Monthly Archives: September 2011

Kingfisher Airlines to exit the low-fare “Kingfisher Red” market

Kingfisher Airlines (Mumbai) has announced it will exit its low-fare segment known as “Kingfisher Red” and concentrate on its premium international routes and services.

Kingfisher Red, known formerly as Simplifly Deccan and previously as Air Deccan, is the low-cost brand of Kingfisher Airlines.

Formerly known as Air Deccan, the airline was previously operated by Deccan Aviation. It was started by Captain G. R. Gopinath and its first flight operated on August 23, 2003 from Hyderabad to Vijaywada. It was known popularly as the common man’s airline and Gopinath wanted every one to be able to fly cheaply.

On December 19, 2007, it was announced that Air Deccan would be acquired and merged with Kingfisher Airlines.

Since Indian aviation regulations prohibited domestic airlines from flying on international routes until they had operated in the domestic market for five years, it was decided to instead merge Kingfisher Airlines into Deccan Aviation, following which Deccan Aviation would be renamed Kingfisher Airlines. This was because Air Deccan was the older of the two airlines, and therefore would be the first to qualify for flying on international routes. The merger became effective in April 2008, with Vijay Mallya becoming the Chairman and CEO of the new company, while G. R. Gopinath became its Vice Chairman.

Read the full story from Reuters: CLICK HERE

Kingfisher Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Guillaume Besnard.

Emirates is coming to Dallas/Fort Worth and Seattle/Tacoma

Emirates Airline (Dubai) today announced a major new expansion plan for the United States, announcing new services to Seattle/Tacoma and Dallas/Fort Worth as well as enhancements to its premium customer experience at San Francisco International Airport (SFO).

Dallas/Fort Worth and Seattle/Tacoma International Airports will both be served by daily, nonstop flights from February 2, 2011 and March 1, 2012 respectively.

Starting February 2, 2012, EK 221 will leave Dubai daily at 0245, arriving at Dallas/Fort Worth at 0905. The return sector, EK 222, leaves Dallas/Fort Worth at 1150, arriving at Dubai International Airport at 1220 the following day.

From March 1, 2012, EK 229 will leave Dubai daily at 0950 and arrive at Seattle/Tacoma International Airport (SEA) at 1310. EK 230 will depart Seattle/Tacoma at 1710, arriving in Dubai at 1940 the following day.

Both services will be operated by Boeing 777 aircraft.

With a fleet of 157 aircraft and now also the largest A380 operator in the world, Emirates currently flies to 114 destinations in 67 countries.

Already the largest operator of Boeing 777 aircraft in the world, Emirates last year ordered an additional 30 777-300 ERs, bringing its total 777 passenger fleet commitments to 132 aircraft.

Emirates Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Keith Burton.

UTair finalizes its order for seven Boeing 737-900 ERs and 33 737-800s

UTair Aviation (Russia) (Khany Mansiysk) has signed an order for 40 Boeing Next-Generation 737 airplanes, comprised of seven 737-900 ERs and 33 737-800s. The agreement was previously announced at the 2011 Paris Air Show. The order is valued at $3.8 billion at list prices.

The Next-Generation 737s will be delivered with the Boeing Sky Interior.

UTair Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Joe G. Walker. Please click on the photo for additional information.

Cities served by UTair:

Wizz Air Ukraine to drop the Stockholm route on November 1

Wizz Air (wizzair.com) (Ukraine) (Kiev) will drop the Kiev (Kyiv)-Stockholm (Skavsta) route on November 1. The company operates two Airbus A320s.

Read the full report from the Kyiv Post: CLICK HERE

Wizz Air (Ukraine) Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Nik French. Please click on the photo for additional details.

Wizz Air (Ukraine) routes from Kiev:

BMI cuts domestic capacity to Edinburgh and Manchester from London Heathrow

BMI (British Midland International) (East Midlands) will cut capacity on the London Heathrow-Edinburgh and London Heathrow-Manchester routes effective on October 30.

Read the full report from ABTN: CLICK HERE

BMI Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Michael Stappen. Please click on the photo for additional aircraft information.

Tampa Cargo to become an Airbus operator

Tampa Cargo (Medellin) will become a new Airbus operator. Parentย Avianca (Colombia) (Bogota), part of the airline group AviancaTaca Holdings, has signed a firm order with Airbus for four Airbus A330-200F Freighter aircraft. The new aircraft will be operated by Aviancaโ€™s cargo subsidiary Tampa Cargo. Avianca will announce its engine choice at a later date.

The A330-200 Freighter will replace Tampaโ€™s current Boeing cargo fleet and play a key role in expanding Aviancaโ€™s international cargo business. The order will make Avianca the first operator to receive the A330-200F Freighter in Latin America. AviancaTaca and its subsidiaries already operate seven A330-200 passenger aircraft and 81 A320 Family aircraft.

Image: Airbus.

Tampa Cargo Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Air New Zealand increases its shareholding in Virgin Australia to 19.99%

Air New Zealand (Auckland) has taken advantage of Virgin Australia’s weak stock price and increased its share of the Australian carrier from 14.99 percent to 19.99 percent.

Read the full report from nzherald.co.nz: CLICK HERE

Air New Zealand Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Dragonair A330 and a Cathay Pacific 777 in a near miss near Hong Kong

Dragonair (Hong Kong) Airbus A330-300 and a Cathay Pacific Airways Boeing 777 came within one mile of each other earlier this month while waiting to land at Hong Kong in bad weather. Cathay Pacific issued the following statement:

“There was no risk of collision and at no time was the safety of the flights compromised”.

Read the full report from Australia Network News: CLICK HERE

Dragonair Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Guillaume Besnard. Please click on the photo for information on the carrier and this aircraft.

EasyJet’s founder threatens to start Fastjet

EasyJet’s (London-Luton)ย founder, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, has threatened to start a new low-cost airline named Fastjet (Fastjet.com) to compete against the airline he founded. ย The founder has reserved this web address with “Coming soon!” titles.

Stelios and his family currently control 38 percent of easyJet’s stock. Stelios has been critical in the past of the current easyJet management and their aggressive expansion plans and has also pushed for payouts to the stockholders.

EasyJet disclosed Haji-Ioannou’s plans yesterday (September 26) in an apparent pre-emptive strike against this possible new competitor. Haji-Ioannou had previously agreed in October 2010 not to set up a rival low-fare airline.

Read the full report from the Financial Times: CLICK HERE

Aeropostal’s Douglas DC-9-51 YV136T makes a hard landing at Puerto Ordaz

Aeropostal’s (Caracas) McDonnell Douglas DC-9-51 YV136T (msn 47738) made a hard landing at Puerto Ordaz yesterday (September 26). Given the age of the airliner and the damage, the airframe is a probably insurance write off (WO).

Flight VH 342 was operating from Caracas to Puerto Ordaz with 125 passengers and five crew members who safely evacuated the aircraft after the landing.

Read the full story (in Spanish) from YVKE Mundial Radio: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Orlando Suarez. Sister ship DC-9-51 YV137T (msn 47771) is pictured at Caracas.