ANA to temporarily change service on select international routes due to the Coronavirus

ANA – All Nippon Airways has made this announcement:

Starting from December, service for Tokyo Haneda = Honolulu will be increased from two round trips per month to two round trips per week. In addition, two round trips will be added during the end of the year and New Year holiday period.
Total service for Haneda – Honolulu between December to January will increase from four round trips to seventeen round trips.^*1
In November, ANA will offer one flight per month for Tokyo Narita – Mumbai route as a tentative flight.
In November, service on the Tokyo Narita – Manila route will increase to three flights per week, and the Vienna – Tokyo Haneda route will increase to one flight per month.

*1 Haneda – Honolulu routes service date (the underlined are included in today’s announcement): Dec. 4, 7, 11, 14, 18, 21, 25, 29, Jan. 1, 2, 4, 8, 15, 18, 22, 25, 29. (Retrun flights will be departing on the next day)

All Nippon Airways (ANA) will temporarily change its flight frequency to select cities. Based on changes to immigration guidelines, recently instituted public health quarantine measures and passenger demand trends due to the widespread impact of COVID-19, we have decided to review our flight schedules from November to January for select routes. We apologize for the inconvenience caused and appreciate your kind understanding.

ANA will continue to monitor local immigration restrictions and quarantine guidelines as well as demand trends and travel viability as it decides on the frequency of flights and when to resume certain routes. In addition, ANA will promote the “ANA Care Promise,“, its initiative to provide a clean and hygienic environment at airports and aboard aircraft so that all customers can travel safely and comfortably.

Changes to the Schedule (November 1 – 30, 2020):
A total of 15 flights serving 3 routes will be affected from Nov. 1 to 30 by the changes announced today.
Overview:

*The total number of flights includes tentative flights.

Additional Announcements as of today:

*1 Flights operated by ANA under Air Travel Bubble established by Government of India for Japan.

Changes to the Schedule (December 1, 2020 – January 31, 2021):
A total of 26 flights serving 1 route will be affected from Dec. 1 to Jan. 31 by the changes announced today.
Overview:

Additional Announcements as of today:

* Operate on B789 (215 seats). Service on Dec. 11, 25, Jan. 1 and 15 will operate on B789 (246 seats).
* The announced plan above is subject to the approval of relevant authorities, and the aircraft may change depending on the flight status.

Due to the strengthening of quarantine measures in each region, changes in immigration conditions and other precautions are being implemented. For customers planning to travel, please check the latest information from embassies, consulates, and health institutions in your destination.

From September 25, all visitors traveling from Japan to China will be required to obtain a certificate showing negative results from a PCR test taken within 3 days prior to the departure date.

ANA aircraft photo gallery:

QANTAS Airways celebrates 100 years of serving Australia

QANTAS Airways made this announcement:

Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services (QANTAS) today (November 16, 2020) marks 100 years since it was founded in the Australian outback.

On November 16, 1920, two veterans of the Australian Flying Corps, Hudson Fysh and Paul McGinness, together with local grazier Fergus McMaster, founded what would later become the national carrier.

This happened just 17 years after the first powered flight by the Wright Brothers, two years after the end of World War One and at the tail end of the last major global pandemic, the Spanish Flu.

The new airline focused on conquering the “tyranny of distance” that was a major barrier to the growth of modern Australia. Its early chances of success were uncertain, to the point early backers called their investment “a donation”.

Initially carrying mail between outback towns, the airline was flying passengers to Singapore by the 1930s. By the end of the 1940s its strategic importance saw it nationalized and in the 1960s it was an early adopter of the jet aircraft that mainstreamed global travel. Qantas invented business class in the 1970s, switched to an all-747 fleet in the 1980s, was privatised in the 1990s, founded Jetstar in 2004, went through major restructuring in 2014 and, by 2020, had recently completed several important ‘firsts’ in non-stop travel to Europe and the US.

Qantas is the oldest continuously-operating airline in the world and the only one that (normally) flies to every single inhabited continent on earth.

Planned centenary celebrations have been significantly scaled back due to the impact of COVID – but Qantas will still mark the occasion with a low-level flyover of Sydney Harbour on the evening of its anniversary.

The flight path is expected to pass near Rose Bay where our Empire Flying Boats took off for Singapore between 1938 and 1942.

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Etihad Airways announces new route to Israel

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, will launch daily scheduled year-round flights to Tel Aviv, the economic and technological center of Israel.

The launch of flights follows the normalisation of diplomatic ties between the two nations, and the signing of the Abraham Accords between the UAE and Israel in Washington D.C. on September 15, 2020. Only a month later, Etihad became the first GCC carrier to operate a commercial passenger flight to and from Tel Aviv on October 19, 2020.

Korean Air to acquire ailing Asiana Airlines for $1.6 billion

Korean Air has announced it will acquire rival Asiana Airlines for 1.8 trillion ($1.6 billion). It will create the world’s 10th largest airline by fleet size.

Hawaiian Airlines offers HawaiianMiles redemption for COVID-19 mail-in test kit

Hawaiian Airlines has became the first U.S. carrier to allow members in its loyalty program to redeem miles for a pre-travel COVID-19 test. HawaiianMiles members across the United States can redeem 14,000 HawaiianMiles to order a mail-in test kit by Vault Health, a state of Hawai‘i trusted testing partner.

The redemption offer will be available to HawaiianMiles members for a limited time only. Members who choose to redeem their miles for a test kit will receive a confirmation email which includes a link to order the COVID-19 mail-in test kit from the Vault Health website.

“Our at-home supervised saliva COVID test provides a safe, convenient and reliable result delivered pre-travel,” said Vault Health Founder and CEO Jason Feldman. “We are excited to work with Hawaiian Airlines who continues to innovate on behalf of their customers making travel easier and safer for everyone.”

The test kit, which is available for travelers of all ages including children, will be mailed to guests who will self-collect their saliva sample with assistance from a testing supervisor in a video call. The kit is then express shipped to a lab, which will process and analyze the sample and provide travelers their results electronically within 24 hours of receiving the sample for an overall turnaround time under 72 hours.

CDC: Screening travelers for symptoms of COVID-19 was ineffective

According to a new report by the CDC, temperature and symptom-based screening at U.S. airports did not help to catch many COVID-19 cases, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that reviewed programs used at US airports until mid-September, 2020.

Read the full report.

Volga-Dnepr Airlines An-124 RA-82042 suffers a runway excursion at Novosibirsk

Volga-Dnepr Airlines Antonov An-124 (RA-82042) suffered a runway excursion on landing at Novosibirsk (OVB) after declaring an emergency. The incident was caused by an uncontained number 2 engine failure.

Social Media:

The airline issued this statement:

Volga-Dnepr’s An-124-100 ramp freighter aircraft has made an emergency landing in Tolmachevo airport (Novosibirsk, Russia). The captain took the decision to return to the airport of departure due to technical issues and the plane rolled off the runway upon landing. No crew members were injured.

The plane was operating a charter flight from Seoul (South Korea) to Vienna (Austria) with a tech stop in Novosibirsk (Russia) with 84 tons of automotive spare parts. The airlines’ technical support crew with essential equipment immediately flew to Novosibirsk to evaluate and rectify any consequences.

After the emergency landing, all crew members were examined by medical personnel and most importantly none were injured. At the moment we are cooperating with the aviation authorities and Novosibirsk airport with respect to this event and will thoroughly analyze the situation accordingly’, – highlighted Igor Aksenov, General Director of Volga-Dnepr Airlines.

Videos:

China Express Airlines receives its first COMAC ARJ21 aircraft

China Express Airlines and Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China, Ltd. (COMAC) held a signing ceremony of 100 China-made commercial aircraft and delivery ceremony of the first ARJ21 aircraft in Chongqing on November 10, 2020. An ARJ21 aircraft with a fuselage painting of “China Express Tongcheng” and a nationality registration number of B-650P landed smoothly at Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport in that morning. This indicates that ARJ21 aircraft has officially joined in the fleet of China Express which has focused on regional aviation operation in China for a long term, the number of operators of the China-made commercial aircraft is increased to seven, and the regional aviation network in China will be further enriched to promote the popularized development of the civil aviation industry.

At the beginning of this month, China Express and COMAC officially have signed a purchase contract for 100 aircrafts, of which 50 are ARJ21 series aircraft, and the other 50 can be ARJ21 series aircraft or C919 series aircraft, which will be determined by subsequent negotiations between both sides. This signing and delivery means that ARJ21 aircraft has gained more recognition from customers after more than four years of market-oriented operation.

Since its establishment in 2006, China Express has always clearly adhered to the strategic positioning of regional aviation, and has been committed to the exploration and development of the regional aviation market in China. After more than ten years of operation, it has established operating bases in Guiyang, Chongqing, Dalian, Hohhot, Xi’an and other cities as well as Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, and operated 165 routes, of which regional routes account for more than 95%. After joining in, ARJ21 aircraft will further supplement the regional aircraft transport capacity of China Express and improve the overall route network layout; and the mature regional route operation experience of China Express will also promote ARJ21 aircraft to set up a brand and create benefits.

Editor: Lin Zhe, Photographers: Wang Jiliang and Yan Tianyu

Mr. He Dongfeng made a speech on November 10th, 2020.

Mr. Zhao Yuerang presented a commemorative key to China Express on November 10th, 2020.

A group photo taken on November 10, 2020.

The first ARJ21 aircraft of China Express, with a nationality registration number of B-650P, was parked on the apron on November 10, 2020.

Air France KLM Martinair Cargo is ready to distribute COVID-19 vaccines

The Group has made this announcement:

Since the 3rd week of March 2020, Air France KLM Martinair Cargo has made every effort to maintain its global airfreight network, helping to keep vital supply chains in place. This has always been essential, but even more so since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, ensuring that healthcare facilities as well as private citizens have access to medicines, medical equipment, personal protective equipment (PPE) and other critical products. Approximately 6,000 cargo-only flights have been carried out in recent months. Air France KLM Martinair Cargo is currently operating services to more than 100 long-haul destinations.

One of the next logistical challenges will be the global distribution of the Covid-19 vaccines. Earlier this week, the American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, together with German partner BioNTech, announced great success in the first interim analysis from the Phase III study of its Covid-19 vaccine candidate.

Above Copyright Photo: KLM Cargo (Royal Dutch Airlines) – Martinair Boeing 747-406 ERF PH-CKB (msn 33695) AMS (Ton Jochems). Image: 951924.

KLM aircraft slide show:

In terms of volume, distributing the vaccines will be an unprecedented logistical operation. Initial expectations are that around 15 billion vaccines will need to be distributed worldwide. Many of these will also need to be distributed at very low temperatures. The Pfizer vaccine must be kept deep frozen (at -70 degrees Celsius). Others will need to be distributed at a constant temperature of between +2 and +8 degrees Celsius. This means that logistical solutions will be essential to maintain quality throughout the vaccine distribution chain.

Senior Vice President Sales & Distribution Air France KLM Martinair Cargo GertJan Roelands: “Air France KLM Martinair Cargo has years of experience with temperature-controlled transportation of pharmaceuticals and was the first airline group to be CEIV certified by IATA. The distribution of Covid-19 vaccines poses specific challenges in terms of volume, transportation requirements and security. In order to be fully prepared for this we started a Covid-19 Vaccine taskforce four months ago. This taskforce represents all the relevant Air France KLM Martinair Cargo departments. Our teams have been working on an extensive action plan. For example, at our Schiphol Pharma Hub, we opened up a 1,118 m3 Climate Controlled storage facility a few months ago and we are building an additional 2,061 m3 additional Cool Room. At our Charles de Gaulle Pharma Hub, a new Climate Controlled storage area is about to be finished. We also introduced Hybrid and Advanced Passive Solutions that will be used to transport the vaccines, on top of existing full range of Active Containers. Along with many other initiatives, extra monitoring and intervention management have also been implemented.”

Executive Vice President Air France-KLM Cargo Adriaan den Heijer: “We believe that cooperation and building communities around the upcoming global vaccines distribution are essential. We’ve established partnerships with many of the parties in the logistical chain, including forwarders, trucking companies, container providers, airports, cargo/logistical associates, pharmaceutical companies and healthcare-related institutes and authorities. We believe that strong cooperation between partners will be essential to successfully executing this logistical challenge.”

Together with Air Cargo Netherlands (ACN) and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and with Aéroport de Paris (already two leading European Pharma hubs), we’ve established two taskforces to fully prepare both airports communities for upcoming vaccine transport operations.

Adriaan den Heijer: “In recent weeks, we successfully shipped the first Covid-19 vaccines. Air France KLM Martinair Cargo is ready for this logistical challenge, ready to deliver coronavirus vaccines to the Netherlands, to France and to many other countries around the globe.”

About Air France KLM Martinair Cargo

The Air France-KLM Group is a global airline group with a strong European base. Its main areas of business are passenger transport, cargo transport and aeronautical maintenance. Air France KLM Martinair Cargo is the Air France-KLM Group’s dedicated air cargo business. Air France-KLM Cargo is a member of SkyTeam Cargo (www.skyteamcargo.com) offering an even larger network coverage.

Martinair aircraft photo gallery:

Airlink introduces a new independent look

Airlink’s New Tailfeathers Bring Freedom to Southern Africa’s Skies

Airlink, the privately-owned Southern African airline, has revealed its new tail feathers, distinguishing itself as a completely independent carrier.

The new look, which features a distinctively colorful African Sunbird set against a sunrise and dawn sky, follows several recent developments, including the formal re-naming of the company as “Airlink”. It signifies the airline’s new strategy, as an independent, agile, responsive and financially robust business that is free of any brand association with its former franchise partner, South African Airways.

The new livery will be applied to Airlink’s fleet over the coming months, with the re-painting coinciding with each aircraft’s next scheduled deep-maintenance overhaul. This will avoid disrupting the airline’s operations. The first aircraft bearing the new colours will resume service in early December, in time for the summer holiday season.

Airlink recently launched frequent daily services on what have historically been South Africa’s (and Africa’s) busiest city pairings; Johannesburg – Cape Town and Johannesburg – Durban in addition to Johannesburg-Port Elzabeth and Johannesburg – East London. It also inaugurated its first new routes linking Johannesburg with Maputo as well as Johannesburg with Windhoek. With the phased relaxation of domestic and regional travel restrictions, Airlink has re-started services to all 15 of South Africa’s main economic and tourist centres. In addition, it is operating to Zimbabwe (Harare and Bulawayo), Zambia (Lusaka, Ndola and soon also Livingstone), Namibia (Windhoek and Walvis Bay), Lesotho (Maseru), Eswatini (Sikhuphe) and Mozambique (Maputo, Pemba, Beira and Vilanculos). Next week Airlink will resume flights to Botswana (Gaborone, followed next month by Maun and Kasane) and will restart flights to Madagascar in December (Nosy Be, while it awaits the re-opening of Antananarivo. Flights to St Helena will re-commence as soon as it is permissible. Airlink also plans to parade its new tailfeathers to several other established and new destinations as they come online over the coming weeks and months.

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