Austrian Airlines (Vienna) has introduced a “Life Ball 2014” decorated Boeing 777. The airline received financial support from the Vienna Tourist Board to promote the event. Austrian Airlines has branded former Lauda Air Boeing 777-2Z9 ER OE-LPB (msn 28699) to promote the upcoming Life Ball 2014.
Copyright Photo: Austrian Airlines.
Austrian Airlines:ย 
Air Lithuanica (Vilnius) will add seasonal twice-weekly flights to Gothenburg (Gรถteborg) starting on June 15. In addition,ย Malmรถ, the third largest city in Sweden, will be swerved twice-weekly from June 17.
The airline will also offer seasonal service to Billund, Denmark, three days a week, from June 16 through August 28.
Copyright Photo: TMK Photography/AirlinersGallery.com.
Air Lithuanica:ย
Emirates (Dubai) has announced it will bring its Airbus A380 to Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), launching the first scheduled A380 service at the airport.
On October 1, 2014, the worldโs largest passenger aircraft will touch down at DFW with a daily service between Dallas/Fort Worth, the worldโs fourth busiest airport, and the city of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. Dallas/Fort Worth will become the 28th international destination to which Emirates operates the aircraft, joining New York (JFK) and Los Angeles which are already served by the A380.
Emirates started flying to Dallas/Fort Worth in 2012 with a Boeing 777-200 LR, the first passenger carrier to fly nonstop to the Middle East from DFW. The introduction of the 489-seat A380, powered by U.S.-made GE GP7200 engines, is a direct response to demand with over 370,000 Emiratesโ passengers travelling between Dallas and Dubai to date.
DFW Airport is making its final preparations for the arrival of the Emirates A380 with the construction of a second level jet bridge in Terminal D and modifications to the airfield, ramps and taxiways. Terminal D opened in 2005 with A380 capabilities already built into its design, so the final additions to make DFW ready for the A380 are relatively minor.
Emiratesโ A380 is a wide-bodied double decker aircraft with a capacity of 489 passengers including 14 First Class Private Suites, 76 lie-flat beds in Business Class and 399 spacious seats in Economy Class.
Powered by GP7200 engines which burn up to twenty percent less fuel per seat than its nearest competitor, Emiratesโ A380s have lower carbon dioxide emissions and thirty percent better fuel efficiency than the ICAO global fleet average. This is the most significant advancement in reducing fuel consumption and emissions in four decades. Emirates also stands apart from the rest as the average age of the fleet is less than half that of many European airlines. Emirates is the largest operator of the A380 and continues to work closely with Airbus to further reduce weight of future A380s by using a range of lightweight materials that account for twenty five percent of its structure.
The Emirates A380 service will operate daily as EK 222, departing Dallas/Fort Worth at 12:35 and arriving in Dubai at 12:20 the following day. EK 221 departs Dubai at 02:45 and arrives at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport at 09:45 the same day.
Copyright Photo: Airbus A380-861 A6-EEO (msn 136) taxies from the gate at Los Angeles International Airport.
Emirates:ย
Air Seychelles (Mahe) on April 2 announced the launch of a once per week all-cargo service between the two largest islands of Seychelles on its Shorts 360 aircraft.
The cargo service will target perishable commodities destined for hotels and other tourism establishments on Praslin, offering seamless connections to Air Seychelles flights from Johannesburg and Abu Dhabi.
All shipments destined to Praslin will be customs cleared in Mahe. Consignee trucks on Praslin will be given access to the airport ramp to facilitate off-loading on to the trucks for quick and seamless distribution to customers.
The Shorts 360 aircraft has been retrofitted to operate as a cargo aircraft, and can now carry up to 3500 kilograms of cargo with a volumetric capacity of 1309 cubic feet.
The inaugural Shorts 360 freighter flight flew with 73 pieces, 730 kilograms of perishable cargo on Monday, March 31, arriving on Praslin fresh and cool.
The cargo flights will operate under the flight number HM 3300 departing Mahe at 09:00 every Monday to arrive at Praslin at 09:15. Flight HM 3301 will return as a scheduled flight departing from Praslin at 10:15.
Copyright Photo: Air Seychelles.
Air Seychelles:ย
Current Route Map:
Alaska Airlines (Seattle/Tacoma) will offer a new, customizable inflight entertainment option, bringing movies, TV and other content directly to customers’ personal electronic devices onboard its flights by the end of the year.
The enhancement is part of a $100 million investment that Alaska Airlines is making to upgrade the cabins of its 737-800, -900 and -900ER aircraft with seats that feature both a personal space-enhancing design and 110-volt and USB power outlets. By this summer, about half of Alaska’s fleet will have the new seats and 36 airplanes will be equipped with power outlets. The carrier expects to finish upgrades to its fleet and offer the new inflight entertainment system on flights starting this fall.
The new system, called Gogo Vision, will allow customers to use their own laptop, tablet or smart phone to access more than 100 movies, 50 television shows and unique content, personalizing their onboard entertainment experience on Alaska Airlines. Since the movies are installed on stand-alone servers on each aircraft, broadband access to Gogo’s inflight Wi-Fi will not be compromised.
Prices for Gogo Vision will range from under $6 for movies and under $3 for television content.
Alaska Airlines also announced this week that Gogo has completed its Canadian air-to-ground Wi-Fi network, allowing uninterrupted inflight Internet coverage for the carrier’s numerous routes between the Lower 48 and the state of Alaska. Previously, Gogo Internet was unavailable for select periods when Alaska Airlines’ aircraft were flying over Canada.
With Gogo Internet, Alaska Airlines passengers can browse the Web, interact on social media, send and receive e-mail, and connect to virtual private networks while flying. The easy-to-use service provides passengers with full Internet access on any Wi-Fi-equipped laptop or personal electronic device at speeds similar to wireless mobile broadband services on the ground.
Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com.ย Boeing 737-990 WL N319AS (msn 33679) taxies to the runway at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA).
Alaska Airlines:ย
Norwegian Air Shuttle (Norwegian.com) is growing fast and its traffic is booming. The passenger volume grew by 25 percent alone in March. The company issued this statement (translated from Norwegian):
Norwegian flew over 1.8 million passengers in March 2014, an increase of 25 percent over the same month last year. Capacity growth was in the high 51 percent, in absolute terms the largest capacity growth that Norwegian has ever had in a month.
In March flew 1,805,551 passengers on Norwegian, an increase of 25 percent compared with the same month last year. The total traffic growth (RPK) increased by 52 percent in March, while capacity growth (ASK) increased by 51 percent. This represents an increase of 1.2 billion seat kilometers, the largest capacity growth ever during a month. The passenger load factor was 77.8
percent in March, up 0.2 percentage points compared with the same month last year.
Despite the increased load factor, this year’s late Easter had a negative impact on the load factor in March.
We have a record capacity growth this month, something that depends on the establishment of new bases outside Scandinavia and the launch of several new routes and flights throughout its route network. Despite strong growth in capacity and this year’s late Easter filled planes slightly better than the same period last year. It shows that Norwegian holds the promise of good quality and low prices, said CEO Bjรธrn Kjos.
In March came two brand-new aircraft; a Boeing 737-800 and a 787 Dreamliner. In 2014, Boeing will deliver 14 Boeing 737-800s and four 787 Dreamliners. Norwegian’s fleet is among the most modern and environmentally friendly in Europe.
Norwegian completed 99.7 percent of scheduled flights in March, of which 87.1 percent departed at the scheduled timetable.
Copyright Photo: Paul Bannwarth/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-86N LN-NOJ (msn 37884) with Danish astronomer Tycho Brache on the tail lands at Tenerife Sur (South).
Norwegian:ย
Routes from Oslo:
AeroMexico (Mexico City) has announced new “Contigo” service from Morelia, Mexico and also from Leon-Bajio to San Francisco as of April 7. ย The airline will offer its “Contigo” service also from Morelia to Chicago (O’Hare) starting on June 7.
These flights are operated with Boeing 737s configured for the AeroMexico Contigo program, including the option to carry bulky luggage. These airplanes have 174 seats, 18 of which are in the AM Plus section where passengers can enjoy greater legroom.
Copyright Photo: Roy Lock/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-8Q8 N858AM (msn 30671) with “Contigo” markings departs from Los Angeles International Airport.
AeroMexico:ย
Contigo Routes:
Southwest Airlines (Dallas) announced on April 3 a multi-year commitment to Placemaking โ a movement that reimagines public spaces as the heart of every community. Through the Southwest Airlines Heart of the Community program, the airline will revitalize and activate public spaces in the hearts of American cities in partnership with the pioneering nonprofit organization behind Placemaking, Project for Public Spaces (PPS).
Building upon successful pilot projects in Detroit, Michigan, and Providence, Rhode Island, in 2013, Southwest and PPS will help transform multiple public spaces in 2014 with the intent to expand the Heart of the Community program and support dozens of public spaces through Placemaking projects in the years to come.
For more than 30 years, Placemaking has sparked social, economic, and environmental benefits in communities around the world. Rooted in community-based participation, Placemaking involves the planning, design, management and programming of public spaces and capitalizes on a community’s assets and potential to create vibrant destinationsโsuch as neighborhood parks, community markets and downtown squares.
In late 2013, Southwest provided a gift to support the MIT Department of Urban Studies and Planning’s research white paper, Places in the Making, which demonstrated the power of Placemaking to create connected, sustainable, healthy, and economically viable communities. The research emphasized Placemaking’s positive impact on community building and empowerment and cited the need for public/private partnerships to advance the practice of Placemaking.
Through the Heart of the Community program, Southwest and PPS will collaborate with local community partners in cities across the country to bring new life to their public spaces. Earlier this week, Southwest and PPS unveiled their most recent project in San Antonio, Texas, where they partnered with the Center City Development Office to activate historic Travis Park through new physical amenities, including games, umbrellas, tables and chairs and ongoing programming, such as fitness classes and live music. In 2013, Southwest and PPS worked with the Downtown Detroit Partnership to transform an underutilized lawn in downtown’s Campus Martius Park into a seasonal beach with a deck and seating that serves as a fun and relaxing community gathering place for workers, families and children. Additionally, they worked with the Downtown Providence Parks Conservancy to create the Imagination Center, a new place for family activities in Burnside Park, located in the heart of downtown Providence, R.I.
Heart of the Community is part of Southwest’s broader efforts to connect people and strengthen local communities through its core business, charitable giving, community outreach, and environmental initiatives. To read more, go to Nuts About Southwest.
Meanwhile the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) has published an article on Southwest that claims the airline is showing its age and becoming a higher cost airline.
Read the article: CLICK HERE
Copyright Photo: Jay Selman/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-7H4 N492WN (msn 33866) arrives in Las Vegas.
Southwest Airlines:ย
Silver Airways (Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood and Gainesville) has issued this statement to encourage the recruitment of more pilots:
As Silverย Airways continues to proactively pursue innovative initiatives toย attract and retain quality pilots, the next generation regional airline hasย announced it has increased its new hire signing bonus to $12,000.ย This doubles Silver’s previous signing bonus and is the highest pilotย bonus in the regional airline industry.
Silver began its pilot bonus program in November 2013, providingย qualified new first officers with a $6,000 signing bonus, half of which
is paid upon completion of initial training and the other half after aย pilot’s first year of service. This week, Silver doubled that bonus and
is now offering an additional $6,000 to be paid upon completion of twoย years of service.
This latest announcement is one of many proactive efforts underway atย Silver to attract and retain quality pilots and other team members. Onย March 17, 2014, the airline signed a preferential hiring agreement withย Broward College, which when added to its other aviation partnerships,ย will further assist the airline with finding top caliber new pilots. Inย addition, the airline is also investigating tuition assistance andย scholarship programs with these and other certified aviation collegesย and universities.
Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough/AirlinersGallery.com. SAAB 340B N433XJ (msn 433) approaches the runway at Washington’s Dulles International Airport (IAD).
Silver Airways:ย
Current Route Map: Silver Airways has trimmed back its route map including ending Montana service due to the shortage of qualified pilots. The regional carrier is also phasing out all smaller Beech 1900Ds.
Branson Airport (Branson, Missouri) has released this statement:
Branson Airport (BKG) is pleased to announce the arrival of Buzz Airways service to both Chicago (Midway) and Houston (Hobby) beginning June 12, 2014. Fares begin at $99.00 each way including taxes. Flights will operate in each market six days per week.
The new flights by Buzz will replace the service currently offered on Southwest Airlines (Dallas) that is slated to end June 8. The flight schedule has been designed to allow customers to book separate tickets on Southwest in order to connect to and from other popular gateways.
Corporate Flight Management, Inc. d/b/a Buzz Airways (CFM) is a diverse aviation services company that includes Part 135 and 91 charter and management services, three Fixed Base Operations, a FAR Part 145 certified repair facility, an aircraft sales division, and FAR 141 pilot and maintenance training.
Buzz Airways will reportedly operate Jetstream 41 aircraft on the two routes.
Copyright Photo: Corporate Flight Management.
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