More transatlantic flights for Delta and Virgin Atlantic

Delta introduces its first daylight trans-Atlantic flight, and airlines join forces at London’s Gatwick Airport for the first time.

Three new flights will see Delta increase capacity between the U.S. and U.K. by 15%

New 767-400 and A350 aircraft flying on key JFK, Boston and Los Angeles routes

Delta Boeing 767-400                                         Photo Delta

The US mega-carrier Delta is boosting its transatlantic schedule between London-Heathrow and its coastal hubs in Boston and New York-JFK next summer, adding 15% capacity compared to 2019. Alongside joint venture partner Virgin Atlantic, the two airlines will increase capacity across the Atlantic by nearly 10,000 seats per week compared to this year, offering customers unrivalled customer experience and more choice than ever before.

“Delta and its partners offer an unmatched global network that's capable of taking Boston and New York customers to more worldwide destinations than ever before," said Joe Esposito, Delta’s Senior Vice President – Network Planning. “Our investment at these airports and in these communities continues to deepen as we grow our flight offerings and live up to our commitment to connect the world better than any other airline.”

Delta One on a Boeing 767-400                                                                                        Photo Delta 

Asia Aviation releases its operational results for the first half of 2019 as fleet rises to more than 60 aircraft

Asia Aviation Plc. the majority shareholder of Thai AirAsia has announced its operational results for the first half of 2019 with total revenue of Baht 21,638 million and net profit of Baht 15 million. 

While TAA recorded total revenue of Baht 21,637 million and net profit of Baht 24 million as a result of weakened visitor growth to Thailand, appreciation of the Thai Baht and pressured demand on foreign tourists. The company, with a fleet of 62 aircraft, served 11.44 million passengers during the first half of 2019 with a load factor of 86 %.

In Q2/2019, AAV reported total revenue of Baht 10,015 million and a net loss of Baht 482 million with TAA earning total revenue of Baht 10,015 million and a net loss of Baht 879 million. TAA carried 5.58 million passengers, up 5 % year-on-year and maintained a load factor average of 83 %, down 2 points on the year prior due to lower-than-forecast foreign visitation to Thailand. The Thai baht has soared by leaps and bounds against the U.S. dollar this year, well ahead of other regional currencies.

Over 1.5 million passengers flew with Austrian Airlines in July

Over 1.5 million passengers flew with Austrian Airlines in July 2019, that's a big increase of 5.7% from the prior-year month. European flight traffic again made a strong contribution to this result with a growth of 6.8 percent. The flight offering measured in available seat kilometers (ASK) reached the level of the previous year. Revenue passenger kilometres (RPK) climbed 1.4%. Capacity utilization (passenger load factor) of the flights equalled 86.6% on average in July 2019, an increase of 1.2 percentage points compared to the previous year. The number of flights operated by Austrian Airlines was increased by 5.6 percent to 13,491.

“Despite the current competitive situation in Vienna, we were able to increase the number of passengers on our European routes in particular”, says Andreas Otto, Member of the Management Board and CCO of Austrian Airlines. “This shows that more and more passengers are opting for our quality and service.”

Austrian Airlines transported about 8.3 million passengers in the months from January to July 2019, comprising a rise of 5.9 percent from the previous year. The flight offering measured in available seat kilometers was up 4.2 percent. Revenue passenger kilometres climbed 7.0 percent compared to the first seven months of 2018. Capacity utilization of the flights amounted to 79.5 percent, an increase of 2.0 percentage points. The number of flights operated by Austrian Airlines was up 3.7 percent to 79,910 in the months from January to July 2019.

SAS to start direct flights from Copenhagen, Aalborg and London to the new Scandinavian Mountains Airport - Sälen/Trysil.

During the 2019-2020 winter season, SAS is going to start direct flights from Copenhagen, Aalborg and London to Scandinavian Mountains Airport, the new airport in Sälen/Trysil. The new airport is only a short distance from around 250 ski slopes in Sweden and Norway.  The new services will give snow lovers from Denmark, Southern Sweden and the United Kingdom a totally new way of enjoying Scandinavia’s leading winter sports area.

SAS is introducing a total of four new return flights a week to and from Sälen/Trysil. The services from Denmark and the United Kingdom will operate during the winter season until Easter. With over 250 slopes at Skistar’s resorts within a 25-40 minute transfer from the airport, the new SAS services offer an entirely new way of getting to the Scandinavian ski resorts and mountain areas in Sälen and Trysil. SAS and SkiStar are also entering into a strategic partnership which will simplify the booking procedure for ski travel, for example.

100,000 aircraft pushbacks completed with remote controlled fully electric emission free tug.

British Airways has celebrated its 100,000th aircraft pushback using the airline’s fully-electric, remote-controlled Mototok devices, which have been used to swiftly manoeuvre the airline’s 140-strong short-haul fleet out to the runway for take-off for the last two years.

British Airways is the first and only airline to use the eco-friendly, emissions-free Mototok tugs, which replace traditional diesel tugs and are part of the British Airways’ wider environmental commitment to run an emissions-free airside operation.

Mandeep Johal (pictured above) pushed the 100,000th British Airways aircraft using a Mototok, watch the video here.

The airline’s team of highly skilled pushback operators use a remote control to move the Mototok Spacer 8600. They wear a wireless headset to keep in direct contact with the pilots onboard the aircraft while it is pushed out to the runway.

Delta and Virgin Atlantic boost summer flying between US and UK in 2020

Delta introduces its first daylight trans-Atlantic flight, and airlines join forces at London’s Gatwick Airport for the first time.

Three new flights will see Delta increase capacity between the U.S. and U.K. by 15%

New 767-400 and A350 aircraft flying on key JFK, Boston and Los Angeles routes

Delta Boeing 767-400                                         Photo Delta

The US mega-carrier Delta is boosting its transatlantic schedule between London-Heathrow and its coastal hubs in Boston and New York-JFK next summer, adding 15% capacity compared to 2019. Alongside joint venture partner Virgin Atlantic, the two airlines will increase capacity across the Atlantic by nearly 10,000 seats per week compared to this year, offering customers unrivalled customer experience and more choice than ever before.

“Delta and its partners offer an unmatched global network that's capable of taking Boston and New York customers to more worldwide destinations than ever before," said Joe Esposito, Delta’s Senior Vice President – Network Planning. “Our investment at these airports and in these communities continues to deepen as we grow our flight offerings and live up to our commitment to connect the world better than any other airline.”

Delta One on a Boeing 767-400                                                                                        Photo Delta 

Meet "The Future of Aviation"

With the number of annual air travellers predicted to increase from 3.8 to 7.2 billion by 2035, scientists and designers around the world have been racing to create sleeker, faster, and more fuel-efficient planes.

This was the motivation behind the United Technologies Aerospace Challenge, which prompted bright young minds around the world to band together to design innovative and feasible solutions to upgrade modern aircraft.

SAS is starting a direct service from Stavanger to Manchester because of the football!

The leading Scandinavian airline SAS says it is responding to the great interest in English football by introducing a new direct service from Stavanger to Manchester. The service will be operating all year round, with two departures a week.

SAS has steadily expanded its direct services to Manchester in line with the increase in demand for trips to the British Isles and the interest in English football in particular. Football clubs like Liverpool, Manchester United, Manchester City and Leeds United have large groups of supporters in Norway and direct flights to Manchester Airport make it easy to get to the big football fixtures in the region quickly.

Lufthansa Group carried 14.6 million passengers in July

Passengers numbers up by 3.3%

Load factor 86.9% 

Strongest growth in Zurich

In July 2019, the Lufthansa Group airlines welcomed around 14.6 million passengers. This shows an increase of 3.3% compared to the previous year’s month. The available seat kilometres were up 2.5 % over the previous year, at the same time, sales increased by 3.1 %. In addition as compared to July 2018, the seat load factor increased by 0.6 percentage points to 86.9 %. Both for the month of July and for the year to date, the Group has achieved historic highs in both the number of passengers carried and the seat load factor.

Cargo capacity increased by 9.7 percent year-on-year, while cargo sales remained unchanged at the same level as in the same month of the previous year in revenue tonne-kilometre terms. As a result, the Cargo load factor showed a corresponding reduction, decreasing by 5.6 percentage points to 58.6 percent.

British Airways conducts service trials with its new Airbus A350

The UK's British Airways is currently working through a series of extensive service trials of its first Airbus A350 aircraft, ahead of its full-service entry on 2nd September.

The airline took delivery of its newest aircraft featuring its latest generation business class seat, Club Suite, on July 29. Not only is the aircraft quieter than some of its predecessors, there are also environmental benefits to flying on the state-of-the-art A350 as 25 per cent lower fuel burn significantly reduces CO2 emissions.

Since its arrival, the A350 has flown over 15,400 miles between Heathrow and Madrid completing over 40 take-offs and landings to further familiarise the airline’s crew with the service they will deliver on the new aircraft.

As well the short-haul flying to put the aircraft through its paces to technically test all aspects of its performance, while finessing the service, the airline has also simulated a long haul flight on the ground at Heathrow. This week, 331 volunteers took part in a trial, giving cabin crew and the inflight entertainment and catering teams the chance to deliver and analyse every aspect of the in-flight service and make any tweaks required ahead of carrying customers from September when it starts normal service with a flight to Dubai.

Omni Air International 767-300 blocked Shannon Airports runway after wheel fire!

Shannon Airport was forced to close for a number of hours earlier today after an air traffic controller noticed smoke and fire coming from an  Omni Air International Boeing 767-300's landing gear shortly before it was due to depart the Irish airport.

Upon the alarm being raised, the airport's fire service raced to the aircraft and extinguished the fire on the main landing gear.  All passengers and crew evacuated the aircraft via emergency slides, while it remained on the runway and were taken back to the airport's terminal.

There were no injuries reported and after the aircraft was made safe and examined it was moved off the runway and Shannon Airport reopened shortly after 11am this morning.  The Air Accident Investigation Unit confirmed that: "An AAIU go-team are responding to an occurrence at Shannon Airport, involving a Boeing 767 aircraft which was evacuated on the runway following a reported fire in a main-wheel well. Following consultation with the Shannon Airport Authority, the AAIU has given permission for the aircraft to be removed from the runway."

High School Students Earn Aircraft Manufacturing Pre-Apprenticeship Accreditation

At the closing ceremony for the Teamsters/Sikorsky Career Pathways Program, Teamsters Local 1150 in partnership with Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin Company (NYSE: LMT), Connecticut State Department of Education and Connecticut Department of Labor, announced the program’s newly registered Aircraft Manufacturing pre-apprenticeship.

“The transition to a certified pre-apprenticeship is the next logical step for our program,” said Rocco Calo, Secretary-Treasurer and Principal Officer of Teamsters Local 1150. “Not only will it help us to recruit those students who are looking for industry-recognised credentials, but it helps to bolster U.S. manufacturing by preparing these students to work in any aerospace facility.”

Qantas Frequent Flyer has partnered with Quandoo to reward members with Qantas Points on restaurant bookings in Australia and around the world

Qantas Frequent Flyer has partnered with Quandoo to reward members with Qantas Points on restaurant bookings in Australia and around the world.

The collaboration with Quandoo, a worldwide booking platform that connects diners to restaurants, will enable frequent flyers to earn Qantas Points when they make reservations through the Qantas Restaurants portal on Qantas.com and the Qantas app.

Qantas Frequent Flyers will be able to earn 100 points per person, per booking across 18,000 restaurant partners in over 12 countries. It is the first-time members have been able to earn Qantas Points on international restaurant bookings.

Quandoo is one of the largest online restaurant booking platforms in the world with listings ranging from independent restaurants to much-loved chains and Michelin starred establishments.

Ural Airlines Airbus A321 crash lands in a field following multiple bird strike

Picture TK Moskva 24

A Ural Airlines Airbus A321 has made an emergency landing in a cornfield near Moscow after flying into a flock of birds, suffering multiple bird strikes in its engines. 

According to local news sources, some twenty-three people have been injured in the crash landing and are described as being  "in serious or fair condition". The local health authority says that five children are included in those taken to hospital.

The jet was carrying 233 passengers and crew onboard operating a flight from Moscow to Simferopol in Crimea when the incident took place.  The Russian Air Transport Agency,  Rosaviatsia said the plane landed in a cornfield about a kilometre (0.62 miles) from the runway at Zhukovsky International Airport, with its engines off and landing gear retracted.

A passenger on the flight told local state-run media how the aircraft started to shake not long after takeoff, "Five seconds later, the lights on the right side of the plane started flashing and there was a smell of burning. Then we landed and everyone ran away,".

Air Canada announces new Montreal-Seattle service to be operated on Airbus A220-300 aircraft

Air Canada has announced it will operate year-round, non-stop service between Montreal and Seattle on its newest narrowbody aircraft, the Airbus A220-300. The new flight, which offers customers Business and Economy class service with Air Canada's newest in-flight entertainment system, onboard Wi-Fi and more, will start in the spring of 2020.

Air Canada's two-class cabin on the A220 will have a total of 137 seats: 12 in a 2x2 configuration in Business Class and 125 in a 3x2 layout for Economy passengers. Every seat on the A220 features a Panasonic eX1 in-flight entertainment system with content available in 15 languages and featuring more than 1,000 hours of high-quality entertainment, including access to Bell Media’s premium entertainment service, Crave, and Canadian-based multi-platform audio service, Stingray.

Special introductory fares from Montreal to Seattle start as low as $315 CDN one-way, all in. Tickets are now available for purchase at aircanada.com or through travel agents until August 28 for travel between May 4 and July 31, 2020.