Alaska Airlines files to fly from Portland, Oregon to both Los Cabos and Puerto Vallarta in Mexico

Alaska Airlines (Seattle/Tacoma) has submitted its application to begin two new nonstop flights from Portland, Oregon, to Los Cabos and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. The flights are pending approval by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Mexico Direccion General de Aeronautica Civil (DGAC).

The planned seasonal service will operate between Portland and Los Cabos from November 3 through April 27, 2015, and between Portland and Puerto Vallarta from November 4 through April 26, 2015.

Alaska Airlines began flying to Mexico a quarter century ago and operates 240 flights a week during the winter between the West Coast and Mexico—more than any other carrier. Alaska flies an average of 1.5 million passengers a year to six Mexico beach destinations—Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, Loreto, Los Cabos, Manzanillo, Mazatlan and Puerto Vallarta—in addition to Guadalajara and Mexico City. Alaska is seeking government approval to begin flights between Seattle/Tacoma and Cancun starting on November 6.

The new flights between Portland and Mexico will be operated with Boeing 737 aircraft, which offer passengers dual 110-volt and USB power outlets at every seat. The flights will also offer Alaska’s inflight entertainment system, a handheld video-on-demand device featuring more than 70 hit movies, along with television programs and other entertainment. The inflight entertainment players are complimentary in first class and available for $8 in the main cabin. Customers can also enjoy onboard meal service, including a hot meal or the airline’s Signature Fruit and Cheese Platter.

Copyright Photo: Steve Bailey/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-890 N568AS (msn 35183) climbs away from the runway at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in the special “Employee powered” livery.

Alaska Airlines:

A second US Airways flight diverts to Ireland due to flight attendant illness

US Airways (Phoenix and Dallas/Fort Worth) had a second European flight divert yesterday (May 19) due to flight attendant illness. This incident follows the previous incident on May 10. Both flights originated in Venice, Italy.

Flight US 715 with an Airbus A330-200 with 238 passengers and 12 crew members from Venice to the Philadelphia hub was forced to divert to Ireland again after five flight attendants and this time a passenger felt ill according to this report by CNN.

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

US Airways:

American quietly retires the last two Boeing 767-200s (for now)

American Airlines (Dallas/Fort Worth) as planned and previously reported, quietly replaced and retired its last two Boeing 767-200s that were operated at the end on the trans-continental routes. The two venerable aircraft were replaced with new Airbus A321s.

Officially the last revenue flight was operated with the pictured Boeing 767-223 ER N319AA (msn 22320) on flight AA 30 from Los Angeles to New York (JFK) departing LAX on the evening of May 7 and arriving at JFK during the early morning of May 8 per Frequent Business Traveler.

The pictured N319AA was delivered to AA on November 18, 1985 and was retired after almost 29 years of faithful service.

American began operating the type in 1982. However when US Airways is finally merged into the “new” American Airlines, AA will again operate the type.

US Airways continues to operate the Boeing 767-200. US Airways will draw down its 767-200 fleet and to continue to operate the type into 2015. Both American Airlines and US Airways are now part of the American Airlines Group. Eventually US Airways will be merged into American as the two carriers work towards a single operating certificate (SOC). When this happens, the new and larger American will be operating the type once again albeit for a short time again.

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 767-323 ER N319AA departs from Los Angeles before the retirement. The old Boeing 767-200s are not likely to be repainted into the new 2013 American Airlines livery, even when the US Airways Boeing 767s join the fleet. It is just too impractical for this soon to be retired aircraft type. The 1968 American livery will probably be the last color scheme worn by the AA 767-200s.

American Airlines (current livery):

American Airlines (historic liveries):

Southwest Airlines announces new routes from Dallas and Washington’s Reagan National Airport, Mexico City and AirTran Airways final flight on December 28

Southwest Airlines (Dallas) adding to what we previously reported, today published dozens of new nonstop markets for Customers flying the carrier from Dallas Love Field and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. The schedule also includes new Southwest Airlines service to an additional Caribbean destination—Punta Cana, Dominican Republic—as well as to North America’s largest metropolitan area, Mexico City (replacing AirTran Airways).

New, nonstop service for Dallas Love Field:

Beginning October 13, 2014, Southwest will offer nonstop service between Dallas and:

Baltimore/Washington (three roundtrips a day)
Chicago Midway (five roundtrips a day, up to six as of November 2)
Denver (three roundtrips a day)
Las Vegas (three roundtrips a day, up to four as of November 2)
Los Angeles (three roundtrips a day, up to four as of November 2)
Orlando (two roundtrips a day, up to three as of November 2)
Washington Reagan National (three roundtrips a day, up to six as of November 2)

Beginning November 2, 2014, Southwest will offer nonstop service between Dallas and:

Atlanta (four roundtrips a day)
Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood (two roundtrips a day)
Nashville (two roundtrips a day)
New York LaGuardia (three roundtrips a day)
Phoenix (four roundtrips a day)
San Diego (two roundtrips a day)
Santa Ana/Orange County (one roundtrip a day)
Tampa (two roundtrips a day)

Southwest Airlines also announced today new nonstop service between Washington Reagan National Airport and both Akron/Canton and Indianapolis beginning on November 2, 2014, increasing the carrier’s service at Reagan National from a present day offering of 17 departures to 44 departures a day by year’s end to a total 14 destinations: Atlanta, Akron/Canton, Austin, Chicago Midway, Dallas Love Field, Houston Hobby, Fort Myers, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Nashville, New Orleans, St. Louis, and Tampa.

Southwest Airlines also will add new nonstop service between Washington Dulles and both Las Vegas and San Diego, and to existing nonstop destinations of Chicago Midway and Denver.

Southwest Airlines continues its historic launch of international service with two additional destinations—Mexico City and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic—to be added on November 2, 2014, to the carrier’s network map of more than 90 destinations across five countries in North America and the Caribbean.

AirTran Airways will be fully integrated into Southwest Airlines by the end of 2014:

AirTran Airways flight 1 (Southwest 5001) will operate on Sunday, December 28, 2014, as the carrier’s final scheduled departure. The evening flight from Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport to Tampa reprises the first flight the carrier operated on October 26, 1993 (as ValuJet). Southwest Airlines Company announced its acquisition of AirTran Airways in September 2010, and closed the transaction on May 2, 2011. The FAA awarded the Company a single operating certificate for the two carriers on March 1, 2012, and the Company plans to close 2014 with wholly owned subsidiary AirTran fully-integrated into Southwest Airlines serving a network of 93 destinations in five countries.

Copyright Photo: Marcelo F. De Biasi/AirlinersGallery.com. Goodbye AirTran Airways. We now have the date when AirTran Airways will operate its last flight – December 28, 2014. The sun will set for AirTran in Tampa on that Sunday in December. Last flight 5001 is due to be operated with a 117-seat Boeing 717-200 (going to Delta on lease) departing ATL at 10:25 pm (2225) and arriving in TPA at 11:55 pm (2355). AirTran’s Boeing 717-2BD N996AT (msn 55140) soars into the sky at Washington’s Reagan National Airport (DCA).

AirTran Airways:

Southwest Airlines:

Air New Zealand to retire the last Boeing 747 on September 10

Air New Zealand (Auckland) as planned, is phasing down its aging Boeing 747-400 fleet as new Boeing 777s and 787s arrive. The Boeing 747 fleet is now down to two aircraft (ZK-NBV and ZK-SUH) with an average age of 19.3 years. The 747s are operated mainly to Brisbane and San Francisco. The flag carrier is planning to operate its last Boeing 747 revenue flight from San Francisco to Auckland on September 10 per Airline Route. Prior to this, the airline will operate a one time “goodbye” flight on September 6 between Auckland and Sydney.

For Australia, Air New Zealand’s last Boeing 747 flight is now scheduled on July 13, on the Auckland – Brisbane route per Airline Route.

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 747-475 ZK-SUH (msn 24896) is pictured arriving at Los Angeles International Airport. The airframe was originally delivered to VARIG 91st) as PP-VPI on May 31, 1991.

Video: A video by Air New Zealand featuring the Boeing 747-400. The video shows ZK NBT over the Southern Alps and the Canterbury Plains in New Zealand in April 1997.

Air New Zealand:

Philippines will now retire the last Boeing 747 on August 31

Philippines (Philippine Airlines) (Manila) is now planning to operate the last Boeing 747 revenue flight on June 30. According to Airline Route, the final roundtrip will be operated on June 30 (see update below) between Manila and San Francisco and back. The 747s are being replaced by newer Boeing 777-300 ERs which will be operated on the San Francisco route starting on July 1 (now September 1).

Update: Philippines has extended Boeing 747-400 operations until August 31, 2014 according to an update by Airline Route.

Copyright Photo: Steve Bailey/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 747-4F6 RP-C8168 (msn 27827) departs from Los Angeles International Airport.

Philippines:

United Airlines and SkyWest Airlines introduce the Embraer 175

United Airlines (Chicago) has introduced the Embraer 175 aircraft to the United Express fleet, with service on the regional jet operating between Chicago (O’Hare) and the top business markets of Washington (Reagan National) and Boston (Logan).

United Express carrier SkyWest Airlines (St. George, Utah) began Boston service today (May 19). Service between Chicago (O’Hare) and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport began on Saturday (May 17). The E175 flights complement existing United service in those markets.

The 76-seat E175 regional jet is the newest addition to the United Express fleet, enabling the airline to offer an improved regional jet experience. With 12 seats in United First, 16 seats in United Economy Plus and 48 seats in United Economy, the E175 offers more personal space for customers, with wider seats and aisles than other regional aircraft. Each United First seat features a power outlet. The aircraft’s large overhead bins can accommodate standard-sized carry-on bags, resulting in more convenience for customers.

United will offer E175 in several additional markets beginning in June, complementing existing United services:

Chicago O’Hare-Minneapolis /St. Paul, beginning June 5
Chicago O’Hare-Atlanta, beginning June 15
Houston Bush Intercontinental-Atlanta, beginning June 15
Houston Bush Intercontinental-New Orleans, beginning June 15
Chicago O’Hare-New York LaGuardia, beginning June 23
San Francisco-St. Louis, beginning September 20
San Francisco-Austin, beginning October 26
San Francisco-Dallas/Fort Worth, beginning October 26
San Francisco-Minneapolis/ St. Paul, beginning October 26

SkyWest Airlines will operate the services to and from Chicago O’Hare International Airport and to and from San Francisco International Airport. Mesa Airlines will operate the flights to and from Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

United expects to introduce 70 E175 aircraft into the United Express fleet by the end of 2015. As United inducts new aircraft into the fleet, the airline will remove smaller, less efficient regional aircraft from the fleet. The E175s consume less fuel per seat and have fewer CO2 emissions per seat than the aircraft they replace.

United Airlines (current):

United Express-SkyWest Airlines:

Qatar Airways to deploy its second Airbus A380 on the Doha-Paris route starting on July 3

Qatar Airways (Doha) has announced its second Airbus A380 aircraft will commence operations on the route to Paris (Charles De Gaulle) from Doha’s new hub, Hamad International Airport.

Qatar Airways recently announced that the first of its 13 Airbus A380 aircraft on order will commence operations on the QR 003 and QR 004 flights on the route to London-Heathrow and return starting on June 17. Following this, the airline has now confirmed that its second A380 will be used to fly to Paris Charles De Gaulle Airport from Doha from July 3, on flights QR 39 and QR 40.

Featuring a tri-class configuration of seating in First, Business and Economy Class, over two decks, the A380 is the largest passenger jet in the world and will provide a superior traveller experience to the Qatar Airways’ customers.

The new First Class A380 seat, recently revealed at the world’s leading travel show, ITB Berlin, features a 90-inch seat pitch, transforming into a fully flat bed, together with an expansive choice of entertainment options displayed on individual 26-inch television screens.

Hamad International Airport (HIA), Qatar Airways new home as of May 27, has been designed to specifically cater to the A380 aircraft, with six contact gates designed especially for the super jumbo. In addition, the maintenance hangar at HIA – which is the largest in the world – is able to accommodate two A380s simultaneously.

Qatar Airways is also celebrating a year of intensive fleet growth and recently becoming a member of the oneworld global alliance network. In addition to the 13 A380 aircraft the airline currently has on order, Qatar Airways is also set this year to welcome the first of 80 Airbus A350 aircraft, the world’s newest aircraft, as Airbus’ launch customer. This forms part of Qatar Airways plans to significantly expand its fleet with 300 additional aircraft, worth more than $50 billion (US), on order, including the Boeing 787 and 777X.

Qatar Airways has seen rapid growth in just 17 years of operation, to the point where today it is flying a modern fleet of 134 aircraft to 139 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, North America and South America.
Over the next few months, the network will grow further with new routes to Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen Airport, Turkey (May 22, 2014), Edinburgh, Scotland (May 28, 2014), Miami, USA (June 10, 2014), Tokyo Haneda, Japan (June 18, 2014), Dallas/Fort Worth, USA (July 1, 2014) and Djibouti (July 27, 2014).

Top Copyright Photo: Gerd Beilfuss/AirlinersGallery.com. The first A380, the pictured A380-861 F-WWST (msn 137) will become A7-APA on delivery.

Qatar Airways:

Bottom Copyright Photo: Qatar Airways.

Air Seychelles to resume services to Paris on July 2

Air Seychelles (Mahe) has announced it will resume flights to Paris (CDG) on July 2, 2014.

The flag carrier will operate two weekly roundtrips from the Seychelles to Paris via Abu Dhabi, with Air Seychelles deploying its brightly-colored Airbus A330-200 aircraft (above) on the route, offering 18 lie-flat seats in Business Class and 236 seats in Economy Class.

Partner Etihad Airways (Abu Dhabi) will also place its EY code on the flights.

Copyright Photo: Rainer Bexten/AirlinersGallery.com. Leased from Etihad Airways, Airbus A330-243 A6-EYY (msn 751) completes its final approach into Johannesburg (JNB).

Air Seychelles:

airBaltic to drop service to Istanbul (Sabiha Gokcen) and Kaliningrad

airBaltic (airBaltic.com) (Riga) is dropping its two routes to Istanbul (Sabiha Gokcen) and Kaliningrad on May 27 per Airline Route.

The airBaltic fleet currently consists of three aircraft types – 5 Boeing 737-500s, 8 Boeing 737-300s and 12 Bombardier DHC-8-402 (Q400) NextGen turboprops, in total – 25 aircraft. The company hopes to replace the Boeing 737 fleet with new Bombardier CS300 aircraft which has been delayed.

airBaltic: