Emirates and flydubai Extend Codeshare

Building on the continued success of the first phase of their partnership, Emirates and flydubai announced this week an additional 16 destinations to which Emirates’ passengers will be able travel on a single ticket. The new, expanded network now includes sought-after destinations such as Zanzibar, Kathmandu and Kilimanjaro.

Emirates President, Sir Tim Clark said: “We are thrilled with the positive response from travellers. Nearly 14,000 sectors have been ticketed during the first week of operation, surpassing our expectations. We have witnessed strong demand for travel from Europe and the United States to South Asian destinations." 

"This partnership is an unprecedented opportunity for both airlines to unleash the combined power of their networks, offering travellers greater choice and flexibility when planning their trips. We want to make exploring the world as friendly and as convenient as possible.”

flydubai Chief Executive Officer, Ghaith Al Ghaith said: “The many benefits of Dubai’s international aviation hub have been recognised by travellers who have already shown that they are keen to explore the world together. Today’s announcement will allow them to discover another 16 destinations as well as enjoy the unique personality of each airline.”

New codeshare destinations follow:

FedEx Express buys up to 50 new ATR 72-600F freighters

Great news for the aircraft manufacturer ATR as the world’s largest express transportation company FedEx have signed a major contract for the purchase of 30 ATR 72-600s aeroplanes as well as an option for 20 further aircraft. 

These aircraft will be the first new ATRs to be directly delivered directly from the factory in a freighter configuration and further demonstrates the versatility of the popular propeller-driven aircraft. The new aircraft version has been designated as the ATR 72-600F and features a brand new windowless fuselage and is equipped with a forward Large Cargo Door and a rear upper hinged cargo door.

   The new cargo version of the ATR 72-600 will enter into service in 2020

According to ATR, the deliveries of the 72-600F's to FedEx Express will begin during 2020. These new ATRs are also the first ATR 72-600s that will operate in a cargo configuration, as well as being the first ones equipped with a large cargo door directly from the factory. 

The ATR 72-600F features a class E main cabin for cargo operations, and will support both bulk cargo and Unit Load Device (ULD) configurations. The ATR 72-600F has a bulk capacity of 74.6 m3, and when in ULD mode, can accommodate up to seven LD3 containers, or five 88” x 108”, or nine 88” x 62” pallets. The aircraft is also equipped with new reinforced floor panels.

The news story continues on - 

Illuminating Landing for Hawaiian Airlines flight in Seattle.

A Hawiian Airlines aircraft gave waiting passengers and airport staff a rather illuminating landing at Seattle -Tacoma International Airport in Seattle on Tuesday night when when one of the planes engines appeared to catch fire.

The dramatic moment was captured on video by passengers waiting in the terminal and clearly shows flames lighting up the night sky as aircraft lands.  

Hawaiian Airlines told local media the aircraft was perfoming a ferry flight, therefore had no passengers on-board at the time.  Their spokesperson explained the aircraft "experienced a left engine issue on final approach at Seattle tonight. A left engine fire reported upon landing was extinguished by the aircraft fire extinguishing system. 

The FAA are investigating the incident and commented initially the aeroplane "experienced a right engine flyer fire upon landing. The fire had already been extinguished by the time Fire crews arrived at the aircraft."

Apparently there were no issues or alarms during the flight and the issue only occured as the Airbus landed at the airport. One of the ground crew at Seattle told the local media it appeared to be a compressor stall, which is similar to a car backfiring, possibly caused by a birdstrike which are unusal at night, but do infrequently take place. 

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BA launches new route to Figari, Corsica

British Airways launches more flights to some choice sunshine spots next summer with the launch of a new route to Corsica from Heathrow Terminal 5.

Holidaymakers wanting to relax on pristine beaches, stroll through unspoilt coastal towns and explore charming hilltop villages should head to the picture-perfect French island this summer with direct flights to Figari airport operating every Sunday from March 25 until October 21., 2018

Return fares will be available from £98 in Euro Traveller and £258 in Club Europe are available to book now on ba.com.

Corsica is perfectly placed between France and Italy in the Mediterranean Sea and is fast becoming a must-visit destination for European holidaymakers.

Tianjin Airlines Launched Melbourne to Chongqing Route, Plans Sydney to Tianjin via Zhengzhou Route

Tianjin Airlines has opened a new route directly from Melbourne to Chongqing. This is Tianjin Airlines' first transcontinental air route to Australia. Early next year, Tianjin Airlines will launch a new route from Sydney to Tianjin via Zhengzhou, which will initially begin from 29 January 2018. Ticket information for Melbourne-Chongqing are available on the official website and more about Sydney-Tianjin will be available in late November.

The flights are operated by A330 aircraft, with 18 business class seats and 242 economy class seats. Both classes are equipped with entertainment system on the back of the seats. Besides, delicious meals and considerable service are served on board, providing an enjoyable journey for passengers.

Read on to see the schedule and learn more about the development of Tianjin Airlines.

Air Canada Named One of Canada's Top 100 Employers for the Fifth Consecutive Year

 Air Canada has been named one of Canada's Top 100 Employers for the fifth consecutive year in an annual national employer survey by Mediacorp Canada Inc, it was announced on Tuesday.

"We are very proud to be ranked one of Canada's top employers for the fifth straight year. This is important not only for the well-being of Air Canada's 30,000 employees but also because it supports employee engagement, which is absolutely essential to delivering excellent service to the 45 million customers we carry each year," said Arielle Meloul-Wechsler, Senior Vice President, People and Culture, at Air Canada. "Being consistently recognized as one of Canada's Top 100 employers is also further evidence of the successful transformation of Air Canada. We have made a culture change a core priority and this has been instrumental in earning us a place among the leading global carriers."

Boeing or Airbus Question For The Russians

Photo Aeroflot

It's a battle between Boeing and Airbus the rapidly growing government-backed Russian airline Aeroflot group it's being reported today. 

The airline is currently considering a “sizeable” order for Airbus A320neo family of jets or Boeing 737 MAX narrow-body aircraft, according to a top-level executive today. 

Aeroflot already has a mixed fleet, including 146 aircraft from the A320 family along with 54 737-800s jets and now looking to replace these older models with newer, more fuel-efficient and technologically advanced offerings from the two leading global manufacturers.

“That is something that we are looking at,” Aeroflot Deputy General Director for Strategy and Alliances Giorgio Callegari told Reuters of the potential order on the sidelines of the CAPA Asia Summit 2017.  “Probably in the next year we will at least know the direction. It will be a sizeable order,” he said, declining to provide estimated numbers.

Callegari told the news agency that the Russian national airline wanted to keep both Airbus and Boeing narrowbodies in its fleet because it used them in different seating configurations and did not want to be reliant on a single manufacturer.

WOW New York JFK service coming in April 2018

 Iceland's other affordable airline with the pretty purple planes, WOW have confirmed that they will be starting a new service to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport from this spring.  The inaugural flight is scheduled for the 26th April and fares from the UK to New York via Iceland start at just £99.

It is a similar price going the other way, our American friends can hop on over 'The pond' via sexy cool Iceland to destinations including Paris, Amsterdam, London Stansted, Frankfurt, Dublin, Copenhagen and Berlin for $99.

The fares are one-way and represent great value for money which are sure to be popular. The introduction of the service will also open up New Yorkers to flights to Reykjavik, Iceland and on to an additional 22 cities on their network.  The budget-conscious airline is also going to expand its  Newark Liberty International Airport operation with 13 flights per week starting May 2018.

"New York is an amazing city filled with culture, one-of-a-kind art, diverse cuisines and travellers from all over the world," said Skúli Mogensen, founder and CEO of WOW air - pictured in front of one of the airlines stylish Airbus aircraft. "We are excited to offer more East Coast passengers access to high-value and low fares through our new partnership with John F. Kennedy International Airport. WOW air's young fleet continues to service U.S. consumers at a reasonable price to make travel available to even more people."  

Launched in November 2011, WOW air now connects 38 destinations across North America, Europe and the Middle East with the Icelandic capital. In 2016, WOW air flew with 1,668,773 passengers in total, which is an increase of 130% from 2015. The affordable airline is popular also, its been ranked as the 7th best low-cost airline in Europe at the 2013, 2014 and 2015 Skytrax World Airline Awards and was the youngest airline in the top ten. The airline operates an all Airbus fleet with A320, A321 and A330 models.

Beijing Capital Airlines conducts its first overseas recruitment drive in Portugal and Spain

Beijing Capital Airlines have just held the first overseas crew recruitment fairs in Portugal and Spain for the carrier.  Held from  November 2 to November 6 it was a massive success, having received more than 1000 resumes, the company plans to hire 40 flight attendants in the two countries. 

Local candidates showed a great interest in the brand image and the distinctly Chinese culture of Beijing Capital Airlines, the airline said in a statement marking the true globalisation of the company's crew recruitment process.

"We chose Lisbon as the first stop as we had just launched a non-stop service between China and Portugal," a recruitment spokesperson for Beijing Capital Airlines explained. 

Billed as the new "Silk Road in the sky" the Beijing to Lisbon route commenced on 25th July this year and fills the gap in terms of the growing need for a direct flight between the two countries and is an important step in Beijing Capital Airlines' development strategy as well as helping  to implement the Chinese government's silk road in the sky initiative. 

Alaska Airlines New San Diego and Mexico City

Alaska Airlines began a nonstop service between San Diego and Mexico City's Benito Juarez International Airport yesterday much to the delight the local community. San Diego is the third West Coast city to see nonstop service to Mexico's largest metropolitan city with Los Angeles and San Francisco added in August 2017. With more than 100 flights a week to Mexico from California, Alaska Airlines offers California flyers more flight options to Mexico than any other U.S. carrier.  

Alaska Airlines now has four nonstop flights 

from California to the City of Palaces.

"Alaska continues the most significant network expansion in the company's 85-year history, with the addition of nonstop service between Mexico City and San Diego," said John Kirby, Alaska's vice president of capacity planning. "Mexico City is a leading global cultural and financial centre, and we're pleased to offer our guests another convenient, cost-effective option to get there from Southern California."   

"This is great news for our city," said San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer. "By providing nonstop service from San Diego to Mexico City, we are creating more opportunities to promote our shared interests, attract foreign investment and increase tourism. This new direct flight is another exciting step forward that will strengthen ties with our neighbors in Mexico."

The year-round, nonstop service marks the ninth destination Alaska serves to Mexico. Other destinations with service from California include Cancun, Ixtapa/Zihuantanejo, Loreto, Los Cabos, Manzanillo, Mazatlán, Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara. Alaska began flying to Mexico in 1988.  

"We are excited to have this important connection between San Diego and Mexico City, and we are grateful to Alaska Airlines for being such a terrific air service partner, " said Kim Becker, president/CEO of San Diego International Airport. "With this flight, SAN is proud to offer nonstop service to 10 international markets."

Horizon Air Pulling Out of Alaska

Horizon Air is packing its bags and heading out of Alaska and its Bombardier turboprop Q400 aircraft will be phased out by March of 2018 the parent company Alaska Air Group official announced.

The current Horizon Air routes will be taken over by Alaska Airlines and operated by Boeing 737 aircraft, with a much higher capacity than the Q400's could accommodate. Horizon, it's Anchorage base will also close on 10th March or shortly thereafter, leaving the futures of over 50 staff members in doubt.

Alaska Airlines Regional Vice President Marilyn Romano said last week that Horizon “has struggled to operate cost-effectively in such a remote environment with limited resources.” Horizon started flying in Alaska in 2014.  Employees have been notified of the closure, and resources are available for those employees who will be impacted by this decision,” Romano said. “Horizon’s 51 Anchorage-based employees have provided great service to our guests and have been offered opportunities to relocate to other Horizon bases in the Lower 48.”

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Norwegian reports continued international growth and 14 per cent passenger increase in October

Yet again everyone's favourite long-haul low-cost airline, Norwegian had a bumper month in October, with more than three million passengers in a single month. 

More than 3.1 million passengers travelled with the company in October, which demonstrates a rather impressive increase of 14 percent when compared to October 2016. The strongest growth was seen on Norwegian’s intercontinental routes, which have increased the number of passengers by whopping 56 percent. 

A total of 3,148,511 passengers chose to fly with Norwegian in October. This is 381,768 more passengers than the same period last year (14 percent). The total traffic growth (RPK) increased by 29 per cent, while the capacity growth (ASK) increased by 31 percent this month. The load factor in October was 87.4 percent.

Southwest Airlines Launches Service To Turks And Caicos Islands, Costa Rica and Dominican Republic

Reaching the parts other budget carriers cannot reach!  The ever-popular Southwest Airlines Company began operating a new international service every day from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport to Providenciales International Airport (PLS) in the Turks and Caicos Islands.  The service started yesterday and it makes it the 11th country served by Southwest. 

In addition, Southwest initiated new services between its South Florida gateway at Fort Lauderdale and both San Jose, Costa Rica (SJO), and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (PUJ)  yesterday also. This gives their customers nonstop access from Fort Lauderdale to 10 destinations in Latin America and the Caribbean.

"Three new routes bring Southwest's needed value for Floridians hoping to hit the beach in Provo's world-famous Grace Bay, hike up the crater at Poas volcano near Costa Rica's capital city, or have a carefree weekend in a resort in Punta Cana," said Steve Goldberg, Southwest's Senior Vice President of Operations & Hospitality.  "With convenient connections for Orlando, Tampa, and dozens of cities across our domestic network, these international destinations are now reachable on Southwest where there are no change fees and bags fly free."

Emirates 100th A380

Emirates celebrates the milestone delivery of its 100th Airbus A380 aircraft yesterday at a special ceremony with Airbus at the manufacturer’s delivery centre in Hamburg.

His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, Emirates’ Chairman and Chief Executive officiated the ceremony. He was joined at the event by Sir Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline; Tom Enders, Airbus Chief Executive Officer; Dominic Horwood, Rolls-Royce, Director - Customer and Services; His Excellency Ali Al Ahmed, UAE Ambassador to Germany and Frank Horch, Senator for Economy, Transport and Innovation of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg.

Sheikh Ahmed said: “This is a tremendous moment for Emirates, for Airbus and for our many partners involved in the A380 programme. There is no doubt that the A380 has had a big positive impact on aerospace manufacturing and the broader aviation industry, supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs and stimulating innovation and new product development in many related areas such as ground handling, catering, airport facilities and cabin products, to name a few.

“Importantly, the A380 also brought the flying experience for our customers to the next level. The aircraft itself is a showpiece of engineering. It is the world’s largest commercial passenger jet but it is quiet and efficient and at Emirates, we’ve utilised the onboard real estate to redefine the thinking around in-flight products and experience. Our flight crew love to fly it and our customers love to fly in it.

“For Emirates, the A380 has been a success. We’ve been able to utilise it at slot-constrained airports, as well as at regional and ‘secondary’ airports where we have grown passenger demand. Each time we deploy an A380 onto a route, it typically stimulates further traffic and demand as travellers are attracted by our flagship A380 experience. We remain committed to the programme and will work closely with Airbus and our partners to continually enhance our A380 product as we look ahead to receiving our remaining 42 aircraft on order.”

“We are extremely proud of our long-standing relationship with Emirates – a partnership that has been integral to the A380 programme,” said Tom Enders. “It is a source of immense satisfaction for everyone at Airbus that such a visionary airline has believed in the A380 from the beginning and chosen it as its flagship and the backbone of its operations. And, of course, it is always exciting to hear positive feedback from our customers and passengers about the aircraft, while associating it with Dubai’s success as the world’s most dynamic air transport hub.”

CSA Czech Airlines agree code-share deal with Ukraine International Airlines

Czech Airlines and Ukraine International Airlines have agreed on business co-operation they confirmed this week. The deal takes effect from 6th November 2017, when the carriers will codeshare all regular scheduled flights operated by both airlines between Prague and Kyiv. 

The arrangement will allow customers a greater selection of flights and better connections between the capitals of the Czech Republic and Ukraine. Together the airlines will now offer up to 12 return flights a week on the route, i.e. two flights a day except on Wednesdays and Saturdays when one connection will be operated.

Czech Airlines customers will thus be able to select flights with OK codes on the route operated from Prague to Kyiv by Ukraine International Airlines as follows:

4 midday flights (on Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays, departing at 11:30 am) and
3 afternoon flights (on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, departing at 3:20 pm).
In return, Ukraine International Airlines clients will be able to purchase tickets under PS codes for flights operated from Prague to Kyiv by Czech Airlines as follows:

5 evening flights (on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays, departing at 10:40 pm).

The Codeshare flights have already gone on sale and prices of one-way tickets from Prague to Kyiv start at CZK 2,969, from Kyiv to Prague at UAH 3,045. 

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Icelandair launch Berlin service.

Icelandair launched a year-round service from Berlin-Tegel Airport yesterday, the flight departed at 1.05pm with Icelandair CEO, Birkir Hólm Guðnason and Berlin Tegel COO, Elmar Kleinert at the gate to welcome the boarding passengers and help celebrate the new route. 

Icelandair‘s new service will operate three flights a week on Mondays, Fridays and Sundays between Reykjavik and Berlin with onward connections to 20 destinations in North America.

“Berlin is our 4th gateway in Germany and establishes our commitment to strengthen our transatlantic route network by providing passengers with more convenient connections between Europe and North America. Berlin, the capital city of Germany, has a rich history, diverse culture, and vibrant nightlife, which we look forward to sharing with our passengers,” said Birkir Holm Gudnason, CEO of Icelandair.

Car Hire companies win prize.

Enterprise Holdings and its portfolio of brands – Enterprise Rent-A-Car, National Car Rental and Alamo Rent A Car – have earned prestigious honours this year as travel partners of choice among corporate customers, travel buyers, and business and leisure travellers.

The New Singapore Airlines A380....Let the fun begin

One of the leading airlines in terms of passenger satisfaction, Singapore Airlines, revealed their new look cabins on the latest Airbus A380 aircraft this week much to the delight of many a seasoned traveller and media hack.

The airline has spent millions (US$850 Million to be exact) on the design and comfort of its new cabins that seem more akin to a luxurious boutique hotel than a long-haul jetliner.  Things like double beds, fluffy sheets, embroidered cotton duvets, amenity kits to die for and we've not even started about the sensationally exquisite dining experience. nor the highly advanced in-flight entertainment system, which will make you wish your flight was just a little bit longer! 

The new cabins will feature on the first of five new A380 aircraft entering the Singapore fleet and the airlines 14 existing aircraft will also be retrofitted with the new cabins to ensure product consistency across the Airline’s entire A380 fleet.

The new configuration of the new A380 featuring six Singapore Airlines Suites and 78 Business Class seats on the upper deck. There are 44 Premium Economy Class seats and 343 Economy Class seats situated on the main deck.

Read on to take more of a look inside the new A380

Alaska Pays Out

The board of directors of Alaska Air Group has declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of 30 cents per share. The dividend will be paid on Dec. 7, 2017, to all shareholders of record as of Nov. 21, 2017. Dividends are financed from operating cash flow and cash on hand.

Alaska Airlines, together with Virgin America and its regional partners, flies 40 million guests a year to more than 115 destinations with an average of 1,200 daily flights across the United States and to Mexico, Canada, Costa Rica and Cuba. With Alaska and Alaska Global Partners, guests can earn and redeem miles on flights to more than 900 destinations worldwide. Alaska Airlines ranked "Highest in Customer Satisfaction Among Traditional Carriers in North America" in the J.D. Power North America Satisfaction Study for 10 consecutive years from 2008 to 2017. Learn more about Alaska's award-winning service at newsroom.alaskaair.com and blog.alaskaair.com. Alaska Airlines, Virgin America and Horizon Air are subsidiaries of Alaska Air Group.

Capital Airlines wins an award.

Capital Airlines was presented Outstanding Company Award by Pedro Catarino, former Portugal's ambassador to China, at the 4th Portugal-China Gala in Lisbon on November 2, 2017. The President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, presented the Outstanding Company Award to China-based Beijing Capital Airlines at the awards ceremony, highlighting the importance of the Chinese carrier's launch of non-stop service between China and Portugal and the significant contribution the service makes to promoting and facilitating cultural and economic exchanges between the two countries.

CommutAir Pay First Offices Pilots Pay

 CommutAir, a United Express carrier, reached an agreement with the Air Line Pilots Association to pay its First Officers at Captain scale pay rates one year after their completion of initial training.  Under the agreement, CommutAir will also begin paying quarterly retention bonuses to its Captains.

"Most pilots join us not just for our pay and sign-on bonus, but because our growth story conveys a rapid upgrade to PIC," said Joel Raymond, Chief Operating Officer. "At CommutAir, we have enough confidence in our growth plan to guarantee Captain pay after one year of initial training."

Delta's October

Delta Air Lines yesterday reported operating performance for October 2017. The company carried 16.2 million passengers across our broad global network in the month. 

Monthly highlights include:

Launching service of the flagship Airbus A350-900 between Detroit and Tokyo-Narita, featuring the award-winning Delta One Suite, the new Delta Premium Select cabin, and an enhanced Main Cabin experience;
Introducing automatic check-in functionality for Fly Delta app users to streamline the check-in experience for customers; and
Completing the 13th annual Breast Cancer One employee survivor flight to raise funds and awareness for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Since 2005, Delta has raised over $13 million for breast cancer research.
The company's operating performance is detailed in the table below -

Airline of the year 2018 - Air New Zealand

Congratulations to Air New Zealand for taking the top mantle Airline of the Year for 2018 from a safety and product rating Australian website. Yes, the airline of the year 2018, now we know Perth Australia is ahead of us here in the UK, but we didn't think it was that far ahead!

So even before the year has begun, Air New Zealand has won for a record fifth time in the AirlineRatings.com ratings.  The airline is being honoured for its record-breaking performance, multi-award-winning in-flight innovations, operational safety, environmental leadership and motivation of its staff. These factors have stamped the airline as a clear industry leader. (I'm sure it has nothing to do with the number of free flights they might  bung in the direction of Airline Ratings editor in chief Geoffrey Thomas) 

Seriously though, AirlineRatings Airline Excellence Awards are judged by six editors with over 180 years' industry experience, combines major safety and government audits, with 12 key criteria – up from nine last year - that includes: fleet age, passenger reviews profitability, investment rating, product offerings, and staff relations.

Photo AirlineRatings.com

AirlineRatings Editor-in-Chief Geoffrey Thomas said: "In our objective analysis Air New Zealand came out number one in virtually all of our audit criteria, which is an exceptional performance."

Air New Zealand CEO Christopher Luxon, pictured left with Geoffrey Thomas receiving the award,  said: "This award is a testament to the huge effort from all of our people to deliver a world-class Kiwi experience on the ground and in the air. It is extremely rewarding to see their hard work recognized by such an experienced panel of aviation judges."

"Air New Zealand is committed to redefining the customer experience and we are looking forward to unveiling many exciting new initiatives in 2018."

New routes for Aruba Airlines

Aruba Airlines have reintroduced a direct service to the delightfully picturesque Dutch Caribbean island of Curaçao.

The airline had planned to introduce the route on 23rd October, however, delays in aircraft delivery date meant the start of the new service was rescheduled to 25th October.

Currently, the airline is using a Bombardier CRJ200 wet-leased from Voyageur Airways on the routes, but this will be replaced by a new Dash8 aircraft when it arrives. The new routes to Curaçao. will be from a range of departure points on the airlines' small network. 

Fransisco Arendsz from Aruba Airlines confirmed on 27th October that the airline has planned to place an order for an additional Dash 8-100, as a back up for the first, it is unclear at this stage just exactly when the aircraft will be delivered. 

Arendsz also confirmed that an additional CRJ200 would be leased later this month to enhance services and start the Bonaire route as scheduled on 16th November 2017. 

Other key developments for the carrier are planned according to Arendsz, including the introduction of direct flights to New York - JFK, Bogota and possibly Buenos Aires, or another destination in Argentina. The services to New York and Argentina will be operated on an Airbus A330 which the airline has recently ordered, Arendsz indicated. 

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Etihad To End Dallas Fort Worth Service

Etihad Airways has confimed today that it will put an end to its Dallas - Fort Worth service with effect of 25th March next year. The gulf airline is calling a halt to the service that has carried more than 235,000 passengers since it started in 2014 as a direct result of American Airlines terminating a code-share agreement.

The disoloution of the deal between the two airlines puts the route into the “commercially unsustainable” area and therefore left Etihad “with no choice but to suspend flights” the chief executive Peter Baumgartner said today.  “The cancellation of the Dallas route is one of several adjustments that we are making to our U.S. network in 2018 in order to improve system profitability,” he added.

Industry commentators are warning there could be big changes ahead to the rest of Etihad USA routes of New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington DC.

American Airlines has spent more than $7 million on lobbying the US Government and various senators to investigate allegations of state subsidies at Etihad and other major Gulf carriers, desp[ite American previously benefitting from taxbreask and other subsidies. All of the Gulf carriers deny the allegations repeatedly. 

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Delta to match miles donated to Fisher House Foundation and Luke’s Wings

This November, Delta Air Lines is honoring veterans, active service members and their families by matching customer-donated miles to Fisher House Foundation's Hero Miles program and Luke's Wings up to a total of 10 million miles through SkyWish, the charitable arm of SkyMiles — Delta's loyalty program.

Using miles donated through SkyWish, Fisher House Foundation's Hero Miles program and Luke's Wings can connect members of the military and their loved ones while they undergo treatment and recovery by providing air travel to injured, ill or wounded service members and veterans, along with their families. Over the past three years, Delta and its customers have donated more than 138 million miles to these organizations.  

The New Zimbabwe Airways - Owned by Robert Mugabe Heading to London?

It is being reported in local media that the Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe is the main financial backer and owner of the new national airline, Zimbabwe Airways.

The news has been widely condemned by opposition leaders and politicians through Africa who fear decades of corruption and embezzlement by Mugabe has given him a vast personal wealth that affords him the possibility of owning his own airline. The 93-year old's wealth has increased year on year, whilst most of the country are unemployed (80%) and struggling to even survive. He will become the first head of state in the world to own a national airline.

Leading opposition party, the People's Democratic Party (PDP) are not pleased, "The first family has become a centre of corruption and looting and is a disgrace," Jacob Mafume,  PDP spokesman told local media. Adding "That a deal can be negotiated on behalf of the state and then turned into a family entity is criminal, Zimbabweans must be angry. The law of the land does not allow a president to use his official position for personal gain."

bmi regional partners with Loganair to add nine new UK routes

bmi regional has today announced the addition of nine UK routes to its network, thanks to a new code-share agreement with sister airline Loganair. Both airlines are owned by Airline Investments Group.


As well as additional routes from bmi regional’s existing gateway at Aberdeen, customers will now be able to fly from Edinburgh and Manchester on the following Loganair operated flights:

Aberdeen
Aberdeen – Kirkwall  [up to four daily flights]
Aberdeen – Sumburgh [up to four daily flights]

Edinburgh
Edinburgh – Kirkwall [up to three daily flights]
Edinburgh – Stornaway [up to two daily flights]
Edinburgh – Sumburgh [up to three daily flights]
Edinburgh – Wick [up to two daily flights]

Manchester
Manchester – Glasgow [up to six daily flights]
Manchester – Inverness [up to three daily flights]
Manchester – Norwich [up to three daily flights]

Qatar Airways Touches Down for the First Time at Sarajevo International Airport in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The first Qatar Airways non-stop flight from Doha to Sarajevo touched down today at Sarajevo International Airport, where it was greeted with a traditional water cannon salute. The newly-launched service to the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina will operate a four-times-weekly schedule on Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, with a flight time of just six hours.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Akbar Al Baker, travelled on board the inaugural flight with the Bosnian and Herzegovinian Ambassador to the State of Qatar, His Excellency Tarik Sadović, whose support has led to the launch of the scheduled service, and was greeted by Qatar’s Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina, His Excellency Rashid bin Mubarak Al Kuwari; Armin Kajmaković, Director Sarajevo International Airport and Mayor of Sarajevo, Abdulah Skaka.

Al Baker said: “Following the launch of service to three Eastern European capitals this summer, we are excited to be adding Sarajevo as our fourth destination in this region to our global route network. As the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, we are confident that this will be a popular and much-anticipated gateway into the country for both business and leisure travellers from across our network. With four weekly flights in service, passengers travelling from Sarajevo are now connected seamlessly to more than 150 destinations, via our state-of-the-art hub in Doha.”

Embraer and American Airlines Sign a Contract for Ten E175s

Embraer and American Airlines Inc. signed a firm order for ten E175 jets. American Airlines is exercising its purchase rights from its original contract with Embraer signed in 2013. This new order is in addition to the one placed in April for four aircraft; is valued at USD 457 million, based on current list prices, and will be included in Embraer's fourth-quarter backlog. Deliveries begin in 2018 and continue through mid-2019.

Combined with the airline's two previous orders for the E175, this new contract results in a total of 74 E175s for American Airlines.

American Airlines selected Envoy, a wholly owned subsidiary of American Airlines Group Inc., to operate the ten aircraft, which will be configured with 12 First Class, 20 Main Cabin Extra, and 44 Main Cabin seats, for a total of 76 seats.

"Because of its excellent operational performance, the E175 has proven to be the right solution for American. This repeat order demonstrates the confidence that the airline has in Embraer and in the E175," said Charlie Hillis, Vice President, Sales & Marketing, North America, Embraer Commercial Aviation. "We are proud to be part of American Airlines Inc.'s overall fleet vision and are dedicated to serving their business needs."

Including this new contract, Embraer has sold more than 390 E175 jets to airlines in North America since January 2013, earning more than 80% of all orders in the 76-seat jet segment.

Since entering revenue service, the E-Jets family has received more than 1,800 orders and over 1,300 aircraft have been delivered. Today, E-Jets are flying in the fleet of 70 customers in 50 countries. The versatile 70 to 150-seat family is flying with low-cost airlines as well as with regional and mainline carriers

WestJet reports record third quarter net earnings of $138.4 million, up 19 percent!

WestJet today announced its third quarter results for 2017, with record net earnings of $138.4 million, or $1.18 per fully diluted share, as compared with the net earnings of $116.0 million, or $0.97 per fully diluted share reported in the third quarter of 2016, up 19.4 percent, respectively. WestJet achieved its 50th consecutive quarter of profitability and flew an all-time quarterly record of 6.5 million guests. Based on the trailing twelve months, the airline achieved a return on invested capital of 10.2 per cent, up compared to the 9.8 per cent reported in the previous quarter.

"Today we reported our 50th consecutive profitable quarter, which included record earnings, margin expansion, positive year over year RASM growth, and improved return on invested capital, as we achieved the highest ever quarterly load factor in our 21-year history and flew an all-time quarterly record number of guests. Our business fundamentals continue to strengthen, which combined with new strategic initiatives, including the launching of Swoop in the summer of 2018 and Boeing Dreamliner service starting in 2019, gives us great confidence in our ability to deliver sustainable profitable growth and earnings expansion," said WestJet President and CEO Gregg Saretsky. "I want to thank our more than 13,000 WestJetters for their dedication and energy in delivering our award-winning brand of friendly caring service, and I especially look forward to celebrating our success at the November profit share event."

Over 2,000 long-haul seats on sale and flights to Europe from £27 one-way - Norwegian's Halloween Madness

We don't normally post these sorts of pure sales stories, however, the offers from Norwegian are too good to miss out on!  The airline is getting into the spirit of Halloween by offering travellers some really low, and we do mean LOW fares.  

But be quick, this wonderfully low fare extravagance is limited. The sale will include savings on over 2,000 seats to the US starting from just £129.99 one-way and flights to Europe available from just £26.99 one way.

The Halloween flash sale will last for three days only (31st October to 2nd November 22.59) and flights can be booked on www.norwegian.com/uk/flight-deals-halloween-uk using code HALLOWEENUK17. The flash sale covers select routes from London Gatwick on travel between 13th November 2017 to 18th March 2018 including:

London Gatwick direct to the USA from £129.99 one-way for a spook-tacular trip

Boston – in the heart of Massachusetts, Boston is the ideal gateway for a haunted holiday. Just 30 minutes away from the mysterious Salem – well known for its witch trials. Fly direct to Boston for just £129.90 one way.

Seattle – Head to Kells Irish Restaurant and Pub to experience the spooky side of Seattle, named the most haunted bar in the world by some. Flights available from £159.90 one way.

Denver – just over an hour outside of Denver, situated in Estes Park is The Stanley Hotel – the inspiration of Stephen King’s The Shining. For a haunted stay fly to Denver direct from London Gatwick from £159.90 one way.

Orlando – While not the obvious choice for a scare, Orlando is home to a number of haunted establishments including Princeton Hospital and the ultra-scary Super 8 International Drive. Flights available from £169.90 one way.

Scott Sheldon becomes Allegiant's VP, COO & CFO

Allegiant Travel Company has appointed Scott Sheldon to serve as both its chief operating officer and chief financial officer.  Sheldon officially assumed the role of chief operating officer on October 24, 2017.  He had previously served as interim chief operating officer since May 2017.

"Scott has shown an incredible talent for managing people and solving problems," stated Allegiant President John Redmond.  "He has built a very strong team in both finance and operations that allows him to effectively oversee both aspects of our business.  We have seen tremendous improvements in our operation since he has been our interim COO, and we trust that through his leadership we will continue to see our operation strengthen."

Sheldon has served as Allegiant's chief financial officer since 2010. He joined Allegiant in 2004 as director of accounting and served as principal accounting officer from 2007 to 2010 prior to his appointment as CFO. Before joining Allegiant, Sheldon, a certified public accountant, worked for the firm Perry-Smith, LLP in Sacramento, California.  

Arrivederci Avro

There was another sad farewell this last weekend as Brussels Airlines said arrivederci Avro, or perhaps more accurately adieu or vaarwel Avro as they retired the last of their Avro RJ aircraft.

On Saturday 28th October Brussels Airlines ended revenue services with the aircraft type it started with, the Bae 146/AVRO RJ. Over the years the airline has operated more than 30 of that family of the four-engined jets and on Saturday scores of aviation enthusiasts flew to Geneva for the Avro’s last commercial service.

The touchdown of RJ100, OO-DWD, on flight SN2720 Geneva-Brussels at 19:40 on Saturday evening, marking the end of the carrier’s AVRO era. Leaving sadness and more than a few moist eyes in their wake. 

SriLankan Airlines Launch Melbourne Flights

SriLankan Airlines took yet another decisive step forward in extending its route network with the launch of daily non-stop services to Melbourne on 29th October 2017, providing global travellers with a convenient option to visit Australia and travellers from Down Under the opportunity to travel the world via rapid connections in Colombo.

Ajith Dias, Chairman of Sri Lanka’s National Carrier, said: “We at SriLankan Airlines are delighted to launch this new service, which we have no doubt would be of great convenience to all segments of travelers, including the large number of Sri Lankans domiciled in Australia, the many Australians who love to travel overseas and people throughout Asia who visit Down Under.”

Sri Lankan expatriates and students form a large and significant community in Australia and frequently travel back to their native land. Many of them reside in Melbourne, and other cities in the state of Victoria and neighbouring New South Wales, with smaller numbers throughout the rest of Australia and New Zealand.

More on this story continues 

Final Fokker Farewell

Last weekend was a sad time for aviation enthusiasts and plane spotters alike when the Durch airline KLM operated the final six commercial flights with the airlines Fokker 70 fleet.

The very last Fokker flight took off from London, which was specially chosen as KLM deployed its first two Fokker II aircraft on 30th September 1920. Those were KLM’s very first passenger aircraft planes with a capacity of 5 passenger seats and flew to London. Therefore, it was perhaps most fitting that KLM's final Fokker departed from the same city, London and thus completing a full circle, landing at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam at 20.30 local time. The aircraft was decked out with a special farewell livery, featuring a classic portrait of Anthony Fokker.

The flight got a warm welcome at Schiphol, including a water cannon salute from the airport's fire service followed by a special celebration for the Cityhopper staff. There were, its fair to say, many moist eyes at the end of this eventful day. A sentiment echoed by numerous plane spotters, aviation enthusiasts and industry commentators who mourned the passing out of scheduled services for the Fokker 70's via social media.

Read on for more on the final Fokkers...

The final ever @KLM Fokker 70 here at @DurhamTVAirport this morning PH-KZB 😣👎 pic.twitter.com/eoMeroPkvU

— Pilotmark77 (@Pilotmark77) October 28, 2017

airBaltic launches direct flights between Riga and Abu Dhabi

airBaltic's new Bombardier CS300 heads to a new destination - Abu Dhabi.....

Martin Gauss, Chief Executive Officer of airBaltic: “We are delighted to launch the new Riga – Abu Dhabi route. Thanks to our cooperation with Etihad Airways we can now offer our customers brand new flying experience flying with the world’s most modern jet aircraft CS300 to the Middle East and beyond for affordable prices.”

Until now passengers have made over 9 000 bookings on the Riga – Abu Dhabi route and it is popular among travellers from Latvia and outside, as 30% of the bookings currently come from transfer passengers mostly from Scandinavia and the Baltics. Moreover, airBaltic has seen additional demand for the flight to the Formula Grand Prix, which will take place in Abu Dhabi in the last weekend of November.

Read on to find out more about the new route and how many passengers have already flown on the new fleet of CS300 aircraft.

Saudi Arabian Airlines Head Back to Baghdad

Saudi Arabian Airlines has confirmed to the Saudi state news agency SPA, that it will be heading back to Baghdad with a regular service after a 27-year break.

The carrier's director general, Saleh bin Nasser al-Jasser, will accompany reporters and passengers on the first flight to depart from the Saudi city of Jeddah to Baghdad, due to take place today according to SPA. 

There have been no flights between Saudi

Arabia and Iraq since former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein invaded neighbouring Kuwait in 1990.  Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are both trying hard to sway influence in Baghdad as they see it key in their battle against Iranian influence in the region. 

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