New Frontier Airlines plane tail will feature the Costa Rican Two-Toed Sloth in honor of destination partner Costa Rica

Frontier Airlines today unveiled details of a special new aircraft that will join the fleet next year featuring the Costa Rican two-toed sloth on its tail.

All Frontier plane tails feature a unique animal with a special name and back story. The Hoffmann’s two-toed sloth was chosen to honor Frontier destination partner Costa Rica and highlight this unique species, which is native to Costa Rica. Frontier Airlines serves both San Jose and Liberia, Costa Rica via nonstop service from Orlando.

The sloth needs a name and Frontier, in partnership with Visit Costa Rica, is inviting consumers to vote by going to Frontier’s social media channels on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter between now and 12 midnight on June 11 to vote using the hashtag #NameTheSloth. The three name choices are Manny, Tony and Tico. Manny and Tony are a nod to Costa Rica’s Manuel Antonio National Park, where sloths can be observed in the wild. Tico is a name used to refer to natives of Costa Rica.

Sloths are considered a national symbol of Costa Rica and the two-toed sloth is the larger of two sloth species found in the country. They are mostly nocturnal and can be distinguished by their white-ringed faces, brown snouts and shaggy coats. Sloths are mammals that spend around 90 percent of their lives upside down in the trees within rainforests and can live up to 30 years. Costa Rica is taking measures to ensure these unique creatures continue to thrive in their natural habitat.

Frontier aircraft photo gallery:

SAS reports a 350% increase in traffic in May

SAS issued this traffic report for May:

During May more than 1.8 million passengers traveled with SAS, an increase of approximately 350% compared to the same month last year. SAS’ capacity increased at the same time by 200% compared with the same period last year. In comparison with last month, the total number of passengers increased with 18% and capacity was increased by 13%. The flown load factor for May was 71%, an improvement of 35 percentage points compared to May last year.

“Our ramp-up continues and I am happy to share we have now also started flying to and from Toronto. Overall ticket sales are positive as we are approaching the summer peak period. However, the whole aviation ecosystem is currently faced with challenges and to minimize the operational risk for summer SAS has made pro-active adjustments to its traffic program. Meanwhile, the crucial work on the necessary transformation of SAS continues”, says Anko van der Werff, President & CEO of SAS.

SAS scheduled traffic	May22	Change¹	Nov21- May22	Change¹
ASK (Mill.)	3,071	184.8%	16,791	164.5%
RPK (Mill.)	2,163	455.6%	10,478	442.3%
Passenger load factor	70.4%	34.3 pp	62.4%	32.0 pp
No. of passengers (000)	1,770	338.0%	8,612	281.2%

Geographical development, schedule	May22 vs. May21		Nov21- May22 vs. Nov20-May21
	RPK	ASK	RPK	ASK
Intercontinental	1,263.0%	155.8%	1,256.6%	153.2%
Europe/Intrascandinavia	526.6%	330.3%	601.0%	345.3%
Domestic	146.9%	73.1%	132.4%	43.7%

SAS charter traffic	May22	Change¹	Nov21- May22	Change¹
ASK (Mill.)	160	48,480.4%	818	2,258.9%
RPK (Mill.)	143	173,758.5%	669	4,891.4%
Load factor	89.4%	64.4 pp	81,7%	43.1 pp
No. of passengers (000)	56	47,949.1%	227	5,994.5%

SAS total traffic (scheduled and charter)	May22	Change¹	Nov21- May22	Change¹
ASK (Mill.)	3,231	199.5%	17,609	175.9%
RPK (Mill.)	2,305	492.2%	11,147	473.0%
Load factor	71.4%	35.3 pp	63.3%	32.8 pp
No. of passengers (000)	1,826	351.7%	8,839	290.6%

¹ Change compared to same period last year, p p = percentage points

Preliminary yield and PASK	May22	Nominal change¹	FX adjusted change
Yield, SEK	1.10	-7.9%	-10.4%
PASK, SEK	0.78	79.7%	74.9%

			May22
Punctuality (arrival 15 min)			77.5%
Regularity			98.1%
Change in total CO₂emissions			131.9%
Change in CO₂emissions per available seat kilometer,			-2.6%
Carbon offsetting of passenger related emissions			44.7%

SAS aircraft photo gallery:

ITA Airways unveils a new “Born To Be Sustainable” special livery

ITA Airways made this announcement:

The new ITA Airways “Born To Be Sustainable” Airbus A350-900 is on its way from Shannon Airport in Ireland. A testimonial of the flagship carrier’s commitment to sustainability, this next- generation aircraft is part of the progressive fleet renewal and increase that will lead ITA Airways to become – over the 2021-25 Plan period – Europe’s greenest air carrier.

With the “Born To Be Sustainable” A350, ITA Airways tells the story of the 5 Sustainability Guidelines that underpin the Company’s ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) strategy.

The large Born To Be Sustainable lettering on the fuselage, illustrates this foundational commitment, which ITA Airways pursues in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), combining environmental and social sustainability with business growth and financial strength.

ITA Airways has developed and integrated, for its new sustainability testimonial, a series of extraordinary initiatives to its usual operational procedures, in coordination with all departments involved. With a view to efficiency and reduction of environmental impact, these activities will cover the streamlining of flight and ground operations, with a focus on fuel consumption, investment in sustainable SAF fuel, the use of sustainable in-flight service materials, a dedicated passenger experience with a digital newsstand service, and subsequently the possibility for travelers to join programs to offset the CO2 produced by their travel.

The Born To Be Sustainable with its “talking” livery – exactly like the one of the A320 “Born In 2021” taking the inaugural flight on October 15, 2021 – will operate between Rome and Los Angeles, New York and Buenos Aires. It will fly representing the airline’s primary goal of reducing CO2 emissions. Indeed, the A350-900 is one of Airbus’ flagships. Compared to previous generations, the weight of the structure has decreased by 70 percent through the widespread use of composite materials, titanium and aluminum alloys, and fuel consumption is 25 percent lower. Significant aspects also include the “cabin rate” (the air pressure breathed by passengers), which corresponds to an altitude of about 1,800 meters, compared to 2,400-2,500 meters of its competitors, which reduces fatigue and possible physical consequences of sitting for many hours.

With the Born To Be Sustainable, ITA Airways will have 4 of the 8 A350s ordered from Airbus already operational on the intercontinental routes from mid-June.

ITA Airways, in line with the Business Plan, has prepared Corporate Sustainability Guidelines which will guide the Company’s sustainable development model.

ITA Airways aircraft photo:

Singapore Airlines restores the Singapore – Rome route

Singapore Airlines has resumed operations between its Singapore hub and Rome (Fiumicino).

The restored route will operate three days a week.

Marco Finelli reporting from Italy.

Singapore Airlines aircraft photo gallery:

Aerolineas Argentinas resumes its flights to Rome Fiumicino

Aerolíneas Argentinas and Aeroporti di Roma SpA have announced the resumption of nonstop flights between Rome and Buenos Aires.

Flights were suspended in March 2020 due to COVID-19.

The airline uses its Airbus A330-200s on the route.

Marco Finelli reporting from Italy.

Aerolineas Aregintinas aircraft photo gallery:

LATAM resumes operations between Punta Arenas and Mount Pleasant

LATAM Airlines Group announces the resumption of operations between Punta Arenas and Mount Pleasant, with a monthly stopover in Río Gallegos (Argentina), starting on July 2, 2022.

LATAM Airlines Group has operated this route since 1999, in compliance with the agreement signed that year by the governments of Argentina and the United Kingdom. These routes were suspended in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 global health crisis.

The route is operated on Airbus A320 aircraft, which has a capacity of 174 passengers —162 in Economy, and 12 passengers in Premium Economy. Flights will operate weekly on Saturdays, under the following schedule (all in local time). Flights in August will be scheduled the same as those in July.

Date Flight Route Time

July 2 LA895 Punta Arenas – Mount Pleasant 11:20h – 12:55h

July 2 LA894 Mount Pleasant – Punta Arenas 13:57h – 15:38h

July 9 LA897 Punta Arenas – Río Gallegos 11:20h – 12:04h

July 9 LA897 Río Gallegos – Mount Pleasant 13:35h – 15:04h

July 9 LA894 Mount Pleasant – Punta Arenas 16:50h – 18:31h

July 16 LA895 Punta Arenas – Mount Pleasant 11:20h – 12:55h

July 16 LA896 Mount Pleasant – Río Gallegos 14:57h – 16:28h

July 16 LA896 Río Gallegos – Punta Arenas 18:12h – 18:54h

July 23 LA895 Punta Arenas -Mount Pleasant 11:20h – 12:55h

July 23 LA894 Mount Pleasant – Punta Arenas 13:57h – 15:38h

July 30 LA895 Punta Arenas -Mount Pleasant 11:20h – 12:55h

July 30 LA894 Mount Pleasant – Punta Arenas 13:57h – 15:38h

LATAM Airlines (Chile) aircraft photo gallery:

JetBlue comments on Spirit’s postponement of special meeting

JetBlue Airways has issued this statement:

JetBlue Airways has issued the following statement from Robin Hayes, chief executive officer, regarding the decision by the Spirit Board of Directors:

We welcome this development as a necessary first step toward genuine negotiations between the Spirit Board and JetBlue. Spirit shareholders are clearly urging the Spirit Board to engage with us constructively and provide us with the same information previously made available to Frontier so that we can reach a consensual transaction.

The improved proposal we submitted to the Spirit Board earlier this week clearly offers the most compelling value available for Spirit stockholders and we remain fully committed to acquiring Spirit. We are confident a combined JetBlue-Spirit will create a true national competitor to the dominant big four carriers that will result in lower fares and better service for customers, while offering Spirit shareholders the most attractive value creating opportunity available to them.

JetBlue aircraft photo gallery:

United to add the San Francisco – Brisbane route

United Airlines has announced year-round, nonstop service between San Francisco and Brisbane, becoming the first U.S. airline to add a new transpacific destination to its global network since the start of the pandemic. From Brisbane, United customers will be able to easily connect to nearly 20 other cities within Australia thanks to the airline’s new partnership with Virgin Australia. United was the only carrier to maintain passenger service between Australia and the U.S. during the pandemic.

In addition to the new Brisbane route, United currently flies nonstop to Sydney from San Francisco and Los Angeles and offers nonstop flights between Melbourne and the U.S.

The launch of this route is supported by The Queensland Government’s Attracting Aviation Investment Fund, which was established to help rebuild the country’s international tourism industry. United’s new service will support 385 local jobs and bring an estimated $73 million into the economy. Pre-pandemic, San Francisco was the second largest mainland U.S. inbound passenger market and destination for Queensland travelers. United’s hub at San Francisco provides convenient one-stop connections for more than 80 North American destinations.

United’s new Brisbane service will operate three times weekly on a 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft that includes 48 lie-flat, United Polaris^® business class seats, 21 United Premium Plus^® seats, 39 Economy Plus® seats and 149 economy seats. All seats are equipped with seatback on-demand entertainment to help customers pass the time and relax during their travels.

United is the longest serving U.S. carrier in Australia, serving the country for more than 35 years with its first direct service to Sydney in 1986. The airline first began offering nonstop service to Melbourne from Los Angeles in 2014 and recently restarted its San Francisco–Melbourne service this June.

United Airlines aircraft photo gallery:

PLAY opens up Bologna service

PLAY (Play Airlines) opened a new route connecting its Keflavik hub with Bologna, Italy on June 7.

The inaugural flight was operated with Airbus A320neo TF-PPA.

Marco Finelli reporting from Italy.

PLAY aircraft photo gallery:

ITA Airways adds a new code share with Azul

ITA Airways today launches the new code share agreement with Azul – Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras.

ITA Airways will be able to apply its “AZ” code on domestic flights operated by Azul in 8 strategic markets: Belém (PA), Cuiabá (MT), Santos Dumont (RJ), Porto Alegre (RS), Recife (PE), Juazeiro do Norte (CE), Confins (MG) and Curitiba (PR), in connection with the Rome – Sao Paulo flight, which will initially be operated 5 times a week, and will become daily from August.