies, products and services.


SriLankan recently won a host of accolades including "World’s Leading Airline Operating to the Indian Ocean Region" at the World Travel Awards; ‘Best Full Service Airline in Central and South Asia’ for two consecutive years at the Future Travel Experience Asia Awards; ‘Most Innovative Marketing Airline in China’ by Life Weekly magazine; ‘Best Airline in South Asia’ at the Top Travel Awards, also in China; and Best International Airline – Asia for two consecutive years at the Tamil Nadu Tourism Awards.


The airline has been rapidly modernizing its fleet with the addition of brand new wide-body A330-300 and narrow body A320neo and A321neo aircraft. Passengers now enjoy a service with comfortable seats, state of the art entertainment systems, excellent in-flight cuisine, onboard connectivity (Wi-Fi & GSM) and flight attendants famed for their warmth and caring.


SriLankan’s global network covers 105 cities in 47 countries and as a member of the oneworld global airline alliance it also connects its passengers to one world’s worldwide network of more than 1,000 destinations in 160 countries.

New Iceland Route For Wizz Air

The Central and Eastern Europe low-cost airline Wizz Air, announced a new route from Poznan to the capital of Iceland, Reykjavik, starting next March.

WIZZ  will operate the service three weekly flights, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, from March 2018 and advise the fare will start at just PLN 169 / EUR 39.99, which includes a free hand luggage allowance - (55x40x23cm which is bigger than Ryanair)

Poznan was one of the first cities Wizz Air brought its low fares to in 2005 and since then, the airline carried over 3.5 million passengers to and from Poznan Airport. WIZZ has now two aircraft based in Poznan employing 70 customer-oriented crew, who delivers excellent service on each WIZZ flight.  In 2018 Wizz Air will have 680,000 seats on sale on its Poznan routes, which represents 20% growth year over year. With its newest Reykjavik route, Wizz Air now connects Poznan with 11 cities in eight countries.

More on this story and Wizz Air's September load factor results continues  - 

Delta's positive September

The US airline, Delta reported its operating performance for September 2017 earlier this week, showing the airline transported 14.7 million passengers over is growing global network. This is despite it being a rather traumatic month with the mass disruption caused by the hurricanes Irma and Maria.

Hurricane Irma significantly affected the airlines' operations with some 2,200 flights cancelled from 7th-12th September at airports in Florida, the Caribbean and Georgia (Delta's main hub is Atlanta) hub.

New CEO for Etihad

The Chairman of Etihad Aviation Group, His Excellency Mohamed Mubarak Fadhel Al Mazrouei, confirmed the appointment of Tony Douglas as Group Chief Executive Officer, who will join the company in January 2018. 

Mr Douglas joins Etihad from the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence, where he has served as CEO of the Defence Equipment and Support department, responsible for procuring and supporting all the equipment and services for the British Armed Forces.

In the UK, he held senior positions with airport operator BAA, and as Chief Operating Officer and Group Chief Executive designate of Laing O’Rourke. His roles under airport operator BAA included Managing Director of the Heathrow Terminal 5 project, Group Supply Chain Director, Group Technical Director, and CEO of Heathrow Airport.

Porter Airlines show support breast cancer awareness with Fly Pink!

 For the second year in a row, Porter Airlines pilots and flight attendants will wear custom Fly Pink epaulettes and pins to raise awareness for breast cancer during the month of October.

The distinctive pink epaulettes are worn by Porter pilots in October as part of their standard uniform. New this year, all Porter team members will have the opportunity to show their support with custom pins displaying the breast cancer awareness pink ribbon.

“We received such an enthusiastic response from our team last year that we are extending the initiative across the whole of the company. All Porter team members will receive a custom Fly Pink pin to show their support and help raise awareness for breast cancer,” said Robert Deluce, president and CEO of Porter Airlines. “Seeing our team rally together behind such an important cause is truly inspiring.”

Thomas Cook Revised scheduled for 06 October 2017

Another strike for Thomas Cook's pilots has been confirmed for 6th October and is scheduled to start at 00:01 and last until 23:59 following failed talks between the airline and the BALPA union.

Thomas Cook as put together contingency plans, much like it did with the last pilot strikes, by rearranging and rescheduling its flights, details of which follow here.

WestJet adds year-round Mexico City from Calgary and Vancouver starting March 2018

WestJet announced today that is has expanded its position as the Canadian airline with the most flights to Mexico by adding flights from Calgary and Vancouver to Mexico City. Nonstop, year-round flights will start March 2018 and are vital to further expanding trade and tourism between the two countries.


"We are proud of our continued investments in connecting the economies of Canada and Mexico and providing choice and competition for Canada's business and leisure travellers," said Ed Sims, WestJet Executive Vice-President Commercial. "These flights will also enable Mexican visitors an affordable option to discover our country and Mexican businesses to increase commercial ties."

"WestJet's new non-stop service to Mexico City will be another great route option for Albertans looking to connect to one of the world's largest trading markets," said Bob Sartor, President and CEO for The Calgary Airport Authority. "As a burgeoning business market for agriculture and oil and gas, this is an important link as our city and region looks for opportunities to grow and diversify our economy."

Monarch boss says he's devastated and Norwegian stay silent on take-over talks

The boss of Monarch,  chief executive Andrew Swaffield told the BBC he is "absolutely devastated" at the collapse of his airline, Monarch.  Speaking on Today he confirmed the decision cease trading was made late on Saturday night after the company estimated its losses for 2018 would be "well over £100m".

The management team could think of a way to stem those losses significantly, either by selling the short-haul airline or improve it. He confirmed that they had sought expert advice, but they still couldn't figure out a way to save the company.  He told how the UK's insolvency rules wouldn't have allowed the airline to continue to fly, in a similar fashion to Air Berlin and Alitalia, who are both bankrupt but flying with government loans, whilst officials try to find buyers. He said the airline had spoken to various people to try and save the airline, but no options became available. It's believed those talks included calls to rival airlines such as Easyjet, Wizz, Norweigan and Ryanair over buying all or part of the company. 

New route for LATAM and approval for tie ups with American

LATAM Airlines started a new service between Santiago and Tucuman on 2nd October in celebratory style.  Cutting the ribbon on the first service are Walter Andres Jorge, Regional Manager of LATAM Airlines (second-left); Luis Palma Cané, Internal Sales Manager, LATAM Airlines (fourth-left); and Sebastian Giobellina, President of Ente Tucumán Tourism (third-right), along with members of the Tucuman Bureau. 

Bombardier Confirming its Unmatched Environmental Performance For CS300

Bombardier Commercial Aircraft announced today at the Global Sustainable Aviation Summit in Geneva the publication of the Environmental Product Declaration (EPD®) for the CS300 aircraft. The news was made public one year after the CS100 aircraft received the same certification. No other aircraft manufacturer discloses the full environmental impact of their products.  

“At Bombardier, we believe in concrete actions and transparency when it comes to creating more sustainable growth in the aviation industry,” said Fred Cromer, President, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft. “As we now know and as our competitors have noticed, the C Series is simply unmatched and this EPD® provides our customers and stakeholders with a complete view of the CS300 aircraft’s environmental performance, which was optimized at every stage of its lifecycle,” he added.

Increased security checks for Philippine Airlines US bound flights.

Philippine Airlines will be further enhancing security measures for its US-bound flights -- Manila-Los Angeles/ Manila-San Francisco/Manila-Honolulu/Manila-Guam and Vancouver-New York (JFK) - by way of additional check-in procedures. 

This planned move is in line with the regulatory requirements of the US Department of Homeland Security for all flights operating from the 'last point of departure to the United States'. 

Emirates and flydubai partnership announces first codeshare routes

Emirates and flydubai today announced that Emirates will expand its network to 29 flydubai destinations across three continents.

The new partner network, through its codeshare, will offer greater frequency and easier access to more global destinations with the advantage of connecting baggage to the final destination.  Passengers can book from 03 October on Emirates.com, through the Emirates Contact Centres or the travel agents network with travel commencing from 29 October 2017.

HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Group and Chairman of flydubai, said, “This is an exciting first step in unlocking the benefits of the partnership for passengers who will have the opportunity to enjoy the unique advantages each airline offers as well as greater choice and flexibility when connecting via Dubai. This is just the start and as we expand the partner network in the coming months we will open up more opportunities for our passengers to explore the world.”

Read more on this story, including the destinations that the codeshare deal includes. 

CAA launches flying programme to bring 110,000 customers back to UK in response to Monarch Airlines administration

The UK's Civil Aviation Authority confirms that Monarch Airlines has ceased trading with immediate effect, leaving 110,000 customers overseas and in the region of 300,000 future bookings cancelled.

The government has asked CAA to charter more than 30 aircraft to bring back to the UK Monarch Airlines customers currently overseas, which it has already started to do with Qatar Airways being the main supplier of aircraft, with 10 already in operation on the repatriation operation.  The estimated cost of this, the largest peacetime repatriation, in British history is expected to be £60 million according to the CAA.  

The CAA is warning Monarch customers in the UK and yet to travel to not go to the airport, there will not be any more flights from the airline.  Those customers already overseas due to fly in the next fortnight will be brought back to the UK at no cost to them. There is no need to cut short your stay and are advised to check new special website monarch.caa.co.uk for more information.

All future Monarch Airlines bookings, including flights and holidays, have now been cancelled following a decision by the company's board to stop trading.  This is the UK's largest ever airline to enter administration. 

The silent demise of Monarch as they slip into administration in the dead of night.

Monarch Airlines has ceased trading and slipped into administration in the middle of the night. The first official announcement came from an email sent to staff from Andrew Swaffield, who apologised and praised the owners  - read the full email here.

The email reads,  his is the update I hoped I would never have to write. Despite our best efforts, today Monarch Airlines Limited and Monarch Travel Group (Monarch Holidays) are ceasing operations and going into administration.

Soon you will hear from the administrator, KPMG, who will now be running these two entities in administration and will explain what this means for all of us who work for either company.

Please note that Monarch Aircraft Engineering Limited continues to operate normally and is not entering administration.

Our owners, Greybull Capital, showed great courage when they bought us in 2014 and have provided us with continuous support.  We had a turnaround year in 2015.

But since then, outside influences have badly affected us. Since 2015 we’ve seen yields collapse by a quarter, resulting in £160 million less revenue.

This has especially affected Spain and Portugal which is 80% of our business. This year the airline is carrying 14% more passengers than last year for £100m less revenue.

The root cause is the closure, due to terrorism, of Sharm-El- Sheikh and Tunisia and the decimation of Turkey.

Despite these challenges we managed to cut £40 million out of our cost base by reducing overheads and being more efficient and wasting less, however the yield reductions have turned our airline from one that made £70 million profit in 2015 to one that made a £60 million loss in 2017 and was scheduled to lose over £100 mililon in 2018.

We asked a respected aviation consulting firm to review how we could improve our short haul network and they came to the conclusion that it was pretty much out of our control.

The email continues -

Delivery for WestJet's 737 MAX

WestJet took delivery of a lovely Boeing 737 Max last week.

The aircraft will be flying between Calgary, Toronto and Vancouver to start with and the airline will introduce the type on more routes as they arrive.

However, there is a growing resentment among Canadian's in the aviation industry at what they see as WestJet's attack on the Canadian economy by continuing with their Boeing orders following the news that the US will put on a 220% tax on Bombardier CSeries aircraft.  A campaign has been started asking Canadian airlines to Boycott Boeing, which WestJet are ignoring, especially as more of their long-term plans are focused on developments south of the border. 

Visit this map to see where the 737 MAX are going into service. 

Air France A380 Suffers Major Engine Failure Mid Flight

There was shock and major concern among the passengers on an Air France A380 flight from Paris to Los Angeles Air France flight from Paris to Los Angeles after one of its engines started to disintegrate mid-flight

The aircraft diverted from its original course and made an emergency descent and landing at Goose Bay in Canada on Saturday after the engine malfunction over the Atlantic causing fear in the cabins. 

Passengers reported on social media that they heard a thudding type of noise as they experienced vibrations rattling throughout the cabin as the A380 began to descend and head to the nearest airport, big enough to handle the superjumbo.

"We heard a big popping sound and the aeroplane basically dropped and it was trembling. You could definitely tell something was different and it wasn't just turbulence," said one passenger to American media.  Another passenger said he had been stretching with his wife when "suddenly there was an enormous bang, and the whole plane shook." John Birkhead added "We were lucky we weren't tossed to the ground,"

Read more on this story including the full statement from Air France. 

Born 30 Minutes after and retire 30 seconds apart!

Photo Credit: Stuart Bailey Left: Nick Hart Right: Jeremy Hart

Twin brothers who work as British Airways pilots celebrated their 60th birthdays today by walking off their last ever flights, only 30 seconds apart.

Captains Jeremy and Nick Hart both fly A320 aircraft on short-haul routes for British Airways. After being born 30 minutes apart they decided a fitting end to their flying careers would be to operate their last flights back into Heathrow on the same day, parking up their aircraft next to each other, only 30 seconds apart.

Nick's last flight from Gothenburg landed at 12.34pm while his brother, Jeremy's last flight from Geneva landed at 12.35pm. Jeremy chose his last flight to be from Geneva as it was also the first destination he ever flew to.

Jeremy joined British Airways 30 years ago in 1987. Nick joined from British Midland, which was bought by and then absorbed into British Airways in 2012.

Between them, they have clocked up almost 45,000 flying hours, spent 3.5 years in the air and flown more than two million customers.

Read more about the not quite identical twins - 

CAA charter Qatar & other aircraft to rescue Monarch passengers should last ditch talks fail

The UK's Civil Aviation Authority is in the process of arranging repatriation flights for thousands of Monarch passengers should the airlines holiday arm not receive its new ATOL licence.  The company was given a one-day extension on Saturday night of its existing licence as it continues emergency talks with the regulator.

There is great concern that the UK's fifth largest airline may not survive the coming week should the CAA refuse the application.  It is believed that the company would be left with little option other than to call in the administrators on Monday afternoon for its package holiday arm if left without a licence which could stand up to 100,000 holidaymakers overseas.

“Our flights are operating as normal, carrying Monarch customers as scheduled. Our ATOL licence – for packaged holidays – is with the regulator. Flight only bookings do not require an ATOL licence, in line with other airlines,” a Monarch spokesman said.

Bombardier & Spicejet Mega Q400 Order

Bombardier Commercial Aircraft announced on Friday 29th that it has concluded a firm purchase agreement with the Indian airline SpiceJet for up to 50 Q400 turboprop aircraft, making it the largest single order ever for the Q400.

This latest order for the popular Q400 turboprop takes the firm orders to over 600 aircraft and will mean Spicejet will be first in the world to operate a 90-seat turboprop. Subject to pending certification by regulatory authorities.

The purchase agreement includes 25 Q400 turboprops and purchase rights on an additional 25 aircraft. Based on list prices, the order is valued at up to US $ 1.7 billion.

“We are very proud to firm up this agreement with SpiceJet as it is another demonstration of the Q400’s unique versatility. This repeat order will not only increase the Q400 aircraft fleet in the fast-growing regional market in India and in the Asia-Pacific region but will also launch the high-density 90‑passenger model,” said Fred Cromer, President, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft. “This order confirms the airlines’ increased capacity needs on regional routes with high passenger demand and demonstrates the increased profitability potential that this unique turboprop configuration has to offer.”

bmi regional cares

bmi regional are about to show their caring side by demonstrating support for those suffering with cancer by joining in with the aviation industry’s fight against the disease. The airline will be taking part in Fly Pink, a campaign to raise awareness and funds for Cancer Research UK.

Throughout October 2017, captains, first officers and cabin crew will don pink lanyards, badges and epaulettes on bmi regional flights.  Other departments within bmi regional such as engineering, commercial and finance departments will also joining in the effort, to raise awareness of the campaign by operating local and in-house events.

Customers will be encouraged to support the campaign by donating to bmi regional’s Just Giving Page, which can be accessed via flybmi.com.  In addition to the staff dress code, crew will be on hand to explain the Fly Pink initiative to all customers travelling on bmi regional flights.

Gulf Air and Turkish Airlines Codeshare Deal

Bahrain’s national carrier, Gulf Air and Turkish Airlines signed a codeshare agreement yesterday that will be effective from 1st November 2017. The agreement will expand the travel opportunities for the passengers of both airlines with jointly operated double daily flights between Bahrain and Istanbul.

The signing ceremony took place at Turkish Airlines’ Istanbul headquarters. Gulf Air’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Captain Waleed Abdul Hameed Al Alawi, and Turkish Airlines’ Deputy Chairman and CEO, Mr Bilal Ekşi signed the agreement together in the presence of senior officials from both airlines.

This new codeshare agreement will be applied to the flights operated by both carriers to Manama and Istanbul, broadening the commercial partnership between the two companies and their respective countries while giving passengers of both airlines more travel options between Bahrain and Turkey.

Gulf Air and Turkish Airlines each operate one daily flight between Bahrain and Istanbul and, under the terms of this agreement, both carriers will place their codes on both airlines’ flights, operating between Bahrain and Istanbul.

Electric Aircraft For Easyjet

easyJet, Europe’s leading airline outlined earlier this week a strategy to progressively de-carbonise and reduce noise from aviation operations.

A collaboration with US company Wright Electric will support the goal for short haul flights to be operated by all-electric planes. Wright Electric has set itself the challenge of building an all-electric commercial passenger jet capable of flying passengers across easyJet’s UK and European network within a decade. 

The new Airbus A320 neo aircraft will bring significant environmental and operational benefits – up to 15 percent saving in fuel burn and CO2 emissions, and a reduced noise footprint of 50 percent on take-off and landing providing a benefit to airport neighbourhood communities. 

Ryanair Capitulates

The high-fees low-fares budget airline Ryanair has been beaten into submission by the Civil Aviation Authority and issued new guidelines on the new level of compensation it will give passengers affected by its planned flight disruption.

It has narrowly avoided the threat of legal action the CAA promised by shooting an email to most of those affected by more than 20,000 flight cancellations.  The Irish airline also acknowledges it is required to offer those on cancelled flights full refunds or comparable tickets on rival carriers on its website now.

Civil Aviation Authority boss Andrew Haines said Ryanair had "capitulated".  Earlier this week, Mr Andrew Haines said he was "furious" the airline had not been complying with the law by failing to offer to re-route passengers on rival airlines.

Ryanair claims to have taken on more extra staff to process the expected increase in customer claims, however staff at the Dublin HQ say this isn't so, advising that employees have been forced to do different jobs for a short period of time.

More airlines join Worldwide by easyjet to screw more money out of passengers

easyJet, Europe's low-cost budget airline, announced earlier this week additional partners for its ‘Worldwide by easyJet’ product, which launched earlier this month. Stand-alone tickets on behalf of four new partner airlines will be on sale by the end of the year - for a fee and at prices more than available booking directly. 

The four airlines are - 

The Italian long-haul airline NEOS, that many outside Italy will never have heard of serves a number of long-haul routes from Milan, Rome, Verona and Bologna.

The Bailiwick of Guernsey’s state airline Aurigny has also signed up to easyjets new sales avenue website.

Business Class French carrier La Compagnie flies between Paris and New York.

Corsair is the fourth of this batch of airlines to join Worldwide by easyjet and they operate flights to destinations across Africa, the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean.

Aeroflot to rescue VIM

Russian government officials confirmed yesterday that the state controlled airline Aeroflot will help private carrier VIM Airlines after the struggling airline asked for financial aid from the state.

VIM Airlines cancelled or delayed dozens of flights over the last few days for the past few days since it asked for help with its finances. The statement said Aeroflot's board of directors was to meet on Thursday to discuss ways to support the operations of VIM airlines, however, the statement, nor did any government spokespeople confirm just exactly how much money VIM would get.  

Yet according to local media, a source inside the air transportation administration says would spend some 1.85 billion roubles which is about $31.92 million to prop up VIM Airlines and restructure the company.