Delta Air Lines will add two spoke routes from the Atlanta hub on July 6, 2020:
Boise – daily with Airbus A320
Spokane – daily with Boeing 737-800
In addition, according to Airline Route, the carrier will resume the Salt Lake City – Memphis also on July 6, 2020.
Data aircraft photo gallery (Airbus):
Air Caraibes (a member airline of Groupe Dubreuil) has taken delivery of its first Airbus A350-1000, the largest member of Airbusโ new generation A350XWB Family, making it the first French operator of the type. The airline plans to operate its A350-1000s alongside its three A350-900s and six A330s on routes from Paris to the French Caribbean. The new aircraft will seamlessly integrate into Air Caraibes existing fleet thanks to Airbusโ unique fleet commonality and provide the airline with additional flexibility. In total, Groupe Dubreuil has three A350-1000s on order.
Air Caraibesโ A350-1000 are configured in a three class layout with 429 seats (24 โMadrasโ Business, 45 in โCaraibesโ Premium Economy and 360 in โSoleilโ Economy). All A350 XWBs are equipped with a quiet and comfortable โAirspace by Airbusโ cabin with a new lighting system which strengthens the sense of passenger wellbeing and relaxation on long-haul flights.
At the end of November 2019, the A350 XWB Family had received 959 firm orders from 51 customers worldwide, making it one of the most successful widebody aircraft ever.
Photo: Airbus and Air Caraibes.
Video:
Airbus has made this announcement:
Airbus has commenced deliveries to airlines of the first A350s equipped with pioneering new touchscreen cockpit displays. Specially developed for the A350 together with Thales, they will confer enhanced operational efficiencies, greater crew interaction, cockpit symmetry and smoother information management. On 18th December China Eastern Airlines took delivery in Toulouse of the first A350 equipped with the new devices. To date, around 20 airlines have selected the option for their new A350s.
Of the A350 cockpitโs six large screens, three can now become touch capable: the two outer displays plus the lower-centre display. These displays now offer touchscreen capability for the pilots when presenting Electronic Flight Bag (EFB) applications. This new method of input complements the existing physical keyboard integrated into the retractable table in front of each pilot and also the keyboard & trackball โkeyboard-cursor control unitโ (KCCU) located on the centre console.
The new technology, which was recently certified for the A350 by EASA in November, facilitates โpinch-zoomingโ and panning gestures and will facilitate more flexibility and better interaction between both pilots, particularly during these scenarios: (a) before take-off (for computing take-off performance while entering data into the flight management system โFMSโ); (b) in-flight/cruise (for accessing en-route navigation charts); and (c) during approach preparation (for consulting the terminal charts before entering FMS data). Moreover, during high workload phases of flight, the touchscreen capability reduces need for pilots to make multiple cursor inputs and avoids them having to flip between different displays when using the EFB applications collaboratively on the lower centre display.
Patrick Piedrafita, Head of Airbusโ A350 XWB Programme said: โAirbus continues to set the industry trends in aircraft cockpit design with these new interactive touchscreen displays in the A350. With our partner Thales we are very proud to bring this technology to our customers, to enhance their aircrewsโ operations.โ
The A350 XWB features the latest aerodynamic design, a carbon fibre fuselage and wings, plus new fuel-efficient Rolls-Royce engines. Together, these features translate into unrivalled levels of operational efficiency with a 25 per cent reduction in fuel burn and emissions. By the end of November, the A350 XWB Family had received 959 firm orders from 51 customers.
Airbus has made this announcement:
The Air FranceโKLM Group has firmed up an order for 60 Airbus A220-300 aircraft to modernise its single-aisle fleet. The aircraft are intended to be operated by Air France.
Air France-KLM currently operates a fleet of 159 Airbus aircraft.
The A220 is the only aircraft purpose-built for the 100-150 seat market; it delivers significant fuel efficiency and widebody passenger comfort in a single-aisle aircraft. The A220 brings together state-of-the-art aerodynamics, advanced materials and Pratt & Whitneyโs latest-generation PW1500G geared turbofan engines to offer at least 20% lower fuel burn per seat compared to previous generation aircraft. The A220 offers the performance of larger single-aisle aircraft. With an order book of 530 aircraft as of the end of November 2019, the A220 has all the credentials to win the lionโs share of the 100-to-150-seat aircraft market, estimated to represent 7,000 aircraft over the next 20 years.
Image: Airbus.
Jeju Air Company Ltd has signed a letter of intent (LOI) to acquire a 51% stake in the Eastar Jet Company for around 69.5 billion won ($58.9 million).
Jeju Air route map:
Easter Jet route map:
Sun Country Airlines has signed a a six-year deal with Amazon to operate 10 Boeing 737-800F freighters for Amazon Prime starting next spring.
The first delivery will be in April 2020.
Previously Amazon announcedย a partnership with GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS)ย to leaseย an additional fifteenย Boeing 737-800ย cargoย aircraft.ย These fifteen aircraft will be in addition to the fiveย Boeing 737-800s already leased from GECAS andย announced earlier this year.ย The aircraft will fly in the United States out of the more than 20 air gateways in the Amazon Air network.
In other news, Sun Country is adding the Minneapolis/St. Paul – Vancouver route:
Sun Country route map:
Kenya Airways and TAL Aviation have made this joint announcement:
Kenya Airways and TAL Aviation cargo divisions sign agreement, making it the first time TAL Aviation will be providing cargo and logistics services for the airline.
Headed by Anita Mirchandani, TAL Aviation’s Country Manager Ivory Coast, Anita and her team will be providing a variety of cargo and logistics services throughout its market as sole representative of Kenya Airways Cargo.ย
It’s freight division, Kenya Airways Cargo, offers freight services throughout the African continent, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.ย
Kenya Airways has also appointed TAL Aviation as its General Sales Agent (GSA) for its passenger services in France.ย TAL Aviation’s French team will be providing a full range of services on behalf of the airline, as well as supporting its long-haul Paris route. ย
About TAL Aviation Group:
TAL Aviation is a Global Airline Representation organization with more than 35 offices covering over 50 countries throughout Europe, Asia, the Pacific and the Americas.
British Airways has made this announcement:
British Airways trials robots at Heathrow Terminal 5
In the latest stage of British Airwaysโ investment in airport automation, the airline has announced that from 2020 it will trial AI-powered autonomous robots at its home at Heathrow Terminal 5 to help some of the 90,000 customers who travel through the terminal each day navigate through the airport, freeing up the airlinesโ award-winning airport hosts to help customers with more complex queries.
The cutting-edge robots from tech company BotsAndUs are programmed to interact with passengersย ย in multiple different languages using the latest translation technology to answer thousands of questions, including real-time flight information.
Additionally, using geo-location technology and dozens of advanced sensors to constantly monitor a 360หradius, the robot will move around the airport terminal freely and safely, escorting customers to specific locations such as the airlineโs dedicated Special Assistance and Family Check-In zones.
To complement its investment in technology and automation, last year British Airways launched a multi-million pound investment in enhanced training for colleagues as part of its First Contact Resolution Programme at Heathrow. The programme empowers customer service agents to use their expertise, initiative and judgment to solve customer queries on the spot using a suite of specialised apps on iPads. Following the overwhelmingly positive response to the new service from customers at Heathrow, the airline is now rolling the programme out across its worldwide network.
As part of British Airwaysโ ยฃ6.5 billion investment for customers, 2019 saw the carrier install 80 brand-new automated check-in machines and 80 advanced automated bag-drop machines at Heathrow Terminal 5 and, with the airlineโs customer service agents always on hand to help, the airline has seen an increase in customer satisfaction and a dramatic reduction in queues.
British Airways has also completed its roll-out of self-boarding technology across every international gate at Heathrow Terminal 5, leading to fewer flight delays. The gates are the first step towards customers being able to biometrically board international flights from the UK. The airline originally pioneered the use of biometric self-boarding gates on flights within the UK from Heathrow and more than 3.5 million customers have now boarded their flights this way. The airline also introduced biometric facial recognition technology on flights to London from Orlando, Los Angeles and New York, JFK transforming the airport experience and halving the amount of time it takes to board an aircraft.
British Airways has made this announcement:
Flights to the Basque region of Spain are set to take off next summer when British Airways launches a new route to San Sebastiรกn.
Itโs the first time flights to the resort town in the Bay of Biscay will operate from London City Airport with British Airwaysโ twice-weekly service through the peak summer months from July to September.
The airline will serve five Spanish destinations direct from the Docklands next summer.
San Sebastiรกn is renowned for its picturesque beaches, waterfront promenade and cobblestone old town. ย It has world-renowned restaurants and is famous for having the highest concentration of bars in the world.
British Airways is making further changes to its schedule from London City next summer with additional flights to Berlin, Florence, Glasgow, Manchester and Nice. There will be some frequency reductions to Geneva, Ibiza and Rotterdam.
British Airways is also launching a new summer-only service from Glasgow to Palma de Mallorca next year.ย From the end of May there will be a weekly flight on Saturdays departing from Glasgow at 2.45pm, with the return from Palma at 7.50pm.
There will also be an extra weekly flight from Stanstead to Florence, Italy, fromย May 3.
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BA73375ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย 9.15amย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย 12.10ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Mon
BA7334ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย 1.30pmย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย 2.25pm ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย Mon & Fri
Finnair has made this announcement:
Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology LUT in Finland and a group of companies, including Finnair, have started a feasibility study for a synthetic fuels pilot production plant. The intended industrial scale pilot facility is based on power-to-x technology, and the target is to produce carbon neutral fuels for transportation.
The pilot plant would be located in Joutseno, Eastern Finland. It would use CO2 from Finnsementti cement facility in Lappeenranta and the excess hydrogen from Kemiraโs production as main raw materials. CO2 and hydrogen can be brought together in a synthesis process, giving synthetic methanol as a result.
Methanol can be further processed into for example synthetic, emission free transportation fuels.
The project gets in main funding from the regional council of South Carelia. Finnair, Finnsementti, Kemira, Neste, St1, Wรคrtsilรค and Shell research center in the Netherlands are also funding the study, along with local manufacturing companies Premekon, Terรคstorni, Jotex Works and Refinec in the region. Also the city of Lappeenranta is a partner in the project.
Image: Finnair
โSynthetic fuels are a key part of the long-term solution for carbon neutral aviationโ, says Anne Larilahti, Vice President, Sustainability, Finnair. โIt is natural for us to be supporting this important study to advance the development of synthetic fuels in Finland.โ Finnair is committed to long-term carbon neutrality.
The LUT University is in charge of conducting the feasibility study, including calculations for investments and operating costs, modeling the production process, estimating the growth potential of the market for carbon neutral fuels, developing alternative business opportunities and evaluating the sustainability of the production and the end products.
The LUT university has piloted the production of hydrocarbon to replace fossil fuels in laboratory scale since 2017.
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