airBaltic and Tarom codeshare deal extended

The Latvian Government owned airline airBaltic and the Romanian national air transport company Tarom have extended a codeshare partnership starting from 1st May. 

This will provide passengers with new advantages – to connect each other networks via partner hubs Riga and Bucharest, and increased flexibility and seamless connections between both airline networks. airBaltic customers will benefit from increased frequency of flights to their desired destinations in the region (Budapest, Sofia and Chisinau), while Tarom passengers will have seamless connectivity to the Baltics and beyond to other airBaltic destinations.

Martin Gauss, President and CEO of airBaltic: “We are delighted to extend our fruitful codeshare partnership with Tarom, which will allow us to offer more travel options and flexibility to our customers. By joining forces, we can better serve our passengers, offering them seamless connectivity and more choices when planning their travels.”

A rush of orders for Boeing on the first day of Farnborough International Air Show - but are they new?

The US giant manufacturer Boeing proudly announced a huge rush of orders on the first day of the Farnborough International Air Show 2018, with orders coming from various customers including DHL, Jackson Square Aviation, United Airlines, GOL, Goshawk Aviation, TAROM and Qatar. Yet, new orders, they seem not to be.

The freight and package delivery experts DHL order 14 777  Freighter aircraft with an option for 7 further aircraft. Although the order was announced at FIA 2018, it had been made in previous months, Boeing listed the customer as 'Unidentified' on Boeing's Orders & Deliveries website. Once the new aircraft are delivered, they will double DHL's fleet of 777 freighter aircraft. 

Qatar Airways operates a fleet of 13 777 Freighters and two 747-8 Freighters and finalised a deal to buy a further five 777 freighters at FIA 2018, with the list price value of $1.7 billion. Again this is deal that had previously been agreed and was announced as a commitment back in April, so is not a new order. "I am delighted to be further enhancing our cargo fleet and adding five Boeing 777 Freighter aircraft," said Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker. "In the past 15 years, Qatar Airways Cargo has grown steadily and globally, becoming the third largest in the world. We could not have achieved this success without our resilient relationship with Boeing."

Boeing said that United Airlines has ordered four more 787-9 aeroplanes. The deal, valued at about $1.1 billion per current list prices, was finalized this year and was previously listed as unidentified on the manufacturer's Orders & Deliveries website again, so should not be seen as a new order.

"These new 787 aircraft are another step in our wide-body replacement strategy, and we will continue to roll out new announcements in the future as we implement our comprehensive fleet plan," said Gerry Laderman, United's senior vice president of finance and acting chief financial officer. "The 787 allows us to provide our customers with an industry-leading onboard experience and continues to be a vital part of our fleet."  With this latest purchase, United Airlines has now ordered 55 787 Dreamliners. Nearly half of all 787 customers have placed repeat orders for the aeroplane.

Probe Launched Into Tarom

Romania’s national airline Tarom is facing a stringent government probe after the airline reported significant losses in the first half of 2017. The embattled airline has not made a single profit since 2007.

It is reported that the airlines general manager Eugen Davidoiu had rowed with the Prime Minister Mihai Tudose over the poor results of the company and has since resigned.  The Prime Minister said on television on Saturday that he believed the company was now in a worse shape than last year.

The head of the government has ordered an investigation into the airline's management during the last 8 years, after the airline reported losses of 330 million euros over this period - 22.7 million in the first half of this year.