Finnair starts codeshare cooperation with Cathay Dragon and extends its network in Asia

Finnair and Cathay Pacific Airlines, based in Hong Kong, have agreed on a new codeshare cooperation on the routes operated by Cathay Dragon, Cathay Pacific Airline’s affiliate, between Hong Kong and selected destinations in Asia. The new codeshare agreement adds four new destinations to Finnair’s network in Asia.

From June 15, 2018 onwards Finnair customers can connect with Cathay Dragon’s flights from Hong Kong to

Hanoi and Danang, Vietnam
Yangon, Myanmar
Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, Cambodia

These new codeshare-flights can be booked from June 5, 2018.

In addition, subject to regulatory approval, from July 11, 2018 Finnair customers can connect from Hong Kong to Kuala Lumpur. Flights to Kuala Lumpur can be booked from June 28, 2018 onwards.

Finnair customers can enjoy oneworld privileges and earn and redeem frequent flyer points also on Cathay Dragon’s flights.

In other news, Finnair will start the Helsinki – Hannover route with Embraer 190s on April 29, 2019.

Finnair aircraft slide show:

LATAM Brazil is coming to Munich

LATAM Airlines Brazil announced it plans to serve Munich, Germany from São Paulo in the first half of 2019, subject to regulatory approval. More details including dates of operation, schedules, aircraft type and ticket availability will be communicated in the coming months.

The Bavarian capital will become LATAM’s second destination in Germany after Frankfurt and its ninth European city.

With the new route, LATAM Airlines Group and its affiliates will offer flights to 143 destinations in 26 countries. In 2017 alone, LATAM inaugurated 13 new international routes, including the longest flight in its history, Santiago-Melbourne. During 2018, LATAM will launch a further 17 international flights, having already commenced services such as Lima-San Jose (Costa Rica) and São Paulo-Rome, with inaugural flights to new destinations including Boston (July) and Tel Aviv (December) still to come.

LATAM Airlines Brazil aircraft slide show:

Wizz Air is now basing an Airbus A321 in Skopje, Macedonia

Wizz Air is now basing an Airbus A321 in Skopje, Macedonia with this announcement:

Wizz Air, the largest low-cost airline in Central and Eastern Europe and the leading airline in Macedonia, yesterday celebrated the deployment of its first Skopje-based, state-of-the-art Airbus A321 aircraft. The first flight of the brand new aircraft took off yesterday morning from Skopje Airport to beautiful Malmo with almost a full plane of more than 200 passengers. Besides the Swedish service, the aircraft will operate the popular Paris, Nuremberg, Friedrichshafen, Frankfurt Hahn, Munich and Rome routes.

With 230 seats on board, the Airbus A321 is the most efficient single-aisle passenger aircraft. The aircraft’s superior operating economics mean that Wizz Air offers more seats to more destinations at lowest fares at the same time as delivering the lowest emissions and noise footprint in its class. In addition to the refreshed livery, Wizz Air’s A321s feature new interior colors, a lighter cabin ambiance, soft leather seats and more cabin seating choices. On 16 June Wizz Air will deploy another Airbus A321 at its Skopje base adding even more capacity on the most popular routes. WIZZ’s young fleet from Skopje has 4 modern Airbus aircraft A320 and A321, an investment of 438,6 million $*.

Wizz Air now offers 30 routes to 14 countries from its two Macedonian airports, Skopje and Ohrid. WIZZ has recently announced a new low-fare service from Ohrid to the culturally rich Vienna in Austria. In total, this year the airline is increasing the total number of seats on sale to 1,6 million, 23% more than in 2017, continuing to stimulate the market and bring more truly affordable travel opportunities from just 599 MKD**.

To celebrate the arrival of the new A321 aircraft, and as part of the #WIZZaroundEurope campaign one lucky passenger on the first flight operated by the new Skopje aircraft won a €321 Wizz Air voucher, giving the winner the opportunity to further explore the delights of Wizz Air’s far-reaching network. Those interested in finding out more about the biggest operational ramp-up in Wizz Air’s history, with 21 aircraft being allocated throughout its European bases supporting 700 additional weekly departures in 17 weeks, between March and July, can follow #WIZZaroundEurope on social media channels and find more fun surprises and contests online.

Wizz Air’s first Skopje flight took off in 2011 and since then, the airline has become the leading carrier at Skopje Airport. In the first 4 months of 2018, WIZZ carried more than 360.000 passengers on its low fare routes to and from Macedonia, which represents a 21% growth year over year. Throughout the country, Wizz Air’s operations this year will support more than 750 jobs** in associated industries.

As previously reported, Wizz Air UK received its Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) and Operating Licence and started operating on May 3, 2018.

*Airbus price list 2018
** One way including all taxes and non-optional charges
*** ACI suggests creation of 750 on-site jobs for every 1 million carried passengers per year

Top Copyright Photo (all others by Wizz Air): Wizz Air (Hungary) Airbus A321-231 WL HA-LXD (msn 7032) BSL (Paul Bannwarth). Image: 938323.

Wizz Air aircraft slide show:

QANTAS and Air New Zealand announce a codeshare deal

Air New Zealand and QANTAS Airways have announced plans for a reciprocal codeshare agreement that leverages the strengths of each carrier’s domestic networks, making travel within Australia and New Zealand easier.

Under the codeshare QANTAS intends to add its code on up to 30 routes on Air New Zealand’s domestic network and Air New Zealand intends to add its code on up to 85 routes on QANTAS’ domestic network.

Coordination of check-in and handling at airports will mean shorter connection times, opening up more onward flights for customers on each carrier’s domestic networks and faster journey times overall.

Eligible customers will have access to a combined total of 36 domestic lounges on both sides of the Tasman when flying on routes covered by the codeshare agreement.

The codeshare and customer offering will exclude Trans-Tasman flights. QANTAS will continue to codeshare on all connecting Jetstar New Zealand services.

Tickets for the codeshare services will be available by the end of July 2018, for travel from October 28, 2018.

Qantas to code on 30 Air New Zealand domestic services

Air New Zealand to code on 85 QANTAS domestic services

All images by Air New Zealand and QANTAS Airways.

Cathay Pacific to fly new aircraft home using alternative jet fuel

Cathay Pacific Airways is underscoring its strong commitment to eco-efficiency by planning to use a blend of alternative jet fuel to fly its new fleet of Airbus A350-1000 aircraft home to Hong Kong.

The airline has 20 of these technologically-advanced aircraft on order for delivery over the next four years. Its first A350-1000 will depart Airbus headquarters in Toulouse on June 19, 2018. A further seven aircraft are due for delivery by the end of 2018.

Cathay Pacific Chief Executive Officer Rupert Hogg said: “We have been at the forefront of many initiatives to reduce the impact of greenhouse gas emissions. Achieving carbon neutral growth from 2020 is an important target that we take seriously and using alternative fuels is one of the key strategies in helping us to do so. We will continue to support the development and usage of biofuel to reach mainstream commercial viability.”

Cathay Pacific operated the longest biofuel delivery flight at the time when taking delivery of its first Airbus A350-900 aircraft in 2016. Twenty-two aircraft of this type have so far been delivered with a 10% blend of alternative jet fuel in their tanks.

Compared to traditional jet fuel, biofuel can reduce life cycle greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80%.

Cathay Pacific’s A350-1000 delivery flights using blended biofuel are supported by its partners, Airbus and Total.

Frederic Eychenne, Head of New Energies at Airbus, said: “Through the use of the A350-1000 and low carbon fuels, we continue to demonstrate our commitment to support the aviation sector and our customers to reduce their carbon footprint.”

Cathay Pacific is the world’s first airline to invest in an aviation biofuel company. In 2014, it became an equity investor in US-based Fulcrum BioEnergy Inc., which focuses on turning municipal solid waste into sustainable aviation fuel.

In May 2018, Fulcrum broke ground on its first commercial-scale plant in Nevada. When the plant begins operations in 2020, it will produce over 10 million gallons of fuel per year. Cathay Pacific will be one of the first airlines to fly on fuel produced from this facility.

All images by Cathay Pacific and Airbus.

Nolinor Aviation will invest $10 million over 5 years to modernize the navigation system of its Boeing 737-200s

Nolinor Aviation recently invested in a new technology program that involves upgrading the avionics systems in its fleet of 10 Boeing 737-200 aircrafts. The equipment modernization will increase system reliability and minimize any potential delays due to electromechanical and analogue equipment failures.

Interior of the cockpit with the new navigation system on the Boeing 737-200 from Nolinor Aviation. (CNW Group/Nolinor Aviation)

This new technology will maximize the availability of these aircraft for last-minute trips, including flights in much more limited airspace. It will also reduce the amount of time required for maintenance troubleshooting thanks to the self-diagnostic capacity of the on-board systems.

Investing in the future
Nolinor expects this modernization process to take 5 to 6 years, for a total investment of CA$10 million. These modernization efforts have already been undertaken on the aircraft with registration marks C-GTUK, for an initial investment of over CA$1 million.

Not only will this investment keep Nolinor Aviation at the forefront of the industry, it will also ensure that the fleet complies with U.S. regulations for this type of aircraft, which will soon come into effect in Canada as well.

Groundbreaking technical improvements
For the first time ever on a Boeing 737-200, all electromechanical navigational and flight instruments will be replaced with four active matrix LCD colour screens with LED blacklighting (Universal Avionics EFI 890R). These will be coupled with two solid-state inertial navigation systems (Honeywell Laseref V) and two LPV flight management systems (Universal UNS-1Lw). In addition, the transponder system will be upgraded to meet ADS-B OUT requirements.

The replacement of all gyroscope components will streamline the system architecture by eliminating a number of digital/analogue interfaces and increase the stability of navigational instruments in remote areas. Meanwhile, improvements to the on-board navigation systems will increase the flexibility of operations in monitored areas.

Upholding company values
This first step toward the modernization of Nolinor’s avionics fleet will ensure the company’s continued operations in the Arctic and large urban areas for years to come. “Innovation is one of our company’s core values and guides our management philosophy. This investment shows that we are committed to technological advancement and safety so that we can offer our clients the best possible service,” explains Jacques Prud‘homme, President of Nolinor Aviation.

About Nolinor
Founded in 1992, Nolinor Aviation is an air transportation company specializing in commercial charter flights. With a fleet of aircraft that can be readily configured in a number of ways, Nolinor can meet the needs of clients looking to transport passengers, cargo or both. Nolinor Aviation offers air services across Canada and the United States, and to many other destinations around the world, and stands out for the safety of its equipment and services. Nolinor employs a workforce of 265 in six provinces made up of seasoned pilots, experienced flight attendants, flight dispatchers and the best mechanics in the industry. Nolinor Aviation (IATA code N5) is a private company, wholly owned by the Prud’homme family trust.

Top Copyright Photo (all others by Nolinor): Nolinor Aviation Boeing 737-2B6C C-GNLN (msn 23050) YUL (Gilbert Hechema). Image: 911644.

Nolinor aircraft slide show:

Boutique Air starts Massena, NY – Boston flights

Boutique Air started Massena, NY – Boston route on June 1 with Pilatus PC-12 aircraft.

The airline issued this statement:

Boutique Air released a new schedule for flights from Massena International Airport (MSS) in Massena, NY to Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) in Boston, MA. Effective June 1, 2018, Boutique Air is now offering round trip flight service between Massena, NY and Boston, MA. Boutique Air will be retiring service in Albany, NY and Baltimore, MD on May 31, 2018.

“With this move, passengers will be able to fly into a major city,” said CEO Shawn Simpson. “Not only is Boston a great destination to visit with many historic sites, it’s also a quicker trip to an international airport.”

With the communities demand for service in Boston, Boutique Air took action and contacted the Department of Transportation to make the change possible. The DOT recognized the need for Massena to be connected to a metropolitan city and approved the request.

The Town of Massena voted unanimously to move service to Boston. They are excited to provide people the opportunity to be better connected. The availability to a large cosmopolitan area will strengthen the business climate by providing more resources and opportunity for business development. Members of the community are looking forward to quicker plane turnaround times and an increase of travel possibilities.

People from Montreal are interested in driving in to Massena to Boston for better access to international travel.

In other news, United Airlines on May 23, 2018 started codeshare service with Boutique Air from Atlanta, Denver, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Nashville and Portland, OR.

The carrier also issued this statement:

Boutique Air is proud to announce a new codeshare partnership with United Airlines. As a leading airline to smaller, secondary cities throughout the United States, Boutique is excited to begin this partnership with United. Boutique serves 30 destinations with plans for continued expansion and has a large presence in Denver, which is one of United’s largest domestic hubs. Customers will enjoy a seamless connection experience between the two airlines. Boutique Air flies Pilatus PC-12 and King Air 350 aircraft, all of which feature an executive style seating configuration.

Route Map:

Delta to drop the New York JFK – Havana route

Delta Air Lines, according to Airline Route, will drop the weekly New York (JFK) – Havana route on September 1, 2018.

The route is currently served with Airbus A319 aircraft.

Delta aircraft slide show (Airbus):

American to add eight new domestic routes

American Airlines is adding eight new mainline and American Eagle routes from Dallas/Fort Worth, Miami and New York (LaGuardia):

According to Airline Route, the carrier will add from:

Dallas/Fort Worth to:

Buffalo (A319, daily effective December 19, 2018)

Del Rio (Envoy Air, daily effective November 4, 2018)

Sarasota/Bradenton (SkyWest, effective December 19, 2018)

Wilmington, NC (Mesa, daily effective December 19, 2018)

Miami to:

Greensboro (Envoy Air, daily effective November 4, 2018)

Knoxville (Envoy Air, effective December 19, 2018)

New York (LaGuardia) to:

Charleston, SC (Republic, twice-weekly effective November 4, 2018)

Savannah (Republic, twice-weekly effective November 4, 2018)

American Airlines aircraft slide show (Airbus):

Allegiant taps Micah Richins to lead its new Sunseeker Resorts

Allegiant President John Redmond announced that Micah Richins has been named executive vice president and chief operating officer for Sunseeker Resorts. In this role, he will oversee all operational aspects of the company’s resorts division. Richins, who most recently served as chief commercial officer for MGM Resorts International, brings more than 25 years of experience in the hospitality industry to this new role.

At MGM Resorts International (MGMRI), Richins operated some of the world’s largest and most successful integrated resorts, including MGM Grand, New York-New York and Luxor. In his most recent role as chief commercial officer, he and his team were responsible for developing and implementing the corporate strategy for pricing, segmentation and promotions for all of MGM Resorts Las Vegas properties. Richins previously served as the company’s senior vice president of revenue management for more than eight years. His experience in hospitality also extends to entertainment, including opening Cirque du Soleil productions “Zumanity” and “Criss Angel: Believe,” and developing a corporate group that leveraged analytics and revenue management to revolutionize the way entertainment was scheduled, priced and promoted in Las Vegas.

Allegiant in 2017 announced plans for Sunseeker Resorts, including its inaugural development – a one-of-a-kind hotel/condo resort in Charlotte Harbor, on Florida’s Gulf Coast. The project marks an important step in Allegiant’s evolution as a travel company, offering customers more opportunity for leisure experiences.