Thomas Cook and Condor introduce flight only 'Economy Light' fare

To directly compete with the long-haul low-cost carriers, leisure airline Thomas Cook is launching a new 'Economy Light' flight only fare to its long-haul route network.

The new 'Economy Light' follows the typical budget carrier model in that they don't include any hold luggage and passengers can only use online check-in. The fare does include a small cabin bag up to 6kgs as well as a personal item and the onboard experience remains the same for all Economy customers.  

The new base economy light fares are being offered by both Thomas Cook Airlines in the UK and Condor in Germany, Henry Sunley, Commercial Director at Thomas Cook Airlines says, “We wanted to ensure that we provide fares that support the different needs of our customers, which can differ from trip to trip. Economy Light offers an option for those customers who want less amenities for their journey but want to benefit from fantastic cost savings. They are the first fares that we have introduced on a pan-European scale across Thomas Cook Group Airline for our seat-only business.”

American Airlines, Los Angeles World Airports Break Ground on $1.6 Billion Reimagining of Terminals 4 and 5

This week a $1.6 billion modernization project started at Los Angeles International Airport, thanks to  Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) and the USA's leading commercial air transport provider,  American Airlines.

On Wednesday 17th October they officially broke ground on the vast project to fully reimagine Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) Terminals 4 and 5. It is a project that marks American’s largest individual investment at an airport in its 92-year history and reaffirms the airline’s commitment to Los Angeles.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Los Angeles Councilmember Joe Buscaino and LAWA Commissioner Sean Burton and CEO Deborah Flint joined American Airlines Chairman and CEO Doug Parker, Senior Vice President of Los Angeles Suzanne Boda and frontline team members for a ceremony to unveil the project and begin construction in Terminal 5.

“Los Angeles stands at a global crossroads — a place where the world comes to meet, innovate and create,” Garcetti said. “American’s commitment to the reinvention of Terminals 4 and 5 will create good, middle-class jobs and better connect Los Angeles to the world.”

SAF orders six new helicopters from Airbus......

Good news for Airbus Helicopters as French Alps-based civil operator SAF Group has ordered six new helicopters for emergency medical service (EMS) operations, mountain rescue, aerial work and passenger transport it was confirmed this week.

This order is for three light single and three light twin helicopters to be operated in Metropolitan France and in the Reunion Island, where SAF has recently acquired Hélilagon. Delivery of the six aircraft is planned for 2019.  “We are very proud of the long relationship we have with Airbus Helicopters, declared Tristan Serretta, CEO of SAF. “In such a rapidly evolving market, a close relationship with the manufacturer is crucial to guarantee the performance and profitability of our operations.”

The new aircraft will further expand SAF Group’s fleet of 44 Airbus’ helicopters operating seven days a week for all types of civilian rescue and protection operations, alongside safety services. SAF’s fleet is mainly composed of light singles and twins, including 24 helicopters of the H135 family type, making SAF one of the largest H135 commercial operator in France.

“I want to thank SAF for placing their trust once again in Airbus products”, said Olivier Michalon, Senior Vice President, Head of Europe at Airbus Helicopters. “We are certain these new helicopters will meet SAF’s stringent requirements for performance and reliability and will increase their capability to carry out critical missions.”.

British Airways to start a summer service between London and Charleston

Charleston will be on the timetable for next summer, confirms the UK's biggest airline British Airways.

From 4th April 2019, British Airways will launch a two times a week summer service from London Heathrow's Terminal 5 to Charleston and will be the only airline flying direct between Europe and the beautiful South Carolina city.

British Airways say the service will be operated by a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner twice a week until 24th October. Flights are scheduled for Thursdays and Sundays with the BA221 departing from Heathrow at 1720 arriving into Charleston at 2120. The return flight BA220 will depart Charleston at 2250, arriving into London at 1150 the next morning. Fares start at £600 return for economy world traveller cabin, from £928 in the world traveller plus and £1920 in Club World.

 The new route will take the number of US destinations the airline flies to from London next summer up to 29, and the number of daily flights offered by British Airways and American Airlines as part of their transatlantic joint business up to around 73 per day. The airline is also launching a four per week service to Pittsburgh from April 2019.

Sean Doyle, British Airways’ Director of Network and Alliances, said: “You can’t help but get sucked in to the old-world charm of Charleston; its cobblestone streets, colourful houses and historical buildings make it a unique city. So we’re really pleased to be adding this charming city to our extensive global network and giving customers even more choice of holiday destinations.”            

For more information on Charleston visit:  https://www.charlestoncvb.com/


(Photos British Airways)

Lufthansa CityLine to fly the Airbus A319

Welcome news from Germany as Lufthansa CityLine and pilots’ union Vereinigung Cockpit confirm that they have agreed on a new set of employment conditions for their 650 or so pilots. The agreement sets the stage for the introduction of a new, future-proof aircraft type at Lufthansa CityLine. Come 2019, Lufthansa CityLine will start operating A320 family planes taken over from Lufthansa. The first A319-100 aircraft will depart from the Munich hub next spring. Another 5 aircraft will follow by the end of 2020.

Future-proof cockpit collective agreement opens the door for A320 family at 

Lufthansa CityLine for the first time

First Airbus A319 to take off from Munich in spring 2019

Spirit promotes Scott M. Haralson

Super low-cost carrier, Spirit Airlines, announced this week that it had promoted Scott M. Haralson to the position of Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Haralson takes over the CFO role from Edward Morgan Christie who was promoted to President earlier this year and will also become Spirit’s Chief Executive Officer from 1st January 2019.  

In this expanded role, Haralson will serve as a key member of the senior leadership team and oversee Treasury, Investor Relations, Accounting, Financial Planning and Analysis, and Corporate Real Estate.

"For the last six years, Scott has made significant contributions in helping Spirit improve its cost structure and grow its relative cost advantage.  Throughout his tenure at Spirit, Scott has been a key leader within the business, increasing the scope and complexity of his role.  I look forward to working with Scott in this expanded role,” said Ted Christie, Spirit’s President.

Delays in paying wages causes strife for Pakistan International Airlines staff

Staff wages are being delayed as financially troubled Pakistan International Airlines, the national carrier of Pakistan, struggles to survive amid mounting debts. 

Local media is reporting that most staff had not been paid on time, forcing the airline to publicly confirm there had been delays in paying the October staff salaries because of financial constraints, but officials assured that most people had been paid by October 7th.

"It has been very distressing, if we had been told in advance our pay was going to be late, we could have made other arrangements and budgeted for it." Ashok, a PIA employee told us today.   

The airline is said to be raking up losses in excess of PKR2 billion rupees, around  $15 million every month following higher fuel prices, the weaker exchange rates of the rupee, which has drastically dropped in value in recent times. The carrier has also had to cope with increased competition, top-level management changes, corruption, excessive over staffing and maintenance issues - at least five aircraft are out of service at the moment. Another worrying sign came from the Pakistan Stock Exchange which put PIA on warning for not submitting its audit report and convening annual general meetings.  

The future direction of the national carrier is uncertain, the government under the direction of new Prime Minister Mr Khan appointed an Air Vice Marshal from the Air Force, Arshad Malik, to the role of chairman to try and turn the company around.  “The new chairman of the national carrier has been directed to “immediately fix the institution’s economic condition,” the information ministry said after the appointment had been made. 

(Image PIA)

Donated C Series aircraft arrives at École nationale d’aérotechnique

C Series Aircraft Lands at École nationale d’aérotechnique to Start New Training Mission

Yesterday, one of the first and indeed, one of the last Bombardier CSeries aircraft landed for the first time at the St-Hubert airport, where it was officially handed over by Bombardier to the École nationale d’aérotechnique (ÉNA). Hundreds of students welcomed the newest addition to the ÉNA’s fleet at an event attended by professors, staff members and representatives from both Bombardier and Airbus. 

The CS100 aircraft donated by Bombardier was welcomed by hundreds of students at the École nationale d’aérotechnique

This aircraft will enhance aerospace technical training by giving Québec students access to the latest technology in commercial aviation

Atlantic Airways to get second Airbus A320-200neo

Atlantic Airways of the Faroe Islands is all set to get another Airbus A320-200neo on a long-term lease basis from Air Lease Corporation it has been confirmed this week.

This new deal for the A320-200neo is the second of two A320neo aircraft leased to Atlantic Airways and will be delivered in April 2020. 

“ALC is delighted to announce this second A320-200neo lease placement with Atlantic Airways,” said Steven F. Udvar-Házy, Executive Chairman of Air Lease Corporation. “The A320neo will enhance the airline’s fleet operations and exceptional passenger service connecting the Faroe Islands with the world.”

“Atlantic Airways looks very much forward to the lease of the two modern and fuel-efficient Airbus A320-200neo from Air Lease Corporation,” said Jóhanna á Bergi, CEO of Atlantic Airways. “The A320-200neo will increase our seat capacity, enhance passenger experience and Atlantic Airways’ operations as a national carrier, air bridge and lifeline.”

Atlantic is a small local yet international airline that employs around 170 people and operates a current fleet of three aircraft and two helicopters. The airline provides a regular and vital service between the Faroes and a range of cities including Copenhagen, Billund, Aalborg, Bergen, Reykjavik, Edinburgh, Barcelona, Mallorca, Lisbon, Malta and Gran Canaria. In addition, the company’s activities include leasing of aircraft of which half the revenue originate outside of the Faroes. The helicopter department provides a regular service to the outer islands, search-and-rescue activities and offshore transport in the North Atlantic.

(Photo Atlantic Airlines "Elinborg", Airbus 319 (OY-RCG) during the sunset by Ólavur Frederiksen)

Cobalt Collapse - Cypriot low-cost carrier suspends operations...........Blue Air to offer some rescue flights

The Cypriot low-cost airline Cobalt has suspended all operations indefinitely, stranding hundreds of passengers across Europe.   

The airline flew to 23 destinations around Europe - including the London airports of Heathrow, Stansted and Gatwick. The airline, that started in 2016, also flew to Manchester and destinations in the Middle East and Russia. 

Cobalt posted a message on its website shortly before midnight yesterday, Wednesday, October 17th advising passengers than it had cancelled all flights future flights and that they should contact their travel agents or credit card providers for a refund.  

According to local media, the airline had been trying to get extra finance for some time, both from its Chinese backers as well as new sources. However, the management had been unsuccessful in that attempt to save the company.  

The airline employed around 200 people and had grown rapidly in the two years since the start of its operations when it filled a gap in the market left when the former Cyprus Airways went bankrupt. However, the airline had faced greatly increased competition from low-cost rivals and the newly formed Cyprus Airways. 

Read on to find out details of Blue Air's special rescue flights and fares for stranded Cobalt passengers.

Ryanair to swtich handling agent at London Stanstead early next year....bad news for passengers!

The low-cost airline Ryanair announced this week that it was switching handling agents at its largest and perhaps most important bases, London Stanstead Airport.

From 1st February 2019, OmniServ will take over from Swissport and start providing all of Ryanair’s check-in, baggage and ground operations handling at Stansted. This is a massive undertaking for Omniserv, who will be operating under the name of Blue Handling, as Ryanair operates more than 200 flights a day from London Stanstead.

It isn't clear how, after an extensive tendering process OmniServ managed to steal the contract off Swissport, who will continue to handle Ryanair’s operations at over 40 other airports across Europe and the UK. OmniServ have an incredibly poor reputation, many passengers cite rude staff, lack of understanding, abandoning disabled passengers and incredibly slow service. The company has a one-star rating on Trustpilot, which might indicate why they are going to be operating under the name of Blue Handling! 

Flybe expects big losses this year, the share price dives and analysts fear for its future.

The UK's regional airline Flybe issued a profits warning on Wednesday, October 17th blaming a weaker British pound, higher fuel prices and a drop in demand for the fall in revenues.

Shares in the company slumped even further after the news broke, prompting many in the industry to question the airlines' long-term survival. By the close of business on Wednesday, the share price had dropped by 41% and could drop even further.

Whilst the airline has seen good revenue performance during the first part of the year,  it faces even more difficulties during the second half. Increasingly high fuel prices are just part of the story, the airline also cites unfavourable currency rates as having an impact on the company's bottom line, increased carbon costs are another issue.

Flybe has in recent times cut routes and capacity to focus on the more popular routes in wide UK network, which seemed to be working as the airline saw load factors were up to just over 86%. The airline had also started to get rid of some of its Embraer jets, which had high leasing contracts and were not as economically suited to the short, regional routes that FlyBe mostly operate. 

Planes grounded for up to three weeks if there is a no deal Brexit..........

STOP PRESS, hold the front page, don't press 'post now' just yet,  the boss of one of the largest airlines in Europe has issued a dire warning that planes could be grounded for up to three weeks in the event of a no deal Brexit!

This would be major news, it would lead all the news bulletins had the boss uttering those supremely pessimistic words not been Michael O'Leary, the aggressive boss of low-cost airline Ryanair.  

O'Leary has a long history of bashing Brexit and urging on the most pessimistic of predictions in the event of a no deal scenario. Back in September, he warned flights would be grounded for between a couple of days or a couple of weeks, all this, his latest outburst, made in Brussels on Wednesday, October 17th, does is extend the period of the grounding of flights could face. In August 2017 he said the UK was in denial over aviation. 

However, such a massive grounding of aircraft may have nothing to do with regulations or licencing, it could be because the airlines have chosen to voluntary ground the planes. O'Leary's said that his airline, Ryanair, may ground flights after Brexit anyway, just to teach voters a lesson and persuade them to "rethink" Brexit.  In an article in UK's Telegraph, it details how the outspoken CEO told the leaders of other European airlines, he wanted to "create an opportunity" for forcing Brexit supporters to learn they will "no longer going to have cheap holidays". Leading the call to other airlines to support a mass grounding of aircraft, he said: "I think it's in our interests - not for a long period of time - that the aircraft are grounded.". 

He wasn't alone in believing that the European airlines should punish the British for voting to leave the EU, Lufthansa boss Carsten Spohr speaking at the same event said: "If we could use this industry to prove to the British how wrong the decision was, that might be a good thing."

Aeromexico cuts fleet and axes routes as losses bite

Aeromexico has confirmed today that it is cutting its fleet as its losses mount and costs continue to rise during challenging times for the aviation industry.

The company says it will retire three Embraer 170s and two Boeing 737-700s from service after a fleet review in an effort to ensure fleet flexibility and reduces its operational costs. Aeromexico has continued to deliver an operating profit, the company has delivered a net loss so far this year. 

As a result of this capacity reduction, these aircraft retirements will cause, the airline will suspend a number of routes, including - Mexico City to Boston, Washington Dulles & Portland; Monterrey to Las Vegas, Tijuana, Merida & Veracruz; and Guadalajara to Cancun and San Jose, California. Aeromexico has indicated that the affected routes will start to be halted during the spring of 2019.  

United Airlines releases latest results

The US leading mega-carrier, United Airlines has released its third-quarter 2018 financial results today which detailed a third-quarter net income of $836 million.

The airline saw impressive growth, despite the recent storms, although excessive fuel prices took a toll on the profits for the carrier. "Our stand-out third-quarter performance, which produced double-digit revenue growth as we more than offset the steep increase in fuel costs, is proof that United is building momentum," said Oscar Munoz, chief executive officer of United Airlines. "Our growth plan has been essential to our success, and we're more confident than ever we'll achieve the ambitious adjusted earnings per share1 target of $11 to $13 we laid out for 2020.".