"The UK will be at the heart of our continued global expansion" says Norwegian's CEO

Norwegian CEO Bjorn Kjos today delivered an address in London to outline his global expansion plans for the world’s best low-cost long-haul airline, as the UK grows to become one of the carrier’s most important markets.

Europe’s third largest low-cost airline has led the market in low-cost long-haul travel since first launching transatlantic services from London Gatwick to the USA in 2014. Norwegian has since flown more than 2 million passengers on its transatlantic routes at London Gatwick. The airline flew more than 5.1 million UK passengers in 2017 and will shortly commence a series of new long-haul routes using Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft, including the UK’s first low-cost flights to South America (14 February), and new direct services to Chicago and Austin in March.

Airline CEO Bjorn Kjos states intentions to grow long-haul flights from 

UK to more underserved destinations

UK will be first to experience new enhancements to long-haul passenger experience

New routes, more frequency and newest Dreamliners to be London Gatwick-based

The airline’s CEO, Bjorn Kjos, one of the founding partners of Norwegian in 2002, addressed UK media at The Shard in central London and explained the growing importance of the UK market and the airline’s strategic plans in five key points:

Jazz Aviation named one of Canada's Top Employers for Young People for the sixth year

Chorus Aviation Inc. is proud to announce that Jazz Aviation LP ('Jazz') was named one of Canada's Top Employers for Young People for the sixth year.

"Jazz is honoured to be ranked among the Top Employers for Young People in Canada," said Colin Copp, President, Jazz. "Receiving this recognition for the sixth year affirms our strong commitment to attract and develop the best people – a corporate priority for our company. We continually assess and develop employee programs that are meaningful to talented young people seeking fulfilling career opportunities in aviation."

Qantas to launch daily Melbourne - Bali service.

Qantas announced last week that it will begin a new daily Melbourne – Denpasar (Bali) service from 23rd June 2018 with fares already on sale.  The service will be operated by a Boeing 737-800 aircraft and the new Qantas route comes as Jetstar increases its Melbourne-Bali flights from ten per week to twice daily.

The service will complement Qantas’ year-round daily Sydney – Denpasar service and reflects strong demand from customers who want a full-service experience travelling to one of the regions most popular holiday destinations.

Qantas’ Melbourne – Denpasar service will be operated by a two-class Boeing 737 aircraft, with a checked baggage allowance, inflight entertainment and food and drinks all included as part of the fare.

Together with Jetstar the Qantas Group will now offer customers 84 return services to Bali from across Australia – the largest international airline group to operate into the island

Emirates firms up order for up to 36 additional A380s

Emirates and Airbus firmed up an earlier Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and signed a contract for the 20 additional A380s with a further 16 options to be confirmed at a later date. The total agreement for 36 aircraft is valued at US$16 bn based on latest list prices. Deliveries are to start as early as 2020.

The agreement was signed at the World Government Summit by HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group; and Mikail Houari, Airbus President for Africa and Middle East. HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, ruler of the Emirate of Dubai and Edouard Philippe, Prime Minister of France were also present.

HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline and Group said: “This agreement underscores our commitment to the A380 programme, providing stability to the A380 production line and supporting thousands of high-value jobs across the aviation supply chain. For Emirates, the A380 has been a successful aircraft for our customers, our operations, and our brand. We look forward to continue working with Airbus to further enhance the aircraft and onboard product.”

“We thank Emirates, HH Sheikh Ahmed, Tim Clark and Adel Al-Redha for their continued confidence in the A380, which has so successfully transformed air travel in the 21st century,” said Fabrice Brégier, Airbus President Commercial Aircraft and Chief Operating Officer. “This latest agreement further demonstrates the strength of our valued partnership with Emirates in support of their impressive growth.”

flynas Expands Its International Reach to Pakistan

flynas Expands Its International Reach to Pakistan

As part of its ongoing plans to expand its reach in Asia and open new strategic and international routes, flynas has announced its new flights between the kingdom and Pakistan starting February 15th  2018.

    

flynas will launch flights from Dammam, Riyadh and Jeddah to both Lahore and Islamabad and will commence on the 15th of February with flights from Riyadh to Lahore. Riyadh to Islamabad flights will follow on the 16th of February, along with flights from Dammam to Lahore. While flights from Jeddah to Lahore will launch on the 17th of February.

flynas flights between the Kingdom and Pakistan will utilize A320 fleet and new B767 aircraft. Booking can be made through flynas' smartphone application, travel agents, and the flynas website.

These new flynas routes will serve business travellers from and to Saudi Arabia, as well as Hajj and Umrah visitors. It will also connect passengers to many different cities within the Kingdom with flynas' network, which includes 17 domestic destinations.

Air Canada Named Eco-Airline of the Year

Air Canada Named Eco-Airline of the Year 

in Air Transport World's 2018 Annual Airline Industry Achievement Awards 

Air Canada has been named the 2018 Eco-Airline of the Year by the respected airline industry publication Air Transport World in its 44th Annual Airline Industry Achievement Awards. In recognizing Air Canada's environmental accomplishments, ATW cited the carrier's commitment to emissions reductions through supporting the development of alternative fuels and its numerous green programs and partnerships, including being the first airline in the world to voluntarily join the World Bank's IMF Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition.

"Air Canada has made sustainability central to its decision-making and business processes, and this includes acting responsibly with respect to the environment. We are very pleased that ATW has recognized the effectiveness of our environmental programs, including our participation in the development and support of alternative fuels in Canada, and our efforts to contribute to healthier communities. We have made great strides, improving fuel efficiency by 40 per cent since 1990, and this award will further spur us on to the goals we have set for ourselves to continually improve our environmental performance," said Calin Rovinescu, President and Chief Executive of Air Canada.

World War Two Bomb Closes London City Airport

An unexploded bomb left over from World War Two has forced London City Airport to close for the whole of Monday.

The ordinance was found in the River Thames on Sunday very close to the airport and following instruction from London's Metropolitan Police a 200-metre exclusion area was implemented to allow the Royal Navy to deal with the device.  

The bomb was found buried in silt at George V Dock and is understood to weigh approximately half a tonne and was found during work at the airport on Sunday afternoon. Removing the ordinance is proving difficult as the operation depends upon the tides, however, police believe it should be able to be removed by tomorrow morning.

The Metropolitan Police said a number of properties within the exclusion zone had been evacuated and a number of roads were still cordoned off.  “The timing of removal is dependant on the tides, however, at this stage, we estimate that the removal of the device from location will be completed by tomorrow morning,” police said in a statement, adding the bomb was lying in dense silt.

London City Airports CEO Robert Sinclare issued the following statement on Monday afternoon. 

Increased passenger numbers for Lufthansa group in January 2018

In January 2018, the airlines of the Lufthansa Group welcomed around 8.7 million passengers. This shows an increase of 10.1% compared to the previous year’s month. The available seat kilometers were up 8% over the previous year, at the same time, sales increased by 7.4%. The seat load factor decreased by 0.4 percentage points compared to January 2017 to 75.6%.

The Network Airlines Lufthansa German Airlines, SWISS and Austrian Airlines carried 6.5 million passengers in January, 5.4% more than in the prior-year period. Compared to the previous year, the available seat kilometers increased by 5.4% in January. The sales volume was up 3.9% over the same period, decreasing seat load factor by 1.1 percentage points to 75.7%.

Lufthansa German Airlines transported 4.5 million passengers in January, a 5.7% increase compared to the same month last year. A 6.1% increase in seat kilometers in January corresponds to a 4.8% increase in sales. Furthermore, the seat load factor was 76.6%, therefore one percentage point below the prior-year’s level.

Star Alliance Creates Digital Services Platform with Accenture to Deliver an Improved Experience Across its Member Airline Network

Star Alliance has launched a Digital Services Platform (DSP) as the first step to an overall enhancement of digital and mobile services offered to customers travelling across the 28 airline member Star Alliance network. The platform was developed and implemented in conjunction with global professional services company Accenture as part of the Alliance’s strategy to further improve the customer journey.

The DSP can gather data provided by an individual member airline or third-party source and make it available to all members, enabling them to build it into their own customer-facing digital applications. The longer-term aim is to allow customers to use any member airline’s website or mobile application to obtain all the information they need for travel on several Star Alliance member airlines.

Three Brits killed in Grand Canyon helicopter crash

Three British people have died after a tourist helicopter belonging to Papillon Airways crashed in the Grand Canyon in the US state of Arizona. 

The aircraft an EC130 came down at about 17:20 local time (00:20 GMT) on Saturday. It is not clear what caused the crash. A spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration said it suffered "substantial damage". Six passengers and a pilot were on board the helicopter when it crashed into jagged rocks by the Grand Canyon’s West Rim, the four that survived have been taken to a local hospital and are in critical condition. 

The UK's Foreign Office confirmed it was offering assistance, a spokesperson said: "We are providing support to the families of six British visitors involved in a helicopter accident at the Grand Canyon on 10 February, and we are in close contact with the US emergency services."

Papillon Airways operated the helicopter involved in this incident and claims to be "the world's largest aerial sightseeing company" and has over 600,000 passengers each year. There are numerous reports in the last few months of helicopters being pulled of their normal schedule for both routine and non-routine maintenance.  The company has had at least three fatal crashes since 1999, all of which appeared to be caused by pilot error according to investigators. In 1999 a trainee pilot was called with neither he nor his instructor cleared snow from the helicopter before trying to fly.  In 2001 the pilot and five passengers were killed when the pilot lost control for an unknown reason.  In 2014 a pilot was killed by his own helicopter after he left it running in 'flight idle' while he got out to take a pee. 

The Foreign Office said it was providing support to the families of those who died and to those of three more Britons who were injured.

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Saratov Airlines An-148 crashes near Moscow

A Saratov Airlines Antonov An-148 has crashed shortly after departing from Moscow's Domodedovo airport, carrying 65 passengers and 6, there are no survivors. The flight departed at 14.27 local time on Sunday and contact was lost just four minutes into the flight. According to flight tracking the aircraft descended rapidly, at 1000m per minute.


The Saratov Airlines jet disappeared from radar minutes after take-off and crashed near the village of Argunovo, which is approximately 50 miles south-east of Moscow. The Antonov An-148 was en route to the city of Orsk in the Ural mountains.

Pieces of debris, wreckage and bodies were found spread over a large area and at least one of the flight data recorders had been found according to officials at the scene. 

The cause of the disaster is unclear at this stage and investigators and emergency crews are working at the snow-covered site. The snowy weather, mechanical failure, pilot error as well as other more sinister causes are all being considered at this stage of the investigation.

 President Vladimir Putin has expressed his condolences to the victims' families and announced an inquiry into the cause of the crash.

Saratov Airlines comes from, approximately 840km south-east of Moscow and it t was banned from operating international flights in 2015 after a surprise inspection found someone other than the flight crew was in the cockpit.

The airline changed its policy on cockpit visits and appeal the ban before resuming international charter flights during 2016.  The airline mainly operates domestic services between Russian cities, however, it has flown to destinations in Armenia and Georgia.

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Lufthansa unveils new look and punters are not impressed

A large part of a brands appeal is its identity -  a strong identity can encapsulate a brands its whole ethos. A strong and recognized identity can and often does increase custom in vast amounts. Equally, change a companies identity badly and it can be disastrous. Therefore, it takes a brave company to meddle with a brand identity that has been around for decades, is globally recognized, respected and even loved. Lufthansa is one such brave company and this week they unveiled their new look!

The German airline took plenty of time and spent a great deal of effort and money to not only create their new identity but also to reveal it to staff and the public alike.  They revealed the new modernized brand image with two major events at the airlines Frankfurt and Munich hubs on Wednesday, 7th of February.

The most visible change is the new aircraft livery and so in front of more than 3,000 guests in Frankfurt and Munich, Lufthansa officially presented a Boeing 747-8 and an Airbus A321 with the new design.

United choose Viasat for inflight connectivity

Viasat,  a global communications company, announced earlier this week a new contract with United Airlines to bring Viasat's latest generation in-flight entertainment and connectivity (IFEC) system to more than 70 aircraft, including at least 58 of United's new Boeing 737MAX aircraft.

Viasat will serve as the direct in-flight internet service provider to United, deploying its most advanced IFEC system, in order to provide United customers access to fast, reliable internet connections from the air—for accessing their favourite websites to connecting with key business applications such as a corporate VPN and secure email. Viasat's IFEC system will also power  United's Private Screening entertainment option, which offers customers access to hundreds of entertainment titles from its onboard library direct to their own devices.

Ethiopian Airlines to launch flights between Addis Ababa and Chicago

Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport will soon offer its first direct flights to Africa.

The Chicago Department of Aviation and Ethiopian Airlines on Monday announced new nonstop service between O’Hare and Ethiopia’s Addis Ababa Bole International Airport. Flights will begin June 2 and be offered three times per week, departing Chicago on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday and arriving on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday.

Ethiopian Airlines is O’Hare’s newest air carrier partner.  Aviation Commissioner Ginger Evans says the new route will expand O’Hare’s connectivity t

o the world and “unlock new opportunities for the city of Chicago and travellers across the globe.”

City officials say approximately 50 Chicago-area companies have operations in over 100 locations across 10 African countries.

Ethiopian Airlines serves 55 destinations across Africa from its hub in the country’s capital.

Airbus wraps up its successful 2018 Singapore Airshow participation

From the digitalisation of maintenance operations to aerial data collection by drones, Airbus’ growing portfolio of services took centre stage at this week’s Singapore Airshow – with a particular focus on the Asia-Pacific marketplace.

Announcements during the six-day biennial aerospace industry event – Asia’s largest – included the sign-up of additional airline customers for Airbus’ predictive maintenance and flight hour services, the launch of Asia-Pacific operations for the company’s commercial drone services, and a new partnership to support military and police helicopters in Thailand.

Skywise: unlocking the power of data

Airbus’ Skywise open-aviation data platform increased its user base with the Singapore Airshow announcement that AirAsia, Asiana Airlines and Etihad Airways will become the first airlines to use full aircraft data and advanced predictive analytics – with each signing a premium subscription contract covering Skywise Predictive Maintenance.

A Skywise-equipped aircraft captures vast amounts of performance data, and this quantity of information can be used by airlines to anticipate their maintenance needs with high levels of accuracy, and well in advance, thus maximising the operational reliability and utilization of their jetliners.

In addition to the premium predictive services, AirAsia, Asiana Airlines and Etihad Airways will gain access to the Skywise Core cloud-based platform. For airlines who have not yet selected premium predictive services, Airbus offers Skywise Core under a “shared value” arrangement, enabling airlines that agree to share operating data from their Airbus fleet to access the platform at no cost. Recently-signed Airbus agreements for airlines to join Skywise Core include Bangkok Airways, LATAM and WOW air.