Buzz has confirmedย that it is in advanced discussions with key tour operators to provide charter flights to Greece, Turkey, Spain and Italy in Summer 2021, in addition to services to the Canary Islands and Morocco from as early as November 2020.
Buzz is the CEEโs largest charter airline with a fleet of 47 aircraft based in 4 countries.ย Buzz also operates reliable, low fare scheduled services on behalf of the Ryanair Group and is in discussions with the Ryanair Group to substantially increase the number of Prague routes next year from its existing 33 routes.
90 percent of short and medium-haul routes back on offer by September
70 percent of long-haul destinations back on offer by September
Further expansion of leisure destinations
The airlines in the Lufthansa Group are significantly expanding their services in the coming weeks and months. This applies to both short-haul and long-haul flights. The focus in expanding flight schedules is to again offer as many destinations as possible.
In September, for example, 90 percent of all originally planned short- and medium-haul destinations and 70 percent of long-haul destinations will be served again. Customers planning their autumn and winter holidays now have access to a comprehensive global network of connections via all hubs of the Group.
The core brand Lufthansa alone will be flying more than 100 times a week to destinations in North America via its hubs in Frankfurt and Munich in autumn. Around 90 flights a week are planned to Asia, over 20 to the Middle East and over 25 to Africa. In Africa, for example, there will again be flights to Windhoek and Nairobi, in the Middle East to Beirut and Riyadh, in North America to Houston, Boston and Vancouver, in Asia to Hong Kong and Singapore.
On short- and medium-haul routes, Lufthansa will offer a total of 1,800 weekly connections from September onwards. There will be 102 destinations from Frankfurt and 88 from Munich, including Malaga, Alicante, Valencia, Naples, Rhodes, Palermo, Faro, Madeira, Olbia, Dubrovnik, Reykjavik and many other summer destinations from Frankfurt.
Lufthansa expanded its service concept on June 1, 2020. Customers receive a disinfecting wipe before every flight. On short- and medium-haul flights in Business Class, the beverage service and the normal meal service will be reactivated. On long-haul flights, guests in all classes will again be offered the usual range of beverages. In First and Business Class, customers will once again be able to choose from a range of dishes. In Economy Class, customers will also continue to receive a meal. Strict hygiene regulations continue to be adhered to during the service adjustments.
From July onwards,ย Austrian Airlinesย aircraft will take off on regular long-haul flights for the first time since mid-March. Bangkok, Chicago, New York (Newark) and Washington will then be available with up to three weekly flights. The European network offer will also be expanded to include various routes from July onwards – including flights to Greece.
Swissย plans to return to about 85% of the destinations it served before the Coronavirus crisis in autumn, with about one-third of its capacity on these routes. As Switzerland’s airline, Swiss is committed to offering the widest possible range of services in the build-up phase. The initial focus here will be on European services from Zurich and Geneva. Further intercontinental destinations will also be reintroduced into the route network.
Eurowingsย is also significantly expanding its flight program for both business and leisure travelers and plans to fly to 80 per cent of its destinations again in the course of the summer. Following the lifting of the travel warning, interest in holiday destinations such as Italy, Spain, Greece and Croatia in particular is growing by leaps and bounds. This is why Eurowings will be putting 30 to 40 percent of its flight capacity back into the air in July – with the main focus on flights from Dรผsseldorf, Hamburg, Stuttgart and Cologne/Bonn.
When planning their trip, customers should take the current entry and quarantine regulations of the respective destinations into account. Throughout the entire trip, restrictions may be imposed due to stricter hygiene and safety regulations, for example, due to longer waiting times at airport security checkpoints.
From June 8 onwards, guests on all Lufthansa and Eurowings flights are obliged to wear a mouth and nose cover on board throughout the entire journey. This serves the safety of all passengers on board. The General Conditions of Carriage (GTC) will be amended accordingly. Lufthansa also recommends that passengers wear a mouth-nose cover during the entire journey, i.e. also before or after the flight at the airport, whenever the required minimum distance cannot be guaranteed without restriction.
Brussels Airlines is getting ready to welcome passengers and staff again as from ย June 15, 2020. Next to retraining its cockpit and cabin crew to be ready to start flying again, the airline has reviewed its services and processes and has taken the necessary measures to protect the health of its customers and staff throughout their travel journey, based on recommendations by international aviation organizations IATA and EASA and the Belgian health authorities.
On June 15 the first nine flights of Brussels Airlines will take off from Brussels Airport. In order to make the journey as safe as possible for travelers and personnel, the airline has taken several hygiene measures while still allowing to travel in all comfort.
At the airport
A first important measure is that the airline reminds passengers via several communications not to come to the airport when having symptoms or feeling ill. Flexible rebooking options remain in place should travel plans change at the last minute. Furthermore, Brussels Airport will perform temperature checks before allowing passengers to enter the terminal. At the airport check-in and sales desks plexiglass screens have been installed to protect check-in agents as well as passengers. Transactions will be limited to electronic payment. Social distance courtesy lines will remind travelers to keep at a safe distance. Additional cleaning procedure, hand sanitizers and hygiene reminders are put in place by the airport. Passengers on European flights are encouraged to check in their hand luggage (for free) to avoid queuing on board to find space in the overhead bins.
Mouth and nose covering mask
As from the moment they enter the airport, all passengers from the age of 6 years old are required to wear a mask that covers nose and mouth. The mask must be kept on during the entire flight, as social distance on board cannot be guaranteed.
Boarding and de-boarding will be phased to avoid queues and passengers are requested to scan their own boarding pass to avoid physical contact. The cabin crew will offer to apply hand sanitizer to all passengers when boarding the aircraft, as well as hand out a disinfectant wipe. The aircraft disinfection process has been reinforced and a stronger detergent will be used to make sure all surfaces are clean and the risk of contamination is reduced to a minimum. In combination with the HEPA filters that are on board every Brussels Airlines aircraft, passengers can travel with peace of mind. The HEPA filters on board create a downward stream of continuously cleaned air, which takes away 99.9% of particles in the air, creating an atmosphere in the cabin that is comparable to the air quality of hospital operating rooms.
During the flight, the airline will reduce physical contact between passengers and crew as much as possible. Therefore the meal and drink service on European flights (Buy-on-Board) will not be available and on intercontinental flights, the duty free service will be available for electronic payments only. Unnecessary paper like menu cards, magazines and newspapers are also removed from the aircraft.
The set of measures is based on the recommendations of both IATA (International Air Travel Association) and EASA (European Union Aviation Safety Agency) as well as the Belgian authorities.
Swoop has announced a new charitable initiative with The Frontline Fund, raising funds in support of Canada’s healthcare workers and hospital foundations.
Beginning Thursday, June 4, Swoop will be making disposable masks available at check-in, for a suggested minimum donation of $2.00, with 100 percent of after-tax proceeds going directly to The Frontline Fund until August 31, 2020.ย Additionally, Swoop will donate $5.00 per traveller, per booking from new bookings made during the month of June.
Since the onset of the pandemic, Swoop has relied on the guidance of public health professionals, implementing enhanced measures to ensure a healthy travel and work environment. Faced with the question of how best to support the health care workers that protect our communities, Swoop turned to the Frontline Fund: a coalition of 165 hospital foundations enabling Canadians and Canadian corporations to support in ways big and small.
The Frontline Fund was created as a way for all Canadians and Canadian corporations to help arm frontline healthcare providers as they battle this public health emergency and to support northern communities and Indigenous health. Organizations, such as Swoop, are providing their support for the unanticipated incremental costs that continue to climb as the COVID-19 situation continues to evolve, adding pressure to healthcare budgets that are already strained.
The funds raised go towards supporting three main areas:
Supplies โ personal protective equipment like masks, disinfectants, and disposable clothing; ventilators, diagnostic and testing equipment, digital infrastructure needed to enable virtual patient care;
Supports โ Peer-to-peer mental health support, counselling, accommodation and food for healthcare workers that need to self-isolate, recognition and appreciation initiatives;
Research โ Support for clinical and basic research, COVID-19 clinical trials, and vaccine development.
The total number of passengers fell by nearly 94% compared to last year as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. During June, SAS will double its capacity to 30 aircraft as travel restrictions are being eased.
โMay was the second consecutive month with most of our fleet being grounded as a result of the COVID19 pandemic and imposed travel restrictions. The negative impact is reflected in our total traffic figures, showing a 96% capacity reduction and a 94% drop in number of passengers compared to last year.
Countries are gradually opening up and we expect that demand will start to re-build slowly from the current low levels. In June, we have started to ramp-up production from 15 aircraft in service to 30, mainly serving domestic and Nordic destinations.
We look forward to re-building our network as travel restrictions are lifted and once again having the pleasure of welcoming our passengers onboard,โ says Rickardย Gustafson, CEO SAS.
In other news, SAS made this announcement:
The world is slowly reopening โ and so are our routes.
Last week, we announced that we will slowly start reopening some routes. Now itโs time to put a name on the destinations: Brussels, Dรผsseldorf, the Faroe Islands, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Malaga, Milan, Munich, Nice, Palanga, Reykjavik, Split, Stuttgart, Thessaloniki and Vilnius.
Some destinations are not available from all three Scandinavian countries.
Air Transport Services Group, Inc. (ATSG), the leading provider of medium wide-body aircraft leasing, air transportation and related services, has announced an agreement to lease twelve additional Boeing 767-300 converted freighter aircraft to Amazon.com Services LLC.
One of the twelve aircraft was delivered on May 29, 2020 and the remaining eleven will be delivered in 2021. All twelve will be leased to Amazon for ten years, with options for Amazon to extend the leases for three additional years.
Cargo Aircraft Management (CAM), ATSGโs aircraft leasing subsidiary, currently leases twenty-seven 767 aircraft to Amazon, including six leased during 2019. In December 2018, Amazon committed to lease those six plus an additional four 767s from CAM by the end of 2020. The agreement announced today increases the projected number of 767s CAM will have leased to Amazon to 31 by the end of 2020 and to 42 by the end of 2021.
Widebody Boeing 767 freighters have become the preeminent midsize component of regional air-cargo networks over the last ten years, and ATSG is the worldโs largest lessor of that aircraft type. ATSG expects to end 2020 with seventy-eight owned 767 freighter aircraft in operation, seventy-one of which will be leased to eleven external customers.
Note: The aircraft will be operated by ATI. ATI is a subsidiary of Air Transport Services Group, Inc.
ATI was founded in 1978 as US Airways. In January 1980 the airline (renamed Interstate Airlines) became an FAR Part 121 certificated all-cargo airline flying Convair 580s. Its fleet quickly expanded to include Lockheed L-188 Electra, Boeing 727, and McDonnell-Douglas DC-8 aircraft. The airline flew freight domestically for Purolator, Emery, and ad hoc charters. In 1984 the airline began flying internationally. It moved its headquarters from Michigan to Arkansas. In 1988 the airline adopted its current name.
Through the 1990s and 2000s ATI hauled freight for the Military Airlift Command (Air Mobility Command), UPS, Emery Air Freight, Burlington Air Express, DHL, and Zantop International Airlines. The airline had over 500 employees and operated 32 DC-8s. As a long-term member of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF), ATI was among the airlines activated in 1990 to support Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield andย received several commendations for its performance.
In October 1994, ICX International Cargo Express was merged with ATI. The airline was purchased by BAX Global, an operating unit of the Brinkโs Company, in February 1998.
In 2006, ATI was sold to Cargo Holdings International, Inc. (CHI), which was itself acquired by ABX Holdings, Inc. the following year. In 2008, parent company ABX Holdings was renamed Air Transport Services Group, Inc. (ATSG). ATI added its first Boeing 767 in 2008.
In March 2013, Capital Cargo International Airlines was merged with ATI. During the same year, ATI replaced its DC-8 Combi aircraft with more modern Boeing 757 Combi aircraft.
Today, the airlineโs fleet consists exclusively of Boeing 767 and 757 aircraft, allowing all of its flight crews to share a common type rating.
The companyโs principal customers today include the US military, DHL, and Amazon Fulfillment Services, Inc. (Prime Air).
Top Copyright Photo: Prime Air (ATI) Boeing 767-319 ER (F) WL N419AZ (msn 26913) ONT (Michael B. Ing). Image: 950258.
Tomas Romero, CEO of World Atlantic Airlines, has been successful in his bid to acquire the assets of defunct Miami Air International.
The Southern District of Florida approved the sale of the assets on May 29, 2020.
According to World Atlantic:
“World Atlantic Airlines was originally born as Caribbean Sun Airlines in September of 2002 in Ft. Lauderdale Florida.ย ย In January of 2003, flight operations began utilizing Bombardier Dash 8-100 aircraft. The airline was set up out of necessity to increase the presence of the partner company, Caribbean Star Airlines.
On January 9, 2007 the airline announced that it would shut down operations by month-end.ย ย After ceasing operations, the company tried to start operations once more under different leadership as Merengue Airlines Dominicana.ย ย ย The attempt was unsuccessful by the then management team.
The company was sold to industry veteran Mr. Tomas Romero.ย ย The new airline model also included a new branding name โWorld Atlantic Airlinesโ andย ย utilizing the McDonnell Douglas MD-83.ย ย After many months of a very detailed re-certification process, World Atlantic Airlines applied for a new Airline Operating Certificate in August 2010, began proving runs and was certified as a 14 CFR Part 121 Supplemental Carrier in September of 2010.”
Effective June 10, 2020,ย Etihad Airways will link 20 cities in Europe, Asia and Australia via Abu Dhabi. The new transfer services will make it possible for those travelling on the airlineโs current network of special flights to connect easily through the UAE capital onwards to key global destinations.
Etihad recently launched links from Melbourne and Sydney to London Heathrow, allowing direct transfer connections to and from the UK capital via Abu Dhabi.
Throughout June, Etihad is continuing to operate a network of special flights from Abu Dhabi to previously announced destinations across its international network. Easy transfer connections via Abu Dhabi will now be available from Jakarta, Karachi, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Melbourne, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, and Tokyo to major cities across Europe including Amsterdam, Barcelona, Brussels, Dublin, Frankfurt, Geneva, London Heathrow, Madrid, Milan, Paris Charles de Gaulle, and Zurich.
Etihad continues to follow UAE and international government, regulatory and health authority directives, and is playing its part in helping to limit the spread of COVID-19. The airline has implemented an extensive sanitisation and customer safety programme and is practicing the highest standards of hygiene at every part of the customer journey. This includes catering, aircraft and cabin deep-cleaning, check-in, health screening, boarding, inflight, crew interaction, meal service, disembarkation and ground transportation, among others.
In other news,ย Etihad Airways has launched โEtihad Wellnessโ, an expanded and more comprehensive health and hygiene program and customer guide. This builds on the stringent measures already put in place by the airline to deal with COVID-19. The programme will be championed by the introduction of specially trained Wellness Ambassadors, a first in the industry, who will provide essential travel health information and care so guests can fly with greater peace of mind.
Etihad Wellness initiatives will be communicated through an easy-to-use online guide highlighting the high standards of cleanliness, health and hygiene being applied at every stage of the customer journey. This includes culinary hygiene at the airlineโs catering facilities* and food testing laboratory, aircraft cabin deep-cleaning, check-in, health screening, boarding, inflight experience and product, crew interaction, arrival, and ground transportation.
Over the coming weeks, Etihad will also introduce Wellness Ambassadors at Abu Dhabi International Airport in partnership with Abu Dhabi Airports (ADAC). This will make sure the same levels of care and support are provided at every point of the customer journey through the airport, from check-in to security, immigration, the retail areas, lounges and boarding, so that guests can fly with added comfort, security and confidence.
Once travel restrictions to and from the UAE are lifted, and the airline resumes an expanded network of international flights, Etihad will introduce Wellness Ambassadors on board, complementing the roles performed by other Cabin Crew, and providing an enhanced level of customer care focused on health and wellness inflight.
โThe wide-ranging measures we are taking are a strong reflection of those already in place across the emirate of Abu Dhabi. When restrictions are fully lifted and travellers can once again enjoy the best our wonderful home has to offer, they can rest assured their trip will be to one of the cleanest and most well-maintained destinations in the world. This will of course also apply to those transiting onwards through the capital. We are grateful to our partners, including Abu Dhabi Airports, and the Department of Culture and Tourism, for their close cooperation in this far-reaching programme,โ concludes Mr. Douglas.
Etihad continues to follow UAE and international government, regulatory and health authority directives, and is playing its part in helping to limit the spread of COVID-19.
Important note: As a precautionary measure, guests travelling on Etihad Airways flights are required to wear a face mask throughout their journey.
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