Air New Zealand will now also retire its Boeing 777-300 fleet

Air New Zealand is currently operating 14 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, 20 Airbus A320s and 11 A320/A321neo aircraft as well as 28 ATR 72-600s and 23 Bombardier DHC-8-300s.

According to the airline, the fleet also includes 7 Boeing 777-300ER aircraft and 8 Boeing 777-200ER aircraft which are currently non-operating and in storage as a result of the continuing COVID-19 border closures.

The carrier advised at its annual review on its financial results on August 26 that the “787s that will enter the fleet from the 2024 financial year will now replace the 777-300 fleet which is expected to be phased out within this decade”.

Originally the plan was to only replace the 777-200s but COVID market closures has changed the plan.

Top Copyright Photo: Air New Zealand Boeing 777-319 ER ZK-OKO (msn 38407) LHR (SPA). Image: 954821.

Air New Zealand aircraft slide show:

Brussels Airlines responds to demand for winter-sun destinations

Brussels Airlines has made announcement:

Brussels Airlines sees an increase in the demand for winter-sun destinations from both individual passengers and travel agents.
As of 30 September Brussels Airlines adds Marrakech to its flight offer.
As from 31 October also flights to winter-sun destinations Lanzarote & Hurghada.
Additional flights to Tenerife and Gran Canaria during school holidays.

In the aftermath of a rainy summer in Belgium, during which the flights to vacation destinations in Southern Europe were particularly successful, Brussels Airlines notices that also in the coming months there is a demand for holiday destinations in the sun. The airline wants to meet this demand with extra flights to winter-sun destinations.

As from 30 September, Marrakech will for the first time be part of Brussels Airlines’ offer. The Moroccan city will be connected twice a week with flights on Thursdays and Sundays. Thanks to the low chance of precipitation, this city with its wide variety of cultures is the ideal destination for either a weekend or a longer vacation in the sun.

For the first time since March 2020, Hurghada is again part of the Brussels Airlines network. As from October 31, 2021, the Red Sea resort will be served three times a week (Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday).

With the addition of Lanzarote as from October 31, Brussels Airlines strengthens its presence on the Canary Islands, where it will also fly to Tenerife and Gran Canaria this winter. To these last two destinations additional frequencies are added during the Belgian school holidays. With flights on Thursdays and Saturdays, Lanzarote is the ideal destination for both short and longer winter vacations in the sun.

West AF is preparing to launch operations in Algeria

West AF (West Africa) is a new airline in Algeria. With a fleet of five De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400s, the new company is in final AOC process.

The company plans to operate domestic routes from Algiers (Alger):

As well as Oran:

The airline also plans to operate from Oran to Spain and southern France:

West AF (http://www.flywestaf.com) is focusing on a low cost carrier (LCC) model in West Africa.

The airline continues:

As early as 2016, the West AF team were considering Algeria as a potential market, but the conditions required to move forward were not yet in place.

The first LCC (Low Cost Carrier) in Algeria

To support the tourism sector essential for the growth of air transport and to make the “Algerian destination” attractive, the arrival of a 100% Algerian LCC will contribute to one of the most important conditions to launch the tourism sector: low-cost prices

Charter operator for domestic and international markets

High season is usually synonymous with chartering. A 100% Algerian charter operator on African soil will reduce the costs associated with charter operations (Ferry Flight, deposit, crew, etc.) and thus develop the market share for external demand which is experiencing strong growth in West and Central Africa.

With regard to domestic demand, the flexibility of supply will have a direct effect on the control of charter budget.

For the record, 80% of charter in West and Central Africa in 2019 was carried out by European or Middle Eastern companies. This accounts for over $350 million in revenue.

Lufthansa has flown over 1,500 refugees safely to Germany so far

For the past week, Lufthansa has been setting up an airlift to fly refugees from the Central Asian state to Germany. An Airbus A340-300 long-haul aircraft is used in each case. So far, the daily flights have brought to Frankfurt a total of more than 1,500 people.

Upon arrival in Frankfurt, a Lufthansa support team assists the new arrivals with food, drinks and clothing, and provides initial medical and psychological care. For the many children now landing in Frankfurt, a play and painting corner have been set up and toys donated.

Lufthansa will continue to operate additional flights from Tashkent in the coming days in coordination with the German Foreign Office.

Lufthansa offers quarantine-free travel to Singapore in cooperation with Singapore Airlines

Singapore skyline at night

Lufthansa has made this announcement:

Entry into Singapore from Germany for fully vaccinated travelers will be possible again as of 8 September. A previously imposed quarantine upon arrival in Singapore will no longer be required from this point on. Germany is the first country with which the mega city in Southeast Asia has signed an agreement to this effect.

The quarantine exemption applies to specific flights, known as Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) flights. Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines will jointly offer one of these VTL flights every day, either from Frankfurt or Munich, beginning on September 16, 2021. Bookings are already possible. Customers will also be able to register for VTL flights on a Singapore government website beginning on September 1, 2021.

Since the announcement by the Singaporean government, demand for flights between Germany and Singapore has tripled.

The following criteria qualify travelers for a VTL flight to Singapore:

a full vaccination carried out in Germany or Singapore with Pfizer-BioNTech/Comirnaty, Moderna, or another WHO EUL vaccine.
stay in Germany and/or Singapore for at least 21 consecutive days prior to departure for Singapore. VTL travelers do not have to have German citizenship.
a Covid-19 PCR test with a negative result taken at most 48 hours before departure and a second PCR test upon arrival in Singapore. Until the negative result of this text is received, travelers must stay in their specified hotel or accommodation in Singapore. Depending on the duration of the trip, a maximum of two additional PCR tests may be required in Singapore.
flight booking on a designated VTL flight.

Southwest Airlines to cut its schedule in an attempt to fix operational issues

Southwest Airlines has announced it will eliminate an average of 27 flights a day from its schedule from September 7 through October 6 and will also cancel 162 flights a day from October 7 through November 5.

Southwest also plans to adjust its flight schedules in November and December, but the airline said it would protect holiday bookings.

American Airlines says August revenue weaker than expected because of rise in COVID (Delta) cases

American Airlines is reporting revenue in August is now lower than forecast. The airline is reporting the rise of Delta COVID cases in the United States is now driving down demand.

American joins Frontier, Southwest and Spirit in their reports of softening demand.

Read the full story from CNBC:

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/25/american-airlines-warns-covid-cases-weakening-bookings-and-revenue.html

TSA numbers:

https://www.tsa.gov/coronavirus/passenger-throughput

Historic Photo: Air Polynésie Douglas C-54A-15-DC (DC-4) F-BBDR (msn 10417) PPT (Bruce Drum Collection). Image: 954814.

Photo: Emirates Airline Airbus A380-842 A6-EVG (msn 256) (50 Years UAE) CDG (Manuel Negrerie). Image: 954810.

Creditors of Air Seychelles want to shut down the airline

From Reuters:

“Holders of around $70 million in troubled bonds issued on behalf of state-owned Air Seychelles have filed a petition to wind up the African airline, they said in a statement, after a standoff over the unpaid debt.

The move is the latest effort by creditors to recover $1.2 billion owed by Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways and airlines it partly owned when the debt was issued in 2015 and 2016, such as Air Seychelles.”