Monthly Archives: October 2015

Airlines PNG rebrands as PNG Air with the first ATR 72-600

Airlines PNG (Port Moresby) is rebranding as PNG Air with the delivery of the first new ATR 72-600. The company is replacing its older de Havilland Canada DHC-8-100 Dash 8 fleet with the new ATRs and has taken the opportunity to change its image.

According to the airline’s Chairman Murray Woo, “The Company’s capital was restructured so that the Company is now unambiguously PNG owned and a permanent part of the country’s infrastructure and economy. The decision was made to re-fleet with the ATR 72-600, meaning the airline will be the only carrier in the country servicing all major ports in the domestic market with new, efficient, highly reliable, state of the art aircraft. That will allow the airline for the first time to offer what is clearly the premium product on domestic routes.

We expect to have 3 brand new ATRs operating by February 2016 and 7 by December 2017. After that the plan is to replace all our Dash 8s and become a 100% ATR operator by 2020. The ATR is the only aircraft currently in production that can fly to all major ports in PNG. ATR have invested heavily to make their product by far the most widely chosen regional turboprop aircraft around the world.”

The company also commented on the decision to rebrand:

“The Board has also taken the decision to rebrand the airline, to reinvigorate its image. Re-fleeting gives the Company this opportunity, as a fleet of new, larger and more comfortable aircraft will improve public perception of the airline’s safety and service. Rebranding will reinforce that the airline is offering something new and genuinely improved. A new appearance will also emphasise improvements in the airline’s service culture.”

Copyright Photo: Eurospot. The pictured ATR 72-212A (ATR 72-600) F-WWEQ (msn 1287) will become P2-ATR on delivery. It displays the new brand.

Route Map:

Transaero Airlines ends all operations, Aeroflot to carry Transaero passengers until December 15

Aeroflot Russian Airlines (Moscow) has announced Transaero Airlines (Moscow) ended all operations last night at midnight (October 25) after losing its AOC effective today. Aeroflot will continue to fly passengers with Transaero tickets until December 15. According to Aeroflot; “Of the 1.93 million Transaero tickets sold for flights before December 15, 2015, 1.83 million passengers — or 94.8% of the total — have already been flown under Aeroflot’s operational management.”

Transaero Airlines commenced operations on November 5, 1991.

Transaero Airlines aircraft photo gallery:

Transaero Airlines aircraft slide show:

Videos:

Hainan Airlines is coming to Manchester

Hainan Airlines (Haikou and Beijing) announced in Manchester, UK that the airline will be launching a Beijing – Manchester route in June of 2016. The new route will be the first nonstop service between the two cities.

The Beijing – Manchester route will be Hainan Airlines’ sixth international route following the launch of the Chongqing – Rome , Beijing -San Jose, Shanghai – Boston , Shanghai – Seattle and Beijing – Prague routes earlier this year.

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner B-2722 (msn 34939) arrives at the Beijing hub.

Hainan Airlines aircraft slide show:

Aeroflot outlines its winter schedule, will not fly to Kiev and Odessa due to the ban

Aeroflot Russian Airlines (Moscow) has outlined the changes with its new winter schedule:

From October 25, 2015, Aeroflot will move to its winter flight schedule, which will be in place through March 26, 2016.

Flights to 51 countries are planned for winter 2015-2016. Aeroflot will fly from 119 points of origin, among these 43 in Russia and eight in the CIS. In light of Ukraine’s introduction of a ban on Aeroflot flights from October 25, there will be no more flights to Kiev and Odessa.

Aeroflot will fly to 68 destinations further afield, including 45 in Europe, 13 in Asia, five in America and five in the Middle East and Africa.

The winter timetable continues to place emphasis on growth of Aeroflot’s route network within Russia. The company is launching a new route between Moscow and Stavropol. It is also examining the possibility of introducing service to Saratov. Flights between Moscow and Voronezh, which began in June, will continue.

Aeroflot will fly to destinations across Russia that have strong passenger demand: Abakan, Adler/Sochi, Anapa, Arkhangelsk, Astrakhan, Barnaul, Vladivostok, Volgograd, Voronezh, Yekaterinburg, Irkutsk, Kazan, Kaliningrad, Kemerovo, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, Magadan, Magnitogorsk, Mineralnye Vody, Murmansk, Nizhnekamsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Novy Urengoy, Samara, St. Petersburg, Nizhnevartovsk, Novokuznetsk, Omsk, Orenburg, Perm, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, Rostov-on-Don, Simferopol, Stavropol, Surgut, Tomsk, Tyumen, Ufa, Khabarovsk, Chelyabinsk, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and Yakutsk.

The number of flights on high-demand routes will increase. Flight frequencies per week from Moscow to the following domestic destinations will increase: St. Petersburg (from 107 to 112), Nizhny Novgorod (from 35 to 42), Sochi/Adler (from 35 to 42), Rostov-on Don (from 21 to 42), Mineralnye Vody (from 21 to 35), Arkhangelsk (from 14 to 21), Murmansk (from 14 to 21) and Tomsk (from 7 to 14).

The weekly frequency of flights to Minsk has also increased significantly (from 28 to 35). Among European destination, flight frequencies to Berlin and Prague will increase, as will flights to Munich (from 21 to 28), Riga (from 21 to 28) and Warsaw (from 14 to 21).

The needs of tourists who prefer beach holidays have been taken into account. For Winter 2015/2016 there will be a greater number of flights to destinations in South East Asia and the Caribbean, including daily flights to Phuket, Havana and Hanoi. The number of daily flights to Cairo has doubled (from 2 to 4). At the same time, over the winter period flights to Heraklion and Split traditionally stop, consolidating their status as purely summer resorts.

Other Aeroflot Group airlines will carry passengers on an additional 70 routes. Including low-cost carrier Pobeda, Aeroflot Group unique routes will total 200.

An additional 125 unique routes will be offered to our customers via code sharing agreements with partner airlines. Code-sharing agreements expand Aeroflot’s reach to 17 additional countries: Albania, Algieria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ghana, Indonesia, Ireland, Iceland, Cambodia, Kenya, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Morocco, Myanmar, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia and Tunisia.

In total, including through agreements with partner airlines, flights on 325 routes across 68 countries will be operated under Aeroflot’s “SU” code.

Aeroflot aircraft slide show:

United Airlines and the Teamsters reach a tentative agreement

United Airlines (Chicago) has announced that it has reached an agreement with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters (IBT) to put a proposed joint collective bargaining agreement out for ratification. The proposed agreement will bring together the airline’s more than 8,600 technicians and related employees under a single contract.

United and the union worked with the assistance of the National Mediation Board to reach the agreement.

United has joint collective bargaining agreements covering the majority of its represented employees, including pilots, dispatchers, fleet service, passenger service, reservations and storekeeper workgroups. The company is engaged in mediated negotiations with the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) and recently entered into discussions with its pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, to consider an extension of their current collective agreement.

The proposed agreement is subject to ratification and covers mechanics and related employees located throughout the United States.

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-924 ER N69835 (msn 60087) taxies to the runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

United Airlines aircraft slide show (current livery):

WestJet’s first Boeing 767-300 ER enters revenue service

WestJet (Calgary), as previously reported, yesterday (October 22) placed its first Boeing 767-300 ER into revenue service between Toronto (Pearson) and Calgary. The company issued this statement:

WestJet’s first Boeing 767-300 extended-range aircraft performed its inaugural flight on October 22, departing Toronto Pearson International Airport at 9 a.m. EDT. Operating as WestJet flight 655, the aircraft arrived at Calgary International Airport.

Featuring a new teal and blue maple leaf-themed logo, which will eventually appear on all WestJet aircraft, the airline’s 767-300s seat 262 guests and have a range of approximately 11 hours. The aircraft will include a Plus cabin with 24 premium seats in a two-by-two configuration, hot meals and all other amenities associated with Plus. The main cabin has 238 seats, with two seats on either side of the aircraft and three in the middle. By next spring all four 767s will be equipped with WestJet Connect, the airline’s new inflight entertainment and wireless connectivity system.

Beginning May 2016, WestJet will begin serving London (Gatwick) on a nonstop basis from six Canadian cities including Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Toronto and St. John’s. With the exception of service from St. John’s, all London flights will operate on WestJet’s fleet of 767-300 extended-range aircraft.

Top Copyright Photo: TMK Photography/AirlinersGallery.com. Ex-QANTAS Airways Boeing 767-338 ER C-FOGJ (msn 25274) taxies to runway on the first revenue flight at Toronto (Pearson). Note the new Maple Leaf logo.

WestJet aircraft slide show:

Video Below: A tour of the first Boeing 767-300:

Bottom Copyright Photo: TMK Photography/AirlinersGallery.com. The two Disney World tails together at Toronto.

WestJet video: The unveiling of Disney’s Frozen-theme Boeing 737-800:

American Airlines Group reports the highest quarterly profit in company history

American Airlines Group Inc. (American Airlines) (Dallas/Fort Worth) today reported its third quarter 2015 results:

Reported record quarterly net profit of $1.9 billion excluding net special charges, a 54 percent increase versus the third quarter 2014. This is the highest quarterly profit in the Company’s history
Reported quarterly GAAP net profit of $1.7 billion, an 80 percent increase versus last year’s third quarter
Repurchased $1.56 billion of common stock, or 38.4 million shares, during the third quarter and authorized a new $2.0 billion share repurchase program to be completed by the end of 2016
Passed a critical merger milestone earlier this week by successfully integrating its passenger reservations system with no operational impact

American Airlines Group’s third quarter 2015 net profit, excluding net special charges, was a record $1.9 billion, or $2.77 per diluted share versus a third quarter 2014 net profit excluding net special charges of $1.2 billion, or $1.66 per diluted share. This is the highest quarterly profit in the Company’s history. The Company’s third quarter 2015 pretax margin excluding net special charges was a record 17.7 percent, up 6.7 percentage points from the same period last year.

On a GAAP basis, the Company reported a net profit of $1.7 billion, or $2.49 per diluted share. This compares to a GAAP net profit of $942 million in the third quarter 2014, or $1.28 per diluted share.

The Company continues to make significant investments in the airline through its extensive fleet renewal program, giving it the youngest fleet of the U.S. network airlines. In the third quarter, the Company took delivery of 16 new mainline and 15 new regional aircraft and retired 36 mainline and nine regional aircraft.

In the third quarter, the Company recognized $192 million in net special charges, including:

$165 million in operating special charges, primarily including $198 million in merger related integration expenses and a $38 million special charge in connection with the Company’s dissolution of its Texas Aero Engine Service joint venture. These charges were offset in part by a $66 million credit related to proceeds received from a legal settlement
$21 million in nonoperating special charges, principally related to non-cash write offs of unamortized debt discount and debt issuance costs associated with the remarketing of the special facility revenue bonds discussed above
$6 million in tax special charges related to certain indefinite-lived assets

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. American is gradually phasing out its aging McDonnell Douglas DC-9-82s and DC-9-83s including some that have been donated to aviation schools. The MD-80s are expected to be gone by late 2017. None will be repainted in the new 2013 flag livery. Ex-TWA DC-9-83 (MD-83) N965TW (msn 53615) departs from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

American Airlines aircraft slide show (current livery):

American Airlines aircraft slide show (historic liveries):

British Airways is bringing the Airbus A380 to Miami

British Airways (London) will begin flying its new double decker Airbus A380 between Miami and London (Heathrow) this weekend. The inaugural flight, flight BA209, will touch down at Miami International Airport on Sunday, October 25 and will depart as the BA208 the same evening.

The BA A380 can accommodate up to 469 customers across four cabins, including 14 First suites, 97 Club World business class seats with full flatbeds, 55 spacious seats in the private World Traveller Plus (premium economy) cabin, and 303 in World Traveller (economy).

At launch, British Airways will offer twice-daily service; the first departure will continue on the Boeing 747-400 aircraft, while the second departure will now feature the Airbus A380.

British Airways aircraft slide show:

United Airlines reports 3Q net income of $4.8 billion

United Airlines (UAL) (Chicago) today reported its third quarter 2015 financial results:

UAL reported third quarter net income of $1.7 billion, or $4.53 per diluted share, excluding special items.

Including special items, UAL reported third quarter net income of $4.8 billion. These results include a nonrecurring $3.2 billion non-cash gain associated with the reversal of the company’s income tax valuation allowance.

“I want to thank all of our employees for their hard work, professionalism and contributions to another successful quarter. The United family has had a challenging few weeks, but we have never felt more unified and are committed to making the right investments in our people and providing them the tools they need to deliver excellent service to our customers,” said Brett Hart, acting CEO of United. “With Oscar Munoz on medical leave, this leadership team and I are working to push forward the agenda we laid out over the past six weeks by focusing on our employees, improving our processes and investing in our systems to further improve our margins.”

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

United Airlines aircraft slide show (current livery):

Southwest Airlines reports a record third quarter net profit

Southwest Airlines Company (Dallas) today reported its third quarter 2015 results:

Record third quarter net income, excluding special items, of $623 million, or $.94 per diluted share. This represented a $241 million increase from third quarter 2014 and exceeded the Thomson Reuters First Call mean estimate of $.92 per diluted share.

Record third quarter GAAP net income of $584 million, or $.88 per diluted share, compared with third quarter 2014 GAAP net income of $329 million.

Gary C. Kelly, Chairman of the Board, President, and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “We are very pleased to report outstanding third quarter 2015 results marked by a 63.1 percent year-over-year increase in net income, excluding special items. Our record third quarter operating income, excluding special items, of $1.0 billion produced a strong 20.3 percent operating margin, which is a 680 basis point improvement from the year-ago period. The significant margin expansion was driven largely by lower fuel prices. Our results also benefited from a continued focus on cost control and solid overall revenue performance, including a significant contribution from our Rapid Rewards program. Customer demand for our low fares was evident with an all-time quarterly record load factor of 85.4 percent for third quarter 2015. That’s what low fares without ‘gotcha’s’, which we call TransfarencySM, will do for you. My thanks to our superb Employees for producing our tenth consecutive quarter of record profits and my congratulations to them on their record $484 million profitsharing accrual, thus far this year.

Fleet and Capacity

During third quarter 2015, the Company received three pre-owned Boeing 737-700s to end the quarter with 692 aircraft. The Company continues to manage to approximately 700 aircraft at year-end 2015 and continues to expect to grow its fleet approximately two percent, year-over-year, in 2016. Additional information regarding the Company’s aircraft delivery schedule is included in the accompanying tables. The Company’s capacity plans remain unchanged with expected available seat mile growth of approximately seven percent this year, and an estimated five to six percent in 2016, both year-over-year.

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-3H4 HL N644SW (msn 28329) approaches the runway at Washington’s Reagan National Airport.

Southwest Airlines aircraft slide show (current livery):