Yearly Archives: 2019

Cabo Verde Airlines is now flying to Lagos

Cabo Verde Airlines began regular flights to Lagos, Nigeria, on December 9, 2019.

The inaugural flight took place on Monday, December 9, 2019 departing from Amílcar Cabral International Airport, in Sal, at 10:45 pm and arriving at Murtala Muhammed Airport (Lagos) at 04:30 am local time.

The Sal-Lagos route will be operated five times a week, on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, with a Boeing 757, with 161 economy class seats and 22 executive class seats.

All flights will connect to Sal Island, Cabo Verde Airlines’ international hub, and will be able to connect to the airline’s destinations in Cabo Verde, Senegal (Dakar), Europe (Lisbon, Paris, Milan and Rome), Washington, D. C. (three times a week) and Boston, as well as to the company’s destinations in Brazil – Salvador, Porto Alegre, Recife and Fortaleza.

Air France-KLM Group steps up cooperation with QANTAS Group

Air France-KLM released this statement:

Loyalty Programs Collaborate to Enhance Customer Value Proposition

After the resumption of codeshare cooperation in 2018, offering best-in-class solutions to fly between Europe and Australia via Singapore and Hong Kong, the Air France-KLM Group and Qantas Group have continued working on further cooperation opportunities for the benefit of their respective customers.

Starting December 9, 2019 members of Flying Blue, the loyalty program used by the airlines of the Air France-KLM Group, can earn¹ miles and XP (Experience Points) as well as spend miles on Qantas flights.

Flying Blue elite members will also have access to additional benefits such as priority airport services and additional checked baggage allowance when traveling on Qantas.

New Codeshare with Jetstar

By the end of December, both Air France and KLM plan to launch a codeshare cooperation with Jetstar Airways and Jetstar Asia Airways, two airlines which are part of the Qantas Group portfolio, connecting respectively in Denpasar and Singapore, thus expanding customer travel options to Southeast Asia and Australia.

Air France and KLM customers will benefit from a seamless travel experience with single ticket itineraries and through-checked baggage.

Under this agreement, Air France and KLM customers will have access to a wider range of destinations in Southeast Asia. Connecting in Singapore from Amsterdam or Paris, Air France and KLM will place their code on 12 additional destinations² operated by Jetstar Asia Airways: Da Nang (Vietnam), Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam), Denpasar (Indonesia), Medan (Indonesia), Surabaya (Indonesia), Phnom Penh (Cambodia), Siem Reap (Cambodia), Kula Lumpur (Malaysia), Penang (Malaysia), Phuket (Thailand), Yangon (Myanmar), and Darwin (Australia).

During the winter 2019 season, KLM plans to implement codeshares with Jetstar Airways providing itineraries beyond its Denpasar flight to four destinations in Australia: Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney².

Also expected during December 2019, Air France, KLM and Qantas will extend their codeshare to flights connecting in Bangkok, on top of the existing codeshare via Singapore and Hong Kong, and providing a third route to connect Amsterdam and Paris with Sydney.

Additionally, the two airline groups continue to explore opportunities like potential cooperation with airport lounges.

(1) Earning of miles and XP is only possible on Qantas operated flights that are marketed by Air France, KLM or Qantas
(2) All subject to governmental authorizations

Jetstar Airways aircraft photo gallery:

Spirit’s Airbus A319 N533NK is damaged in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico

Spirit Airlines’ Airbus A319 N533NK (msn 3393) was apparently damaged at the Lufthansa Technik facility in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico while undergoing maintenance according to Airline Secrets Exposed which released photos showing damage to the aircraft.

SKY orders 10 Airbus A321XLRs

SKY, a Chilean-based ultra-low-cost carrier, has signed a Purchase Agreement with Airbus for 10 A321XLRs. The airline will expand its international route network with the new aircraft.

According to the latest Airbus Global Market Forecast (GMF), Latin America will need 2,700 new aircraft in the next 20 years, more than double today’s fleet. Passenger traffic in Latin America has doubled since 2002 and is expected to continue growing over the next two decades. Specifically in Chile, traffic is expected to increase from 0.89 trips per capita to 2.26 trips in 2038.

In parallel to the growing fleet, according to Airbus’ latest GMF, there will be a need for 47,550 new pilots and 64,160 technicians to be trained over the next 20 years in Latin America. To cover this necessity SKY also selected Airbus as its flight training provider, making the airline the launch customer for the new Airbus Chile Training Centre. The centre will offer flight crew training for Chilean pilots and will include a full-flight A320 simulator.

SKY has been an Airbus customer since 2010 and became an all-Airbus operator in 2013. The airline’s fleet of 23 A320 Family aircraft serves national and international routes connecting Chile to Argentina, Brazil, Peru and Uruguay.

Airbus has sold 1,200 aircraft, has a backlog of more than 600 and more than 700 in operation throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, representing a 60% market share of the in-service fleet. Since 1994, Airbus has secured nearly 70% of net orders in the region.

U.S. airlines expected to fly 47.5 million travelers during the winter holiday season, December 20 to be the busiest day

Airlines for America issued this statement:

Airlines for America (A4A), the industry trade organization for the leading U.S. airlines, today projected that 47.5 million passengers will fly globally on U.S. airlines over the 18-day winter holiday travel period from Thursday, December 19, through Sunday, January 5.

A4A projects an average of 2.6 million passengers will take to the skies each day over the holidays, with daily volumes ranging from 2.2 million to 3 million. That is an increase of 3 percent from the comparable period a year ago.

To accommodate the 72,000 additional daily passengers, airlines will offer 88,000 additional seats per day and 884 more flights per day.

“Throughout this year we’ve seen steady gains in air travel demand, and this winter will be no exception” said John Heimlich, Vice President and Chief Economist for Airlines for America. “Buoyed by a healthy economy and plentiful, affordable air service, travelers once again are expected to take to the skies in record numbers.”

A4A expects the busiest travel days of the 18-day period to be Friday, Dec. 20; Saturday, Dec. 21; Friday, Dec. 27; and Thursday, Dec. 26. The lightest travel days are expected to be Christmas Eve (Tuesday, Dec. 24); New Year’s Eve (Tuesday, Dec. 31); and Christmas Day (Wednesday, Dec. 25).

This busy winter holiday season follows a record-breaking Thanksgiving travel period. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screened more than 26 million passengers and crew members over the holiday period. On Sunday, December 1, the TSA screened more than 2.8 million travelers, making it the busiest day in the agency’s history. Despite the high volume of travelers, the TSA reported that 99.8 percent of all passengers nationwide waited less than 30 minutes in a checkpoint line. U.S. airlines will continue to work collaboratively with the TSA and airports to ensure the efficiency, safety and security of all passengers and crew members.

Avianca Holdings completes its financial reprofiling and secures USD $375 million in new financing

Avianca has made this announcement:

Avianca Holdings S.A. has successfully renegotiated substantially all of its debt and lease obligations as well as reached agreements with its key suppliers. As a result, the airline was able to complete the funding of USD $250 million in mandatorily convertible loans by United Airlines, Inc. and an affiliate of Kingsland Holdings Limited. In addition, Avianca announced that it has secured an incremental USD $125 million of committed financing.

Completion of the Balance Sheet Reprofiling Program
Avianca successfully reached broad agreement with its creditors last week, allowing it to comply with key conditions precedent for funding of the Convertible Loans by United and Kingsland. In turn, the funding of the Convertible Loans allowed Avianca’s agreements with its creditors to go effective, reprofiling substantially all of its loans and aircraft lease obligations. In addition, funding of the Convertible Loans triggers the automatic exchange of approximately USD $484 millionaggregate principal amount of Avianca’s current May 2020 bonds (the “Secured May 2020 Bonds”) for secured bonds due May 2023 (the “Secured May 2023 Bonds”), under the terms of a previously announced, successfully executed exchange offer for Avianca’s original May 2020 Bonds (the “Unsecured May 2020 Bonds”).

Avianca’s finance team, led by its CFO, Adrian Neuhauser, successfully negotiated with more than 125 creditors and suppliers over the course of the financial reprofiling process launched in late June 2019. In addition to securing extensions of Avianca’s bank lines and letters of credit and ensuring the exchange of over 88.1% of the Unsecured May 2020 Bonds for Secured May 2023bonds, the reprofiling program secured more than USD $250 million of additional cash relief from lessors, aircraft lenders and certain other corporate lenders, substantially strengthening the Company’s liquidity position.

Funding of USD $250 million of Financing
Avianca today received the previously-announced USD $250 million of committed financing from United and Kingsland. This financing consists of USD $250 million of Convertible Loans that mature in four years and with a 3% payment-in-kind (PIK) annual interest rate. United funded USD $150 million and Kingsland funded USD $100 million. United and Kingsland’s Convertible Loans are convertible into the Company’s equity (common shares or preferred shares at the lenders’ option).

The Convertible Loans are subject to mandatory conversion any time after the first anniversary of the loan at the election of Avianca, subject to Avianca meeting certain conditions precedent, including, but not limited to: (i) a trailing six-month average daily ending cash balance (subject to certain adjustments) of at least USD $700 million and (ii) the AVH ADS trading price of at least USD $7.00 for 90 of the prior 120 trading days.

Additional USD $125 million of Financing Commitments
Avianca announced today that, in addition to funding the Convertible Loans, it has secured USD $125 million financing commitments, in all cases subject to the satisfaction of certain closing conditions:

Avianca secured today USD $50 million in commitments –from a group of Latin American investors– to invest in convertible loans on substantially the same economic terms as the United/Kingsland Convertible Loans. Such loans shall convert into AVH preferred shares or ADRs.
Avianca also secured USD $75 million in commitments for senior secured convertible loans and bonds that are intended to provide liquidity to Avianca as a bridge to completion of a planned convertible bond offering to preferred shareholders of at least USD $125 million (see details below). These loans and bonds may be converted into AVH preferred shares or ADRs. Citadel will provide USD $50 million of such commitments.

Future Offering to AVH Preferred Shareholders
As previously disclosed, Avianca Holdings expects to offer its preferred shareholders the opportunity to participate in a minimum of USD $125 million of to-be-offered convertible bonds (the “Incremental Bonds”) during the first quarter 2020 under similar conditions to those established for the Convertible Loans, subject to adjustment for market conditions at the time such an offering is launched. Details and timing of such offering will be made available to AVH preferred shareholders, subject to applicable regulatory review and approvals.

Key Stakeholder Support
Anko van der Werff, Avianca’s CEO, commented: “Today’s announcement coincides with Avianca’s 100-year anniversary and marks an important turning point for our Company as we achieve a critical key milestone of the Avianca 2021 Plan. The trust placed in us by our creditors and business partners has enabled us to further execute on that Plan which will strengthen our financial and competitive position. I would like to share my sincere appreciation to all of Avianca’s employees for their hard work and dedication, as well as to United and Kingsland for their support throughout this process.

We are incredibly excited about the future, and we remain focused on strengthening Avianca’s operating margins by controlling expenses, while exceeding our customers’ service expectations.”

Mr. Neuhauser added: “We are grateful for the support of our financial and commercial partners and the confidence they demonstrated by embracing our Company’s reprofiling program. That support has enabled us to reach agreements with all key stakeholders that benefit all parties.

In addition, we are incredibly excited by the fact that, as a result of the successful reprofiling –and of Kingsland and United’s agreement to fund the Convertible Loans– we were able to, in a very short time period, raise incremental commitments for USD $125 million, underscoring the strength of our plan and further bolstering our liquidity.”

John Gebo, Senior Vice President, Alliances for United Airlines, Inc. said: “United Airlines, along with Kingsland, is very pleased to provide this permanent capital financing that enables Avianca to complete a highly successful reprofiling of its capital structure, the exchange of its 2020 bonds, and the securing of commitments for additional financing which, taken together, underpin and support the Avianca 2021 Plan. That Plan calls for a comprehensive transformation of Avianca’s operational and profit performance led by Anko and Adrian. We have every confidence they will deliver on the promising outcomes of that Plan, and we wish them and the whole Avianca family every success on that journey.”

Roberto Kriete, President of Kingsland Holdings, stated: “The fact that Avianca’s new management led by Anko and Adrian were able to successfully carry out the reprofiling speaks very highly of their sense of urgency and their execution abilities. It marks a before and after in Avianca’s 2021 Plan. Now with Avianca in a more stable financial position, the airline will be able to focus on the traveler and continue to accelerate its evolution into Latin America’s most beloved and profitable airline.”

Avianca aircraft photo gallery:

British Airways trials 3D printing

British Airways made this announcement:

Photo: British Airways. 3D printing.

British Airways’ tech experts say the possibilities for 3D printing in aviation are limitless and share predictions of how 3D printers could transform the industry
In the future machines could routinely be used to create aircraft parts, reducing delays for customers
Initiative is part of airline’s flightpath to net zero carbon emissions by 2050

British Airways is exploring the possibility of using 3D printers to create aircraft parts in the future. These printers would be located at airports around the world to reduce delays for customers and emissions caused by transporting items.

The airline’s innovators predict that non-essential cabin parts will be first on the list to be generated, including pieces of tray tables, entertainment systems and toilets. While these components do not impact the safe operation of the flight, they can reduce the number of seats or toilets available for customers and cause delays as engineers wait for the parts to be flown to wherever the aircraft is.

Ricardo Vidal, Head of Innovation at British Airways, says this area of technology has never been more important to ensure sustainability and a seamless travel experience: “We work with start-ups and innovation partners from around the world to explore and implement the very latest technologies, from artificial intelligence to speed up turnaround times to biometrics, helping us to deliver a seamless airport experience for customers. 3D printing is yet another advancement that will keep us at the forefront of airline innovation.”

3D printing is an essential step towards the sustainable future of aviation, as the printers can produce parts that, while as strong and durable as traditional components, weigh up to 55 per cent. Every kilogram removed saves up to 25 tons of CO2 emissions during the lifespan of an aircraft.

British Airways’ exploration of 3D printing follows the airline’s BA2119: Flight of the Future programme in celebration of it’s centenary. It’s research into the future of the customer experience suggested that within the next decade, biological scanners gathering travellers’ physiological and nutritional needs could suggest food and drink to meet individual requirements and print these on board the aircraft. In addition, the research predicts that jet lag could become be a thing of the past, with 3D printers producing personalised health supplements.

British Airways’ top ten predictions for how 3D printing could be used by airline’s in the future:

1. Cutlery

2. Products for amenity kits, such as toothbrushes or combs

3. Tray tables

4. Aircraft windows

5. Inflight entertainment screens

6. Seats

7. Baggage containers

8. Circuit boards for electrical components

9. Flight deck switches

10. Aircraft shells

Iberia to expand Airbus A350-900 routes in 2020

Iberia currently operates its six Airbus A350-900s from the Madrid hub to New York (JFK), Chicago (O’Hare), Buenos Aires and Santiago.

The airline is planning to expand A350 operations with the next six deliveries. IB will open new A350 routes to San Jose (Costa Rica) and Los Angeles with the beginning of the summer 2020 schedule. Tokyo (Narita) will follow in time for the 2020 Olympics.

On June 23, 2019, Iberia’s A350-900 landed for the first time at Chicago. This is the third city, after New York and Buenos Aires.

Top Copyright Photo (all others by the airline): Iberia Airbus A350-941 EC-NBE (msn 271) MAD (Javier Rodriguez). Image: 945745.

Iberia aircraft slide show:

WestJet’s Christmas Miracle, to give or receive?

WestJet today released its Christmas Miracle video, To Give or Receive, highlighting real acts of giving and receiving, with a twist.

This year, families visiting a market in Toronto were invited into a life-size WestJet blue Santa hat for an experience they would never forget. WestJet left it up to them, with help from a holographic, interactive Blue Santa and his newest co-star, Ebeniza Scrooge, to determine whether to give or receive the presents waiting under the Christmas tree.

“The conversation around giving and receiving is a powerful one and this year’s video finds inspiration in both sides of the story,” said Richard Bartrem, WestJet Vice-President Marketing Communications. “The authentic reactions and emotions made possible through these acts make this year’s Christmas Miracle truly heartwarming.”

With presents like a $2,500 WestJet gift card, a beach vacation and more, the choice was up to Canadians to either give the gift to families with sick children staying at a Ronald McDonald House or keep it for themselves. There were no wrong answers and the touching moments are captured in the WestJet Christmas Miracle video here.

WestJet is committed to keeping families close when a child is sick by providing the gift of flight to its WestJet Cares for Kidspartner Ronald McDonald House Charities Canada. To Give or Receive participants who chose to donate their gift were also invited to join a special celebration at Ronald McDonald House Charities South Central Ontario in Hamilton, Ont.

“For over 10 years, our incredible partners at WestJet have helped us keep families from across Canada close together during a very difficult time in their lives,” said Cathy Loblaw, CEO, RMHC Canada. “We are so humbled by the generosity of Canadian families who chose to donate their gifts to Ronald McDonald House families this holiday season, giving them the greatest gift of all: family.”

WestJet created the magical Christmas experience for participants by working alongside partners ARHT Media Inc., leaders in holographic telepresence, who created the projections of Blue Santa and Ebeniza Scrooge.

“The incredible hologram technology allowed us to create immersive and personalized experiences in real-time,” continued Bartrem. “We wish guests and WestJetters throughout our network a merry Christmas.”

To find out more about WestJet Cares for Kids and its partnership with Ronald McDonald House Charities® Canada click here. For information on Ronald McDonald House Charities® Canada visit their website here.

SAS to open a nonstop route to Tokyo Haneda with the new Airbus A350-900

Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) has announced a nonstop route to Tokyo Haneda International Airport from Copenhagen Kastrup. The route gives travelers better access to downtown Tokyo and with All Nippon Airways (ANA), a fellow Star Alliance member, the route will increase connectivity to 30 domestic destinations in Japan.

Shinjuku skyline at sunset taken from Shibuya, Tokio.

The direct Copenhagen-Haneda route will be served by SAS’ new Airbus A350-900 aircraft. As the most environmental-friendly airplane on the market, the A350 will reduce emissions by 30 percent compared to earlier generations of similar long-haul aircraft.

In connection with the route between Copenhagen and Haneda, SAS will discontinue the service between Copenhagen and Tokyo Narita Airport. More capacity between Japan and Scandinavia will be added in spring 2020 when All Nippon Airways opens a new route between Haneda and Stockholm.

Top Copyright Photo: Scandinavian Airlines-SAS Airbus A350-941 F-WZHJ (SE-RSA) (msn 358) TLS (Eurospot). Image: 948184.

SAS aircraft slide show:

Video: