Monthly Archives: March 2010

LAN Airlines will be one of the first airlines in the world to receive the Boeing 787 Dreamliner

LAN Airlines (Santiago) announced it has signed an agreement with Boeingย to adjust the delivery schedule of tenย Boeingย 787-8 Dreamliners to be incorporated into the its long haul fleet. This new delivery schedule moves up the first delivery by three years, previously scheduled for 2014 and now expected to start in the first quarter of 2011.

In this way, LAN Airlines becomes the first airline in the western hemisphere to receive the Dreamliner, which is expected to revolutionize the airline industry, incorporating the most advanced technology. These ten aircraft are part of the original order for 26ย Boeingย 787s placed by LAN in 2007 and previously scheduled for delivery between 2014 and 2019. In addition, LAN has outstanding orders for six leased Dreamliners.

Theย Boeingย 787-8 undertook its first flight inย December 2009ย and is expected to begin commercial operations later this year with ANA.

Continental to launch Newark-Munich flights on Saturday

Continental Airlines (Houston) onย Saturday, March 27, will inaugurate service betweenย New Yorkย andย Munich, with daily nonstop flights from the airline’s hub at Newark Liberty International Airport.

Continental will operate the nonstop daily flight with aย Boeingย 767-200 ER aircraft, seating 25 passengers in BusinessFirst and 149 passengers in economy class.ย  Flight CO 106 will depart Newark Liberty daily atย 5:30 p.m. (1730) and arrive inย Munichย atย 7:40 a.m. (0740) the next day.ย  The return flight, CO 107, will departย Munich’s Franz Josef Strauss International Airport daily atย 9:20 a.m. (0920) and arrive at Newark Liberty atย 12:35 p.m. (1235) the same day.

AerCap acquires Genesis Lease, increases its portfolio to 345 aircraft

AerCap Holdings N.V.ย and Genesis Lease Limited ย announced the completion of their amalgamation, previously announced onย Septemberย 18, 2009, under which Genesis shareholders will receive one AerCap ordinary share for every Genesis common share they owned.

Under the merger, Genesis became a wholly-owned subsidiary of AerCap and its shares ceased trading at theย New York Stock Exchange. ย AerCap’s CEOย Klaus Heinemannย and CFO Keith Helmingย will lead the combined company, which has retained the name AerCap.

AerCap now has 345 commercial aircraft in their portfolio.

Hawaiian Airlines’ first Airbus A330-200 is seen at Toulouse today

Hawaiian Airlines (Honolulu) will take delivery next month of its first (of 10) Airbus A330-200.

Copyright Photo: Airbus A330-243 F-WWYX (msn 1104) is pictured on the runway today at Toulouse. It will become N380HA on delivery.

Airnorth (Australia) loses an Embraer Brasilia and two pilots

Airnorth (Darwin) lost its Embraer EMB-120ER Brasilia VH-ANB (msn 120116) on March 22 when it was destroyed on takeoff at Darwin Airport, NT (DRW), Australia. Both pilots were killed. The crew was conducting a training flight when the EMB-120 crashed at the airport’s boundary were the Darwin RAAF Station is located.

Read the full report from the Aviation Safety Network:

http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=20100322-0

JAL to exit the cargo business by the end of October

JAL-Japan Airlines (Tokyo) due to reorganization in bankruptcy has decided to exit the cargo business by the end of October 2010.

Business Week news link:

www.businessweek.com/news/2010-03-25/japan-air-to-stop-flying-freighters-by-end-of-october-update1-.html

Copyright Photo: Antony J. Best. Boeing 747-446 (BCF) JA8909 (msn 26353) of JAL Cargo climbs away from London (Heathrow).

Jet Airways to dry lease three Boeing 777-300 ERs to Thai Airways International

Jet Airways (Mumbai) will dry lease three Boeing 777-300 ER (Extended Range) aircraft for three years to Thai Airways International (Bangkok).

News link:

http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report_jet-airways-to-lease-3-aircrafts-to-thai-airways_1363285

TAP Portugal’s pilots call off their strike

Please click on the AG icon for a direct link to the TAP Portugal photo gallery.

TAP Portugal’s (Lisbon) pilots have called off a planned six-day strike after agreeing to a pay and productivity deal with the state-owned airline’s management.

Read the full report from Business Week:

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9EKU4GG0.htm

Highland Airways enters into receivership (bankruptcy)

Copyright Photo: Fred Seggie. Jetstream 31 (3102) G-UIST (msn 750) is pictured at Glasgow on August 10, 2008. The fleet adopted this attractive Atlantic Airlines (now West Atlantic) color scheme in 2003 when the owners of Atlantic Holdings acquired Highland Airways. However in March 2007 Highland Airways underwent a management buyout from Atlantic Holdings led by A. Mossman but retained the livery until the end.

Highland Airways (UK) (Inverness) went into receivership (bankruptcy protection) today (March 25) and has suspended all operations.

The airline was established and started operations in 1991 as Air Alba, operating for four years as a flying school. The company was renamed Highland Airways in February 1997 and expanded into scheduled operations. It was operating eight BAe Jetstream 31s, two Jetstream 41s and a single Britten-Norman Islander.

BBC News link:

news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/wales/8586634.stm

British Airways cuts the flight privileges of the strikers

British Airways (London) according to the Associated Press hasย revoked the free and heavily discounted air travel for the cabin crew strikers that has long been a treasured perk of employees of airlines around the world.

British Airways executives informed the affected Unite union workers that those privileges, not being contractually guaranteed, had been unilaterally and permanently cut.

Read the full report:

www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/

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