Hawaiian Airlines axe Beijing route

Hawaiian Airlines is the latest US airline cancelling or cutting down routes to China, as the trade war between the two countries escalates. Hawaiian has confirmed it is calling a halt to its Beijing that has been running since 2014

“These decisions are never easy and this one is especially difficult because we believe in China’s future as a robust market for the Hawaiian vacation experience and we will continue to market one-stop options to Honolulu from cities throughout China on our airline partners,” said Peter Ingram, the airline’s president and CEO.

The 278-seat Airbus A330-200 aircraft that had been deployed on the route will be used elsewhere on the airline's route network the airline said.

Beijing Capital Airlines to suspend Lisbon service

The Chinese airline, Beijing Capital Airlines has confirmed it will be suspending its direct scheduled flight to Portugal from the 15th October this year.

The airline had been operating the route three times each week, flying between Hangzhou on the east coast of China and Lisbon, with a stopover in Beijing.  The route had only last month celebrated it's first-year anniversary, having started on 26th July 2017. 

Over  80,000 passengers have been carried on the route since it started and the airline boasted of load factors over more than 95 percent in high season, whilst low season the loads were lighter, at around 80 percent.

Beijing Capital Airlines has said that operational reasons are forcing the suspension of the Lisbon service, but assured customers that it would restart in March 2019. All affected passengers have been contacted by email. 

More Airbus A321neo's for Air New Zealand

Anticipating continued future domestic network growth, Air New Zealand has confirmed it will be buying an additional seven Airbus A321neo aircraft, to arrive between 2020 and 2024.

These additional aircraft will be deployed on high demand routes to support further domestic growth for the carrier. The airlines Pacific Rim growth strategy has allowed for consistently profitable network expansion over the past five years, with 17 million passengers a year travelling on the airline compared with 13 million back in 2013. 

The new Airbus A321neo's will help maintain pace in the expansion plans and are fitted with new generation engines and approximately 25 percent more seats, the A321neo's are expected to deliver fuel savings and efficiencies of up to 15 percent compared to the airline's existing A320 domestic aircraft, helping to reduce carbon emissions. The airline expects to receive the first two in 2020. 

"Looking out over the next two years, the airline is expecting to grow by one million customers a year, reaching 19 million customers by the end of 2020," Chief Executive Officer Christopher Luxon said. 

Elite Airways drop Rochester routes before even taking off.

Elite Airways has cancelled its proposed services between Rochester International Airport and Phoenix, Arizona and St. Augustin, Florida before ever flying a single flight.  

The small boutique commuter airline blames poor ticket sales for the reason for pulling the routes before they had even started. According to local media, sales were so poor that a small airline like Elite couldn't afford to take the risk of starting up the route in the hopes of gaining enough passengers to break-even during its initial run. Elite say that anyone who has booked will be refunded in due course.

Initially, the company based in Portland, Maine had scheduled the routes to start in July but delayed the start until October and now, this week, Elite dropped the bombshell that it was axing them altogether. 

“It was about selling tickets. The bookings were just not maturing,” John Reed the Rochester Airport's Executive Director said today. Whilst the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce said it was disappointing news.

New Florida routes.

Elsewhere, Elite Airways is starting two services, the first will start on 6th September and will operate between Long Island MacArthur/Islip and Melbourne-Orlando, Florida, with connecting service to Bimini in the Bahamas. The service will operate on Thursdays and Sundays. Another new service will operate between Melbourne to Key West, on a Monday and Friday and the airline says the scheduled start date is currently 19th October. “We are pleased to add new service to Key West and announce our return to Long Island Islip with service to Melbourne and Bimini, while also making schedule adjustments for anticipated seasonal travel patterns,” said John Pearsall, President of Elite Airways. 

Elite Airways operates a fleet of 11 Bombardier CRJ-200 and CRJ-700 jet aircraft.

Frontier's Fantastic Florida Flight Increases

The ultra-low-cost-carrier from the US, Frontier Airlines will be launching more flights this winter from Florida, to various ports in the US. 

The airline will be starting two new routes from Fort Lauderdale on 14th December this year. Both new routes will operate four times a week and they are Trenton and Islip. These new services are scheduled to be flown by one of the airlines Airbus A321 aircraft.

Orlando is going to be getting a flight to 'the big apple' with effect from the 13th December, when Frontier start a daily Airbus A320 rotation to La Guardia airport.

Starting on 14th December will be a route between Sarasota and Cleveland that will operate twice a week utilising an A321.

West Palm Beach is getting four new routes, Cleveland and St Louis will start on 15th November and both will fly three times a week. Columbus, Ohio will start a day later and will fly twice a week and a day after that service start, a flight to Pittsburg will begin, which will also fly twice a week. Services will all be on Airbus A319 aircraft with the exception of Cleveland which is scheduled to use an A321.

LATAM to revamp aircraft interiors to the tune of $400 million

LATAM Airlines will be forking out a whopping $400 million in a revamp of its aircraft cabins to more than two-thirds of its global fleet, the group has announced this week.

The plan is to renovate the interiors of around 200 aircraft rapidly over the next two years, with passengers likely to travel on the refreshed aircraft by the end of this year.  The new business class offering will have more space and a seat that converts to a fully lie-flat bed and an 18-inch in-flight personal entertainment system. In the economy cabin, new seats are from Recaro and are ergonomically designed to offer greater comfort and more space. They will also have fast-charging USB power ports and a 12-inch in-flight entertainment screen. 

Both cabins will also feature Wi-Fi connectivity and we're told that LATAM Airlines Peru will receive the first refurbished aircraft at the end of 2018, whilst LATAM Airlines Brazil should start having the new cabins on its planes from the first couple of months of 2019. The Chile side of the company will receive the revamped planes from the middle to end of 2019.

Ryanair to base 2 more aircraft at Luton and start 6 new routes in winter 2018

Ryanair, the no-frills low-fare-high-fee airline has said it will increase the number of aircraft it bases at London Luton airport, for its winter 2018 season.

The airline currently bases just four airframes at the airport, from winter it will base a further two at the Bedfordshire airport making a total of six. As a result, the airline will add six new routes to Alicante, Athens, Barcelona, Bologna, Cork and Malaga.

End of London route for Garuda

Garuda Indonesia has advised that it will be pulling out of London Heathrow when it axes its service from Jakarta at the end of the summer period. The last day a Boeing 777 in Garuda's livery will operate at Heathrow with be 28th October. 

Yet, it may not be for long, the airline says it is reconsidering many of its routes and London may be one that will be reinstated at sometime during the winter period.

Ryanair strikes deal with pilot unions

The giant European low-fare-high-fee budget airline Ryanair has reached a deal with the Irish Fórsa pilots union after a mammoth 22-hour negotiation session, the union says.

The latest talks ended at 7.30am Thursday morning and culminated a significant offer that the union will now put to its members in a ballot. It's understood the union will recommend pilots take the deal.

Forsa has been ordered to keep details of the deal under wraps, while the ballot takes place and to avoid giving ammunition to other unions in other countries that are also currently in dispute with the budget carrier.

The threat of moving jobs to other bases and the 90-day notice Ryanair put on 300 staff at Dublin are understood to have been withdrawn as part of the negotiations, but only if the current deal is accepted.

The BBC believes that the deal includes an overall agreement and a specific piece on base transfers and command upgrades, a key issue in the dispute. However, no details have been forthcoming and a Dublin pilot for the company is sceptical of any offer at this stage. 

Passenger numbers increase for Aeroflot

July was a busy month for the Aeroflot Group, 6 million passengers travelled with the Russian group of airlines during July, that's an increase of 12.4 percent over last years figures. More than half of that number travelled with Aeroflot itself, indeed the leading Russian carrier flew 3.6 million passengers during the month, nearly 10 percent up on 2017 figures.  

In July 2018, the Aeroflot Group added two Airbus А321 to the fleet, which as of 31st July 2018 now amounts to 352 aircraft.  

Air New Zealand's profits are up

Air New Zealand has announced today its earnings before tax for the 2018 financial year of $540 million, which is an increase from $527 million last year - the second highest profit in the airline’s history.

Chairman Tony Carter praised the strength of the result, which demonstrates the airline's resiliency, "This is an impressive financial result, driven by strong revenue growth across the airline's key markets, as well as continued focus on sustainable cost improvement, despite significantly higher fuel prices.

"The ability of the airline to achieve its second-highest profit in such a challenging environment really speaks to the focused strategy and unique competitive advantages that Chief Executive Officer Christopher Luxon and his leadership team have spent years building," says Mr Carter.

Qantas report record breaking year

News in from Australia and the Qantas Group has reported an Underlying Profit Before Tax of $1.6 billion for the 2018 financial year, which is a new record for the national flag carrier of Australia.

It reports today that all parts of the business contributed to the result which has been helped by healthy levels of demand across key market areas, higher revenue and a particularly strong performance in the domestic flying businesses of Qantas and Jetstar.

The result will not only enable the Group to return a dividend to shareholders but also keep investing for the future. The group will also reward its employees with a cash bonus the company said today.

Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce said the record profit reflected a strong market as well as the benefits of ongoing work to improve the business and build long-term shareholder value. “These numbers show a company that’s delivering across the board. - Our investment in free Wi-Fi and cabin improvements are delivering a better experience for customers as well as higher earnings for Qantas and Jetstar. The overall value for the travelling public remains extremely strong, with domestic sale fares almost 40 per cent lower in real terms than they were fifteen years ago."

Mr Joyce explained the at airlines was seeing good demand across was particularly pleased with the result despite higher fuel costs. “Ultimately our success relies on the great service and dedication to safety from our people. - We’re very pleased to reward our people with a bonus for this fantastic result." 

Spirit A321 diverts due to hydraulic leak

Photo Courtesy of FlightAware.com

A Spirit Airlines Airbus A321 on a flight from Newark New Jersey to Fort Lauderdale was forced to make an emergency landing today at Jacksonville International Airport because of a hydraulic fault.

Jacksonville airport spokesperson Michael Steward told local media, First Coast News there were no injuries on the Spirit Airlines aircraft, registration N664NK that was operating flight NK521 on Wednesday morning. The passengers were put on an alterative aircraft to complete the trip to Fort Lauderdale.

One of the passenger on the flight said, “They said they had a hydraulic issue, which was vibrating in the left wing and that they have to make an emergency landing, but everything’s OK,”. The flight was carrying 225 people at the time of the incident and the aircraft is still at Jacksonville Airport.

View the flight at flightaware.com

Delta to expand trans-Atlantic flights next year and launch a Tampa - Amsterdam route

The US carrier Delta Air Lines confirmed it will be expanding its trans-Atlantic network for summer next year with some new routes plus additional frequencies on others. 

In a welcome move for Floridian inhabitants, the Trump supporting airline is going to launch the first nonstop direct flight from Tampa Bay to Amsterdam, in the Netherlands. This year-round service is scheduled to start on 23rd May.  The flight will leave Tampa at 2225 to land in Amsterdam at 1245 the next day. The return leaves Schipol at 1445 landing back in Tampa at 1913.  This new route will be Delta's 11th route to Amsterdam and second from Florida, the first launched earlier this year from Orlando.     

Meanwhile, Delta is also expanding its hub-to-hub flying between the United States and Europe with services from Los Angeles International Airport to both Amsterdam and Paris Charles de Gaulle increasing to daily operations beginning 16th June 2019.

“Delta is putting great focus on our international expansion and Europe is an important part of this,” said Roberto Ioriatti, Delta’s Vice President — Trans-Atlantic. “Our new Tampa Bay flight and extra capacity on other key routes from our LAX and JFK hubs offer our customers more choice and convenient connections throughout the United States and Europe in connection with our partners.”

WestJet changes mind on Edmonton - Las Vegas service.

The Canadain airline WestJet today announced that it will maintain non-stop service between Edmonton and Las Vegas just twenty days after saying it will end the service.

The airline will operate four flights a week to Las Vegas from Edmonton starting 11th October this year. These flights will operate on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.

"We heard directly from many guests that being able to fly non-stop from Edmonton to Las Vegas on WestJet was a priority," said Brian Znotins, WestJet Vice-President Network Planning and Alliances. "We have made this a reality so our guests can continue to book WestJet,  WestJet Vacation packages as well as earn and use WestJet Rewards dollars, the WestJet RBC MasterCard and its associated companion vouchers for their vacations from Edmonton to this top tourist destination."

Air marshal detained after cabin crew mistake him for a gun carrying passenger

An investigation is underway after it has been confirmed that a US Federal Air Marshal was removed from a Republic flight, operating in the United Express brand on Monday.

The air marshal was apprehended along with another marshal after the flight, UA3531 had landed at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport on Monday evening after a member of cabin crew mistook him for a gun-carrying passenger.

According to local media, a spokesperson for the airport confirmed the two men were taken to the airport’s police station where they were questioned by the FBI. A spokesperson for the FBI, Cindy Burnham advised that the marshal had been assigned to the flight and was on official duty. 

The Transportation Safety Administration also confirmed the air marshal was on official business but said there were protocols to prevent incidents like this from occurring and an investigation is ongoing. 

The placement of armed air marshals on flights operated by US airlines is commonplace in the USA and whilst the TSA doesn't disclose the exact number of federal air marshals or on which flights they are on. However, it's estimated there are currently 3,400 air marshals, who usually work in pairs on domestic flights and as part of a team of four on international flights. The actual flights they ride on is worked out by a computer programme, which takes into account a number of things, for example, the amount of fuel the aircraft has onboard, if the route overflies a significant area of importance or security concern like a power station, a military base or other government installation. The algorithm also looks at the destination, the origin and other risks factors, such as when a specific threat has either been identified or discovered or made.   

A day of disruption likely at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport

European passengers can expect a day of disruption on 4th September when  security guards at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport are due to stage a 24-hour strike.

Two main unions, FNV and CNV have confirmed the action will take place as staff seek better pay and conditions. FNV said it expected that a large majority of the approximately 4,500 security guards at Europe’s third-largest airport will strike.  “Almost all the guards joined in on the shorter work stoppages and there is a great willingness to take actions further,”  a union spokesperson told the media.

Over recent weeks security officers at the Amsterdam airport have held a number of shorter strikes and work stoppages, most of which have caused longer queues and wait times at security checkpoints, yet its not believed any flights were delayed or cancelled because of the industrial action.

New Air France-KLM ceo meets French minister

The newly named CEO of Air France-KLM, Ben Smith has held crisis talks with the French Transport Minister Elisabeth Borne as unions prepare to decide on further strike action over pay and conditions. 

A French government spokesperson confirmed that Mr Smith met the Minister on Tuesday for a “a first discussion of the main issues” that affect the Air France-KLM group. It is not known if union anger over Smiths new €3.25 million ($3.72 million) salary and other perks was one of the subjects discussed.

This is a long time before Mr Smith is due to take up the role in September and some aviation analysts in France say the government making public that a meeting had taken place was a blatant attempt dissuade the unions from taking action until Smith takes up his role during the next month.

Ryanair cheques bounce

The European low-fare-high-fee airline Ryanair seems to be continuing in its campaign of contempt to passengers who try and claim compensation from the airline when things go wrong, either by strike action or mechanical problems. First, as is the case with the most recent strikes by cabin crew and pilots, Ryanair staff were telling passengers they are not entitled to compensation, yet all legal opinion insists passengers do have a legal right to compensation.  

Secondly, if passengers are successful in getting to the next stage there is a chance Ryanair will send th

em a cheque that will bounce after they've paid it into the bank!

Many passengers are complaining because the airline sent them compensation cheques that have bounced, mainly because they weren't signed.  The airline claims up to 190 customers were sent unsigned cheques, out of a batch of 20,000 in what it supposed was an administrative error. However, indications from passenger rights groups are that the true number of those affected is more than treble the 190 Ryanair reports. 

 A Ryanair spokesperson said “These cheques were re-issued last week and we apologise sincerely for this inconvenience,” but only apologised after media involvement.

Virgin Atlantic to set up a new Virgin-Wide loyalty programme

Virgin Atlantic is going to launch a loyalty programme across the group the airline announced this week. They say the new programme will have unique and differentiated reward opportunities, to reward customer loyalty across Virgin-branded companies. 

Apparently, the new loyalty programme will give members the opportunity to earn and spend ‘miles’, across a range of products and services via a new company, Virgin Group Loyalty Company that is being established to own and manage the new offering. The airline tells us the new programme will be up and running in 2019. It will be owned jointly by Virgin Atlantic and Delta Air Lines, which owns half of Virgin Atlantic. 

Confusingly, Virgin Atlantic will continue its own Flying Club frequent flyer programme, but its members will also be able to spend miles with the new programme.  Andrew Swaffield, CEO of VGLC, said: “Virgin is one of the most admired brands in the UK and across the world, serving 53 million customers each year across 60 companies. Customers expect to be rewarded for their loyalty to Virgin and we want to ensure Virgin customers get the very best rewards possible. Our ambition is to bring the Virgin companies together and combine their appeal to customers, working together to create a truly outstanding offer”

Primera's US expansion from Brussels

The low-cost carrier Primera Air is growing its American network, but not from the UK, where it is slowly pulling out services, but from Belgium.

The latest raft of routes will see the carrier fly from Brussels to three top US destinations, starting in spring next year;  The airline is going to be using brand new Boeing 737 Max 9 jets to go to Boston, Newark and Washington from Brussels. 

Primera says fares will start at $149 one way from Boston and Newark, while the Washington flights are a little more at $199 one way for the most basic of flight only tickets and 30 inches of leg room.

Ryanair to sell Air Malta tickets......

From today Air Malta tickets will be available on Ryanair's website in a tie-up between the two carriers.

The press release from Ryanair proudly boasted that the deal will allow Ryanair’s 139m customers to book Air Malta flights on the Ryanair.com website. From today, Maltese customers can browse and book Air Malta flights on 21 new routes from Malta to 8 different countries across Africa, Asia and Europe, including Russia and Tunisia.

However, we tried to book flights from London Gatwick to Malta and flights from Malta to the London Heathrow on Air Malta on the Ryanair websites and were greeted with "Sorry we don't fly between" those cities. We also had colleagues check in both France and Norway and they were also unable to find Air Malta flights on the Ryanair website. 

More European flights for American Airlines

Next summer will see a massive expansion for American Airlines route network to Europe to meet phenomenal passenger demand. 

The airline will start a daily service to Munich from Charlotte, North Carolina, from 31st Match next year operated on an Airbus A330-200.

Athens will get a summer seasonal service from the American Airlines hub of Chicago, the daily flight will run between 3rd May and 28th September on a Boeing 787-8 aircraft.

Four new Delta winter warmers from New York

Whilst we may still be in the grips of a hot sunny and summery August, Delta Air Lines has its eyes set on winter and in particular its winter schedules from New York to the Caribbean.

The airline has a new second daily frequency connecting New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport to Nassau starting this October, plus the Trump supporting carrier also has some other great routes from New York to the Caribbean to shout about. 

“No one better connects the world than Delta, and the stunning destinations represented in Nassau, Kingston and Antigua,” said Agustin Durand, Delta’s General Manager for Central America and the Caribbean.  This winter, Delta will operate over 100 flights per week to 15 Caribbean destinations from JFK. The new schedules are as follows:

Two new direct European routes from DFW from June 2019

Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport, in Dallas, Texas will get two new nonstop international flights next year thanks to American Airlines.  The new routes will be to Dublin, Ireland and Munich, in Germany, starting June 6th, 2019 and with these flights, DFW Airport will get its first-ever nonstop service to Ireland, while Munich will be the airports third daily nonstop flight to Germany.

"These new flights will advance DFW Airport's mission to bring more international passenger and cargo service to the Dallas Fort Worth region," said Sean Donohue, chief executive officer at DFW Airport. "DFW anticipates tremendous growth in the year ahead, and with nonstop service to Dublin and Munich we're offering two great new destinations, more travel choices, business connections and opportunities for tourism.".

The launch of Dublin and Munich service in June 2019 will give DFW a total of 59 international destinations and 235 unique destinations. The new destinations will be DFW's eighth and ninth European cities served.

Finnair to fly to Los Angeles with new A350 in 2019

Finnair has announced the next step in its continuous growth strategy will see the popular Scandinavian carrier begin a service to Los Angeles, California, from of next spring. 

The airline has said it will fly three weekly frequencies to Los Angeles from its Helsinki home base starting 31st March 2019. The airline will deploy its new Airbus A350 aircraft to the route to ensure a superior service and excellent in-flight comfort level for all passengers. 

The introduction of LA to the Finnair route network will mean the carrier flies to five US destinations, along with New York, Chicago, San Francisco and Miami. The approximate flight times are expected to be 11 hours to LAX and 10 hours and 30 minutes to Helsinki.  

Finnair is also making some changes to its summer operation for the San Francisco and Chicago routes. Both routes will begin in April, and a fourth frequency will be added for San Francisco as of May. With these changes, Finnair will now offer a daily flight to California during the summer season with the new three-weekly flight to Los Angeles and the new fourth weekly service to San Francisco. 

“We are very happy to expand our North American network and fly a new route to Los Angeles with our Airbus A350,” says Juha Järvinen, Chief Commercial Officer at Finnair. “We opened our route to San Francisco two years ago with tremendous success, proving that California and the West Coast are very popular with our customers. We are confident that this new route to Los Angeles will garner the same level of interest moving forward.”   

Hahn Air agrees interline deal with Myanmar's Air KBZ

Booking domestic travel in Myanmar just got a whole lot easier, thanks to a new interline agreement between Air KBZ of Myanmar and Hahn Air.  This new interline deal allows more than 100,000 travel agents, in 190 countries, to book Air KBZ's domestic flights in Myanmar. The interline agreement has been enabled by the Zenith® PSS (Passenger Service System), provided by TTI.

Mr Oakkar Tun, Executive Director, Air KBZ said, ‘This Interline with Hahn Air is an important step for the growth of the international sales channel for Air KBZ, the immediate access to a vast number of travel agents in so many countries will quickly show good business results in passenger numbers’. He added, ‘We have been able to quickly manage the interline set-up through the TTI Zenith® PSS, as there are already many airlines using HR-169 through Zenith®. So now, travel consultants around the world can book on Air KBZ to connect from Yangon to major Myanmar attractions in Bagan, Heho, Thandwe, and Mandalay, through the Hahn Air distribution channel. We very much look forward to significant and meaningful contributions from our travel consultants abroad’..

Air Canada, TD, Visa and CIBC reach agreement with Aimia over buying Aeroplan

The consortium of leading Canadian airline, Air Canada, The Toronto-Dominion Bank,  Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Visa Canada have announced they've reached an agreement with Aimia, at least in principle, to buy the loyalty business Aeroplan. 

"We are pleased to see that an agreement in principle has been reached as Aeroplan members can continue to earn and redeem with confidence. This transaction, if completed, should produce the best outcome for all stakeholders, including Aeroplan Members, as it would allow for a smooth transition to Air Canada's new loyalty program launching in 2020, safeguarding their miles and providing convenience and value for millions of Canadians," said Calin Rovinescu, President and CEO of Air Canada, on behalf of the consortium.

Ethiopian Airlines to relaunch Zambia Airways

Zambia to get a new airline, or at least a relaunch of its former national carrier, thanks to an initial investment of $30 million from Ethiopian Airlines its been reported today.

The airline has signed a shareholding agreement with Zambia’s main development agency to relaunch the southern African country’s flag carrier,  after more than 20 years of dormancy. The plan would see the new Zambia Airways, operating 12 aircraft by 2028, Ethiopian Airlines will own 45 percent of the revamped Zambian airline, and Zambia 55 percent.

Ethiopian Airlines issued a joint statement with Zambia’s state-owned Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), which said,  "The initial investment as we start up the national carrier will be $30 million. Obviously, as we operate the airline, we will facilitate the financing necessary to support its growth,”

According to the plans, the new Zambia Airways will launch local and regional routes later this year while intercontinental routes, including those to Europe, the Middle East and Asia, should be introduced within the first three years. 

Spirit looking at future aircraft orders

Negotiation with both Boeing and Airbus are ongoing says the boss of Spirit Airlines regarding the ultra-low-cost-carriers future fleet plans. 

Chief Executive Bob Fornaro said on Monday they were talking with all planemakers “We are pretty well set for the next three years, but we are talking to all the manufacturers about the next order,” Adding, “There is a fleet order in Spirit’s future,” The airline boss was speaking at the Boyd Group International Aviation Forecast Summit in Denver, but didn't specify a time frame. 

Many aviation analysts believe the airline is looking predominantly at the Airbus A320 family of aircraft, yet opening up the possibility of negotiating with other manufacturers in order to drive down the core unit cost of each aircraft. 

Its the 60th anniversary of flights on Moscow- Delhi route for Aeroflot

The Russian airline Aeroflot has just marked 60 years of scheduled flights to Delhi, the capital of India. It was on 18th August 1958 that the first regular flight between Moscow and Delhi took place with a Tu-104. 

India was Aeroflot’s first country in Southeast Asia, at the end of 1950s Aeroflot offered only one weekly flight to India. Today, the Russian flag carrier operates two daily flights between Moscow and Delhi using modern and comfortable Airbus A330 aircraft. It has been operating the Moscow-Delhi route without a break. 

In Spring 2016, passenger traffic increased sharply following the launch of the second daily flight. 2017 was a record-setting year for the Moscow-Delhi route: Aeroflot carried almost 290 thousand passengers, a 50% year-on-year increase.  

Aeroflot’s 243-strong fleet is the youngest of any airline worldwide that operates more than 100 aircraft. In 2017, serving 146 destinations in 52 countries. More than 32 million passengers travelled with the Russian airline last year alone. 

Blank information screens at London Gatwick leaves passengers confused

A technical problem with fiber optic cables left the passenger information screens at London Gatwick airport blank for most of the day!

Members of staff at the UK's second busiest international airport had to resort to using felt-tipped marker pens and whiteboards to update passengers on boarding gates and departure times. The TV screens stopped working early this morning with teams of Vodaphone engineers, the airports IT providers, working furiously to rectify the situation.

Staff at the airport had to listen to radio communications to continuously update the whiteboards with gate information, so passengers knew where to go.  An airport spokesperson apologised to customers for the inconvenience and said the airport's "manual contingency plan", which included having extra staff on hand to help direct passengers, had worked reasonably well. Although it is believed that a small number of passengers had missed their flights due to the problems, but, no flights were cancelled. 

The fault was rectified at around 5pm this evening and all screens were back online and normal operations were resumed. Many passengers used social media to criticise the airport, whilst others remained positive saying a lot of people were "scurrying around with markers and erasers" and it was "surprisingly calm and ordered".

The first 787-8 Dreamliner arrives in Bangladesh

                               The first Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner for Biman Bangladesh Airlines arrived in the country yesterday and was welcomed to the fleet by the airlines' management and staff.

The aircraft landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka at 05.19 on 19th August after a direct 14½ flight from Boeing's Seattle base.  It was welcomed with a traditional water cannon salute from the airports fire service and many of the airlines' employees. The aircraft has been called Akashbina.

Biman Bangladesh Airlines signed a $ 2.1 billion deal in 2008 for the purchase of 10 new aircraft - including four Dreamliners with Boeing. The carrier will receive another example in November this year and another two Dreamliners are due to arrive in September next year.  Biman Managing Director and CEO AM Mosaddiq Ahmed said, "The airline added a new milestone by joining the Dreamliner skyline. Biman seeks to provide safe and comfortable services to passengers. The new aircraft will assist the airline in competition with other airlines."

SA Express to restart operations on Thursday.

SA Express has confirmed it will be resuming its flying operations from this Thursday, 23rd August 2018, following recent news that both the airline’s Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) and Aircraft Maintenance Organisation (AMO) licenses by the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) had been reinstated.

The South African regional airline has also already received Certificates of Airworthiness for most of its 11 aircraft from SACAA, with the remaining fleet expected to be given the green light in the next few days.

Canada's Flair Airlines adds new US routes for winter 2018

Canada's only independent low fare carrier, Flair Airlines has announced today that it will be introducing non-stop flights to six popular U.S. destinations for this winter.  

The new routes will greatly extend Flair's already rapidly growing route network, to Florida's Orlando International Airport, St. Pete-Clearwater (Tampa Bay) and Miami as well as to Palm Springs, Las Vegas and Phoenix-Mesa Airport.

"The majority of our new services concentrate on Edmonton and Winnipeg," said David Tait, Flair's Executive Chairman; "Having brought low fare service to 10 Canadian cities this summer, we are now taking the show on the road and heading south to some of the most popular winter getaway spots: Escaping the great Canadian winter will cost a lot less this year."

New bright uniforms for Sichuan Airlines

As part of its "Panda Route" international flight development programme, Sichuan Airlines has unveiled newly-designed cabin crew uniforms this week.

The classic red-and-black design symbolizing passion and rationality aims to promote the airline's image and raise its profile on the global stage.

Inspired by Sichuan Airlines' theme colour, "Sichuan red," the ladies' new uniform is composed of a red one-piece, a black blazer, a red blazer, a black winter wool coat and a black hat. The gentleman's uniform features a white shirt with red stripe design and a splash of red on the blazer pocket to echo the ladies' dress.

The airline now owns the largest Airbus fleet in China with a total of 134 aircraft so far which is increasing with the arrival of the new A350s. The carrier is a growing force in the Chinese aviation industry, with 270 "Panda Routes" connecting Asia, Europe, Oceania and North America. The airline carries more than 29 million passengers each year.