Puerto Vallarta service from Abbotsford starts for Swoop

Today the low-cost carrier from WestJet, Swoop celebrates its inaugural flight from Abbotsford International Airport (YXX) to Puerto Vallarta's Licenciado Gustavo Díaz Ordaz International Airport (PVR). Swoop flight WO600 departs from Abbotsford at 12:20 p.m. PST and arrives in Puerto Vallarta at 7:02 p.m. CST.

This marks Swoop's second inaugural flight to Puerto Vallarta this week, the first from Hamilton, Ontario on January 8, 2019.  Travellers can also enjoy flights from Hamilton to Cancun beginning January 14, 2019 and Abbotsford to Mazatlán beginning January 20, 2019.

"Mexico is an important market for Swoop, with an estimated 1.9 million Canadians visiting every year," said Karen McIsaac, Senior Advisor of Communications at Swoop. "We are pleased to see many first-time snowbird vacationers on our flights to Mexico which is confirmation of our mission to bring affordable fares to more Canadians, allowing them to travel more often."

A New “Tail” to Tell for a Tulsa Hangar

 It’s a new era for a World War II-era hangar at Tulsa for American Airlines

On January 9th, American's Tech Ops – Tulsa team officially reopened Hangar 2’s Dock 2D for business after a tail slot modification that allows it to house larger aircraft. Tulsa city leaders, the Airport Authority, Chamber leaders, TWU Local 514 leadership and several hundred team members attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

Hangar 2 is one of four hangars that were part of the original base when American relocated its Maintenance operation to Tulsa from LGA in 1946. The hangars were built to accommodate smaller aircraft than we commonly fly today. Most recently, Dock 2D was used for maintenance on the McDonnell Douglas MD-80.

The modification — nicknamed the doghouse because of how it looks from the front — allows larger aircraft to fit completely into the dock, including the tail. The hangar ceiling had to be raised to accommodate the tail section and the new slot, and various structural beams, utilities and wiring had to be reworked to create the slot opening. The hangar’s two smaller doors became one larger door, and another door was added for the tail slot itself. Three other docks in the Hangar 1/2 complex in Tulsa have received similar modifications over the last several years.

Before on the left and after on the right.

   

Jet2 to add extra Corfu flight from Newcastle for summer

The UK's holiday airline Jet2 add more flights to the Greek island of Corfu from Newcastle Airport this summer, as demand from local holidaymakers hots up.

The airlines advises it will put on an additional service every Tuesday between July and the end of September, representing an extra 2,500 departing seats on sale.

The Tuesday morning flights are perfectly timed for holidaymakers wishing to head to resorts such as Sidari, Kavos, Acharavi and Kassiopi, and come in addition to the company’s existing Monday services which are operating from May until October in Summer 19.

Steve Heapy, CEO of Jet2 and Jet2holidays said: “Our commitment to providing award-winning flights and holidays means that we continue to attract more and more customers from Newcastle airport, and today’s announcement is yet more evidence of that. Corfu is a destination that is really hotting up for Summer 19, so we are delighted to be adding more flights and holidays, giving local holidaymakers even more choice and flexibility when it comes to getting to the Greek sunshine.”

Wizz Air to launch flights to Santander

Wizz Air, Romania’s largest airline and the fastest growing airline in Europe has announced a new route between Bucharest and Santander, starting from the 23rd of April 2019. The flights will be operated twice/week during the summer season, on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Romanians can already plan their trip to Santander as tickets are already on sales from €19.99. 

Santander is a popular destination at the Atlantic Ocean that offers opportunities for everyone. Those seeking to relax under the sun can enjoy the local beaches and bars while others in search of the area’s cultural heritage can visit the many museums and cathedrals representing the region’s rich history.

The Spanish city is the 9 destination Wizz Air offers from Bucharest to Spain, besides Barcelona, Alicante, Madrid, Castellón, Málaga, Valencia, Tenerife and Zaragoza. Santander, situated in the Calabrian region, will be the 45th destination from Bucharest and the 145 destinations in the Wizz Air network.

Massive route expansion for Sun Country

Sun Country 737            Photo Sun Country Airlines

It has been tipped as the biggest route network expansion in the history of Sun Country Airlines!  This week the budget carrier announced its plans to launch 19 new seasonal nonstop routes and seven new airports. 

The network expansion includes eight new nonstop routes for the airline’s home base of Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) and eight new nonstop routes in recently expanded markets Nashville, Tennessee, Dallas Fort Worth and Portland, Oregon. The airline will also expand nonstop destinations from Las Vegas, and welcome San Antonio and Providence, Rhode Island to its growing network.

“Today is a very exciting day in the history of Sun Country as we make this tremendous step forward in growing our airline,” said Sun Country Airlines CEO Jude Bricker. “This network expansion allows us to provide even more destination options to our community, create new jobs in the Twin Cities market and further our reach across the country. We look forward to bringing our mission of offering leisure travellers safe, reliable service at a great price to more people and places.”

Air Dolomiti launches the new livery

Under the sign of its growth plan for 2019, Air Dolomiti, the Italian airline in the Lufthansa Group, unveiled its new livery earlier this week at the Catullo airport of Verona. 

The new aircraft takes off with an

exclusive flight in the skies over Verona

The first Air Dolomiti aircraft, painted in England, has a simple, modern and elegant design that launches the revamped image with a total white style intended to bring out the turquoise colour of the tail fin, where the diamond triumphs in all its splendour. 

Hawaiian Airlines Carries Record 11.8 Million Passengers in 2018

Hawaiian Airlines, has today announced its system-wide traffic statistics for the month, quarter, and full year ended December 31, 2018. 

The airline welcomed a record 11,840,178 guests in 2018, a 2.9% increase over the previous year.  The record number of passengers in 2018 marks 14 straight years of growth as Hawaiian continues to expand its network and fleet, providing travellers options to fly to, from, and within the Hawaiian Islands than any other carrier.

Hawaiian took delivery of nine A321neo aircraft in 2018, bringing the total size of its A321neo fleet to 11 aircraft.  The A321neo will help the airline build upon its already strong U.S. West Coast presence, including new daily non-stop service to Maui's Kahului Airport from Portland, Sacramento and San Diego international airports, as well as to Honolulu's Daniel K. Inouye International Airport from Long Beach.  The airline will also begin new five-times-a-week non-stop service to Honolulu from Boston's Logan International Airport on April 4th.     

Angie Owens Named American Airlines Controller

Today, American Airlines announced that Angie Owens will succeed Mike Carreon as Vice President and Corporate Controller, effective March 1, 2019. Mike is set to retire after 24 years with the company once the 2018 reporting season concludes.

At that point, Angie will begin overseeing all accounting operations, including external reporting, tax, financial systems and internal controls, as well as the company’s payment processing. She has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of American Airlines Federal Credit Union for the past 10 years. Angie is currently serving as Vice President of Finance at American during the transition.

Indonesian Air Force places order for eight additional H225Ms

Under the agreement between the Indonesian Ministry of Defence and PT Dirgantara Indonesia (Persero) (PTDI), the 11-ton combat-proven helicopters will be delivered to the air force upon reassembly and completion of the mission equipment outfitting and customisation by PTDI at its facility in Bandung, Indonesia. These additional helicopters will join the air force’s existing fleet of six H225Ms to perform similar combat search and rescue missions.

“We welcome Indonesia’s selection of our H225M helicopters for their expanding fleet. The H225M is a combat-proven helicopter that is well regarded by military customers worldwide, and Indonesia’s additional order speaks strongly of their confidence in Airbus’ helicopters,” said Ben Bridge, Executive Vice President, Global Business of Airbus Helicopters. “Indonesia continues to play a vital role in Airbus Helicopters’ global industrial footprint. With a trusted partner in PTDI, we stand ready to support the availability of Indonesia’s fleet.”

Frontier to launch 22 new routes................

The US low-fare carrier, Frontier Airlines is launching 22 new non-stop routes from Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU), Las Vegas McCarran International Airport (LAS), Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) and Orlando International Airport (MCO). The new services will begin in spring 2019. 

“With the addition of these 22 new routes, Frontier has added its 106th city, Boston, and increased service in 19 other cities across our network,” said Daniel Shurz, Senior Vice President, Commercial for Frontier Airlines. “We continue to make air travel more accessible and affordable for Americans. We look forward to making it easier for people to fly, and for people to fly more often.”

airBaltic on time every time.........

The Latvian Government owned airline, airBaltic celebrated its 2018 performance record, it operated 99.8% of its planned flights during the year.  Just 0.2% of flights were cancelled last year due to different circumstances, including delays caused by strikes in European airports and weather conditions.

Martin Gauss, CEO of airBaltic: “When a notable proportion of our clients travel using a transfer via Riga, it is instrumental for us to provide them a reliable service. As one of the most punctual carriers globally, we always strive to improve our service and our passengers can count on us. Even though last summer in Europe was especially tough due to widespread strikes across the continent, we maintained the world-leading punctuality and regularity ratings, enabling passengers to use our convenient connections with ease,” 

On January 3rd, 2019, it was announced the had been recognized as the most punctual airline in Europe for 2018 by OAG analysts, who tracked the performance of a total of over 58 million flight records. airBaltic has been on the top of the global on-time performance ranking for the past five consecutive years.

A third group of students began their study process at airBaltic's Pilot Academy on January 10th, 2019. The third group of 11 students will become airBaltic pilots upon completion of the full-time programme in less than two years from now.

Pauls Cālītis, airBaltic SVP Flight Operations: “The students that received their first epaulettes today have passed the same meticulous application process all our pilots go through. Being the only pilot academy in the Baltic region that is linked to an airline, our students benefit greatly while learning from the first-hand experience of our professional instructors. We launched our Pilot Academy last spring, and since then we have received four state-of-the-art Diamond Aircraft and a flight simulator, established training facilities at Liepāja Airport. Over 30 Baltic students are now on their way to fulfill their dreams and become commercial pilots,"

airBaltic serves over 70 destinations from Riga, Tallinn and Vilnius, offering the largest variety of destinations and convenient connections via Riga to its network spanning Europe, Scandinavia, the CIS and the Middle East. For summer 2019, airBaltic will launch new direct routes from Riga to Dublin, Stuttgart and Lviv. In addition, next summer airBaltic has introduced three new destinations from Tallinn to Malaga, Brussels and Copenhagen.     

(Images from airBaltic)

Thunder Bay to become a maintenance base for Porter Airlines

Photo Porter

The Canadian regional airline Porter has announced this week that it will further invest in Thunder Bay International Airport with the opening of a new aircraft maintenance base at the airport. 

This development contributes to Porter servicing its fleet of 29 Bombardier Q400 aircraft and will create 18 full-time jobs in the city from February this year.  This follows on from the investment the airline has already made at Thunder Bay with a cabin crew and pilot base at the airport a year or so ago. 

Thunder Bay has the right combinations of factors for Porter's decision to open the maintenance base at the airport, including a rich pool of talent to operate the facility, plus the availability of hangar space and is also already a Porter operational base. 

Photo Thunder Bay International Airport      

British Airways introduces electric vehicles to its fleet

British Airways has introduced a brand new and environmentally-friendly electric cab service at its Heathrow home, giving customers the opportunity to experience travelling in a legendary London taxi without leaving the airport.

The London Electric Vehicle Company (LEVC) taxi features WiFi, phone, laptop and USB charging and a panoramic roof - great for plane spotting.

In addition, customers can expect a smooth ride, air-conditioning and a spacious cabin with room for all of customers’ hand luggage.

Airline introduces iconic London taxis within Heathrow

Providing a service for premium connecting customers

Part of British Airways’ commitment to reduce vehicle emissions at the airport

Airbus starts US recruitment drive

US Jobs

Airbus, in conjunction with its hiring partner AIDT, is seeking its first candidates to fill manufacturing positions for its newest assembly line in Mobile, Alabama. The positions are the first wave of production jobs announced for the company’s A220 aircraft assembly line. The open positions include aircraft structure/installation mechanics, installers for aircraft cabin furnishings and aircraft electricians.

Successful candidates for all positions will participate in several weeks of training at AIDT in a combination of classroom and on-the-job training. Some candidates will also have the opportunity for on-the-job training with the company’s manufacturing team in Mirabel, Canada before returning to Mobile. Production on the first aircraft begins in the third quarter of 2019.

Aircraft structure/installation mechanics are responsible for the structural installation of parts and major components in the aircraft. Installers for aircraft cabin furnishings are responsible for installing various cabin amenities into the aircraft including cabin equipment, floor covering, cockpits, cargo and doors. Aircraft electricians are responsible for the electrical installations, connections, bonding, measuring and troubleshooting within the aircraft. For the first wave of hiring, the company prefers candidates to have at least two years of experience in aerospace/aviation production.

In addition to the positions for the new A220 production facility, Airbus is also hiring for similar production positions in its current A320 production facility. In total, the company expects to hire approximately 600 new employees over the next 18 months.

For a full job description of all the positions and to apply, go to airbususmanufacturing.applicantpro.com/jobs.

The A220 production facility will be located at the Brookley Aeroplex in Mobile, Alabama, adjacent to Airbus’ A320 Family production lines and will build aircraft for U.S.-based customers. The assembly line, which will create more jobs and further strengthen the aerospace industry, is part of Airbus’ strategy to enhance its global competitiveness by meeting the growing needs of its customers in the United States and elsewhere. A220 aircraft assembly is planned to start in 2019.

Airbus starts US recruitment drive 

Marrakesh to become a new destination for Turkish Airlines

The national flag carrier of Turkey, Turkish Airlines can date its history to as far back as 1933 when it had just five aircraft. Today the carrier has a fleet of 332 aircraft, although some of those are cargo variants, and is among the top airlines of the world. 

The carrier has confirmed that from March 27th this year it will operate a service from its home base of Istanbul to the beautiful and historic Moroccan city of Marrakesh.  The service will operate five times a week and are scheduled for a departure around 11.30, arriving Marrakesh at 14.30 local time.  The flight back departs around 15.15 landing in Turkey at around 22.05.  The airline plans to operate these flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. 

The new Morocco services are just the latest in a raft of new routes to come from the carrier as part of its global expansion programme that will see it have more than 500 aircraft by the end of 2023. 

Indigo to rescue WOW for $75 million

Indigo Partners,  the power behind airlines such as Wizz air and Volaris is coming to the rescue of WOW air after months of uncertainty for the Icelandic budget carrier.

Many routes had been axed, some aircraft sold, staff sacked as the debts mounted for the small carrier, however  Indigo, after tough negotiations will be investing around $75million into WOW. Indigo Partners intends to, and their interests are also aligned to, adequately capitalize WOW through the turn-around as they have done before with other successful aviation businesses. 

The investment will primarily be in the form of a loan with a 10-year maturity and the initial shareholding of Indigo Partners will be 49%. Subject to foreign ownership regulations, Indigo Partners could obtain additional equity should the conversion option be exercised during the period of the loan, WOW's boss Skuli Mogensen explained in a letter to the airlines' other investors. WOW will make payments for and up to $1.5m each year to Indigo for potential advisory services. 

U.S. Air Force Accepts First Boeing KC-46A Pegasus Tanker Aircraft

The U.S. Air Force has accepted the first Boeing [NYSE: BA] KC-46A Pegasus tanker aircraft, setting the stage for the aircraft’s delivery to McConnell Air Force Base, in Wichita, Kan., in the coming weeks.

“The KC-46A is a proven, safe, multi-mission aircraft that will transform aerial refuelling and mobility operations for decades to come. We look forward to working with the Air Force, and the Navy, during their initial operational test and evaluation of the KC-46, as we further demonstrate the operational capabilities of this next-generation aircraft across refuelling, mobility and combat weapons systems missions,” said Leanne Caret, president and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space & Security. “I want to thank the men and women of the Air Force and across the Boeing tanker team who made this happen.”     

Pictured above - Nick Cenci, Major, USAF Chief of Flight Operations DCMA (Seattle) (left) and Anthony Mariapain, Major, USAF KC-46 Chief Pilot DCMA (Seattle) stand in front of the KC-46A Pegasus at Boeing Field in advance of the U.S. Air Force acceptance of Boeing’s first tanker. Maj. Cenci and Maj. Mariapain led flight acceptance testing on the jet. (Boeing photo)

With 142 million passengers in 2018, the Lufthansa Group is number one in Europe

In 2018, the airlines of the Lufthansa Group carried a total of 142 million passengers, setting a new passenger record. With more than 1.2 million flights and a seat load factor of 81.4 %, the aircraft load factor was higher than ever before.

The growth drivers for the network airlines were the Zurich hub and the Munich and Vienna hubs, with passenger growth of 9.5%, 9.3% cent and 8.5% respectively. The number of passengers at the Frankfurt hub grew by 4.7% in 2018. Eurowings also contributed to the Lufthansa Group's new passenger record in 2018 with growth of 18 %.

In December, the freight capacity was 4.7 per cent higher than in the previous year and the tonne-kilometres sold 0.4 per cent higher. This results in a payload factor of 66.1 per cent, which is 2.8 percentage points lower. In 2018, total freight capacity was 4.3 percent higher than in the previous year. At the same time, sales increased by 0.8 per cent in this period. At 66.4 per cent, the load factor was 2.3 percentage points lower than in the previous year. 

Joon's operations to be absorbed into Air France

Billed as an airline exclusively for millennials, Joon from Air France was supposed to offer a new level of service, create a fresh style in the skies and was supposed to offer more of an 'experience' than a flight.  Yet, the dream didn't last and now the end is near for the pretentious carrier according to reports in latribune.fr.

It has lasted little over a year and according to the report by Fabrice Gliszczynski the airline is officially coming to an end with the management agreeing with unions on moving across the 600 or so Joon cabin crew into Air France main fleet operations. The rest of Joon's operations will be absorbed into Air France and the Joon brand will slowly disappear. 

Air France issued the following statement to confirm the start of a project to absorb the operations of Joon back into Air France.

Turkish Airlines to start flights to Mexico City and Cancun

Turkish B787     Photo Turkish Airlines

Turkish Airlines will be launching a service from its mega hub home base of Istanbul to Mexico City and onwards to Cancun in the summer.

The airline says it will start the route on August 21st this year and will operate three times a week and will leave Istanbul in the evening, flying to Mexico City early morning and then after an hour and twenty minutes or so on the ground will fly onwards to Cancun. The return flight will operate directly to Istanbul from Cancun and depart early morning arriving the next day.