Lufthansa announces a major expansion in Berlin

Lufthansa Airbus A320-211 D-AIQW (msn 1367) (100 Jahre Hamburg Airport) DUS (Michael Stappen), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Lufthansa (Frankfurt) has announced a major expansion for Berlin as the new Berlin Brandenburg Airport (Willy Brandt) is set to open on June 3, 2012.

Lufthansa is planning to add 30 new destinations from Berlin in the summer of 2012.

Lufthansa’s Berlin fleet is set to grow from the current nine aircraft to 15 aircraft.

According to the airline, “currently the Lufthansa Group and its partner airlines account for a quarter of the 21 million passengers in Berlin. To increase this share substantially, the Group will deploy a total of 35 aircraft on routes to and from Berlin from the summer of 2012.”

Lufthansa will assign 15 A320 family aircraft at the new BER Airport. Altogether, 23 Airbus aircraft (A321, A320, A319) will fly from Berlin under the Lufthansa brand. The LH flights will be supplemented by flights operated by other members of the Lufthansa Group – Germanwings, Swiss, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines and bmi – bringing the total number of Lufthansa Group aircraft on routes to and from Berlin to 35.

LH will add 28 new European destinations and two new Middle Eastern destinations from BER. The new schedule will commence on June 3, 2012 and includes a total of 38 nonstop Lufthansa flights.

New LH nonstop destinations include Valencia, Bologna and Birmingham.

As a sign of its commitment to Berlin, Lufthansa will name its next A380 after the German capital. The aircraft with the registration of D-AIMI is expected to be delivered to Lufthansa in April 2012 and is due to carry the name of Berlin out into the world as soon as the airport is inaugurated. The A380 is planned to take off on the first scheduled Lufthansa flight as part of the official opening ceremony on June 3, 2012.

Lufthansa Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Boeing begins work on 1,000th 777

Boeing (Chicago) yesterday (November 9) workers began assembling the 1,000th 777. The airplane is a Boeing 777-300 ER (extended range) model. It will be delivered to Emirates Airline (Dubai) in March 2012. Emirates is the largest 777 customer with 95 777s currently in its fleet; the 1,000th 777 will be its 102nd.Production began with loading of the 97-foot (29.5 meter) wing spar – the main support structure for the wing – into a giant tool that automatically drills, measures and installs more than 5,000 fasteners into the spar. The spar components are built in Auburn, Washington, by Boeing Fabrication employees.

Photo: Boeing.

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American Airlines enters into sale-leaseback arrangement with ILFC to finance 15 Boeing 737-800s

American Airlines Boeing 737-823 WL N814NN (msn 29562) LAX (Michael B. Ing), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

American Airlines (Dallas/Fort Worth) has announced it has entered into a sale-leaseback arrangement with International Lease Finance Corporation (ILFC), a leading international leasing organization and wholly owned subsidiary of American International Group, to finance 15 previously-ordered Boeing 737-800 Next Generation aircraft, two of which have been delivered and the remainder of which are scheduled to be delivered to American in 2012. ILFC will purchase the aircraft from American and immediately lease the aircraft back to American under a sale-leaseback financing arrangement.

American Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air operate their first biofuel flights

Alaska Airlines (Seattle/Tacoma) yesterday afternoon (November 9) inaugurated biofuel-powered passenger service with two flights from Seattle/Tacoma to Washington (Reagan National) and Portland, Oregon Alaska and its sister carrier, Horizon Air, are operating 75 select flights between Seattle/Tacoma and the two cities over the next few weeks using a 20 percent blend of sustainable biofuel made from used cooking oil.

Alaska Air Group estimates the 20 percent certified biofuel blend it is using for the 75 flights will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an estimated 10 percent—the equivalent of taking 26 cars off the road for a year. If the company powered all of its flights with a 20 percent biofuel blend for one year, the annual emissions savings would represent the equivalent of taking nearly 64,000 cars off the road or providing electricity to 28,000 homes.

There currently is no supply of aviation biofuels in the Pacific Northwest, although potential sources were identified during a regional assessment by the Sustainable Aviation Fuels Northwest group earlier this year (www.safnw.com). Alaska Air Group purchased the fuel through SkyNRG, an aviation biofuels broker. The biofuel was made by Dynamic Fuels at its facility in Geismar, Louisiana.

Photo: PR Newswire/Alaska Airlines. N531AS is displaying this special emblem on the engines.

Alaska Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Air Canada’s push for a new low-fare subsidiary is stalled by the unions

Zip Air (4321zip.com) (Air Canada) Boeing 737-217 C-GCPU (msn 22259) YYZ (TMK Photography) (historic photo), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Air Canada’s (Montreal) move for a new low-fare subsidiary to compete in the leisure markets has apparently hit an impasse although the airline is not giving up. The unions are opposed to the concept according to this article by Reuters.

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

Air Canada Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Air Macau is restructured with a new investment by the Macau SAR government

Air Macau Airbus A319-132 B-MAK (msn 1758) (Macau 2005) NRT (Michael B. Ing), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Air Macau’s (Macau, China) shareholders on November 4, 2011 approved a new capital restructuring proposal, with a multi-million dollar injection from the Macau SAR government.

With the capital injection, the Macau SAR government becomes Air Macau’s second major shareholder after Air China (80.86%). New shares are being issued.

Air Macau issued the following statement: CLICK HERE

Air Macau Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Niki Lauda sells his remaining shares to Airberlin, will join the Airberlin board

Niki (flyniki.com) Airbus A321-211 OE-LEW (msn 4611) FRA (Tony Storck), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Niki’s (Vienna) founder and majority shareholder announced on November 8, 2011 he was selling all his remaining shares to Airberlin.

Lauda previously owned 50.1 percent of his second airline.

The Niki name will remain and Niki Lauda will join the Airberlin board of directors.

Airberlin issued the following statement:

“The founder of Austrian airline Niki Luftfahrt GmbH, Andreas Nikolaus (Niki) Lauda, has been appointed to the Board of Air Berlin PLC as Non-Executive Director.

Since July 2010 Air Berlin PLC has held a 49.9 stake in Niki Luftfahrt GmbH. Airberlin, the Lauda Private Trust and Niki Lauda have agreed that the Lauda Private Trust will be withdrawing from Niki Luftfahrt GmbH. The withdrawal of the Lauda Private Trust will be taking place shortly in the course of restructuring measures in accordance with company law. As a result the Lauda Private Trust will be repaying the loan it had received from Airberlin by transferring its 50.1 percent stake in Niki Luftfahrt GmbH. Austrian control and majority ownership of Niki Luftfahrt GmbH will in future be ensured by a new private trust that is exclusively Austrian and that will hold a majority stake in Niki Luftfahrt GmbH. The transfer of the 50.1 percent stake will not involve any cash payments.”

Niki Slide Show: CLICK HERE

EasyJet is coming to Iceland

easyJet (eastJet.com) (UK) Airbus A320-214 G-EZTE (msn 3913) GVA (Paul Denton), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

EasyJet (UK) (London-Luton) will launch the London (Luton)-Keflavik (near Reykjavik) route on March 27, 2012. The new route to Iceland will be operated three times a week.

EasyJet Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Copa Holdings reports net income of $70.3 million for the third quarter

Copa Airlines Boeing 737-7V3 WL HP-1377CMP (msn 30462) MIA (Bruce Drum), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Copa Holdings, S.A. (Panama City) announced its financial results for the third quarter.

Copa Holdings reported net income of $70.3 million for 3Q11, or diluted earnings per share (EPS) of US$1.59. Excluding special items, Copa Holdings would have reported an adjusted net income of $90.1 million, or $2.03 per share, a 44.3% increase over adjusted net income of $62.5 million and US$1.42 per share for 3Q10.

Copa Airlines Slide Show: CLICK HERE

European Air Transport Leipzig takes delivery of its first Airbus A300B4-622R freighter

DHL (European Air Transport Leipzig) Airbus A300B4-622R D-AEAO (msn 711) SNN (Malcolm Nason), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

European Air Transport Leipzig (Leipzig/Halle) has taken delivery of its first Airbus A300B4-622R freighter. The pictured D-AEAO (msn 711) was painted by Eirtech and was rolled out of the paint shop at Shannon on November 4, 2011. It previously served with JAL as JA8565. 12 additional copies will be coming.

European Air Transport Leipzig GmbH is a cargo airline based at Leipzig/Halle Airport in Schkeuditz, Germany. The airline is wholly owned by Deutsche Post and operates the DHL-branded parcel and express services in Europe.