Air Canada operates its first Boeing 787 revenue flight

Air Canada Flt AC 604 787 5.23.14 (Air Canada)(LRW)

Air Canada (Montreal) on May 23 operated its first revenue flight with newly delivered Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner C-GHPQ (msn 35257). The historic flight was flight AC 604 from Toronto (Pearson) to Halifax.

Air Canada:ย AG Slide Show

Top Copyright Photo: Air Canada. Scenes from the first flight departure gate in YYZ.

Below Copyright Photo: Air Canada. C-GHPQ is pictured departing previously.

Air Canada 787-8 C-GHPQ (04)(Tko)(Air Canada)(LRW)

Video: 787 Born to fly:

Video: 787 Introduction:

Bottom Copyright Photo: TMK Photography. A view from inside C-GHPQ during the historic first revenue flight.

Air Canada 787-8 C-GHPQ window (TMK)(LRW)

 

Eznis Airways suspends all operations in Mongolia

Eznis Airways DHC-8-400 JU-9919 (11)(Grd)(Eznis)(LRW)

Eznis Airways (Ulaanbaatar) suspended operations on May 22. The airline blamed the stoppage on “financial difficulties”. The company at the end was using two Bombardier DHC-8-402s (Q400s) and one SAAB 340B. Eznis was operating from its Ulaanbaatar base mainly to Choibalsan, Moron, Ulaangom, and Ulgi in Mongolia at the end.

The company issued this statement:

This is to inform that Eznis Airways LLC is stopping its operation from May 22nd for an uncertain period of time due to the financial difficulties and the current situation at the airline industry. Eznis Airways LLC is a national airline that had been operating since 2006, constantly and reliably carrying thousands of passengers

We thank everyone who chose our airline, our regular passengers, our partners and our suppliers, for cooperation and support.

The management of the company and the shareholders had done everything during the last two years to survive, to keep positions of our employees and most importantly, to serve the public, but they cannot subsidize the financial losses any longer.

We bring our apologies for all our customers, passengers, employees, engineers, flight operation staff and the crew.

We wish you all the best in your future.

Copyright Photos: Eznis Airways. Top: Bombardier DHC-8-402 (Q400) YU-9919 (msn 4106) sits outside the Eznis hangar. Below: The two Q400s (JU-9917 and JU-9919) at the snowboundย Chinggis Khan International Airport base.

Eznis Airways DHC-8-400 JU-9917 and JU-9919 (11)(Grd)(Eznis)(LRW)

Eznis Airways logo

Route Map:

Eznis Airways 5.2014 Route Map

 

 

Jat Airways’ Boeing 737-300s to continue flying charters under the Aviolet brand

Aviolet 737-300 and logo (Aviolet)(LRW)

Air Serbia (Belgrade) this month has unveiled a new charter division named Aviolet. Aviolet will operate charters using the three 144-seat Boeing 737-300s formerly of Jat Airways (Belgrade). The first flight is today (May 24) on a charter flight from Belgrade to Antalya.

Copyright Photos: Aviolet (Air Serbia).

Air Serbia:ย AG Slide Show

Jat Airways:ย AG Slide Show

Aviolet logo

Aviolet FAs (Aviolet)(LRW)

Icelandair Group and its pilots agree to keep talking until September 30, avoiding any further strikes

Icelandair Group (Icelandair) (Keflavik) has signed an agreement with the Icelandic Airline Pilots Association (FIA) for a temporary wage agreement through September 30, 2014. As previously reported, The Icelandic parliament on May 16 prohibited any strikes by the Icelandair pilots. The union had planned to strike on nine days between May 9 and June 3. The group issued this statement:

Icelandair Group and the Icelandic Airline Pilots Association (FIA) signedย a wage agreement that is valid until September 30, 2014.

Over the term of the agreement, Icelandair Group and FIA will jointly work towards a long term agreement. The agreement is in broad terms in line with agreements already signed on the Icelandic labor market this year. The agreement will now be presented by FIA to its members that will vote
electronically on the agreement in the next seven days.

At this time is not possible to estimate Icelandair Group’s loss due to FIA’s actions during this industrial dispute.

Copyright Photo: TMK Photography/AirlinersGallery.com. Former American Airlines Boeing 757-223 TF-ISF (msn 24595) approaches the runway at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport (YYZ).

Icelandair:ย AG Slide Show

Azul unveils the special flag livery for its new Airbus A330s

Azul A330-200 (Azul)(LR)

Azul Linhas Aรฉreas Brasileiras (Sao Paulo-Viracopas) has unveiled the planned special livery for its new Airbus A330s which will start flying to the United States in 2015.

The first two Airbus A330s for Azul will be two former Gulf Air A330-243 aircraft (msn 527 and 532) which will be leased from ILFC.

Image: Azulย Linhas Aรฉreas Brasileiras.

Azul:ย AG Slide Show

United to drop United Express service from Portland, Oregon to Eugene, Redmond and Seattle/Tacoma

United Airlines (Chicago) has decided to drop its United Express flights from Portland, Oregon to Eugene, Redmond and Seattle/Tacoma on September 1 according to Oregon Live. The flights are operated by SkyWest Airlines Embraer EMB-120ER Brasilias.

Read the full story from Oregon Live: CLICK HERE

In addition, United is dropping service to Doha, Qatar on August 30 as an extension of the daily Washington (Dulles)-Dubai route according to Airline Route.

Copyright Photo: Bruce Drum/AirlinersGallery.com. SkyWest Airlines EMB-120ER Brasilia N584SW (msn 120352) taxies across the ramp at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA).

United Airlines (current):ย AG Slide Show

United Express-SkyWest:ย AG Slide Show

Asian Air commences charter flights to Japan, will introduce a “Mirai Suenaga” logo jet in June

Asian Air (Bangkok) is a new airline charter airline which commenced operations in March. The company is now operating Boeing 767-200s between Bangkok’s Don Muang Airport (DMK) and Tokyo (Narita) (NRT). The flights started on March 15. The airline is expected to add flights soon to Sapporo (New Chitose) and Osaka (Kansai) with a second Boeing 767.

Asian Air logo

In addition, charter flights to Thailand’s neighboring countries will also be operated according to the company.

Asian Air FAs (Asian Air)(LRW)

Top Copyright Photo: Akira Uekawa/AirlinersGallery.com (all others by Asian Air). Boeing 767-2J6 ER HS-DCM (msn 23307) was painted in Miami and was formally delivered to the company on January 8, 2014. HS-DCM is picturedย lining up on runway 16R at Tokyo (Narita) as flight DM 465 bound for DMK.

Asian Air has announced a partnership with “Mirai Suenaga”, the famous cartoon series on Japanese TV. A Boeing 767 in June will have these cartoon images of Mirai Suenaga applied to the fuselage.

Asian Air Mirai logo

 

 

Asian Air 767-200 Mirai (Asian Air)(LRW)

 

Norwegian to continue to expand operations at London Gatwick

Norwegian Air Shuttle (Norwegian.com) (Oslo) continues to add new routes from its growing operation at London’s Gatwick Airport. The fast-growing low-fare airline will add two additional routes from LGW on September 15 per Airline Route: Berlin (Schoenefeld) and Warsaw.

Copyright Photo: Antony J. Best/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-86N LN-NOG (msn 35647) completes its final approach to the runway at London (Gatwick).

Norwegian:

American to add the Airbus A319 on the New Orleans-Miami route on November 6

American Airlines (Dallas/Fort Worth) will introduce the Airbus A319 to the New Orleans-Miami route on November 6 with four daily flights each way according to Airline Route.

Copyright Photo: TMK Photography/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A319-115 N9004F (msn 5745) approaches the runway at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport (YYZ).

American Airlines (current):ย AG Slide Show

A near miss involving two United Airbus A320s at Houston on May 9

United Airlines (Chicago) had two Airbus A320s involved in a near miss while departing from Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) on the evening of May 9. Flight UA 601 was departing from runway 9 to Vancouver, British Columbia while UA 437 was departing on runway 15L bound for Mexico City. The two A320s came within 400 feet of each other according to KHOU Channel 11 in Houston. The FAA is investigating the incident.

Read the full story: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Jay Selman/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A320-232 N489UA (msn 1702) departs from Las Vegas.

United Airlines (current):