Red sky at night...............Virgin's new No and Low Cocktails....

Virgin Atlantic is in the news at the moment, firstly for its joint bid to take over troubled UK regional airline FlyBe, Secondly because the airline, majority owned by Delta, it is launching a no and low alcohol cocktail menu on some of its flights.

The No Lo menu has been designed in partnership with Seedlip, the world’s first distilled non-alcoholic spirits and Regal Rogue, the Australian quaffing vermouth and is available across in Economy, Premium and Upper Class cabins.

The menu has been created to offer customers choosing not to drink alcohol onboard, a grown up option with unique flavours.

Finnair introduces CO2 offsetting and biofuel service for customers

Finnair today introduced a service, where its customers can offset the CO2 emissions of their flights by supporting a CO2 emission reduction project or reduce emissions by buying biofuel. Push for change service is available on Finnair web pages at www.finnair.com/pushforchange and customers can also use Finnair Plus frequent flyer points to pay for the service. 

Finnair offsets the CO2 emissions of its own personnel’s duty travel through the CO2 emission reduction project. 

Delta's December and 2018 results

The US giant carrier Delta Air Lines has this week reported its latest financial results for last month and the whole of 2018.

According to the figures, Delta made an adjusted pre-tax income of $5.1 billion last year!  Adjusted pre-tax income for the December quarter 2018 was $1.2 billion driven by over $700 million of revenue growth, allowing the company to fully recapture the $508 million increase in adjusted fuel expense and produce an 11% adjusted pre-tax margin.  Adjusted earnings per share increased by 42 % year over year to $1.30.

For the full year, adjusted pre-tax income was $5.1 billion, a $137 million decrease relative to 2017 as the company overcame approximately 90% of the $2 billion increase in fuel expense.  Full year adjusted earnings per share were $5.65, up 19% compared to the prior year as the company recognized benefits from tax reform and a four % lower share count.

“2018 was a successful year for Delta with record operational reliability, increasing customer satisfaction, and solid financial results in the face of higher fuel costs.  Delta people are the foundation of our success and I am honored to recognize their efforts with $1.3 billion in profit sharing for 2018,” said Ed Bastian, Delta’s chief executive officer.  “As we move into 2019, we expect to drive double-digit earnings growth through higher revenues, maintaining a cost trajectory below inflation, and the modest benefit from lower fuel costs.  Margin expansion is a business imperative and we remain confident in our full-year earnings guidance of $6 to $7 per share.”

The Airbus A220 gets approval to operate further away from airports, paving the way from transatlantic operations

A220 airliner wins approval from Transport Canada for

180 minutes ETOPS capability

A major step in the operational development of the Airbus A220, the aircraft formally known as the Bombardier CSeries jet, occurred with the awarding of approval from Transport Canada for 180-minute extended operations (ETOPS*).

Yes, the newest addition to the Airbus family, the A220, has received 180-minute extended operations (ETOPS*) approval from the Canadian civil aviation authority, Transport Canada. This approval allows the A220  to be able to perform new direct non-limiting routings over water. It can now, operate up to 180 minutes from the nearest airport. This could mean that an airline might want to put an A220 on a route from London, or elsewhere in the UK to New York. Many might think that no airline would put a single-aisle small aircraft on a transatlantic route. But, the UK's British Airways has an all business class/club world Airbus A318  operating between London City Airport and New York's JFK. The aircraft has a 50-minute refuelling stop in Shannon on the way out, where passengers pre-clear US customs.  The A220 already has the ability to operate in and out of London City Airport, so maybe in the not too distant future, we could see the type crossing the Atlantic.

Emirates 2019 schedule adjustments

One of the world's leading airlines, Emirates is making a number of adjustments to its operational schedules in 2019 designed to minimise the impact of the closure of Dubai International Airport’s Southern Runway in April and May 2019.

The airline has also outlined its fleet plans for the year, Sir Tim Clark, President Emirates Airline, said: “At Emirates, we pride ourselves on being a customer-focused airline with a commercially-driven business model. We invest in a modern and efficient aircraft fleet so we can offer industry-leading comforts to our customers, and we are agile in deploying our aircraft to destinations where it best serves customer demand.

“The changes we are implementing to our network schedules in 2019 are in line with this approach, taking into consideration global market dynamics and operational limitations including the maintenance work on Dubai Airport’s Southern Runway. Through the year, we will continue to keep a close watch on global markets and will maintain our flexibility to optimise the usage of our aircraft assets.”

A significant number of scheduled Emirates flights will be impacted by the closure of Dubai International Airport’s Southern Runway for maintenance work between 16 April and 30 May 2019.

Given the limitations around operating flights using a single runway at its hub, many Emirates flights will be cancelled, re-timed or have the operating aircraft changed in order to reduce impact on customers. This will result in up to 48 Emirates aircraft not being utilised, with a 25% reduction in the overall number of flights operated by the airline during the 45-day period.

Malaysia Airlines Reinstates Flights to Kochi

Malaysia Airlines today announced its return to Kochi with its inaugural flight on 31 March 2019.

The airline will be flying daily Kochi via MH108, serviced by the B737-800, which will depart Kuala Lumpur at 10.40pm and arrive Kochi at 12.01am the following day. The return flight, MH109 will depart Kochi at 1am and will arrive Kuala Lumpur at 7.50am the same day.

Malaysia Airlines Group Chief Executive Officer, Captain Izham Ismail said, “Due to increasing demand, we are happy to announce our return on the daily Kuala Lumpur-Kochi route. India has always been an important market and therefore, reinstating Kochi makes business sense. We also have recently increased capacity on the Kuala Lumpur-Mumbai route by swapping one of the B737-800 aircraft to the widebody A330-300 as this shows our commitment to the India market.”

Malaysia Airlines will be having a special promotion in conjunction with its inaugural flight, for travel from 31 March 2019 until 31 August 2019. From now until 20 January 2019, customers can look forward to fly from as low as RM299 all-in return on Economy Class to Kochi and from as low as RM899 all-in return on Business Class.

These special fares include 30kg baggage allowance on Economy Class or 40kg baggage allowance on Business class, complimentary meals and inflight entertainment.     -- -

(Images Malaysian Airlines)

Air Canada Announces Improvements to Capacity Purchase Agreement with Jazz Aviation and Equity Investment of $97.26 million in Chorus

                           Air Canada today announced an agreement to amend and extend the Capacity Purchase Agreement (CPA) with Jazz Aviation LP, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chorus Aviation Inc., under which Jazz currently operates certain regional Air Canada Express flights. The amendments should provide long term stability for Chorus, reaffirming Jazz as Air Canada's most significant Express carrier well into the future, as well as enabling growth on Chorus' leasing business through Air Canada's equity investment and the predictability of Jazz's cash flow from CPA operations until 2035.  The amendments will bolster the strength and competitiveness of the Air Canada Express brand and its coast-to-coast regional network, and provide significant CPA savings for Air Canada, while optimising network and fleet flexibility when compared to the current agreement.

Amendments to existing Capacity Purchase Agreement (CPA) with Jazz will extend duration of the CPA by ten years from January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2035; Amendments are subject to ratification of a tentative collective agreement between Jazz and ALPA on behalf of its pilots.
Amendments will simplify and modernise Jazz's fleet and provide additional regional fleet flexibility for Air Canada; Projected annual CPA savings of $50 million in each of 2019 and 2020 from both fixed fee and performance incentive reductions.
Upon Amendments becoming effective, Air Canada will make an equity investment of $97.26 million in Chorus and Michael Rousseau, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Air Canada, will be appointed to Chorus' Board of Directors.

AirAsia major system upgrade causes long downtime.....

Budget carrier AirAsia will be upgrading its Navitaire New Skies reservation system this weekend as part of its continuing effort to provide guests with an enhanced online experience.

The low-cost airline says that flight booking will be unavailable during this period from 2.00pm on Saturday, 19 January 2019 (GMT +8) to 3.00am on Sunday, 20 January 2019 on airasia.com. This downtime will also halt reservations on the AirAsia mobile app, at AirAsia sales offices, counters and call centres.

Passengers will also not be able to perform self-check in via the web, mobile app or more importantly at airport kiosks. They also will not be able to manage their bookings until the upgrade is completed.

Frontier Airlines’ Pilots Ratify Five-Year Collective Bargaining Agreement

The low-cost carrier that some say is putting passenger safety at risk, by fostering and promoting the belief that cabin crew members are just waiters and waitresses with the introduction of mandatory tips on inflight sales as agreed on a deal with its pilots.  

Frontier Airlines and its pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA), announced the ratification of a new five-year working agreement today. Of the 99 percent of pilots who voted, 77 percent cast ballots in favor of the agreement.

Frontier Airlines’ agreement with ALPA includes an average 53 percent across-the-board pay increase on date of signing, double-digit direct contributions to pilots’ retirement plans, and $75 million in ratification compensation.

Alaska Air Group reports December 2018 and full-year operational results

Photo Alaska Airlines

Alaska Air Group Inc. today reported December and full-year operational results on a consolidated basis, for its mainline operations operated by subsidiaries Alaska Airlines Inc. and for its regional flying operated by subsidiary Horizon Air Industries Inc. and third-party regional carriers SkyWest Airlines and Peninsula Airlines.

On Jan. 11, 2018, Alaska and Virgin America consolidated their operations onto a Single Operating Certificate. Results for Alaska and Virgin America have been combined into a single mainline operation.    

Finnair opens new routes to Sapporo and Punta Cana for winter 2019/2020

As part of its growth strategy, Finnair will open a new route for the winter 2019/2020 season to Sapporo, Japan. Finnair will fly the new route from Dec 15 to 27 March with two weekly frequencies. Sapporo is well known as a great winter and skiing destination offering stunning landscapes and fantastic winter-themed activities in a traditional Japanese setting. Sapporo will be Finnair’s fifth destination in Japan, in addition to Tokyo Narita, Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka.

“Japan is a key market for us, and we are excited about adding Sapporo to our network” says Christian Lesjak, Senior Vice President, Network and Resource Management. “Finnair is the only European airline to fly a scheduled route to Sapporo, and with five key Japanese cities in our network, we are now the largest European carrier flying to Japan.”

Finnair will also be opening a new weekly flight to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. The flight to Punta Cana will be operated with an Airbus A350 aircraft once a week between 13 December and 27 March. The Dominican Republic is a favourite destination during the winter for sun-seeking travellers, offering fantastic sandy beaches and great family resorts, and excellent golf courses. Finnair also flies once a week to Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic during the winter season.

As announced earlier, Finnair will also increase flights to Hong Kong during winter 2019/2020, with double daily flights to Hong Kong continuing from the summer 2019 season throughout the winter season. Finnair flies to seven cities in Greater China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Xi’an, Chongqing, Nanjing, Guangzhou and Hong Kong.   

Cancun welcomes Swoop's inaugural flight from Hamilton

The ultra low-cost carrier from Canadian giant WestJet, Swoop celebrates its inaugural flight between John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport (YHM) and Cancun International Airport (CUN). The four-hour non-stop flight departs Hamilton at 8:00 a.m. EST and arrives Cancun at 11:59 a.m. EST.

The Cancun International Airport and tourism partners are welcoming travellers upon landing with a water arch, live mariachi band, refreshments and gift bags.

This marks Swoop's third inaugural flight to Mexico this month with service to Puerto Vallarta kicking-off from Hamilton and Abbotsford last week. Swoop will celebrate one more inaugural on January 20, 2019 between Abbotsford and Mazatlán.

"Mexico is one of the leading value destinations this winter," said Karen McIsaac, Senior Advisor of Communications at Swoop. "Cancun, particularly known for miles of pristine beach, is being enjoyed by more Canadians who are choosing to fly with Swoop and are spending their savings on activities to enhance their total vacation experience."     

15 dead after cargo plane crash in Iran

At least 15 people have been killed by in the crash of a Boeing 707 cargo aircraft near the Iranian capital, Tehran. 

According to local reports, the vintage Boeing 707 veered off the runway, went through a wall and collided with a house near the airport.  The aircraft had been trying to land at Fath airport in Karaj, some 25 miles west of the Iranian capital of Tehran.  The weather is reported to have been considered 'poor' at the time of the incident.

It is understood the aircraft was carrying meat and other supplies from the Kyrgyz capital, Bishkek to the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps controlled Fath airport base.  

Local TV is reporting that the aircraft's black boxes have been found at the scene and that that out of 16 people onboard the aircraft, only one had survived - said to be the flight engineer. Also reported by the local media is that aircraft was confirmed to be owned by Iran and all onboard were of Iranian nationality. 

Images from the scene seem to show the aircraft was adorned with the civilian airline livery of the Iranian Air Force. It is unclear at this stage if the 707 was supposed to be landing at Fath or had mistaken the airport from the nearby commercial Payam International Airport, which has a much longer runway. 

Some Iranian and local regional commentators believe the US imposed sanctions have had a negative impact on the Iranian aviation industry, forcing airline and operators in the country to fly aircraft long after their airworthiness could no longer be assured. 

 (Photos EPA).

Lion Air crash black box found

Officials from the Indonesian search and rescue have found and retrieved the cockpit voice recorder from the Lion Air Boeing 737 that crashed killing 189 people in October 2018.

The rescue teams also found human remains at the same location in the Java Sea local officials have confirmed. However, the bright orange cockpit voice recorder had broken in two when it was located in around 165ft or 50m away from where the fight data recorder black box had been found in November. 

It is hoped that the recorder will help to provide crucial insights into the last moments of flight JT610, to help pinpoint what went wrong and how much the faulty equipment on the latest Boeing 737 model contributed to the crash.    

The Indonesian navy confirmed the recorder had been damaged and had been found in water that was approximately 321ft / 98m  deep and was buried in mud said to be 8th down.  A spokesperson from the navy confirmed that a weak signal from the recorder had been detected several days ago and was slowly retrieved.

 

Tip the next big thing?

Fancy tails trolling for tips                                                                                         Photo Frontier

Just before 2019 dawned,  JT Genter over at TPG alerted us to an unusual sight, cabin crew from a US budget carrier virtually demanding a tip for selling overpriced drinks on a flight. 

The Indigo Partners airline, Frontier, has introduced a change to its inflight service which now means its in-flight point of sales machines now require a 'gratuity' to be entered when purchasing something from the food and beverage carts.  

Of course, the airline might say, there is an option to decline to pay the tip, however, the castigating looks, tuts and huffs from the cabin crew not to mention the accusatory looks from your seatmates when you click on the 'I prefer not to leave a gratuity' button would surely embarrass most passengers into pressing the minimum amount of 15%!

Photo TPG 

Also,  there is the fear that you'll not be served if you don't tip the crew, who are already earning a wage for pushing the cart passed your seat. Will they still come around a second time if you don't supplement their incomes with excess tipping? Will, they still give you attention in an emergency situation if the tip is skipped when you purchased that $5 can of fizzy pop from them? 

Is this new and rather worrying development from Frontier the latest technique in the USA for airlines to take more of our hard earned cash?  Is tipping about to become commonplace in the industry?   We decided to ask some of the leading US carriers if they planned to follow Frontier in demanding tips from passengers. 

Hyatt Regency Bangkok Sukhumvit Marks the Hyatt Regency Brand’s Debut in Bangkok

Hyatt today announced the opening of Hyatt Regency Bangkok Sukhumvit, marking the Hyatt Regency brand’s entry into the capital of Thailand. Located on the bustling Sukhumvit Road, the hotel is connected to the Nana station of the Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTS) via a sky bridge and offers guests convenient access to nearby shopping malls, office buildings and tourist attractions.

“We are pleased to celebrate the launch of Hyatt Regency Bangkok Sukhumvit, which marks both the brand’s debut in the Thai capital and the successful fruition of Hyatt’s first collaboration with Grand Asset Hotels and Property,” said David Udell, group president, Asia Pacific, Hyatt Hotels Corporation. “As the fourth Hyatt hotel along the Sukhumvit BTS train line, our strategic brand expansion in Bangkok caters to the growing number of international visitors to the city who are seeking premium accommodations and memorable travel experiences.”

Located in one of the city’s most vibrant neighbourhoods, Hyatt Regency Bangkok Sukhumvit connects guests to

the old and the new Thailand

 

Hyatt Regency Al Kout Mall Opens in Kuwait

 Hyatt Regency Al Kout Mall Opens in Kuwait

                  Hyatt Hotels Corporation announced recently the opening of Hyatt Regency Al Kout Mall, marking the reintroduction of the Hyatt Regency brand to Kuwait. The opening marks the first of two Hyatt properties in collaboration with Tamdeen Group, the second of which is Grand Hyatt Kuwait, set to open in 2020.

                  The Hyatt Regency brand offers a seamless experience that connects guests to everything they need under one roof with a full range of services and amenities, including notable culinary experiences, technology-enabled facilities for collaboration, expert event planners with exceptional attention to detail, and flexible spaces to work, engage or relax.

Hyatt continues steadfast Middle East expansion with the opening of its first of two new Kuwait properties

EVEN Hotel Miami Airport Opens

South Florida’s premier wellness destination hotel opened December 2018

Miami-based Epelboim Development Group (EDG), in conjunction with InterContinental Group Hotels (IHG), announced recently the completion of its newest project: EVEN® Hotel Miami Airport.

EVEN® Hotels, part of IHG’s premier lifestyle hotel brand, offers guests a unique wellness and relaxation experience through its exclusive “Eat Well, Rest Easy, Keep Active and Accomplish More” initiative. From in-room trainers, mounted fitness walls, resistance bands and exercise balls, to yoga mats and blocks, 18+ On-Demand fitness videos, beds with built-in “mood lighting,” ergonomic workstations and more—all in its 190 guest rooms—EVEN® Hotel Miami Airport is set to be the most comprehensive wellness hotel South Florida has ever seen.

Seaborne Airlines Returning to the Dominican Republic

Seaborne Airlines is returning to the Dominican Republic with nonstop service between San Juan’s Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport (SJU) and Santiago de los Caballeros Dominican Republic’s Cibao International Airport (STI) starting February 14, 2019.

 The initial service will operate three days per week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and will increase to daily service May 23 – September 3, 2019.

In addition, the new service offers opportunities to experience nearby favourite vacation destinations, including the beaches of Puerto Plata, the birthplace of tourism in the Dominican Republic, and the peace, tranquillity and nature of Jarabacoa, the country’s most popular eco-tourism destination.     

JetBlue's December

Leading US carrier, JetBlue Airways reported its preliminary traffic results for December 2018 this week.

Traffic in December increased 6.8 percent from December 2017, on a capacity increase of 8.5 percent. Load factor for December 2018 was 81.4 percent, a decrease of 1.3 points from December 2017. JetBlue’s preliminary completion factor for December 2018 was 99.8 percent and its on-time (1) performance was 74.5 percent.

Fourth quarter revenue per available seat mile (RASM) is expected to increase approximately 2.4 percent year-over-year. This is consistent with our prior guidance range of 1.5 to 3.5 percent. December revenue trends performed as expected. Higher than expected completion factor negatively impacted fourth quarter RASM by approximately 0.3 points.