Air Canada’s first Airbus A220-300 takes to the skies

Airbus has made this announcement:

The first Airbus A220-300 for Air Canada has successfully completed its inaugural test flight from the Mirabel A220 final assembly line in Canada. The first of 45 aircraft for Air Canada is scheduled to be delivered to the Montreal-based airline in the coming weeks.

With its first A220 commercial flight in early 2020, Canada’s flag carrier will become the first airline in Canada to operate the Canadian-designed and built A220. It will also become the first carrier in North America to fly the A220-300 variant.

Air Canada is planning to use the A220 on various domestic routes in Canada as well as to the United States. The A220’s unequalled performance and range capability will enable the airline to serve new markets, such as Montreal to Seattle and Toronto to San Jose, connecting the carrier’s main hubs to the West Coast, as of Spring 2020.

Around 100 A220s are currently flying with six operators on routes in Asia, America, Europe and Africa, proving the great versatility of Airbus’ latest family member.

Photo Airbus.

Air France orders an additional 10 Airbus A350-900s

The Air France-KLM Group has decided to place a firm order for 10 additional widebody Airbus A350-900s, which will take its total order for the type to 38 aircraft.

The A350 XWBs are intended to be operated by Air France.

Air France-KLM currently operates a fleet of 159 Airbus aircraft.

Photo: Airbus.

Air France aircraft photo gallery:

Air Italy signs codeshare agreement with Oman Air

Air Italy and Oman Air are delighted to announce that they have entered into a codeshare partnership to offer customers enhanced connectivity between the Sultanate of Oman and seven major destinations in Italy.

Under the agreement, Air Italy’s “IG” code is being placed on Oman Air’s flights between Milan Malpensa and Muscat, which are all on sale on the airitaly.com website.

At the same time Oman Air is putting its “WY” code on Air Italy flights between Milan Malpensa and Rome Fiumicino, Naples, Cagliari (Sardinia), Palermo and Catania (Sicily), and Lamezia Terme (Calabria).

Additionally, as a next step Oman Air’s code will also be added to Air Italy’s Milan-New York and Milan-Miami flights, subject to the necessary government approvals.

Air Italy aircraft photo gallery:

Oman Air aircraft photo gallery:

British Airways to add six new European routes from London Heathrow

British Airways has announced it is launching six new European routes from London Heathrow for 2020. With destinations in Greece, Italy, Kosovo, Montenegro and Turkey.

For the first time ever, the airline will fly from Heathrow to the Kosovan and Montenegrin capitals, Pristina and Podgorica, with both flights departing on Saturdays from July 4 until August 29.

A brand-new route to Perugia in Italy, which is located amongst the spectacular mountains and enchanting hill-towns of Umbria will also launch next summer. Flights will depart on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays from July 2 through to August 31.

Turkish coastal towns, Dalaman and Bodrum (below) are added back on to British Airways’ Heathrow route map. Flights will depart on Saturdays from May 23 through to October 24.

These flights will join a new summer service between London Gatwick and Antalya that takes off from April 30, 2020. Customers will also have the choice of two London airports when flying to Dalaman as the airline already operates a weekly service from Gatwick.

The Greek island of Rhodes (below). The Saturday service will commence on July 4 and run until August 29.

British Airways is also launching a new two-per-week service from Gatwick to the Greek island of Corfu from May 1 until October 23, 2020.

The airline is also increasing the frequency of 16 popular short haul routes from Heathrow, including popular holiday destinations such as; Larnaca, Brindisi, Nice, Ibiza, Tenerife, Split, Olbia, Kefalonia and Preveza.

Timetable

Route	Day of week	Flight number	Departure airport	Arrival airport	Departure time	Arrival time	Dates of operation
Bodrum	Saturday	670	LHR	BJV	12:05	19:20	23 May – 24 Oct
		671	BJV	LHR	17:20	22:35	23 May – 24 Oct
Dalaman	Saturday	678	LHR	DLM	06:25	13:40	23 May – 24 Oct
		679	DLM	LHR	12:00	17:15	23 May – 24 Oct
Perugia	Monday	616	LHR	PEG	10:10	14:35	02 Jul – 31 Aug
		617	PEG	LHR	13:25	17:00	02 Jul – 31 Aug
	Thursday	616	LHR	PEG	15:25	19:50	02 Jul – 31 Aug
		617	PEG	LHR	18:45	22:20	02 Jul – 31 Aug
	Saturday	616	LHR	PEG	13:55	18:20	02 Jul – 31 Aug
		617	PEG	LHR	17:10	20:45	02 Jul – 31 Aug
Pristina	Saturday	528	LHR	PRN	13:20	18:20	04 Jul – 29 Aug
		529	PRN	LHR	17:10	21:30	04 Jul – 29 Aug
Rhodes	Saturday	624	LHR	RHO	06:55	14:10	02 Jul – 31 Aug
		625	RHO	LHR	12:15	17:35	02 Jul – 31 Aug
Podgorica	Saturday	532	LHR	TGD	14:10	19:10	02 Jul – 31 Aug
		533	TGD	LHR	18:00	22:10	02 Jul – 31 Aug

British Airways aircraft photo gallery (Airbus):

Bamboo Airways takes delivery of its first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner

Bamboo Airways has taken delivery of its first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner (VN-A819).

The new type will seat 294 passengers including 26 “merchant seats”.

The merchant capsule is designed with spacious space, separately with modern light brown root colors, bringing a pleasant, luxurious and relaxing feeling. The chair can flatten 180 degrees into bed, use high-quality leather and high-quality fabrics from the world’s leading manufacturer such as Botany Weaving (Ireland), Lantal.

Additionally, Business-class seats are equipped with Mood Lighting, which can help passengers adjust colors and lighting. Each passenger will be provided a Handset which has touch and remote control.

Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner will initially serve the Hanoi – Ho Chi Minh route from Tet 2020.

In 2019, Bamboo Airways will operate 49 routes connecting all major cities to popular tourist destinations in Viet Nam. For the domestic market, we will focus on operating new routes apart from main cities such as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh and Da Nang. Domestic routes will include tourist destinations such as Quang Binh, Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Thanh Hoa, Binh Dinh, Phu Quoc and Nha Trang.

With the mission of exploring new destinations, Bamboo Airways delivers unique experiences with direct flights connecting Vietnam to different countries in the region. By 2021, Bamboo Airways is expected to expand direct flights to the US and Europe.

Air Canada inaugurates the only nonstop service from Montreal to São Paulo

Air Canada inaugurated the only nonstop service between Montreal and São Paulo, Brazil. Last night’s departure of AC96 which arrived in São Paulo this morning marks the beginning of three weekly flights from Montreal until March 27, 2020.

An Air Canada Boeing 787 Dreamliner. (CNW Group/Air Canada)

Flights will be operated by Air Canada’s flagship Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner with a 298-seat configuration featuring Air Canada Signature Class, Premium Economy and Economy Class service, with high-definition individual on-demand entertainment offering a wide range of movies, short films, TV programs and audio selections at every seat throughout the aircraft.

The schedule is timed for convenient connections across Air Canada’s network in North America, including to and from Vancouver, Calgary and Quebec City, New York and Boston, as well as to and from several Brazilian cities beyond São Paulo.

Flight

Departs

Arrives

Days of Week

AC96

Montreal 18:35

São Paulo 06:30

+1 day

Wednesday, Friday, Sunday

AC97

São Paulo 08:40

Montreal 16:45

Monday, Thursday, Saturday

Air Canada, Air Canada Rouge and its regional airline partners flying under the Air Canada Express banner operate an average of approximately 2,300 return flights per week from Quebec airports to 102 destinations worldwide: 28 in Canada, including 9 in Quebec, 24 in the United States, 24 in the Caribbean, Central America and Mexico, 18 in Europe, two in Asia, two in North Africa, one in the Middle East and three in South America.

Air Canada aircraft photo gallery:

Southwest Airlines to share proceeds from Boeing agreement with employees

Southwest Airlines recently reached a confidential agreement with The Boeing Company (Boeing) to compensate Southwest for a portion of projected financial damages related to the grounding of the airline’s Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.

In light of this agreement, the Southwest Board of Directors has authorized a discretionary, incremental profit sharing accrual for Employees, which is tied to the projected reduction in operating income for annual 2019 due to the MAX groundings. The Company currently estimates this incremental profitsharing accrual to be approximately $125 million.

Gary C. Kelly, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “Our People have done an incredible job managing through the MAX groundings, while providing the highest levels of Customer Service and one of the best operational performances in our history. On behalf of the Southwest Board of Directors, we are grateful to our Employees for their extraordinary efforts throughout the year and are pleased to share proceeds from our recent agreement with Boeing.”

This incremental profitsharing award will be funded as part of the Company’s annual 2019 profitsharing distribution in 2020, in accordance with normal ProfitSharing Plan policies and Board of Director approval. The Company plans to provide 2019 profitsharing details early next year, including the percentage each eligible Southwest Employee will receive.

The Company continues to engage in ongoing discussions with Boeing regarding compensation for damages related to the MAX groundings. The details of these discussions and the settlement with Boeing are confidential. While still evaluating the applicable accounting principles, the Company currently expects to account for substantially all of the compensation as a reduction in cost basis of both existing and future firm aircraft orders, which will reduce depreciation expense in future years.

The Boeing 737 MAX fleet has been grounded since the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) order was issued on March 13, 2019. Southwest Airlines continues to monitor information from Boeing and the FAA on the impending 737 MAX software enhancements and training requirements. The airline remains confident that, once certified by the FAA, the enhancements will support a safe return of the 737 MAX aircraft.

Southwest Airlines aircraft photo gallery:

Wizz Air announces proposed establishment of Wizz Air Abu Dhabi

Wizz Air Holdings Plc has announced today that it has reached agreement in principle for the establishment of Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates in partnership with Abu Dhabi Development Holding Company PJSC. The new airline will be Wizz Air’s first airline established outside of Europe.

It is intended that Wizz Air Abu Dhabi will be formed via a joint venture, and operations are expected to launch in the second half of 2020. The airline will focus on establishing routes to markets in which Wizz Air has existing, high growth operations, namely Central and Eastern and Western Europe, as well as the Indian subcontinent, Middle East and Africa over the long run. Wizz Air believes that the establishment of a truly ultra-low cost airline in Abu Dhabi can contribute to the continued growth of Abu Dhabi as a world-class cultural and tourist destination. ADDH’s deep rooted knowledge of the local market, support and navigation in a new market for WIZZ is invaluable and will boost the successful development of the new airline.

The establishment and start of the new airline is subject to, amongst other things, agreement and entry into force of definitive documentation with ADDH, the receipt of all necessary internal and external approvals and consents, and the new airline satisfying all regulatory requirements of the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority to obtain an Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC).

With a fleet composed of Airbus A321neo aircraft, the world’s most efficient narrow body aircraft, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi will gain access to markets with a total of 5 billion customers across Europeand beyond. The new airline’s customer proposition will align directly to that of Wizz Air with a singular focus on offering a superior value based quality air travel built on the foundations of one of the world’s greenest aircraft fleets*.

* Wizz Air’s carbon-dioxide emissions were the lowest among European airlines in November 2019 (57.2 gr/km/passenger)

Far Eastern Air Transport (FAT) is shutting down all operations

FAT Taiwan Inc., doing business as Far Eastern Air Transport (FAT), is shutting down all operations tomorrow due to continued financial losses.

The company suddenly closed the ticketing system without warning on December 12, 2019 and immediately, due to long-term losses and difficulties in financing, the company announced it will stop all flight operations from tomorrow, December 13, 2019.

Since the end of 2018, FAT has been fined for more than NT$3 million by the Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) due to its high proportion of canceled flights.

This situation has continued in 2019.

According to the statistics released by the Civil Aviation Administration, in April 2019, the flight cancellation rates of Penghu-Taipei, and Taipei-Taichung flights were 6.7% and 7.8% respectively, all of which exceeded the 6% penalty standard.

Route Map.

The cumulative amount of fines has reached NT$2 million.

FAT had 11 Boeing 737-8 MAX 8s on order to replace the older MD-80 fleet.

This shut down is a second time FAT has ceased operations. After a succession of financial crises in early 2008, the airline publicly announced its bankruptcy and stopped all flights with effect on May 13, 2008. The airline recommenced operations on April 18, 2011.

FAT was operating six 70-seat ATR 72-600s (above), four DC-9-82s (MD-82s) and four DC-9-83 (MD-83s) (below) all configured with 165 seats.

Above Copyright Photos: Operations today on the last day of operations (Manuel Negrerie).

FAT was founded in 1957 as Taiwan’s first private airline. Initially it carried mostly mail to the outer islands of Kinmen and Penghu.

Manuel Negrerie reporting from Taipei, Taiwan.

Far Eastern Air Transport aircraft photo gallery:

JetBlue celebrates new year of Boston growth with plans to bolster flights to New York and other key cities in 2020

JetBlue Airways today announced its momentum in New England will continue in 2020 with more flights being added on a number of top performing routes at Logan International Airport (BOS). JetBlue – which already carries more customers to more nonstop destinations and operates more flights than any other airline in Boston – is on track to strengthen its leadership position in the market and advance its targeted plan to build out the airline’s Boston focus city strategy.

L-G-A Ten Times per Day

In spring 2020, JetBlue will expand nonstop service between Boston and New York City’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA) by offering up to ten daily roundtrips on this key business route. Flights will be operated using the airline’s Embraer 190 aircraft, which features comfortable two-by-two seating with the most legroom in coach (a); 36 channels of free, live DIRECTV® programming on personal seatback televisions; free Fly-Fi high-speed wireless internet (b); as well as complimentary and unlimited name-brand snacks and soft drinks.

New, expanded service between Boston and LaGuardia will complement JetBlue’s additional service from Boston to both New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) and result in up to 22 daily flights to New York’s three major metropolitan airports from Logan.

Boosting Boston to Austin

In summer 2020, JetBlue will increase flights between Boston and Austin–Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) with up to three daily roundtrips. The added daily flight will offer travelers a new morning departure from the Texascapital to New England, as well as an evening return. Together, with the two additional daily trips, travelers will have more options than ever to choose from when flying between the Lone Star State and Boston.

More Flights to Top Destinations

In addition to New York and Austin, JetBlue will phase in added flights in 2020 on more than a dozen routes, coast-to-coast between Boston and: