Airbus pushes mission-critical standard solutions for 5G networks

Airbus has made this announcement:

Airbus will intensively contribute to the next steps in finding a global standard for mission-critical multimedia group communication. After the 3rd Generation Partnership Project’s (3GPP) completion of release 14 of secure multimedia group communication in December 2017, Airbus and its partners within 3GPP are now working on release 15 and 16 by the end of 2019. 3GPP is a global initiative that unites various standard development organisations and sets international telecommunications standards as well as system specifications.

One of the prime intentions is to improve real-time video group communication (MCVideo) and develop a thorough 5G solution. “It is all about verifying the current developments and test transparently the interfaces between our solutions and those of our partners in the 3GPP. We are expecting that the outcome evolves powerfully and will be confirmed in tests in June 2018 and in 2019,” says Eric Davalo, Head of Strategic Development for Secure Land Communications at Airbus.

One of the areas Airbus will closely look at during the plug test in June 2018 is how its application Tactilon Agnet will work with Mission-Critical Push to Talk and Mission-Critical Data solutions (the safe transmission of messages, pictures and videos, but not in real-time). These solutions equally comply with the 3GPP releases 13 and 14 standard definitions. Both mission-critical functions refer to a functionality which allows immediate availability for group and one-to-one communication.

However, the definition of the Mission-Critical Video will still require further improvements with the release 15, before it can be intensively tested. Furthermore, the application’s hybrid use in Tetra and broadband networks will also be under scrutiny to find the best standard.

“Next June we will take part in an international plug test in Disaster City in Texas, United States, where we will check collaboratively the next level of standard developments with other companies,” says Eric Davalo. “Afterwards, we will be focusing on mission-critical video group communication and start considering the 5G networks which evolve naturally out of the existing 4G technology. Our ideas look really promising.”

Photo: Airbus.

Finnair extends Alaska Airlines partnership with new codeshares for the U.S. West Coast

Finnair has announced a new codeshare partnership with Alaska Airlines, which will further strengthen Finnair’s reach on the West Coast of the United States.

Starting May 20, Finnair’s code will be added to flights operated by Alaska Airlines between San Francisco and the following cities: Seattle/Tacoma, Portland, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County and Palm Springs. The new codeshares will offer smooth connections for Finnair customers connecting in San Francisco, where Finnair operates from Helsinki with up to three weekly frequencies between May 3 and December 5, 2018.

Finnair and Alaska Airlines announced a frequent flyer partnership in May 2017, which enables members of both the Finnair Plus loyalty program and the Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan to earn and redeem miles or points on flights operated by both airlines.

Finnair aircraft slide show:

Air Mauritius continues to expand

Air Mauritius is planning to add a weekly flight from Mauritius to Wuhan, China. The new route will start on July 6, 2018 with Airbus A340-300s according to Airline Route.

Last month, Air Mauritius added twice-weekly service to Amsterdam on March 26, 2018.

The Amsterdam flights are operated in collaboration with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines and Air France. To recall, KLM kicked off these joint operations in October 2017 with three weekly flights between Amsterdam and Mauritius.

“The start of operations to Amsterdam is part of our plan to develop a second hub in Europe. Many of our key routes have been built on the strong historical ties we share with the countries we operate to. Our history with the Netherlands is more than four centuries old. Mauritius was indeed named after Prince Maurits of Nassau, during the Dutch settlement in 1598. Today Schiphol Airport, the home base of our partner KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, gives us access to 50 code share destinations all over Europe. We expect Amsterdam to develop into an important hub in our network, particularly for passengers from Nordic and East European countries. This will contribute to boost tourist arrivals toMauritius”, stated Somas Appavou, CEO.

Air Mauritius’ main hub in Europe is Paris from where it offers nearly 40 code share destinations in Europe, with partner Air France. Air Mauritius and the Air France/KLM group have built close ties over the years, Air France having been an important partner indeed since Air Mauritius was incorporated in 1967. In 1998 the two airlines signed a collaborative agreement to jointly operate the Mauritius – Paris route. This agreement was extended and reinforced in 2008 and 2014.

Air Mauritius will operate 2 weekly frequencies on Mondays and Fridays throughout the Northern Summer of 2018. A third flight will be operated on Wednesdays during the peak period corresponding to July and August.

Air Mauritius aircraft slide show:

Wizz Air to add two new routes from Vienna

Wizz Air on July 2 will start a new route from Vienna to Eindhoven. The next day, July 3, the carrier will start a new route linking Vienna with Malaga.

Wizz Air aircraft slide show:

Nolinor Aviation Boeing 737 lands on a frozen lake

Nolinor Aviation today made this announcement on social media:

El Al tentatively schedules the last Boeing 747 flight

https://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Endangered-Species-List/Endangered-Species-List/i-PNNKXKF/A

El Al Israel Airlines, according to Airline Route, is currently planning to operate the last Boeing 747-400 revenue flight on March 31, 2019. The last flight is currently scheduled on the Bangkok (BKK) – Tel Aviv (TLV) route.

El Al aircraft slide show:

CBS’ “60 Minutes” TV show spotlights Allegiant Air

CBS’ TV show 60 Minutes last light investigated Allegiant Air.

Steve Kroft talks with 60 Minutes Overtime about safety concerns aboard Allegiant Air—and his own close call decades ago on a press charter.

Video:

Watch the full report on “60 Minutes”: CLICK HERE

Allegiant Air’s official response:

Captain Eric Gust, Vice President of Operations

“It is unfortunate and disappointing that CBS 60 Minutes has chosen to air a false narrative about Allegiant and the FAA. This unoriginal and outdated story bears no resemblance to Allegiant’s operations today, and shows a fundamental misunderstanding of FAA compliance practice and history. It focused primarily on events of several years past, prior to the FAA’s most recent comprehensive audit of Allegiant Air, which revealed no systemic or regulatory deficiencies.

“It has come to our attention that the story was instigated by a terminated employee, currently engaged in a lawsuit seeking monetary damages from the company. The story features cherry-picked interviews with people involved in the lawsuit, including featured comments from John Goglia, a paid plaintiff’s witness presented by CBS as an unbiased industry expert. This one-sided presentation falls far short of responsible journalistic standards expected from reputable outlets, including 60 Minutes.

“The FAA is recognized around the world as the gold standard with regard to transportation safety, and as a result the airline industry in the U.S. has never been safer.

“The FAA exercises rigorous oversight of Allegiant, as they do all airlines operating in the United States. Allegiant complies with all FAA requirements and participates in numerous voluntary safety programs to ensure we operate to the highest standards. Additionally, we expect our team members to follow all company policies and practice strict adherence to FAA regulations and guidelines. Several anonymous, non-disciplinary reporting systems are available through Allegiant as well as through the FAA for team members to report safety concerns. Interestingly, none of the concerns allegedly expressed by Allegiant team members during the 60 Minutes episode were found to have been reported through any of these appropriate channels.

“Allegiant’s workforce is made up of more than 4,000 dedicated and hard-working people who wake up every day thinking about how to move our customers safely from one place to another. Our team members safely operate thousands of flights each week, which will transport more than 14 million passengers this year. We have safely carried nearly 90 million passengers since beginning operations in 2001.

“If 60 Minutes had been interested in current information, they would have reported that today, according to just-released Department of Transportation data, Allegiant is a leader in reliability, with the second-lowest cancelation rate among all US airlines.

“Not only do we expect our team members to adhere to all company procedures and policies, but many positions are subject to statutory and regulatory obligations, the violation of which would not only trigger punitive action from the company, but could also result in enforcement action from regulatory agencies, loss of a certification, and even criminal charges. To suggest that Allegiant would engage in the practice of asking team members to violate company and regulatory obligations is offensive and defamatory.”

Follow-up from CBS: Allegiant Air goes on the defensive after “60 Minutes” report: CLICK HERE

ANA to merge Peach and Vanilla

ANA – All Nippon Airways is planning to merge its partly-owned low-fare Peach Aviation and fully-owned Vanilla Air subsidiaries by March 2020. Peach will be the surviving brand.

The new Peach will be Japan’s largest budget airline.

ANA is also planning to expand its ownership in Peach from the current 67 percent to 77.9 percent.

Peach is planning to expand its fleet to more than 50 aircraft after the merger.

ANA issued this statement on March 22, 2018:

To further build on the respective successes of Peach Aviation Limited (Peach) and Vanilla Air INC. (Vanilla) and position them for future growth, ANA Holdings has announced the integration of its two subsidiary airlines, Peach and Vanilla, with the goal to become the leading low cost carrier (LCC) in the Asian region. The process of full integration is planned to start in the second half of the FY2018, with the target to be completed by the end of FY2019, with Peach being designated as the basis of the integrated airline.

Following the integration, the airline will serve as a strong foundation for further fleet growth and network expansions from Osaka Kansai Airport as well as from Tokyo Narita Airport. In addition, the airline will stimulate potential demand in Japan and from abroad through attractive service, various innovations and fares that exceed expectations.

History of the two LCCs:

Peach Aviation started its operations from Osaka Kansai Airport in March 2012 as the first Japanese branded LCC with the concept of “The Flying Train (safe, easy and cheap).” The carrier has raised the value of its customer experience through a number of ideas that were revolutionary to the aviation industry. Peach has been the leading carrier among the LCCs in Japan with its stable operational quality and its progressive management strategy.

Vanilla Air started its operations from Tokyo Narita Airport in December 2013. With the help of the huge demand in the Tokyo metropolitan area, the carrier actively expanded its network of domestic and international routes. One of the significant landmarks of Vanilla’s achievements is the revitalization of local Japan destinations such as Amami-Oshima, by creating and carrying new leisure demand to the region. Vanilla has also played a big role in bringing a large number of inbound passengers to Japan from Asian countries such as Taiwan.

Purpose of the Integration

The integration will combine and further enhance the strengths the two LCCs have today, and will create a stronger competitive advantage to further promote not only the Japan domestic service, but also capture the strong demand for visitors to Japan. Beyond FY2020, the airline plans to have more than 50 aircraft operating on more than 50 routes, up from the 35 aircraft today and the 39 routes currently served.

By FY2020, the integrated LCC plans to enter the mid-haul LCC market to aggressively incorporate the growing travel demand in Asia, and will also contribute to the Japanese government’s goal of 40 million people visiting Japan in 2020.

With target revenue of 150 billion Japanese yen and an operating profit of 15 billion Japanese yen for FY2020, the strategy will contribute to increased operational efficiency and reduction of unit costs. ANA group will maintain the strategic independence of the integrated LCC, and position the airline as an important pillar for greater profits and new opportunities for future expansion, and become the leading LCC in Asia.

Peach Route Map:

Vanilla Air Route Map:

Top Copyright Photo: Peach Aviation (Japan) Airbus A320-214 JA817P (msn 6824) NRT (Michael B. Ing). Image: 934246.

Peach aircraft slide show:

Vanilla Air aircraft slide show:

Bottom Copyright Photo: The Vanilla Air brand will be slipping away. Vanilla Air Airbus A320-214 WL JA06VA (msn 6320) NRT (Michael B. Ing). Image: 934241.

Flair Airlines expands in the west

Flair Airlines (Kelowna) is expanding in WestJet’s backyard.

The low-fare carrier has announced it will start a new route from Saskatoon to Edmonton starting on June 15.

The airline has also announced new nonstop flights between Winnipeg and Calgary and Vancouver along with Edmonton and Prince George and Victoria, and finally between Toronto (Pearson) and Halifax.

Top Copyright Photo (all others by Flair Airlines): Flair Airlines Boeing 737-490 C-FLRS (msn 28888) YVR (Rob Rindt). Image: 941106.

Flair Airlines aircraft slide show:

Silver Airways takes delivery of its first ATR 42-600, introduces a new look

Silver Airways on April 13 took delivery of its first ATR 42-600 at the Toulouse plant for ATR.

The pictured N400SV (msn 1214) sports a bright new livery featuring a flamingo named “Bella”. The inscription at the nose reads “Mile Marker Zero” implying there will be more images from Florida coming on subsequent deliveries.

The new Silver Airways logo now features a flamingo.

Silver Airways is also featuring flamingos in their ads.

As previously reported, Silver Airways ordered16 ATR 42-600s and four ATR 72-600s.

This follows a deal between ATR and Nordic Aviation Capital (NAC) for the purchase of 15 ATR -600s, of which 12 will be ATR 42-600s and three will be ATR 72-600s.

These aircraft, along with five from an existing order between ATR and NAC, will be leased to Silver Airways, making them the first operator of ATR -600 series aircraft in the US.

The aircraft, an ATR 42-600, will be configured with 46 seats in a 2-2 seating configuration, with a pitch of up to 32 inches. The remaining deliveries are expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2020. Crew training will be conducted by ATR at its new training facility in Miami, which is home to a Full Flight Simulator (FFS) for the ATR -600 series aircraft.

The brand new ATR -600s will replace Silver Airways’ existing fleet of 21 Saab 340B turboprops, while increasing the frequency of main routes and opening new air services to destinations in Florida, the southern United States and Caribbean.

Top Copyright Photo (all others by Silver Airways): Silver Airways ATR 42-600 N400SV (msn 1214) TLS (Eurospot). Image: 941568.

Silver Airways aircraft slide show: