Neos promotes TRX Radio on EI-FLM

TRX Radio is a project designed to target the Millennials and Generation Zs.

The project was born as a web radio station via apps.

For the launch, TRX Radio is being supported by Neos, the airline of the Alpitour Group, with which there has been a consolidated collaboration for several years.

To celebrate the birth of the web radio station, one of the Neos planes wears this special livery, which depicts the six TRX rap ambassadors: Ensi, Fabri Fibra, Marracash, Salmo, Gue Pequeno and Clementino.

The destinations reached by the Boeing 737-800 registered as EI-FLM and named “Arsago Seprio” with the TRX livery are: the Red Sea, Canary Islands, Israel, Balearic Islands, Greece, Sicily and Sardinia.

The pace of TRX Radio will also be heard on board, with an ad hoc playlist with a rap and trap style that will accompany passengers throughout the flight.

Top Copyright Photo: The Boeing 737-800 EI-FLM displays the TRX special markings is pictured about to land at Palma de Mallorca. Neos Boeing 737-85F WL EI-FLM (msn 30571) (TRX Radio) PMI (Javier Rodriguez). Image: 951042.

Neos aircraft slide show:

Javier Rodriguez reporting from Spain.

Reuters: Delta Air Lines plans to resume more international routes

From Reuters:

“Delta Air Lines Inc on Friday said it plans to resume 50 flights on the international route this winter and in 2021 that were suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Delta said its resumed service would include daily flights from Seattle to Tokyo, Seoul, Beijing and Shanghai.”

EU Commission approves the Brussels Airlines stabilization package

On July 24, 2020 Brussels Airlines announced that it had reached an agreement with the Belgian Federal Government and Lufthansa to secure the future of Belgium’s home carrier and herewith the long-term development of the airline through a stabilization package. On August 17, 2020 the package was approved by the German Economic Stabilization Fund (WSF).
Today the EU Commission has also given its approval.

The stabilization package of 460 million euro – €290 million from the Belgian Federal government and €170 million from Lufthansa – covers in part the losses incurred by Brussels Airlines due to the crisis and secures at the same time tens of thousands of direct and indirect jobs that are linked to the activities of Brussels Airlines. Thanks to the package, the airline can finance its turnaround plan and herewith create a long-term and structurally profitable future.

Dieter Vranckx, CEO of Brussels Airlines: “With this news, we finally conclude the three pillars of our survival and long-term competitiveness. We are relieved that the execution of the financial transaction can take place. We will now shift all our focus towards a timely implementation of our turnaround plan Reboot Plus. Thanks to the support and trust we receive from our shareholder Lufthansa, the Belgian government and from all our employees, we can create a strong and competitive Brussels Airlines with long-term perspectives, an important engine for the Belgian economy. For that, I sincerely thank all involved parties.”

KLM will fly to Hangzhou again

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has made this announcement:

As of August 27, 2020 KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will fly again to the Chinese city of Hangzhou. The weekly flight will be operated via Seoul Incheon (South Korea) with a Boeing 777-200. KLM is making every effort to add a second frequency as soon as possible.

KLM’s passenger flights to mainland China were suspended at the beginning of February in connection with COVID-19. Thanks to relaxation of travel restrictions by the Chinese government, KLM was able to resume passenger flights to Shanghai on July 21. The passenger flight to Hangzhou is now added as the second Chinese destination. KLM has continued to transport cargo to and from China.

The flight schedule is as follows:

KL 0857 departs from Amsterdam on Thursday at 18.55 hrs and arrives in Seoul Incheon at 12.25 hrs the next day. KL 0821 departs from Seoul Incheon at 13.50 hrs and arrives in Hanghzou at 15.00 hrs.
KL 0822 departs from Hangzhou on Friday at 18.50 hrs and arrives in Seoul Incheon at 21.55 hrs. KL 0858 departs from Seoul Incheon on Saturday at 00.25 hrs and arrives in Amsterdam at 04.45 hrs.

All times are local.

Extra hygiene measures

Naturally, KLM has taken measures to ensure that flights are safe for both passengers and staff. For example, face masks are mandatory when boarding and during the flight, extra hygiene equipment is on board and KLM’s aircraft are additionally cleaned using suitable cleaning agents. The air on board is quickly refreshed using HEPA filters.

KLM complies with the strict requirements set by the Chinese government for the resumption of international flights. This means that passengers must complete a health declaration online and that the temperature of passengers is checked. The toilets, for example, are also inspected extra frequently during the flight. Furthermore, there are as few contact moments as possible between crew and passengers, which means there is limited catering available on these flights.

KLM aircraft photo gallery:

KLM aircraft slide show:

https://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/frame/slideshow?key=5NtrWR&speed=3&transition=fade&autoStart=1&captions=0&navigation=0&playButton=0&randomize=0&transitionSpeed=2

Emirates to operate special flights to five cities

Emirates made this announcement:

Emirates will operate repatriation flights to Bengaluru, Kochi, Delhi, Mumbai, and Thiruvananthapuram from August 20 until August 31. The special flights will facilitate travel for Indian citizens in the UAE wishing to return home, and for residents of UAE currently in India to return to the UAE.

The airline will operate repatriation flights to India on the following dates:

Bengaluru: 21, 23, 25, 28, and 30 August
Kochi: 20, 22, 24, 27, 29 and 31 August*
Delhi: daily flights until 31 August
Mumbai: daily flights until 31 August
Thiruvananthapuram: 26 August*

All flights will be operated with the Emirates Boeing 777-300ER.

Flights from Dubai to India

Only Indian citizens stranded in the UAE will be allowed to fly from Dubai to the five Indian destinations.

Flights from India to Dubai

Flights will be available for UAE nationals and residents with prior entry approval from the General Directorate of Residency and Foreign Affairs (GDFRA) for residents of Dubai and ICA approval for residents of other emirates of the UAE, and whose final destination is the UAE.

Flights to/from Pakistan

Emirates has also revised its flight timings to/from Sialkot, Pakistan to offer customers better connections via Dubai with seven weekly flights – providing greater access to its current network of 75 cities across six continents. Effective August 22, Emirates flight EK 618 will depart Dubai at 20:55 hrs and arrive in Sialkot at 1:10 hrs. The return flight, EK 619 will depart Sialkot at 2:40 hrs and arrive in Dubai at 5:00 hrs.

In addition to Sialkot, Emirates offers customers direct flights to four other cities in Pakistan including Karachi, Islamabad, Lahore, and Peshawar.

Ensuring the safety of travellers, visitors, and the community, COVID-19 PCR tests are mandatory for all inbound and transit passengers arriving to Dubai (and the UAE), including UAE citizens, residents and tourists, irrespective of the country they are coming from.

*Flights from Kochi to Dubai will operate on 21, 23, 25, 28, 30 August and 1 September.

*Flights from Thiruvananthapuram to Dubai will operate on 27 August.

Austrian Airlines adds further destinations

Austrian Airlines issued this statement:

Austrian Airlines adds further destinations to its flight schedule. Starting on August 20, Austria’s home carrier will be flying to Erbil again. An aircraft from the Airbus A320 family will take off three times a week between Vienna and the city in northern Iraq. This route is mainly used by transfer passengers changing planes in Vienna, for example from or to the USA.

At the end of the month, Austrian Airlines will also add Cologne to its program as a further destination in Germany. From August 31, the city on the Rhine will be back in the schedule with up to two daily connections.

The resumption of flights to Jordan’s capital Amman is planned for September 3, and the restart to Tel Aviv for September 14.

Ryanair and Spanish pilot union SEPLA agree on pay cuts to save Spanish jobs

Ryanair made this announcement:

Ryanair welcomed SEPLA’s acceptance for Spanish Pilots of a 4-year agreement, which includes a 20% pay reduction restored over 4 years, along with productivity improvements on rosters, flexible working patterns and annual leave to minimize Spanish Pilot job losses. This agreement gives Ryanair a framework to flex its operation during the COVID-19 crisis and a pathway to recovery when the business returns to normal in the years ahead.

The SEPLA agreement was overwhelmingly accepted by more than 80% of Ryanair’s Spanish Pilots, demonstrating that Ryanair Pilots and their Union are willing to work with the company during the COVID-19 crisis where Ryanair will carry significantly less traffic, at much lower fares for the foreseeable future. Just this week Ryanair announced further 20% reductions to its September and October flight capacity as forward bookings have notably weakened.

Ryanair has demonstrated its ability to work with unions and conclude these agreements across its European operation, including now with our Spanish pilots. Regrettably in Spain it has been impossible to reach an agreement with the cabin crew unions USO and SITCPLA who – uniquely in Europe – continue to obstruct necessary cost savings putting jobs and tourism links at risk. In every other EU market where Ryanair operates, we have been able to negotiate agreements to save jobs, improve productivity and reduce costs in response to the Covid-19 crisis both with Pilot and Cabin Crew Unions. Sadly USO’s and SITCPLA’s failure to negotiate or meaningfully engage will now mean that Spanish Cabin Crew job losses are now more likely as we have no agreement with Spanish cabin crew unions.

Lübeck Air starts operations in a pandemic

Lübeck Air started operations on August 17 between the city of Lübeck in the north of Germany (near Hamburg) to Munich twice a day using the pictured ATR 72 SE-MDB of Alsie Express.

The new airline also flies to Stuttgart.

The new airline describes its operations:

Lübeck Air’s home base is the beautiful Hanseatic city of Lübeck. We are a private aviation company from the region, operated in collaboration with Air Alsie of Denmark and closely affiliated with Lübeck Airport. We are looking forward to linking the Baltic Sea coast, home to beautiful resorts and Lübeck, a Unesco World Heritage Site, with the south of Germany from spring 2020.

Top Copyright Photo: Lübeck Air (Alsie Express) ATR 72-212A (ATR 72-500) SE-MDB (msn 822) MUC (Arnd Wolf). Image: 951017.

Delta extends the middle seat blockage into January 2021

Delta Air Lines has made this announcement:

If you’re considering holiday travel this year, Delta is your choice for safer space.

We’re extending one of our key health and safety protocols this winter holiday season by blocking the selection of middle seats and limiting the number of customers per flight through at least Jan. 6, 2021.

“Medical experts, including our own partners at Emory Healthcare, agree – more distance on board makes a difference,” said Bill Lentsch, Chief Customer Experience Officer. “We believe that taking care of our customers and employees and restoring confidence in the safety of air travel is more important right now than filling up every seat on a plane. We’ll continue taking a thoughtful, layered approach ensuring customers know to expect the highest standard of care as they prepare for their holiday travels.”

As customers consider upcoming travel, we know flexibility is more important than ever. That’s why Delta is also extending our change fee waiver for new flights purchased through Sept. 30.

Blocking Middle Seats for More Space

Through Jan. 6, 2021, Delta will block the selection of middle seats in Delta Premium Select, Delta Comfort+ and Main Cabin via the Fly Delta app or online.

For customers in parties of 1-2: Middle seats will be blocked for safety.
For customers in parties of 3 or more: Middle seats will appear as available for booking, to allow families and travel companions to select seats together.

This functionality helps us maintain our pledge to give customers more space on board while offering flexibility with their seat choices.

We’re also continuing to ensure our flights are not filled to capacity. For travel through at least Oct. 31, customers can expect that Delta will:

Limit the number of customers on board all aircraft – with or without middle seats.
Limit the First Class cabin to half capacity to further ensure more space between customers.*
Block one aisle of seats on aircraft without middle seats.

On routes where our planes begin to fill, we will continue to look for opportunities to upsize to a larger aircraft type or add more flights.

The Delta One cabin on widebody aircraft, which is designed with more space and privacy built in, will be offered at full capacity effective Oct. 1.

Customers can review their seat selections any time prior to departure in My Trips on delta.com or in the Fly Delta app for greater reassurance about space on board.

As with all our health and safety measures, we will continue reviewing best practices and evaluating our standard of care, based on expert medical advice and customer feedback.

Wearing Your Mask

Medical research tells us that wearing a mask is one of the most effective ways to reduce the COVID-19 infection rate. For everyone’s safety, customers should expect to continue wearing masks or face coverings throughout the airport, in Delta Sky Clubs and on board the aircraft through the winter holiday travel season and beyond.

Customers who indicate they have an underlying condition that prevents them from wearing a mask are required to complete a “Clearance-To-Fly” process before being permitted to travel.

Peace of Mind When Purchasing

Customers can continue enjoying peace of mind in case their travel plans change. For all new flights purchased through Sept. 30, travelers have the option to change their flight without a change fee for a year from the date of purchase. See delta.com for details.

For a comprehensive overview of how we’re delivering cleanliness, more space and safer service throughout the travel journey, visit our delta.com Coronavirus Update Center.

*On regional jets in 1×2 configurations, First Class cabin will be capped at 67%