Ukrainian Defense Industry issues an update on the only Antonov An-225 Mriya (UR-82060)

Antonov Airlines Antonov An-225 Mriya UR-82060 (msn 19530503763) CLT (Jay Selman). Image: 402869.

UkrOboronProm (Ukrainian Defense Industry) issued this statement on the only Antonov An-225 Mriya (UR-82060):

Russians destroy An-225 “Mriya”, it will be restored at the expense of the occupant.

Russian occupiers destroyed the flagship of Ukrainian aviation โ€” the legendary An-225 “Mriya”. This happened at the Antonov airfield in Gostomel near Kyiv, where the plane was. It will cost over $3 billion USD to restore the plane, the restoration shall be time consuming.

Ukraine will make every effort to ensure that the aggressor state pays for these works.

Russia has hit the Mriya as a symbol of Ukraineโ€™s aviation capabilities. An-225 “Mriya” โ€” avia giant, which holds records for transportation of biggest commercial cargo and longest and heaviest in the history of aviation, lifting capacity. Unfortunately, these options are lost today, however they will be definitely restored. The occupiers destroyed the airplane, but they wonโ€™t be able to destroy our common dream. Mriya will definitely be reborn. The restoration is estimated to take over 3 bln USD and over 5 years. Our task is to ensure that these costs are covered by the Russian Federation, which has caused intentional damage to Ukraineโ€™s aviation and the air cargo sector.

Russia has destroyed our “Mriya” ( laterally translated as โ€œlathe โ€œdreamโ€), but the dream of Ukraine to get free from the occupier cannot be destroyed. We will fight for our land and our home until we win. And after the victory, we will definitely finish our new “Mriya”, which has been waiting for this in a safe place for many years. Everything will be Ukraine!โ€ Yuriy Husyev said, General Director of Ukroboronprom.

At the time of invasion, the AN-225 Mriya was under repair at Gostomel Airport, so it did not have time to leave Ukraine.

This is totally due to war criminal Putin:

Top Copyright Photo: Antonov Airlines Antonov An-225 Mriya UR-82060 (msn 19530503763) CLT (Jay Selman). Image: 402869.

Antonov Airlines aircraft slide show:

Etihad Cargo posts 49% revenue growth for 2021

Etihad Cargo, the cargo and logistics arm of the Etihad Aviation Group, has achieved record revenue growth of 49 per cent in 2021 as it continued to outperform expectations with a 27 per cent year-on-year increase in freight carried, contributing towards 55 per cent of the groupโ€™s revenue.

โ€œ2021 was a milestone year for Etihad Cargo,โ€ said Martin Drew, Senior Vice President Sales & Cargo, Etihad Aviation Group. โ€œThe Etihad Cargo team has worked closer than ever with partners and customers to address their demands and allocate necessary capacity, resulting in a record tonnage of 729,200 tonnes โ€“ the highest since 2017.โ€

In Q1, Etihad Cargo temporarily modified five Boeing 777 aircraft to support cabin-loaded cargo, operating more than 800 charter and scheduled cargo flights in the new configuration in 2021, adding capacity along key strategic routes. By mid-2021, Etihad Cargo had announced the recovery of more than 90 per cent of its network compared to pre-COVID. In total, the carrier operated more than 6,000 passenger freighters throughout the year, with freighter utilisation averaging 16.5 hours.

Premium products have also seen remarkable growth: PharmaLife, the carrierโ€™s award-winning pharmaceutical shipment solution, achieved a 85 per cent increase in revenue on 2020, while FreshForward, for transporting perishables, increased by 26 per cent. With the relaxation of travel restrictions, SkyStable, the carrierโ€™s dedicated equine transportation solution, grew by 28 per cent, and SafeGuard, for transporting valuables, increased by 103 percent compared to 2020.

Despite the ongoing operational challenges imposed by new variants of the COVID-19 virus, the UAE national carrier also maintained a Delivered As Promise (DAP) rate of 84 per cent through the past 12 months and an on-time performance (OTP) of 84 per cent.

Over the past year, Etihad Cargo continued to facilitate critical COVID-19 vaccine distribution which contributes to 30 per cent of its pharmaceutical shipments. Jointly with its partners at the HOPE Consortium, over 250 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been handled to over 40 countries. In addition, several initiatives have been launched to facilitate the distribution and to position Abu Dhabi as a pharmaceutical and live science hub including establishing the first pharmaceutical distribution corridor between Abu Dhabi and Belgium. The corridor will facilitate the quick delivery of vaccines and meet future life science needs. The carrier is also working in tandem with UNICEF to transport aid globally following the signing of a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to support the UN agencyโ€™s Humanitarian Airfreight Initiative.

Investing in digitalization has continued to be a key enabler to success. Augmenting customer service was a key focus of 2021 and Etihad Cargoโ€™s new online booking portal was developed following extensive customer workshops to address their requirements, reducing the booking time to just 45 seconds. Since its launch in October, the company has recorded 36% increase in online bookings within three months of launching the new portal. In addition, the carrier has announced exploring a proof of concept with SPEEDCARGO for using Artificial Intelligence to measure cargo dimensions and optimize space planning, which will in turn allow Etihad Cargo to improve capacity planning.

Ryanair unveils record London Summer 2022 Schedule (181 routes)

Ryanair, despite the war in Europe and rising fuel prices, has announced its largest ever Summer schedule from its three London airports (Gatwick, Luton, and Stansted) with 14 new routes (181 total) to exciting destinations across Europe, including Naples, Madeira, and Stockholm. With over 100 based aircraft for Summer 2022, Ryanairโ€™s total investment in the UK amounts to over $10 billion.

Ryanairโ€™s Michael Oโ€™Leary said:

โ€œWe are pleased to announce 14 new routes from our three London airports, Stansted, Luton and Gatwick, as all Covid-19 travel restrictions have now been lifted, UK citizens and visitors can book a well-deserved Summer getaway to exciting destinations such as Helsinki, Madeira and Naples. Ryanair is driving Londonโ€™s post Covid recovery as we grow across Europe, with new aircraft and new routes.

Despite launching our biggest ever schedule, the UK Govt failed to support this recovery by delaying the reduction in APD until 2023. Ryanair again calls on the UK Govt to scrap APD completely, to allow airlines and airports to quickly restore traffic, jobs, and tourism. The 50% reduction proposed for 2023 is too little, too late as APD puts UK airports at a severe cost disadvantage versus European competitors, and the absence of Govt support for aviation and tourism recovery creates further barriers to UK traffic and growth.

ย To allow our customers and visitors to/from London to book their Summer getaway at the lowest fares,ย we are launching a 3-day seat sale with fares available from just ยฃ19,99 one way for travel until October 2022, which must be booked by Friday the 4thย of March. Since these super low fares will be snapped up quickly, customers should log onto http://www.ryanair.com to avoid missing out.โ€

 

LONDON โ€“ 14 NEW Sโ€™22 ROUTES
Burgas Naples
Catania Orebro
Helsinki Stockholm
Lublin Tampere
Maastricht Tangier
Madeira Trapani
Menorca Vรคxjรถ

AerCap faces a โ€˜mission impossibleโ€™ recovering planes from Russia

AerCap (Dublin) is the largest aircraft leasing company.

Aercap owns 149 aircraft leased to Russian airlines and operated in Russia.

The company plans to comply with all sanctions against Russia but it faces severe challenges in recovering the leased airliners according to the Irish Times.

Wizz Air helps Ukrainian refugees reach their destinations with 100,000 free seats

Wizz Air made this announcement:

Wizz Air is committed to helping Ukrainian refugees reach their destination, wherever that may be. We are providing 100,000 free seats on short-haul flights departing from Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Romania in March.

Russian aviation sector is isolated as Boeing, followed by Airbus, suspends aircraft parts and maintenance

Boeing said it was suspending aircraft parts, maintenance and technical support for Russian airlines as the effect of sanctions in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine ripple across the global aviation industry according to Reuters.

Airbus followed and did the same.

Frontier Airlines to open a new crew base at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport

Frontier Airlines has announced plans to open a new crew base at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) in November 2022. Up to 180 pilots and 275 flight attendants are expected to be based at PHX within the first year with additional growth anticipated in the future.

Frontier currently operates 14 nonstop routes from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport with a variety of additional flight connection opportunities available within the companyโ€™s domestic and international network. Frontier is Americaโ€™s Greenest Airline and operates a fleet of more than 110 highly efficient Airbus A320 family aircraft. The airline has 230 new Airbus planes on order between now and 2029, which will triple the size of its fleet.

Update from TUI Group CEO Fritz Joussen: Comments on the Russian invasion of Ukraine and his Russian Oligarch investor

Dear colleagues,

The attack on Ukraine and the fighting that has been going on for days now leave me, like everyone I have spoken to over the past few days, stunned. When I think of the people in Ukraine, the men and women who are defending their country, and the families who are now fleeing their homeland, I can hardly imagine the suffering.

A war of aggression in the middle of Europe, an attack on a sovereign country, on innocent Europeans โ€“ all this was hardly imaginable after the end of the Cold War and in the era of dialogue and cooperation. As Europeans, we have perhaps taken the right to live in peace and self-determination too much for granted. Although it gives us hope that the free world is showing unity, worries about further developments now predominate.

The question of how the war will affect our business is certainly not the first priority, but of course the question is legitimate and important for us. We are monitoring the developments intensively in order to assess possible consequences and to be able to put plans into place if necessary. Let me share some thoughts with you on this.

We ourselves are no longer represented with companies in Russia and Ukraine. As you know, we sold our shareholdings in the tour operators in Russia and Ukraine some time ago. However, in order to ensure the safety of our customers, we will make or have already made adjustments in some areas, such as flight routes and cruise destinations. We are in contact with the employees of service providers in Ukraine who work for us and are supporting them as best we can to keep themselves and their families safe. TUI Cruises is also intensively looking after crew members from Ukraine who are employed on board our fleet of ships.

Some of you have also asked me about our largest single shareholder Alexey Mordashov and our position with him. Mr Mordashov has been a TUI shareholder for around 15 years and has held about a third of our company since he propped it up during the Corona crisis. Two thirds of our shareholders are from Germany, the EU, the UK, the US or are funds. Mr Mordashov is also one of 20 representatives on the Supervisory Board elected by shareholders at the Annual General Meeting. However, our company is run by the Executive Board, like any German public limited company, and not by the shareholders or the Supervisory Board. We therefore assume that any restrictions or sanctions against Mr Mordashov will not have any lasting negative consequences for us as a company.

Photo: Wikipedia. Russian Oligarch Alexi Mordashov.

The coming days and weeks will show how relations between Russia and the EU will continue to develop โ€“ and how economic cooperation between Russia and the West will develop in the future. A solution is not in our hands. This is the time of the governments and the community of states.

One thing is clear: we will be true to our values and show our position. Like hardly any other sector, tourism stands for international understanding and peaceful exchange across borders and cultures โ€“ we feel particularly committed to this.

Thank you that so many of you show your attitude in your private and professional lives and support the people in Ukraine and those fleeing the country with aid and donations!

Let’s all hope that humanity and reason will prevail and peace will return to Europe.

Fritz Joussen

Canadian North to launch Iqaluit โ€“ Toronto summer service in June

Canadian North has announced the launch of nonstop service between Iqaluit, Nunavut and Toronto, Ontarioโ€™s Pearson International Airport.

Iqaluit-Toronto flights will operate twice weekly on Fridays and Sundays, from June 3 until September 30, in time for the summer travel season. Weekend getaways or week-long excursions will all be possible in either direction.

Route Frequency Departure Arrival
Iqaluit, NU to Toronto, ON Friday, Sunday 8:00 am 11:00 am
Toronto, ON to Iqaluit, NU Friday, Sunday 12:30 pm 15:30 pm

Canadian North will operate the comfortable, quiet and fast Boeing 737 aircraft on this route

More about the Iqaluit to Toronto flight:ย 

Iqaluit is the largest city in the region of Inuit Nunangat that falls within Canadian borders; Inuit Nunangat is the homeland of Inuit within North America. Often considered as remote or even unreachable by much of southern Canada, this scenic and culturally rich area will now be a three-hour flight from Toronto.

As the largest airport in the country, Toronto Pearson offers more domestic and international connections than anywhere else in Canada. Southbound passengers will be able to travel directly to Toronto and book seamless interline connecting flights through Canadian North.

Route Map: