JAL to expand Wi-Fi service on its Boeing 767-300 ERs and 787-8 Dreamliners

Japan Airlines-JAL (Tokyo) has been introducing its in-flight Wi-Fi service since July 2012 with its Boeing 777-300 ERs. The airline will start to include Boeing 767-300 ERs and Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners to introducing its JAL SKY Wi-Fi service on more Europe, North America and long-haul Asia routes from March 3, 2015.

Under the theme of “Embrace new Challenges,” JAL is striving to introduce more innovative products and services to its customers.

From March 2015, JAL SKY Wi-Fi, in-flight internet service (paid service) will be expanded on both international and domestic routes. JAL will support onboard passengers to have seamless connectivity in the air just as they can on the ground.

Starting April 2015, JAL will provide customers with the latest Hollywood and Japanese movies and series of TV dramas on international routes. Well-received SKY MANGA will be available on the airline’s Boeing 787s in both Japanese and English in order to introducing the culture of Japanese manga.

On JAL domestic routes, Wi-Fi video service will be increased to 10 programs, and these free programs are available for watching through your own wireless LAN capable devices.

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 767-346 ER JA608J (msn 33497) approaches the runway at the Tokyo (Narita) hub.

JAL aircraft slide show:

Turkish Airlines looking at the Airbus A380, profit nearly triples for 2014

Turkish Airlines (Turk Hava Yollari dba) (Istanbul) is looking at larger Airbus (including the A380) and Boeing aircraft as its traffic continues to expand according to this public disclosure. No decision has been made. Here is the airline statement:

“Our Incorporation has the talent to include any type of aircraft to its fleet and there are ongoing negotiations for all types of aircraft. As of today, there is no Board decision regarding the purchase or lease of an A380 aircraft. Turkish Airlines will not be operating an A380 aircraft in 2015.”

The airline continues;

“7 additional aircraft to enter the fleet in 2015 and the leasing of these aircraft are at the agreement stage. With the addition of these aircraft the 2015 year-end fleet will reach 300 and our traffic and financial guidance will be revised accordingly.”

Meanwhile on the financial side, net profit for 2014 increased to 1.82 billion lira ($723 million) from 683 million lira ($271.3 million) from the previous year.

Read the full financial report for 2014: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Jay Selman/AirlinersGallery.com. Given the pictured Boeing 777-300 ER is the current main long-range aircraft for Turkish, the commonalty with the larger Boeing 747-800 could intrigue the Turkish decision makers. Given Boeing needs to keep open the 747-800 production line, pricing for the Jumbo could be very competitive versus Airbus for its A380. Boeing 777-35R ER TC-JJA (msn 35160) arrives at New York (JFK).

Turkish Airlines aircraft slide show:

SAS sells another slot pair at London Heathrow Airport

Scandinavian Airlines-SAS (Stockholm) has sold another slot pair at London’s slot-controlled Heathrow Airport. The airline issued this statement:

SAS has entered into a slot transaction with Turkish Airlines that will take over one afternoon slot-pair at London Heathrow from SAS at the beginning of the winter traffic program on October 25, 2015.

The transaction will generate a positive earnings impact of $22 million for SAS to be accounted for during the second quarter with a corresponding cash effect during calendar year 2015.

As part of creating balance between frequencies and capacity during the day and following the disposition of a morning slot-pair earlier in February 2015, SAS has entered into a second slot-pair transaction. Following this transaction, SAS will have 19 daily slot-pairs at London Heathrow and will still be the fifth largest airline operating at London Heathrow, measured in number of weekly departures. After this transaction, SAS does not have any plans to reduce its portfolio of slots.

SAS currently operates from London Heathrow to Copenhagen, Gothenburg, Oslo, Stockholm and Stavanger. SAS will continue to offer a strong and comprehensive network between Scandinavia and London Heathrow with the intention to keep the seat capacity to/from London Heathrow unchanged through the use of larger aircraft on remaining departures. As noted earlier in February 2015, SAS will consider the use of other airports in the London-region.

Following this transaction, Turkish Airlines will have 38 weekly slot-pairs at London Heathrow Airport.

Copyright Photo: SAS has pledged to use larger aircraft into London Heathrow. Scandinavian Airlines-SAS Airbus A321-232 LN-RKI (msn 1817), which formerly had the image of H.C. Andersen, taxies across the ramp at LHR.

SAS aircraft slide show:

Lufthansa announces its new First Class experience is available on all long-haul flights from Munich

Lufthansa (Frankfurt) has announced its new first class experience is available on all long-haul routes from its Munich hub. The airline issued this statement:

Lufthansa passengers can now experience the airline’s new First Class service on all long-haul flights from Munich. At the end of last week, the final Airbus A340-600 in the airline’s Munich-based long-haul fleet was retrofitted with the new First Class cabin. This winter, a total of 24 Airbus A340-600 and A330-300 aircraft will serve 22 intercontinental destinations from Munich.

This summer, the retrofit of the new First and Business Class cabins on the remainder of the long-haul fleet will be completed. By the end of 2015, all Lufthansa long-range aircraft will feature the new Premium Economy cabin. Altogether 11,000 seats are being installed on 105 aircraft.

Photo: Lufthansa.

In the award-winning First Class cabin, passengers can look forward to individual service and a wide selection of top-quality food and drinks. Each of the eight First Class seats can be extended to create a lie-flat bed measuring 2.07 meters in length and 80 cm in width, enabling passengers to enjoy a deep, relaxing sleep. The new Business Class seat offers exceptional comfort, whether in an upright or a reclining position.

At the press of a button, the seat converts into a comfortable bed with a horizontal sleeping surface measuring 1.98 meters in length. In Business Class, passengers can select what they want to watch from the expanded inflight entertainment programme and view it on their personal 15-inch monitor. The new Premium Economy Class offers 50 per cent more space plus an enhanced service, and passengers can also check in two items of baggage. In the course of this year, Lufthansa will offer its Business Class passengers a new, more personalized, restaurant-style service.

Top Copyright Photo: Rob Finlayson/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A340-642 D-AIHU (msn 848) touches down at Los Angeles International Airport.

Lufthansa aircraft slide show:

KLM to take delivery of the first Boeing 777-300 ER in the revised livery and new cabin configurations

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (Amsterdam) has issued this statement and photos:

The aircraft – bearing registration PH-BVN – will be the ninth Boeing 777-300 ER to join the KLM fleet, alongside 15 Boeing 777-200 ERs. The new Boeing will be the first 777-300 ER to be delivered featuring the new Economy and World Business class configuration and the new livery. The PH-BVO will follow at the end of April, also boasting the new configuration and livery.

Above Photos: KLM. Close-up photos of Boeing 777-306 ER PH-BVN (msn 44549) in the 2014 livery in the Boeing paint shop. The Triple Seven completed its first flight in bare metal on February 12.

KLM aircraft slide show:

Bottom Image: The first KLM 787-9 Dreamliner is expected to arrive in October 2015.

Delta to restart flights from New York JFK to Rome and Venice

Delta Air Lines (Atlanta) will restart flights from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport next month to Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino and Venice’s Marco Polo airports.

The nonstop flight from Rome to New York-JFK, complementing the airline’s existing service to Atlanta, will re-start on March 1 (the New York JFK – Rome FCO portion restarts on February 28). Delta will resume its seasonal nonstop flight between Venice and New York-JFK, effective March 29. Both flights are operated in conjunction with joint venture partner, Alitalia.

Schedule:

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Ex-TWA/American Boeing 757-231 N705TW (msn 28479) in the SkyTeam livery departs from Los Angeles.

Delta Air Lines aircraft slide show (current livery only):

WSJ: United warns pilots after cockpit errors

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on February 25 published an article that detailed a “dramatic safety warning to pilots following serious incidents caused by errors in the cockpit”.

The company bulletin was issued on January 9 did not provide specifics according to the WSJ report.

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

JetBlue adds its first destination from Baltimore/Washington to Florida

JetBlue Airways (New York) today announced its intent to expand at Baltimore/Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport, with twice daily service to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. The new non-stop route to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood will launch in November and seats will go out for sale with the upcoming November schedule release.

JetBlue also serves the Baltimore/Washington region with flights from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) and Dulles International Airports (IAD).

Jetblue Airways aircraft slide show:

Southwest Airlines increases the number of nonstop destinations from Dallas Love Field to 50

Southwest Airlines (Dallas) today published 16 additional flights, including service to eight new nonstop cities, from Dallas Love Field. The new routes will begin on August 9, 2015. With this latest service enhancement, Southwest will offer a total of 180 weekday departures to 50 nonstop destinations from Dallas Love Field.

Beginning August 9, 2015, the carrier will start once-daily, nonstop service between Dallas (Love Field) and:

Boston (Logan)

Charlotte

Detroit

Omaha

Philadelphia

Pittsburgh

Raleigh/Durham

Salt Lake City

Also on August 9, Southwest will offer additional nonstop service between Dallas (Love Field) and Atlanta, Austin, Baltimore/Washington, Houston (Hobby), Little Rock, Chicago (Midway), and Seattle/Tacoma. Finally, Southwest will upgrade the Saturday-only nonstop service between Dallas and Charleston, South Carolina, that is scheduled to begin on April 11, 2015, to daily service on August 9.

Southwest is able to expand at DAL due to the end of the Wright Amendment and the sublease of two additional Love Field gates from United Airlines in the newly rebuilt 20-gate facility, which is a collaborative effort between the City of Dallas and Southwest Airlines.

Airfield construction continues with additional taxiway capacity scheduled to open in mid-March and mid-July and additional ramp space scheduled to open in late August and in November of this year.

Copyright Photo: Tony Storck/AirlinersGallery.com. Southwest continues its fleet modernization efforts to replace its Boeing 737-300 and 737-500 Classic aircraft with more fuel-efficient and longer-range aircraft with winglets. Boeing 737-8H4 N8653A (msn 37037) with the Aviation Partners Boeing Split Scimitar Wings arrives at Baltimore/Washington (BWI).

Southwest Airlines aircraft slide show (new livery only):

Holiday Jet takes delivery of its first aircraft

Holiday Jet (Zurich) yesterday (February 25) took delivery of its first aircraft. The pictured 150-seat Airbus A319-111 D-AHIL (msn 3589) arrived at the Zurich base and will become HB-JOH. The aircraft will be operated by Germania.

The airline is planning to operate its first charter flight, from Zurich to Antalya and Hurghada, starting on March 26. Flights to Zypern will start on March 28 and operations to Djerba and Sharm el-Sheikh will commence on March 30 followed by Crete and Rhodes on May 3. Santorini will come on board on May 22. Finally Korfu, Mykonos, Kos and Zakynthos will be added on June 2.

As previously reported, the airline is a new joint venture of Germania (Berlin) and tour operator Hotelplan. In August 2014 Germania established a Swiss affiliate airline based in Zurich. In September 2014, Germania and Hotelplan joined forces to start operations with two 150-seat Airbus A319s starting in March 2015. The new airline applied for its own Swiss Air Operators Certificate (AOC) in September 2014.