Peach Aviation’s first Airbus A321LR arrives in Kansai

Peach Aviation (Japan) has made this announcement:

Peach Aviation Limited announced that the first Airbus A321LR arrived at Kansai Airport from Hamburg, Germany, on December 19, 2021.

From next month, January 2022, it is scheduled to operate regular flights between Osaka (Kansai) to Sapporo (New-Chitose) and Okinawa (Naha).

The first flight will be MM211 (Osaka (Kansai) – Okinawa (Naha) route) on January 18, 2022*1.

Peach is the first Japanese airline to introduce the A321LR.

The first-ever A321LR jet touches down at Kansai Airport on December 19, 2021

The A321LR introduced by Peach incorporates CFM’s LEAP-1A engine and sharklets (large wing-tip plates), and is 20% more fuel-efficient compared to the previous model (A320ceo).

In addition, the seat pitch of the A321LR introduced by Peach is 30 to 31 inches (76 to 78 cm), and each seat is equipped with a USB charging port, improving in-flight comfort. Also, seats in Airbus aircraft are one inch (about 2.5 cm) wider than those in aircraft manufactured by other companies, which allows for ample cabin space.

Route Map:

Eurowings to fly to more than 140 destinations in summer 2022, the most ever

Eurowings has made this announcement:

New from Hamburg: Alicante, Bilbao, Gothenburg, Lisbon, Porto, Verona
New from Stuttgart: Adana, Kütahya-Zafer, Porto, Preveza, Tbilisi, Tivat, Tunis
For the first time in summer from Düsseldorf: Bergamo, Funchal, Tromsø, Belgrade, Volos
Back on offer from Cologne/Bonn: Alicante, Tenerife, Izmir, Kayseri

The travel industry expects strong catch-up effects for the 2022 summer season after the winter, which was again characterized by Coronavirus. Germany’s largest holiday airline Eurowings will therefore offer more destinations in the 2022 summer flight schedule than ever before.

Anyone who wants to use the cold Christmas days to plan their holiday for 2022 can now choose from more than 140 attractive direct Eurowings connections. With around 2,500 weekly flights, the Eurowings offer has already almost reached the level of the time before Corona. The clear front-runner is the Balearic island of Majorca, which was once again Europe’s most popular sunshine island last year: Eurowings will fly to Majorca from more than 20 airports up to 380 times a week in the summer of 2022, thus further expanding its position as the number one in Balearic traffic. All connections can already be booked with a few clicks via eurowings.com or the Eurowings customer app. The program for 2022 includes a whole series of attractive summer destinations that the Lufthansa subsidiary will fly to for the first time from one of its major bases.

In the summer of 2022, Eurowings will be flying from Hamburg to the Portuguese cities of Lisbon and Porto and the Spanish destinations of Alicante and Bilbao for the first time. In addition, travelers will be able to fly directly from the Hanseatic city to Verona in Italy and Gothenburg for the first time.

From Stuttgart, Eurowings is expanding its offer with a focus on destinations in southern Europe: Porto (Portugal), Adana and Kütahya-Zafer (Turkey), Preveza (Greece), Tbilisi (Georgia) as well as Tivat (Montenegro) and Tunis (Tunisia) are in the program for the first time. The Romanian city of Timisoara is also back on the flight schedule.

From Düsseldorf, Eurowings will offer the new destinations Bergamo, Funchal and Tromsø in the 2021/22 winter flight schedule also in the 2022 summer flight schedule. For the first time, Eurowings will also fly from Düsseldorf to the Greek port city of Volos in the Thessaly region. The Serbian capital Belgrade is a new addition to the schedule. In addition, the airline will once again fly to Kosice (Slovakia) and Mostar (Bosnia-Herzegovina).

From Cologne/Bonn, Germany’s largest holiday airline is now also flying to the Canary Island of Tenerife and to Alicante in the summer. After the Corona break, the popular Turkish destinations Izmir and Kayseri are also back on the Eurowings flight schedule from Cologne/Bonn.

Flexible rebooking options for all Eurowings flights
Eurowings passengers continue to benefit from flexible rebooking conditions and a return flight guarantee: passengers can change their Eurowings flights free of charge up to 40 minutes before departure, rebook as often as they like and change to another destination within Europe free of charge.

Qatar Airways takes Airbus to court in London, 21 A350s grounded due to alleged surface degradation

Qatar Airways has issued this statement:

Qatar Airways on December 20 issued legal proceedings against Airbus in the Technology and Construction division of the High Court in London. We have sadly failed in all our attempts to reach a constructive solution with Airbus in relation to the accelerated surface degradation condition adversely impacting the Airbus A350 aircraft. Qatar Airways has therefore been left with no alternative but to seek a rapid resolution of this dispute via the courts.

Qatar Airways currently have 21 A350 aircraft grounded by the condition and the legal proceedings have been commenced to ensure that Airbus will now address our legitimate concerns without further delay. We strongly believe that Airbus must undertake a thorough investigation of this condition to conclusively establish its full root cause. Without a proper understanding of the root cause of the condition, it is not possible for Qatar Airways to establish whether any proposed repair solution will rectify the underlying condition.

Qatar Airways number one priority remains the safety of its passengers and crew.

British Airways names tennis ace Emma Raducanu as its newest global brand ambassador

British Airways has named tennis superstar, Emma Raducanu, as its latest global brand ambassador.

The airline, which prides itself on connecting Britain with the world and the world with Britain, will support the British star as she represents the nation globally. The airline will fly Emma to tournaments and training around the world, including next year’s French and US Opens and the Masters’ events in California and Rome, as Emma embarks on the next stage of her worldwide tennis career.

The news follows Emma’s triumph at the US Open in September 2021, making her the first British woman to win a Grand Slam title since 1977. The airline proudly carried both Emma and her team home from the win, warmly welcoming her back to the UK to be reunited with her family.

As well as tennis, Emma has a passion for aviation, which the airline hopes to bring to life with various activations through its long term partnership, reaching and inspiring women and younger audiences to consider a career in the industry.

The UK’s flag carrier, who has a long-standing history in supporting national sporting events and teams, will be Emma’s first British brand partner.

Emma Raducanu, British professional tennis player, said “British Airways has taken such good care of my team and I ever since the US Open and I have felt their support everywhere I have flown. To be partnering with such an iconic British brand that can play a big role in my performance makes a lot of sense to me. I’m fascinated by aviation and we have some interesting projects planned together.”

British Airways has been the proud airline partner to Team GB and Paralympics GB since 2008 and is currently the Principal Partner to Twickenham Stadium, Official Airline Partner to England Rugby. The airline also flew the British & Irish Lions to and from South Africa this year.

Blue Air starts the Lasi – Dublin route

Blue Air has added the Lasi – Dublin route.

Norse Atlantic Airways takes delivery of its first aircraft

On December 20, 2021 Norse Atlantic Airways took delivery of its first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. The arrival of the aircraft was celebrated at Oslo Airport and the new airline is on track to start transatlantic flights in spring 2022.

The flight from Warsaw, Poland was operated by Norse’s own captains Kjetil Risan, Derek Spicer, Dean Kitchen and Ulf Heikmann.

Norse’s first aircraft is a state-of-the-art Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner and is leased from BOC Aviation, one of the world’s largest aircraft leasing companies. The airline’s aircraft will be named after popular national parks, and this plane is named Rondane (one of Norway’s largest national parks). Norse’s planned fleet of aircraft consists of 12 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners and three Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners. The next deliveries will continue until April and all aircraft will be initially parked at Oslo Airport.

Norse plans to start commercial operation in spring 2022 with the first flights connecting Oslo to select cities in the U.S.

The aircraft lease is at attractive rates and payment terms, allowing the Company a flexible implementation during start-up of its operation, with Norse only paying on a “power by the hour” basis at the outset.

Building a new aviation adventure – with the right people

Norse Atlantic Airways is building a new airline that will offer affordable transatlantic flights. Our vision is to be ‘The Explorer’s Airline’. We are building a high-performance culture and creating an environment where we value diversity, and all colleagues feel a sense of belonging. Not only are we going to work smarter, better, and faster than our competitors, but we will also be known for our excellent customer service. Our unique Team Norse culture will be our competitive advantage. Thousands of talented people have already applied for positions, and we currently have 25 new job openings at our head office in Arendal and our office in London. When all our 15 Boeing 787 Dreamliners are in the air, we expect to be a dedicated team of 1,600 in the air and on the ground.

American Airlines announces daily flights to Dominica

American Airlines has announced that its recently launched and expanded service to Dominica from Miami International Airport will be expanding again to begin daily service effective April 5, 2022. This service which is scheduled to increase from 2 times weekly at launch to 3 times in January will increase frequency to 7 times weekly in April.

American Airlines operates an Embraer ERJ175 with a capacity for seventy-six (76) passengers with twelve first-class seats and sixty-four premium seats with extra leg room and main cabin seats.

Video:

Airbus firms up order for four A350F freighters from the CMA CGM Group

Airbus has firmed up an order for the purchase of four A350F freighter aircraft with the CMA CGM Group, a world leader in shipping and logistics.

This order will bring CMA CGM’s total Airbus fleet to nine aircraft, including four A330-200F and one A330-200 to be converted into a freighter.

easyJet and easyJet holidays launch new routes and holidays for summer 2022

easyJet (UK) has made this announcement:

easyJet has put 16 new routes on sale today from eight UK airports, with seats now available to book from just £22.99*
Services will return to London Southend with flights to Malaga and Palma de Mallorca and from Newcastle to Palma de Mallorca for summer 22
Package holidays are available for all new routes from £235 per person, through easyJet holidays

easyJet and easyJet holidays have today added 16 new routes and more holidays to its UK network for summer 2022. Even more services to some of Europe’s favorite beach and city destinations in Spain and the Balearics, the Greek Islands and Italy as well as Turkey, Bulgaria and Morocco, are among the collection of new routes which are on sale from today.

The airline will once again offer flights from London Southend for next summer, with a 4-weekly service to Palma De Mallorca taking off from May 1, 2022 and six-weekly service to Malaga taking off from May 2, 2022. Flights from Newcastle to Palma de Mallorca will also return for next summer from 2 May, with departures to the Balearic beach favorite set to take off five times a week.

Package holidays are available to book for next summer on all the new routes through easyJet holidays, with a range of holiday types available from adult and family to luxury and undiscovered. All easyJet holidays include flights, accommodation, 23kg of hold luggage and transfers on beach breaks.

Customers can look forward to taking advantage of new routes from across the UK this summer, including:

London Luton to Chania in Crete and Agadir in Morocco from £24.99* for flights and £350 per person for seven-night package holidays
Manchester to Naples from £22.99*, Burgas from £31.99*, Zakynthos from £25.99*, and Rhodes from £26.99* for flights and £235 per person for seven-night package holidays
Liverpool to Izmir from £26.99* and Heraklion from £22.99* for flights and £250 per person for seven-night package holidays
Edinburgh to Malaga and Rhodes from £22.99* for flights and £239 per person for seven-night package holidays
Belfast to Menorca from £22.99* for flights and £279 per person for seven-night package holidays

All customers booking flights with easyJet continue to benefit from industry-leading flexible booking policies under its Protection Promise, including fee-free changes up to two hours before departure. The easyJet holidays Protection Promise also gives customers ultimate flexibility, protection and reassurance. The holidays Promise offers a refund guarantee, freedom to change a booking, a reduced balance due date, a Best Price Guarantee, and deposit refunds.

Who else wants to step on board with our lovely crew? 🎄 pic.twitter.com/viBfepziKD

— easyJet (@easyJet) December 9, 2021

Southern California’s Ontario International is fastest-growing U.S. airport once again

Ontario International Airport (ONT) is the fastest-growing airport in the United States for the fourth consecutive year, based on a survey of frequent travelers by Global Traveler, a leading industry publication geared to business and luxury fliers who travel extensively in the U.S. and abroad.

The four-peat recognition comes as ONT has seen passenger volumes approach pre-pandemic levels in what has proved to be one of the fastest recoveries among airports nationwide. Between July and November, nearly 2.4 million passengers flew into or out of the Inland Empire airport – just 4% below 2019 levels and 137% above what was recorded during the corresponding months of 2020.

The award also comes as ONT celebrates five years of local ownership – a move that is being hailed as one of aviation’s great success stories.

“We knew that the combination of first-rate facilities, operations know-how and broad local support positioned us well to develop Ontario International into a premier aviation gateway and deliver the air service and amenities that sophisticated air travelers demand,” said Alan D. Wapner, Mayor pro Tem of the City of Ontario and President of the Ontario International Airport Authority (OIAA) Board of Commissioners. “We pride ourselves in offering the convenience and amenities that appeal to our customers and, as a result, ONT continues to be an attractive destination for leisure and business travelers in Southern California and an economic driver for the region.”

Since the start of this year, airlines serving Ontario have added service to Honolulu, Austin, Houston, Mexico City, El Salavdor, Chicago O’Hare and Reno-Tahoe. Norse Atlantic Airlines selected ONT as one of three U.S. airports that it hopes to begin offering direct service to and from Europe in 2022.