Allegiant now offers “giant seats” on its Boeing 757s

Allegiant Air (Las Vegas) has announced the addition of several larger, more comfortable seats, known as “Giant Seats,” to each of its Boeing 757 aircraft. Giving Allegiant travelers a new option when customizing their vacation experience, the company will offer these Giant Seats on flights between Hawaii and several western U.S. cities.

Passengers who purchase a Giant Seat when making their reservations will take advantage of a more spacious, wider seat, comfortable headrests and more leg room.

“By adding these new Giant Seats, Allegiant passengers will enjoy the feeling and comfort of a premium seat, while flying to their destination at an affordable cost,” said Jude Bricker, Allegiant Travel Company, Senior Vice President of Planning. “We think the Giant Seats will be a welcome option for travelers, especially on our long-haul flights to Hawaii.”

Located in the first row and the mid-cabin emergency exit row of the aircraft, each of the six Giant Seats will be made available for a seat assignment fee on all flights to and from Hawaii and select flights to Las Vegas.

Allegiant installed the first of these new seats as part of compliance with changes to FAA crew rest rules, which require minimum seat requirements for augmented crews resting in the passenger cabin. A pair of the new seats was installed to comply with these rules, but the company also saw an opportunity to offer these more comfortable seats to passengers in other parts of the cabin and on flights that do not require augmented crew rest.

The new Giant Seats are part of an overall reconfiguration of the Allegiant 757 cabins, which includes creating a new seating option called “Legroom +.” Increasing the amount of leg room by up to six inches, Legroom + seats provide passengers with up to 34 inches between seat rows.

The installation of the new Giant Seats has been completed on all six of the carrier’s 757 aircraft. The new seat configuration will decrease the total number of seats in Allegiant’s Boeing 757s from 223 to 215.

Top Copyright Photo: Eddie Maloney/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 757-204 N904NV (msn 26967) touches down in Las Vegas.

Allegiant Air:

Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air announce aggressive sustainability goals

Alaska Airlines (Seattle/Tacoma) and Horizon Air (Seattle/Tacoma) have announced aggressive 2020 sustainability goals, pledging to decrease fuel consumption by 20 percent, use a sustainable aviation biofuel at one or more airports and increase its recruitment of military veterans.

These are among a series of goals and accomplishments highlighted in Alaska Air Group’s newly released 2013 Sustainability Report, which summarizes the company’s progress on environmental, social and economic goals.

Among the most significant accomplishments made since the airlines’ last Sustainability Report are improvements in fuel efficiency, which saved Alaska Air Group more than 10 million gallons of fuel since 2011. The airlines also cut waste by 50 percent per passenger, saving nearly 2,900 tons of recyclables that otherwise would have gone to landfills. In all, the airlines have reduced their greenhouse gases by more than 30 percent per revenue mile since 2004 as part of the company’s efforts to be a greener neighbor within the communities where it flies.

Air Group’s Sustainability Report analyzes the airlines’ efforts from Jan.1, 2012, through Dec. 31, 2013. It is the company’s second comprehensive report in accordance with Global Reporting Initiative G4 Core Guidelines, an international standard for sustainability reporting on people the planet and performance.

Key highlights of the last two years include:

Flight attendants collected for recycling nearly 2,900 tons of paper, plastic, aluminum and glass waste onboard Alaska and Horizon flights in the last two years, cutting in half the amount of waste sent to landfills since 2010. That amount weighs the same as more than 1,600 cars. Alaska and Horizon are the only airlines that recycle on every domestic flight.

Air Group signed an off-take agreement with Hawaii BioEnergy to buy sustainable aviation biofuels from the Hawaiian Islands beginning in 2018. The airline has set a goal of using sustainable biofuels at one or more of its airports by 2020.

Alaska and Horizon cut emissions another 2.8 percent over the last reporting period (2011), for a total 30.4 percent reduction in carbon emissions since 2004 (measured by flying one passenger one mile).

Alaska Air Group contributed $15.5 million in cash and in-kind contributions to more than 1,300 charitable organizations since 2011.
All Horizon Air flights and three-quarters of Alaska Airlines flights arriving at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport are using a new method of airport approaches, which allow aircraft to fly shorter, continuous descents. Estimates are that Greener Skies approaches will save more than 2 million gallons of fuel annually for all properly equipped airlines and reduced emissions by 22,400 metric tons of CO2—equal to the emissions contained in 96 rail cars of coal. Noise exposure for an estimated 750,000 people in the Puget Sound region has also been reduced.

Alaska and Horizon reduced fuel use by 10 million gallons since 2011 (as measured per revenue passenger mile) by flying the Boeing 737 and Bombardier Q400 — the most fuel-efficient aircraft in their classes. The airlines installed winglets on aircraft, used cutting-edge satellite navigation procedures and switched to electric vehicles for airport operations at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, among other measures. The International Council on Clean Transportation ranked Alaska Airlines No. 1 in fuel efficiency among U.S. domestic airlines in 2013.

Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air increased their employee engagement scores by 20 percent over 2011. Engagement measures employee satisfaction and involvement with their jobs.

In other news, Alaska Airlines will drop the following unprofitable routes according to Airline Route:

Los Angeles-San Jose, CA (April 5)

Portland, OR-Long Beach (August 23)

Portland, OR-Atlanta (September 1)

Denver-Anchorage (summer seasonal)

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-990 N323AS (msn 30021) gracefully climbs away from the runway at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport hub and home.

Alaska Airlines:

Alaska Horizon (Horizon Air):

Summer seasonal Denver – Anchorage service is also cancelled.

Boeing announces the launch of the Boeing Business Jet MAX 8 with the first order

Boeing (Chicago and Seattle) has announced the launch of the Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) MAX family of airplanes after receiving the first order from an undisclosed customer. The order is for a BBJ MAX 8, which is based on the 737 MAX 8 and the newest business jet to join the BBJ family.

BBJ is the market leader in the large cabin, ultra-long-range business jet market and the new BBJ MAX will extend that advantage.

With new CFM International LEAP-1B engines and other aerodynamic improvements including Advanced Technology winglets, the 737 MAX will provide a 14 percent fuel-use improvement compared to today’s most efficient single-aisle airplanes. The fuel-use improvement is even greater at longer ranges typically flown by BBJ customers.

The BBJ MAX 8 will have a range of 6,325 nautical miles (11,713 km), an increase of more than 800 nautical miles (1,482 km) over the BBJ2. It will share the same cabin size with today’s BBJ2, offering customers a 19-foot (5.8 meter) longer cabin and three times the cargo space of today’s BBJ, while improving on its market-leading range capability and maintaining the BBJ advantages of lower cabin altitude, unmatched reliability and outstanding product support around the globe. The BBJ continues to be the leading choice for businesses, corporations and private owners.

The new BBJ family also will include the BBJ MAX 9, based on the 737 MAX 9, and is expected to offer a 6,255 nautical mile (11,584 km) range with an even larger cabin than the BBJ MAX 8. Plans for a BBJ MAX 7 are still being studied.

Development of the 737 MAX is on schedule with firm configuration of the airplane achieved in July 2013. First flight is scheduled in 2016 with deliveries to commercial airline customers beginning in 2017. The 737 MAX has accumulated more than 1,900 orders to date from 37 customers worldwide

The first BBJ MAX will be delivered in 2018 without an interior, and a completion center of the customer’s choosing will install the jet’s VIP interior.

Image: Boeing.

Qatar Airways arrives in Philadelphia

Qatar Airways‘ (Doha) inaugural flight to Philadelphia touched down at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) yesterday morning (April 2) marking the airline’s fifth gateway in the United States.

With the launch of the daily service between Philadelphia and Qatar Airways’ hub in Doha, capital of the State of Qatar, the city becomes destination number 137 in the airline’s expanding worldwide network.

Qatar Airways now operates 35 passenger flights a week between the United States and Doha – daily from New York, Washington DC, Chicago, Houston and Philadelphia.

Flight QR 727 arrived to a warm welcome at a grand airport ceremony attended by a number of dignitaries, including Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer, His Excellency, Mr. Akbar Al Baker, Mayor of Philadelphia, Michael A. Nutter, and Chief Executive Officer of Philadelphia International Airport, Mark Gale.

The maiden flight carried international media and airline management, including Mr. Al Baker. The new route offers a connection between Philadelphia and a vast number of destinations across the Middle East, Africa, India and Asia Pacific via Doha, while the morning departure time from Philadelphia offers US passengers a unique opportunity to access an entirely new schedule of connecting flights out of Doha.

Mr. Al Baker and Philadelphia airport authorities delivered speeches at Philadelphia International Airport to mark the occasion, noting the economic impact of Qatar Airways’ arrival in the city. “I would like to take this special opportunity to thank the people of Philadelphia and local airport authorities for their great support in helping Qatar Airways launch passenger flights to this vibrant city,” said Mr. Al Baker.

“Today, Philadelphia joins our existing North American hubs: Chicago, New York, Washington DC, Houston and Montreal,” continued Al Baker. “But only our newest gateway offers a unique, morning route to Doha, our earliest departure from North America, and provides passengers with unprecedented access to a new schedule of convenient connections to our entire global network.”

Philadelphia is a key destination for business and leisure travelers alike. One of the world’s busiest airports, it sees 30.5 million passengers a year.

“Our 5-star service begins by forging a connection with the communities we serve and we appreciate the opportunity to work together with this great city,” added Mr. Al Baker.

Mr. Al Baker explained that Philadelphia marked yet another significant milestone for the airline, which is expanding its global network at a remarkable pace.

Qatar Airways’ Doha to Philadelphia route is being operated with a Boeing 777-200LR in a two-class configuration of 42 seats in Business and 217 seats in Economy. The aircraft offers seatback TV screens providing passengers with the next generation interactive onboard entertainment system and a choice of more than 1,000 audio and video options.

Qatar Airways has seen rapid growth in just 17 years of operations, currently flying a modern fleet of 131 aircraft to more than 130 key business and leisure destinations across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific and the Americas.

Qatar Airways is set to launch services to a diverse portfolio of new routes during the coming months, including Larnaca, Cyprus (April 29), Sabiha Gokcen Airport, Turkey (May 22), Edinburgh, Scotland (May 28), Miami, USA (June 10), Haneda, Japan (June 18), Dallas/Fort Worth, USA (July 1) and Djibouti (July 27).

In other news, Qatar Airways has begun the rollout of QLOUD, an internally developed mobility application for iPads, which will provide real time and decision-relevant information to the airline’s pilots. Over 500 pilots have already embraced the new technology with 500 more set to begin using QLOUD over the next few weeks. All 2,500 Qatar Airways pilots are expected to be using the QLOUD system by September this year.

Copyright Photo: Qatar Airways. A traditional water salute welcomes Qatar Airways’ inaugural flight at the Philadelphia International Airport on Wednesday, April 2, 2014.

Qatar Airways:

Ryanair opens new bases at Lisbon and Athens

Ryanair (Dublin) yesterday (April 1) opened its third Portuguese base at Lisbon (64th in total) with one based Boeing 737-800 and 7 new routes (11 in total) with 124 weekly flights.

The ultra low-fare airline also opened yesterday its third Greek base at Athens (65th in total) with two based Boeing 737-800s and 6 new routes with up to 150 weekly flights.

Copyright Photo: Robbie Shaw/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-8AS EI-EBS (msn 35001) with “Comunitat Valenciana” sub-titles departs from Marrakesh.

Ryanair:

Delta relocates key flights to Terminal 3 at London’s Heathrow Airport next to Virgin Atlantic

Delta Air Lines (Atlanta) and Virgin Atlantic Airways (London) today mark another major step forward in their partnership as Delta relocates some of its key services to join Virgin Atlantic at Heathrow Terminal 3. The move comes as both airlines start flying their new and aligned summer schedules that offer customers more choice and flexibility while reducing onward transit times.

From today, Delta moves its arrival and departure terminal for several important business markets including its London to New York-JFK, London to Boston, and new London to Seattle services to Heathrow’s Terminal 3. The move enhances convenience and a seamless customer experience. For example, on the world’s most important business travel market between London Heathrow (Terminal 3) and New York JFK (Terminal 4) Delta and Virgin Atlantic will now operate from the same terminal and make it easier for customers to manage their travel plans including any last minute flight changes. The two airlines have also introduced a dedicated New York to London schedule with the customer in mind.

The new routes announced by Delta and Virgin Atlantic include Delta’s new West Coast service between Seattle and London Heathrow which commenced flying on March 30, 2014. And in co-operation with Virgin Atlantic, Delta will also operate a second daily service between London Heathrow and Detroit Metropolitan Airport effective June 2, 2014. The service will be particularly appealing to corporate customers needing an early morning arrival into London while offering more schedule choice for customers between London and the U.S. Midwest.

The two airlines’ summer schedule includes a total of 32 peak daily nonstop flights between North America and the U.K.. Of these, 25 flights will operate between London Heathrow and popular U.S. destinations such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta and Washington.

Delta and Virgin Atlantic also provide a competitive offering for the New York to London travel market. It is designed with business travelers in mind and offers a total of nine daily nonstop flights. The schedule includes departures every 30 minutes during the early evening peak and then hourly until 22:30 from New York-JFK to London Heathrow. From London Heathrow to New York-JFK there is a spread of seven daily flights including two late afternoon and early evening departures. These services will be complemented by two daily nonstop flights between New York’s Newark airport and London Heathrow.

Copyright Photo: Antony J. Best/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 777-232 LR N703DN (msn 32222) of Delta holds in position for runway clearance at London’s Heathrow Airport.

Delta Air Lines (current):

Virgin Atlantic Airways:

easyJet’s new William Shakespeare Airbus A319 logo jet and oldest William Shakespeare are the center points of a new campaign to recognize the famous playwright on the British calendar

EasyJet (UK) (easyJet.com) (London-Luton) as previously reported, painted one of its Airbus A319 with likeness of playwright William Shakespeare. We now know the reason. The airline today (April 2) launched a campaign to get the playwright officially recognized on the British calendar. The airline issued this statement:

Britain’s oldest real life William Shakespeare (below) has today launched a campaign to get the world’s most famous playwright officially recognized in the British calendar.

The 91 year old, from Bristol, was joined by Stratford-upon-Avon MP Nadhim Zahawias. Mr. Zahawias signed the petition to recognize April 23 as the national William Shakespeare Day.

Copyright Photo: EasyJet. Will-I-Am: Britain’s oldest William Shakespeare (above) launches campaign to make April 23 official day of the Bard.

The duo launched the campaign at London’s Gatwick Airport by unveiling a special edition easyJet Airbus A319 (G-EZBI) with an image of William Shakespeare on the fuselage. The airline is backing the bid to get the Bard recognized and is helping to garner the 100,000 signatures necessary for the issue to be debated in parliament and trending online with #Shakesonaplane

Heritage and culture remain one of the key drivers of tourism to the UK (Visit Britain report) and easyJet has arranged a program of free Shakespearean performances at airports across the country to share the playwright’s most famous work. The airline’s special William Shakespeare plane will also operate on flights across easyJet’s network this summer to help promote the UK as one of Europe’s leading cultural hot spots. The campaign for national William Shakespeare Day will culminate on the 450th anniversary of the Bard’s birth this April 23.

William Shakespeare from Bristol, said: “It is such an honor to be chosen to launch this campaign to recognise my namesake. All my life I have been proud to share my name with such an iconic British figure and I think it is important we recognise his achievements with an official day in the calendar.”

Paul Moore, Communications Director for easyJet said: ‎”William Shakespeare is Britain’s most famous author so easyJet is proud to back the bid to make 23 April his national day. We are asking our UK passengers to sign the petition while suggesting to those from the rest of Europe that they visit the land of Shakespeare to learn more about him and see his works performed.

“Our campaign will run during April in our in-flight magazine read by 5 million passengers a month, across thousands of seat back adverts and we will be staging free Shakespearean performances at airports across the UK. Passengers can win free flights by writing a sonnet supporting the campaign and it will be launched with our special Airbus which will carry Shakespeare’s image on the side. Aviation and Shakespearean language combine for the name – Romeo Alpha Juliet.”

Nadhim Zahawi, MP for Stratford-upon-Avon said:

“Is it a Bard, is it a plane? William Shakespeare is one of Britain’s greatest gifts to the world, ‘he was not of an age, but for all time’, and I have long argued this sceptre’d isle should celebrate April 23 as a national holiday. I’m delighted that easyJet have chosen to campaign on this issue – let’s hope we can get it off the runway.”

EasyJet will be collecting signatures and offering free Shakespeare performances at the following airports this month:

• London Gatwick: April 12-13
• London Luton: April 14-15
• Edinburgh: April 14-15
• London Stansted: April 14-15
• Manchester: April 16-17
• Bristol: April 16-17

Top Copyright Photo: Antony J. Best/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A319-111 G-EZBI (msn 3003) is seen departing from Gatwick Airport near London. (all others by EasyJet).

EasyJet (UK):

Due to demand, Allegiant changes the new Cincinnati-St. Petersburg/Clearwater route to year-round service

Allegiant Air (Las Vegas) has expanded scheduled service between Cincinnati and St. Petersburg/Clearwater from seasonal summer service to year-round.

Nonstop flights from Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport (CVG) to St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport (PIE) will begin on May 15, 2014.

Allegiant first took flight from Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport on February 12, 2014, with service to Sanford (near Orlando), and shortly thereafter, celebrated the start of service to Punta Gorda on February 14, 2014.

Copyright Photo: Jay Selman/AirlinersGallery.com. McDonnell Douglas DC-9-83 (MD-83) N868GA (msn 49554) departs from Las Vegas.

Allegiant Air:

Lakeshore Express suspends operations

Lake Express Aviation (Pontiac, Michigan), which started scheduled passenger services between Pontiac and Chicago Midway on June 6, 2013 with four roundtrips, has suspended operations. Flights were operated by Pentastar Aviation Charter (Pontiac) using 30-seat SAAB 340B aircraft . The airline also operated between Chicago (Midway) and Pellston, Michigan which began in June 2011.

Yesterday, the CEO issued this statement (no April’s Fool joke):

Dear Lakeshore Customers:

As we look forward to serving you this 2014 summer season and beyond, we are going to take a short break. At this time, Lakeshore is cancelling all future flights. We are very sorry for any inconvenience this may cause; however, we are looking to establish a relationship with a new operating partner in order to restart service to our customers in the near future.

Full refunds will be granted for any existing reservations. Please feel free to contact us at any time by email (customerservice@lakeshoreexpress.com) regarding questions or concerns. We are building a stronger Lakeshore Express to serve you in the future!

Thank you,
Greg Stallkamp
CEO
Lakeshore Express

Aeroflot introduces its expanded summer schedule

Aeroflot Russian Airlines (Moscow) on March 30 introduced its summer schedule until October 25, 2014. The airline issued this statement on the highlights of the enhanced schedule:

This summer Aeroflot plans to launch flights to 52 countries, including seven CIS countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine). The route network of Aeroflot comprises 125 destinations (73 outside Russia), including 49 destinations in Europe, 12 in Asia, 7 in America and 5 in the Middle East and Africa.

Aeroflot’s CIS network includes 11 destinations: Baku, Bishkek, Yerevan, Minsk, Tashkent, Kiev, Donetsk, Dnepropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Odessa, and Karaganda.

Aeroflot continues to play a significant role in shaping the structure of Russian civil aviation and further development of the domestic air travel. Thus daily flights will be operated on two new destinations in Russia: Novy Urengoy and Rostov-on-Don. Aeroflot will continue services on routes introduced under the winter season 2013/2014: Moscow – Ulan-Ude and Moscow-Chita.

Including the cities above, Aeroflot’s domestic service embraces 41 the most popular destinations in Russia: Abakan, Anapa, Astrakhan, Barnaul, Vladivostok, Volgograd, Gelendzik, Ekaterinburg, Irkutsk, Kazan, Kaliningrad, Kemerovo, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, Magnitogorsk, Mineralnye Vody, Nizhnevartovsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Nizhnekamsk, Novokuznetsk, Novosibirsk, Orenburg, Omsk, Perm, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Samara, Saint Petersburg, Simferopol, Sochi, Surgut, Tomsk, Tyumen, Ufa, Vladivostok, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, and Yakutsk.
Flight frequency will also be increased at the most popular domestic destinations: Saint Petersburg (from 105 to 112 weekly flights), Sochi (from 35 to 42), Krasnodar (from 28 to 41), Samara (from 28 to 35), Nizhny Novgorod (from 28 to 35), Chelyabinsk (from 21 to 28), Nizhnekamsk (from 14 to 21), Anapa (from 14 to 21), Gelendzik (from 7 to 14), Mineralnye Vody (from 7 to 14), Orenburg (from 7 to 14), Tomsk (from 7 to 14), Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk (from 7 to 10).

Aeroflot’s fleet is growing with deliveries of new long-haul Boeing 777-300 ERs (above), which will provide services to Vladivostok, Krasnoyarsk, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Khabarovsk, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, New York (JFK), Beijing, Seoul and Shanghai.

Traditional winter destinations – Innsbruck and Phuket – will be replaced by summer ones like Gelendzik, Heraklion, Thessaloniki, Dubrovnik, Split and Tivat.

Aeroflot network will be strengthened by 109 destinations on which aircraft of Aeroflot Group subsidiary companies will be used. Aeroflot marketing flights will be operated on 116 routes.

During Summer Season 2013 Aeroflot together with its subsidiary companies and code sharing partners will fly to 351 unique destinations in 66 countries, including Russia.

Copyright Photo: Marcelo F. De Biasi/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 777-3M0 VP-BGB (msn 41679) completes its final approach to the runway at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK).

Aeroflot: