30 new Airbus A320neo's for Aegean Airlines

Greece’s biggest airline, AEGEAN Airlines, has firmed up an order for the purchase of 30 A320neo Family aircraft at a ceremony in Athens.   

The purchase agreement, comprising 10 A321neos and 20 A320neos, was signed by AEGEAN Chairman Eftichios Vassilakis and Airbus Chief Executive Officer Tom Enders. 

It follows an earlier Memorandum of Understanding signed in March 2018. Currently, AEGEAN operates a fleet of 49 Airbus aircraft (37 A320s, 11 A321s and 1 A319).

After failing to find a buyer for Air India they revamp its business class!

In a surprise move the Indian Government has decided to revamp the first and business class offerings of the state-owned Air India, following its failed sell-off.

The Governent had hoped to sell the major stake it holds in the airline but received no bidders for the 76 percent chunk of the loss-making carrier. The government is committed to supporting the airline and to making it competitive, junior civil aviation minister Jayant Sinha said, adding Air India was also looking at flying to new destinations in Australia, Africa and even North America.

The unexpected revamp of the premier cabins will include an overhaul of the meal service is designed to attract more high-yielding passengers to its international flights. Currently, Air India only sells around 60% of the seats in business and first classes on its international flights and hopes the revamp will increase the load factor to around 80 percent.

Air India will start making the changes over the next two months and will include new meal services, passenger amenities and new uniforms for airline staff.  The changes could raise an additional 0 billion rupees ($147 million) per year, according to the carrier's chairman and managing director Pradeep Singh Kharola.

"It is a surprise that they are going to be spending more money on a service that is already failing, but they have little choice as no company wants to invest in an airline that has such vast debts and little chance of returning to profit within the foreseeable future" our chief correspondent Jason Shaw said on Saturday. 

Cabin smoke causes concern for Peru football fans in Russia

An aircraft packed with football supporters from Peru supporting the national team at the Fifa World Cup in Russia filled with smoke after an engine malfunction on Friday.

The Utair flight was taking the Peruvian from Ekaterinburg to Tyumen in Siberia before flying onwards to Moscow, on Friday when it developed a fault,  the aircraft landed safely and there are no reports of any injuries to either passengers or airline crew. 

The Russia aviation agency, Rosaviatsiya, said at the weekend,  £During the landing approach there was a failure in the second turboprop engine.  As a result of the abnormal engine activity, smoke from overheated oil got into the passenger cabin of the aircraft through the air-conditioning system.”

Rosaviatsiya advised that the smoke soon cleared from the passenger cabin and that the pilot was able to safely land the plane powered by one engine.

“The crew acted as instructed and landed the aircraft as usual. The plane taxied in independently, the passengers left via the stairs without using the emergency equipment,” a Utair spokesperson said. An investigation is now underway and that Utair was cooperating fully with that. 

Delta boosts LAX network, adds Paris, Amsterdam flights

With the addition of nonstop flights from Los Angeles to Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Amsterdam-Schiphol airports, Delta has linked all its U.S. hubs to its two largest hubs in Europe.

The new year-round flights from L.A. to Paris will operate three times weekly, while flights to Amsterdam will operate on four days. Customers flying via both European hubs will have access to destinations across Europe, the Middle East, India, Africa and Asia thanks to Delta’s partner airline network offered by Air France, KLM, Alitalia and Jet Airways.

China Southern Airlines Sanya to London flight to start 12th July

Sanya Government and China Southern Airlines have announced that the first direct flight from Sanya to London will be launched on July 12th and the Airbus A330-200 wide-body jet will be put into service. This is the first regular route and the first international line from Hainan Province to European opened by CAAC after the policy of Hainan Free Tread Zone (Port) construction and the Visa-free Policy for 59 countries.

US Miracle Flights arranges 8299 free flights in the last year....

Miracle Flights said it made US airlines give away a record 8,299 free medical flights during the last fiscal year ending 30th April 2018. That is an increase of 73 over last year's previous all-time high of 8,226. The Las Vegas based nonprofit organization provides free commercial air transportation to critically ill children and adults in need of specialized, distant medical care.

Turkish Airlines head to The Comoros

Turkish Airlines has added Moroni - the biggest city and the capital of Comoros Union to its vast gobal network. The airline, the largest in the world in terms of destinations served, started operations to Moroni on the 18th June 2018. 

The Comoros Union is made up of three big islands, which are named The Big Comoros, Anjuan and Moholi. Comoros was named as moon islands by Arabic mariners and also named perfume islands by European countries because of being plenty various scented plant as honeysuckle, orchids and gardenia. The agriculture sector is the biggest share of the country economy and the climate of the Comoros is tropical which makes it an exciting and rewarding place to visit. 

Following the addition of the Moroni flights, Turkish Airlines now reaches 122 countries with 304 destinations across the globe, of which 53 are in Africa.   The carrier will operate to Moroni three times per week and it will be in connection with Seychelles flights.

Moroni flight times as scheduled from June 18th;

Flight No.	Days	Departure		Arrival
TK 748	Monday, Wednesday, Saturday	IST	01:40	HAH	13:30
TK 749	Monday, Wednesday, Saturday	HAH	16:40	IST	04:10 +1

All times subject to change

LOT to start London City to Budapest direct service next year

LOT has announced the new direct flight from London City Airport to Budapest, starting on February 18th 2019.

The Polish Airline says tickets for the new service start from £135 round trip and will operate twice daily on Embraer Jets.

Air Canada Inaugurates Three New Non-Stop Domestic Routes

The Canadian legacy carrier Air Canada inaugurated the first of three new, non-stop domestic services from BC communities with the departure of AC1976 from Kamloops to Toronto. Tomorrow, Air Canada will inaugurate new non-stop seasonal services from Victoria to Montreal, and from Nanaimo to Toronto. These newest domestic long-haul services are operated onboard the airline's leisure carrier Air Canada Rouge, which will be celebrating its fifth birthday on July 1.

"We are very pleased to launch the only non-stop services from Nanaimo and Kamloops to Toronto, and from Victoria to Montreal in time for the busy summer travel period. The convenience of these new services makes it easier than ever for customers from other parts of our network to travel to beautiful British Columbia's Vancouver Island and Thompson Okanagan areas. Customers from Nanaimo, Victoria and Kamloops now have the convenience of non-stop flights to Toronto and Montreal, where unparalleled connecting options are also available throughout our far-reaching North American and global network," said Benjamin Smith, President,  Airlines and Chief Operating Officer at Air Canada.

The new non-stop services were welcomed by several Mayors:

Aeromexico to start two new routes in November.

One of the leading Mexican airlines, Aeromexico has announced two new services starting this November. The carrier will operate to the new destinations in Central America and the Caribbean from its home base hub, Mexico City.  Beginning on 2nd and 10th November the airline will begin offering flights to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic and Liberia, Costa Rica.

Both routes will be operated by Embraer 190 with passenger capacities of 99, including 11 seats in  Premier.

The flight schedules are as follows:

Mexico City - Punta Cana

AM2654 11:30pm - 06:10am - Friday and Saturday.

Punta Cana - Mexico City

AM2655 12:00pm - 03:10pm - Friday and Saturday.

Mexico City - Liberia, Costa Rica

AM2656 08:15am - 11:05am - Friday and Saturday.

Liberia, Costa Rica - Mexico City

AM 2657 12:05pm - 03:05pm Saturday and Sunday.

The schedules are in local time for each country and subject to change without notice.

Aeromexico's Chief Revenue Officer, Anko van der Werff, weighed in: "These routes are evidence of the major effort we put into offering a better product to our clients. Moreover, this is the first time Mexico City will be connected directly to Liberia and Punta Cana."

"As a result of these two new routes, our passengers can now reach 10 different destinations in Central America and the Caribbean. This is on top of operating around 210 weekly routes with 23,000 available seats every week. With the launch of these routes, we're continuing to reinforce our commitment in offering the best connectivity and flight experience to all of our passengers."

The airline will also be increasing its capacity on the Mexico City – Vancouver route between 15th December this year and March next year with a third flight on Saturdays.  The flight is scheduled to depart Mexico City at 0820 arriving Vancouver at 1240 with the return timed to leave at 1405 and land back in Mexico City at 2155. 

Airbus try to blackmail the British Government

The European aviation giant Airbus is trying the blackmail the British Government over Brexit its been confirmed this week.  Airbus has confirmed it will sack its entire UK workforce of over 14,000 people and completely leave the UK in the event of a "no-deal" Brexit.

The aerospace giant that has taken billions of pounds of UK taxpayers money in the form of subsidies and tax breaks over the years directly employs 14,000 in a number of sites including Bristol, Stevenage and Portsmouth.  According to some calculations, a further 110,000 people are employed indirectly by suppliers to Airbus - and their jobs are not at risk.

Viva Aerobus will take off to Mexico City from New York

Viva Aerobus, Mexico's ultra-low-cost airline, announces that it will be flying to Mexico City from John F. Kennedy International Airport. This new route will start operations on October 18th with a daily flight and with prices starting from USD $99.

''The opening of new connectivity options, with affordable prices, will bring New York and Mexico closer. It will continue positioning our country [Mexico] as a great tourist world power. It will facilitate the air access of New Yorkers to Mexico City and, from there, to any of our wonderful travel destinations", mentioned Ambassador Diego Gómez Pickering, Consul General of Mexico in New York.

This is the second international route of Viva Aerobus to/from Mexico City and will start operations on October 18th.
Viva Aerobus will offer a daily flight with prices starting from USD $99
In its first year of operation, more than 132 thousand seats will be available to travellers.

Jet Airways take delivery of first 737 Max

Boeing and Jet Airways celebrated the delivery of the airline's first 737 MAX aeroplane, earlier this week.  

Jet Airways will be first Indian carrier to fly the 737 Max aeroplane, "The new 737 MAX is a critical element to our future growth strategy and we are proud to become the first airline in India to introduce this brand new aeroplane to our customers," said Naresh Goyal, Chairman of Jet Airways. "The 737 has been the backbone of our dynamic fleet for many years and we are excited to leverage the superior capabilities of the new 737 MAX. The improved economics and efficiency as well as the passenger pleasing features of the MAX will enable us to strengthen our position as India's premier airline."

Virgin name new CEO

Shai Weiss will take over the top job at Virgin Atlantic when the current boss Craig Kreeger retires at the end of the year.

Shai Weiss started at Virgin Atlantic in 2012 and took up his current role as Cheif Commercial in January 2017. The airline confirmed the move this week as well as announcing its new corporate strategy, named Velocity that will see its partners Delta Air Lines and the Air France-KLM Group taking greater ownership of Virgin and at the heart of the UK based carrier future.

"As we embark on Velocity, I consider this to be the ideal time to pass the leadership baton to Shai and for me to begin a new chapter," Craig Kreeger said.

The airlines' founder, Richard Branson said Craig Kreeger had done a "fantastic job" during the five years of his tenure at the top of Virgin Atlantic. "He has focused our people on providing the best customer service by refreshing our onboard experience, bringing in new planes and bringing us closer to our partner Delta," Branson stated. 

Peter Norris, Chairman of Virgin Atlantic looked forward and said that he believed Shai Weiss had "an unwavering commitment to excellence and a relentless ability to challenge the status quo".

The UK airline also recently announced it would start a service to Los Angeles from Manchester from 22nd May 2019 on a 287-seat Airbus A330-200 aircraft. 

Happy birthday WestJet Encore.............

It seems like only last week we were getting messages out of WestJet's Calgary office that they were starting a new regional airline with two Bombardier Q400 aircraft. In fact, that was back in June 2013 and the airline was called, WestJet Encore, which actually started operations on 24th June in 2013!

To celebrate five years of service the company is offering some special fares, or a birthday sale if you wish, passengers can book now using promo code E52VZ30 that will give them up to 20 percent off Econo base fares between 20 select destinations in Canada and anywhere WestJet flies. Travellers can take advantage of savings by booking by June 25, 2018 (9:59 p.m. MDT) for travel between September 5 and December 15, 2018. This offer is valid on WestJet flights between 20 Canadian airports and anywhere WestJet flies including Brandon, Nanaimo, Deer Lake, Fredericton, Kamloops, Fort McMurray, Quebec City, Moncton, Comox, Thunder Bay, Grand Prairie, Gander, Sydney, Sudbury, Fort St. John, Prince George, Terrace, London (ON), Penticton and Yellow Knife. Blackout dates and other restrictions apply.

Since it started with just the two Q400's the airline offshoot of WestJet has operated more than 300,000 flights and has expanded its fleet to 47 Q400's 

Swoop swoops in for first flight.

The new ultra-low-cost-carrier Swoop has launched its flying programme with its first flight from Hamilton to Abbotsford which was warmly greeted with a water cannon salute.

The airline also celebrated another amazing milestone of already reaching 100,000 tickets sold, which is quite amazing. The airline is flying new 189-seat Boeing 737-800NGs of which it currently has two, but is expected to increase fleet size to 10 aircraft by the end of 2019.

 WestJet's Swoop will mainly operate domestic flights in Canada and routes include the following destinations Abbotsford, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Hamilton, and Halifax as it starts, with more destinations coming online as it receives its new aircraft. The carrier says its fares will be on average 30-40% less than the typical national airlines.

Wizz start seven new routes in Poland - the fasting growing airline in Europe continues its massive expansion plans

It's a very bust time for one of Europe's fasting growing airlines, Wizz Air, as they celebrate the commencement of seven new services from Warsaw to Podgorica and from Katowice to Faro, Málaga, Podgorica, Memmingen, Kharkiv and Porto. 

The new low fare routes provide countless opportunities for leisure and business travellers to plan their trip to these popular destinations with fares from just PLN 39/€9.99/£8.75

The first WIZZ flight took off from Poland, Katowice in May 2004 and since then the airline has continuously increased its network, offering now a total of 160 routes to 30 countries from 8 Polish airports. As part of its great expansion across Europe, the airline commences 7 new routes from Poland this week.

The airline continues to invest in its local base from Katowice by allocating the 2 additional modern Airbus A320, a further investment of $ 202 million, and creating new jobs with the company - 178 local crew in total (180 by the end of the year). The next Cabin crew recruitment session will be held in Katowice on 29 June.

Wizz Air comes to the rescue of passengers left in the lurch by British Airways to Tel Aviv

One of Europes fasting growing low-cost airlines, Wizz Air has come to the rescue of those passengers of British Airways who had their cheap tickets cancelled simply because the airline cocked up and sold them too cheaply.

Wizz Air UK has offered special fares to the BA customers whose flights to Tel Aviv were cancelled by the airline because of a pricing error.  The affected passengers can take advantage of a special return fare with Wizz Air, the largest international airline operating at Tel Aviv, of GBP 80* one way or GBP160* return.  The fares are for travel up to Wednesday 18 July 2018 and are subject to availability on each flight.  Bookings can be made on https://wizzair.com/#/rescue until Sunday 25 June 2018. Customers will need to provide evidence of the cancelled BA booking.

Air Malta to start flights to Kiev

Air Malta has obtained sales assistance in the Ukraine with new representation by Discover the World in conjunction with the new weekly flight from Malta to Kiev beginning this June.

The airline of the lovely, friendly and picturesque Maltese Islands has been in service since April 1974 and currently, operates a fleet of 10 Airbus A320/219 aircraft, including the new A320neo.  It provides an essential service connecting Malta to 36 scheduled destinations in Europe, North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean.  Air Malta offers an additional 150 destinations through codeshare agreements with a number of quality airlines. The airline carries 1.8 million passengers every year, with approximately 80 percent coming to Maltese Islands for leisure purposes.   

Delta orders 20 new CRJ900 Aircraft with Atmosphere cabins

Canadian manufacturer Bombardier and American air carrier Delta Air Lines confirmed yesterday the long-awaited order of 20 CRJ900 aircraft – which makes them the launch operator of the new ATMOSPHÈRE cabin on the CRJ Series regional jets.

Based on the list price for the CRJ900 aircraft, the firm order is valued at approximately $961 million!

“We are thrilled that Delta continues to select the CRJ Series as the airline looks into the future growth of its regional operations,” Fred Cromer, president, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft said of the deal worth US$961 million at list prices. “Together with Delta, we have driven the development of regional aviation in the U.S., and we are looking forward to further enhancing regional air travel with the launch of the new ATMOSPHÈRE cabin with our long-standing and esteemed customer,” he added.

The Trump supporting Delta Air Lines is a long-standing customer of the Bombardier CRJ  and CSeries aircraft and expects to take delivery of the first of the new jets towards the end of this year.

The airline plans to configure the aircraft in a comfortable two-class regional jet configuration with 70 seats featuring the new ATMOSPHÈRE cabin.   This new cabin offering from Bombardier is said to set a new standard of passenger experience in the regional jet market segment. Key features of the new interior are comprised of larger passenger living space, wheel-first roller bag capability, more spacious lavatory, increased cabin connectivity options, all integrated in a contemporary design and material choices. In fact, the ATMOSPHÈRE cabin design allows each passenger to carry and store an “oversized” roller bag within the aircraft cabin bins which minimizes the need to check bags at the counter or the gate.

Bodrum - London service introduced by Turkish Airlines and drops out of SkyTrax

Continuing its massive global expansions, Turkish Airlines has introduced a direct service from the popular holiday airport of Bodrum to London.

Turkish Airlines say the Bodrum-London flights, which started on June 13th, 2018, will be operated two times a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays during this summer season giving passengers great service to a popular holiday region.

The Turkish carrier first started serving the United Kingdom way back in 1961 and now operates a total of 90 flights per week between Turkey and the UK. It has flights to London, Manchester, Birmingham and Edinburgh. The new seasonal flight from Bodrum to London Gatwick currently offers fares from £235 (including taxes and fees).

Norwegian continues expansion in Ireland with first route to Canada

The popular low-cost airline, Norwegian, is today continuing its Irish expansion with the launch of the carrier’s first route to Canada. Commencing 31st March 2019, the new daily service between Dublin and Hamilton – Toronto will mark the first direct flight between the two cities, providing passengers with greater choice and flexibility at an affordable price. Fares start from €189 one way.

Norwegian’s daily nonstop flights from Dublin to Hamilton – Toronto will be operated using brand new Boeing 737 MAX aircraft offering 189 seats in a high quality, modern single-class cabin.

Bjørn Kjos, Chief Executive Officer at Norwegian said: “Today marks a milestone in Norwegian’s transatlantic expansion from Ireland as we announce the first ever direct route between Dublin and Hamilton – Toronto, this is also our first ever service between Europe and Canada. We are committed to providing Irish passengers with greater choice and lower fares across our network as we continue to invest in the Irish market. We look forward to welcoming passengers on board our new service to Canada from March 2019.”

Air Belgium to go to America?

The new startup airline, Air Belgium is looking to already expand its route network from Brussels Charleroi Airport after only a couple of weeks into its first service to Hong Kong.  The new airline is hoping to spread its wings across the Atlantic to the US.

According to reports, the carrier has already applied to the US Department of Transportation (DOT) for Exemption Authority and Foreign Air Carrier Permit, to allow it to offer service to America.  Once the paperwork is done and approval granted the airline believes it will be offering charter flights on the Belgium-US market before introducing its Airbus A340 into the scheduled services market.

Air Belgium currently has two Airbus A340-300s, one is currently operating the airlines' flights to and from Hong Kong and its home base of Brussels Charleroi.  The other has been wet-leased to Air France for a short-term period, however, it's believed will be returned to Air Belgium and used to operate the company's previously announced proposed services to mainland China. 

Jetlines appoints a new CCO - a ULCC expert!

Canadian carrier, Jetlines has announced the appointment of Mr Javier Suarez as the Chief Commercial Officer, he'll take up the post at the end of July this year.  Incoming CEO Lukas Johnson commented, "I am excited to bring Javier to the Jetlines team. Javier's ultra-low-cost carrier expertise in network planning and revenue management gained with many years of experience at VivaAerobus and Vueling will be invaluable as we continue to develop and deliver on the Jetlines strategy. I look forward to working closely with Javier to build Canada's first true ultra-low-cost air carrier."

New airline is going to be a star!

Star Air is a new scheduled commercial airline that aims to connect the real India and is promoted by Ghodawat Enterprises, part of the Sanjay Ghodawat Group. Star Air will target routes are where passengers are currently suffering a lot of transit layover delays and aims to provide a very reliable, safe and comfortable travel experience with direct connections. 

The airline will be headquartered in the Bangalore International Airport, "What we aim for is to create the right balance between a common man's pocket and the expectations which he holds from an airline," Capt. Simran Singh Tiwana, CEO of Star Air said, "In due course time, we aim to provide an all jet engine fleet connecting new city pairs," he added.

Star Air will be introducing the Embraer ERJ-145 for the first time to the Indian commercial aviation sector and plans to start up with two aircraft initially, with steady expansion. Its first routes will be Hubli - Pune, Hubli - Hindon (Delhi) and Hubli - Tirupathi.

The exact start date has not yet been agreed, however, Star Air expected to be taking off for the first time in mid-July 2018. 

Wizz Air introduces four new routes from London Luton

Wizz Air, announced this week the launch of four new winter routes from its London Luton base. The new services are to the Israeli seaside resort of Eilat (Ovda), the gateway to the French Alps in Grenoble, Verona in Italy and Tromsø in Norway, famous as one of best spots for viewing the Northern Lights.

2018 has been a year of massive growth for Wizz Air across its network and these new winter routes mark the next phase of growth for its UK operations, following the launch of Wizz Air UK, the newest British airline which is now operating eight new Airbus aircraft from its London Luton base.  The four new routes bring the total of new WIZZ destinations from London Luton launched this year to 12, including the services to Larnaca, Tirana, Tallinn, Bratislava, Lviv, Athens, Keflavik and Bari.  WIZZ, the second-largest airline at London Luton airport, has increased its operations at the airport by 10% year-on-year and now has 7.9 million seats already on sale for the coming year, offering 51 destinations in 25 countries from London Luton and providing fantastic opportunities for UK customers to explore even more of Europe at truly low prices and the fares for the new services start at just £26.99.

Surf's up for an Encompassing confrontation. Encompass Aviation start legal action against Surf Air

The battle lines are drawn over a dispute between Surf Air and Encompass Aviation that has erupted over the decision by Surf Air to drop Encompass as its primary operator in California.

On 15th June, Surf Air terminated its flight agreement with Encompass Aviation, preferring to work with partners that it says can continue to provide its members with the exemplary service that they've come to expect.  However, this didn't go down too well with the directors at Encompass who fired off a highly defamatory press release claiming that Surf Air was financially distressed and in breach of contract and warning that it had filed papers with the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Encompass said it should have had the first refusal of the contract with Surf Air and also claims Surf Air has been repeatedly late in paying them, the company says that as of June 14, 2018, Surf Air owed Encompass more than $3,100,000. 

WestJet Link takes off.......... the new regional airline begins services

WestJet inaugurated its new regional airline service today, WestJet Link, from Cranbrook and Prince George to Calgary. Service starts from Lethbridge and Lloydminster to Calgary on June 21 and Medicine Hat to Calgary on June 22. Overall, WestJet Link connects five new cities to WestJet's growing hub at the YYC Calgary International Airport.

"This is a great day for the communities who now benefit from WestJet's non-stop service and convenient connectivity to the WestJet network," said Tim Croyle, WestJet Interim Executive Vice-President, Commercial. "WestJet continues to offer Canadians more travel options and WestJet Link brings more choice, lower fares and WestJet's renowned guest service to these five communities."

These new routes add to WestJet's existing leadership position in Calgary, offering more flights and seats to more destinations than any other airline with an average of 147 daily departures to 49 destinations.

Flair Airlines to move HQ to Edmonton International

The low-fare Canadian airline, Flair has announced that it will be on the move to a new home base.  The expanding carrier says that after extensive analysis, it will build on the success of Edmonton International Airport as its main transfer hub by officially establishing itself as Edmonton's Hometown Airline. 

Flair Airlines plans to continue to expand its route network to and from Edmonton by growing its frequency and destinations served, both domestic and trans-border; announcing new low-fare routes in the coming weeks.  Flair will also progressively relocate its operations and executive base in Edmonton.

Flair's Executive Chairman, David Tait, commented, "Just last week Flair doubled its frequency out of Edmonton and, as one of the fastest growing cities in the country, the community and the airport are uniquely positioned to support our ongoing growth: Already, of Flair's almost 200 flights per week, 65% of them fly to/from Edmonton. We are also looking forward to tapping into Edmonton's professional talent pool, as we progressively establish our headquarters here over the coming months."

Two US airlines say no to US officials over transporting separated children

Two of the biggest US air carriers, American Airlines and United have asked the US federal government not to fly immigrant children separated from their parents'  on their aircraft following  US President Trump's “zero tolerance” on illegal immigrants. 

The two leading airlines say they have no idea if  US officials had previously used their flights to transport separated children. American Airlines said, “We would be extremely disappointed to learn that is the case.” adding “We have no desire to be associated with separating families, or worse, to profit from it."

United said, "Based on our serious concerns about this policy and how it’s in deep conflict with our company’s values, we have contacted federal officials to inform them that they should not transport immigrant children on United aircraft who have been separated from their parents," 

The Trump supporting, Delta Air Lines said it would continue working with the US immigration officials.

Following global condemnation of the policy, Trump said on Wednesday that he would sign an order to halt the enforced separation of the families but vowed to remain strong on illegal immigrants which he says are infesting the US.

British Airways sells cheap tickets and then cancels them for being too cheap!

Nearly 2500 passengers of British Airways have had their travel plans scuppered by the carrier who have cancelled their tickets - but not for the more usual reasons of bad weather or a broken down aircraft, but because it sold the tickets too cheaply!

Passengers booking in good faith mainly through online travel companies, although some have said they booked directly with BA on ba.com, had snapped up some bargain tickets to Dubai and Tel Aviv. They've now been left in the lurch by the company which has called a halt to the deals it offered with tickets and plans cancelled.  The airline said the sale fares that averaged £220 return to Dubai and £200 to Tel Aviv been a mistake and bluntly said in a statement: "Errors like this are exceptionally rare, and if they do occur, under contract law, there is no binding contract between the parties."  Reluctantly they later added, "We have apologised to customers and offered a gesture of goodwill."  The gesture of goodwill in this occasion the chance to continue with their book flights at a much higher cost and take a voucher of £100 for a future flight, yet the restrictions on the voucher make it all but impossible for most people to use, according to those affected.

 

Air India sale halted

The Indian Government has called a halt to its plans to sell off the 76 percent stake it holds in troubled state-owned airline, Air India.  The reason, simply a complete lack of interest from any viable bidders -  yes it seems no-one wants to take on the massive loss-making carrier.

No bidders for Air India

The Indian government confirmed the situation on Wednesday after advising that the sales offer had failed to attract any buyers for the debt-laden national carrier. “We ran a disinvestment process where we made it very clear what type of bid we were interested in receiving. Nobody expressed any interest ... that process right now is over so we have to move forward and consider other alternatives,” Junior Civil Aviation Minister Jayant Sinha told the media at a briefing.

Ontario International Airport extends strong gains in May passenger and cargo volumes

               

     Ontario International Airport has welcomed the arrival of the busy summer travel season by continuing a double-digit surge in domestic and international travel that has made ONT one of the fastest-growing airports in Southern California.

More flights to Asia says Qantas

The Australian super airline, Qantas is making adjustments to parts of its Asia-Pacific network, from December 2018, Qantas will operate additional Airbus A330 services on the Sydney-Singapore and Sydney-Jakarta routes to meet the increase in demand.

From 13 December, the Sydney-Jakarta services (QF41/42) will increase from five to six weekly, with the additional service operating on Thursdays.

From 14 December, a third Sydney-Singapore service (QF83/84) will be added on Mondays, Fridays and Sundays.^ This brings the total Sydney-Singapore services to 17 per week, up from 14 previously.

In addition, Qantas will increase its Sydney-Noumea service from three to four times weekly from 12 December 2018, using its Boeing 737-800 aircraft. The additional service will operate on Wednesdays.

Cathay Pacific becomes second operator of the A350-1000 widebody

Cathay Pacific Airways has become the second airline to operate the A350-1000, the world’s newest long-range widebody airliner. The airline took delivery of the aircraft at a special event in Toulouse, France.

The aircraft is the first of 20 A350-1000s ordered by Cathay Pacific and will join the carrier’s growing fleet of A350 XWB aircraft, which already includes 22 A350-900s. Both aircraft are complementary and provide for maximum commonality with unmatched operating efficiencies while offering passengers the highest levels of comfort in all classes. Travellers will benefit from absolute well-being in the cabin, with more personal space, optimised cabin altitude, more fresh air, controlled temperature and humidity, integrated connectivity and the latest-generation in-flight entertainment system.

Increased capacity and highest levels

of comfort for the airline’s longest flights

Wizz Air opens Austrian base at Vienna

Wizz Air, one of Europe’s fastest growing airlines and the leading low-cost carrier in central Europe, opened its Austrian base at Vienna Airport with one of its new Airbus A320 aircraft, last Thursday. The new allocated aircraft will support the start of operations of five new services from Vienna to the popular destinations: Valencia, Rome Fiumicino, Malta, Bari and Tel Aviv.

Two drink limit at airports demands Ryanair, yet reserves the right to sell as much as it can during the flight.

The Chief Marketing Officer for Ryanair, Kenny Jacobs has bashed out the airlines demnand that airports should have a two aolcoholic drink maximum for any passenger prior to a flight.

Speaking to Irish media Jacobs said the two drink limit at airports could be enforced through boarding cards, however, Ryanair wanted to still be able to service the person alcohol once on the aircraft!

Mr Jacobs also indicated the possibility of his low-fare, high-fee airline banning the sale of alcohol on its flights before 10am. His remarks came after reports of a Ryanair flight having to divert to Paris on Saturday 16t June due to drunken passengers. 

KLM unveil new economy class service

One of Europe's enduring legacy carriers KLM, the Royal Dutch Airline is launching a new economy class service on its intercontinental daytime flights out of its home base of Amsterdam. The new meal service will include a choice of warm dishes, a large, well-filled salad, and a dessert. On medium-range and longer intercontinental flights the, selection of snacks will be further extended with ice-creams, sweets, and savoury snacks. Passengers will also be welcome to collect these snacks in the galley.

Etihad and Qatar Airways mulling over cancelling 777x orders - will Singapore follow............

The order book for Boeing's 777x may be about to get significantly lighter in the coming months as a number of airlines are looking to either cancel their orders or switch to another model.

The news agency Reuters recently reported that Etihad Airways was exploring options with the US manufacturer to defer or completely cancel its multi-billion dollar order for the 777x jets.  The carriers management team has indicated that it no longer needs or wants the 25 777x it ordered following a review of the company and pasting massive losses last year.

Industry insiders in the Gulf region have also been told from airline staff that Qatar Airways is also looking to jettison its order for the newer versions of the triple seven craft.  The twinjet no longer 'fits' with plans the Doha based airline has for the 2020's and beyond, especially if the airline may be forced to get another capital investment from its shareholder - the Qatari government. 

It is also understood that Singapore Airlines is currently looking at switching its order for the 777 to the Dreamliner variety of aircraft, as it starts to rebrand offshoot Scoot to Singapore Airlines, however, this has neither been confirmed or denied by the carrier.

FAA calls for urgent tests on Boeing 767-300's wings

The US Federal Aviation Administration has sent out orders to all US based operators of the Boeing 767-300 aircraft fitted with winglets to carry out special test on the wing structure following fatigue cracks on other aircraft.

Aviation Partners Boeing winglets on the 767-300 give the aircraft an enhanced performance whilst also saving fuel and were introduced to American Airlines aircraft in 2009 and other operators followed over recent times.

The FAA has issued an Airworthiness Directive which tells operators they need to do high-frequency eddy-current checks for cracking of the lower outboard wing skin on the modified aircraft.  The directive also requests repeat checks, modification of internal stringers, and other similar safety measures.

Fatigue cracking in the skin of the wing and winglet could result in the separation of the winglet from the wing causing greatly reduced controllability. It's estimated that there are 140 767-300's in the US with the winglets and the estimated cost of the check is $510 each aircraft.  American Airlines and Delta have been reticent about checking the aircraft and asked for a grace period of some 18 months to carry out the inspections. 

Cargo airline NCA suspends flying operations

Nippon Cargo Airlines has temporarily suspended all its aircraft operations after finding an issue with its maintenance record keeping and using the wrong oil. 

The cargo carrier that flies a fleet of new Boeing 747-8F and 747-400F aircraft says it found one inappropriate maintenance record concerning the lubricating oil supply to the aircraft parts of JA14 KZ at Narita airport on 3rd April this year.

It may also be an issue with the maintence on the airlines' other aircraft, so in "abundance of caution and to ensure the safety of our operation, we decided to temporarily ground all aircraft until all maintenance records have been confirmed appropriate." the airline said in a statement.

The last flight took place on 16th June and the investigation is ongoing which is expected to take about one week to confirm the aircraft safety.

The carrier wished to apologize for the inconvenience and worries it had caused its customers. 

Even the biggest aircraft can suffer from wake turbulence

Even the biggest aircraft can suffer the effects of wake turbulence, as experienced recently by those on a Qantas Airbus A380 superjumbo double-decker that flew into some bumpy air at the weekend.

No passengers were injured during an incident which involved an A380 taking off from Los Angeles late on Sunday evening en route to Melbourne, which was flying behind another Airbus A380 aircraft operating another Australia bound Qantas flight.

QF94 was approximately 37 kilometres behind and 1000 feet below the other Qantas A380 when it encountered some disturbed air. Qantas confirmed that both aircraft were well aware of each other, but wake turbulence can be hard to predict and often arrives as a jolt from the previous smooth air the aircraft was flying through. 

Alaska Airlines announces new nonstop service between Sacramento, California and Kona, Hawaii

Alaska Airlines brings more aloha spirit to Northern California with the addition of new nonstop service between Sacramento, California, and Kona on Hawaii's Big Island. The new service, which is scheduled to begin Dec. 20, will be the only nonstop flight offered between the two destinations with a flight frequency of three times a week. Alaska currently offers nonstop service from Sacramento to Maui, Hawaii.

Fly to Hawaii on Alaska Airlines from six California cities.

"We know our customers love Hawaii, even in sunny California. That's a big reason we're excited to add this new connection between Northern California and the Big Island," said John Kirby, vice president of capacity planning and alliances at Alaska Airlines. "This new route shows Alaska's ongoing commitment to continued growth and investment throughout the West coast."

Lufthansa eyes up Norwegian

The long-haul low-cost airline Norwegian is up for sale and the interest seems intense, the latest airline in contact about a take over is the German carrier, Lufthansa.

Lufthansa's boss confirmed on Monday that it was in contact with Norwegian over a possible deal, Carsten Spohr said “In Europe, everyone is talking to everyone. There’s a new wave of consolidation approaching. That means we are also in contact with Norwegian,” 

“Takeovers are always a question of strategic value, the price and anti-trust. There are no easy answers.” Spohr said, however, the Norwegian route network would greatly enhance the Lufthansa offering and therefore would be a very valuable strategic acquisition.