Thai Smile Airways to become a new Star Alliance Connecting Partner

Star Alliance today announced the plans for Thai Smile Airways to become the next Connecting Partner in its global network.

The Chief Executive Board of Star Alliance, meeting on the sides of the 75^th IATA Annual General Meeting in Seoul, approved the application of Thai Smile Airways to become a part the Alliance’s Connecting Partner model.

The Connecting Partner model was established by Star Alliance in June 2016 to complement its membership model.

In contrast to full membership in the Alliance, requiring building of commercial ties with all full members, the more regional Connecting Partner scope calls for commercial relationships with a minimum of three carriers only.

Customers travelling on an itinerary which includes a transfer between a Star Alliance member airline and a Connecting Partner will be offered standard Alliance benefits such as passenger and baggage through check-in. In addition, customers who have achieved Star Alliance Gold Status in their frequent flyer programme will enjoy premium customer benefits.

Once all entry requirements are fulfilled, which is expected by the end of the year, Thai Smile Airways will become the second Connecting Partner, joining Juneyao Airlines that entered in 2017.

Connecting Partners allow Star Alliance to close network gaps that may exist of a regional basis. Thai Smile Airways will add 11 new destinations to the Star Alliance network, which already comprises over 1,300 airports in 194 countries.

The Bangkok based airline has begun to implement the necessary technology and commercial links which will allow Thai Smile to begin serving Star Alliance connecting passengers in 2020. As of then, the airline will be offering the privileges to qualifying Star Alliance Gold Status passengers travelling on connecting itineraries, including Priority Check-in, Thai Smile Lounge Access, and Priority Baggage Delivery.

Thai Smile is a ‘light premium’ sub-brand of Thai Airways International. We offer ‘light premium’ product and service which include seat selection and check in counter service with no additional charge, on-board snacks and drinks, and baggage allowance of 20 kg. Passenger travel on Thai Smile will also enjoy the Royal Orchid Plus (ROP) mileage same as on Thai Airways International flights.

Top Copyright Photo (all others by the airline): Thai Smile Airbus A320-232 WL HS-TXU (msn 6795) BKK (Michael B. Ing). Image: 946619.

Thai Smile aircraft slide show:

TAP launches Airbus A321LR service from Porto to New York

TAP Air Portugal yesterday (June 1) launched its first Airbus A321LR trans-Atlantic service from Porto to New York.

The airline is wrongly claiming this is the world’s first A321LR trans-Atlantic revenue flight but this was already accomplished by Air Transat on May 15, 2019, from Montréal (Trudeau) to Nantes, France.

All photos by TAP.

New York Times: Boeing built deadly assumptions into 737 MAX, blind to a late design change

From the New York Times:

The NYT looks into a fatal flaw in the Boeing 737 MAX’s development that left test pilots, engineers and regulators in the dark when a change was made to the automated system without their knowledge.

Read the full article.

Eurowings moves to Terminal 1 at Munich Airport today

Eurowings made this announcement:

From June 1, 2019: Instead of Terminal 2, departures and arrivals will be handled in Terminal 1 of Munich Airport from now on. Munich’s second-largest airline will be moving into its new location soon. Eurowings passengers benefit from short distances and can use all Eurowings service facilities easily and comfortably in one connected area.

In addition to domestic German flights, Eurowings particularly offers touristic destinations around the Mediterranean Sea. Terminal 1 at Munich Airport is well suited for this point-to-point traffic with its short distances from the short-stay parking zones or car park P1 to the check-in area and gates. Check-in for all departures is in Area A. Passengers can enjoy attractive catering and shopping facilities after passing through the security checkpoint.

For transferring passengers, a free shuttle service is available, which carries them every 10 minutes between the two terminals.

In other news, the first Eurowings-branded Airbus A320 (OO-SNN) arrives in Brussels on May 31 for operation by Brussels Airlines.

Icelandair extends the grounding of its Boeing 737 MAX aircraft to September 15

Icelandair has made this announcement:

Icelandair has made changes to its flight schedule until September 15, 2019 as it is expected that the suspension of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft will last longer than anticipated.

To minimize the impact on its passengers, Icelandair has already added three leased aircraft to its fleet for the summer season. Furthermore, the Company is now working on the leasing of an additional Boeing 767-300 aircraft.

Icelandair will start implementing these changes in the next few days and Icelandair’s service representatives will contact the passengers affected.

With these changes, the total seat capacity from July 15 to September 15 will decrease by 5% from what the Company had estimated. However, following these changes the number of available seats during the period will still increase by 10% year-on-year. Icelandair’s emphasis will continue to remain on increasing the number of passengers to and from Iceland and as of today, the number of bookings by passengers traveling to Iceland during the period June-August has increased by over 30% compared to the same period last year.

The financial impact of the suspension of the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft is uncertain as the amount of compensation from the aircraft manufacturer is still under review.

Top Copyright Photo: Icelandair Boeing 737-8 MAX 8 TF-ICY (msn 44354) LGW (Antony J. Best). Image: 944339.

Icelandair aircraft slide show:

BBC: Champions League: Fans could help break UK flight record

From the BBC:

It is all-British final in the UEFA Champions League championship match today in Madrid – Tottenham versus Liverpool.

UK fans are being very creative in their flight routings to get to Madrid.

The traffic from UK airports is expected to set records in the United Kingdom.

Read the full story.

easyJet was forced to defend the rise in ticket prices for the event:

Read the full story.

Airbus establishes Airbus Canada to market the A220

Airbus has made this announcement:

Change from C Series Aircraft Limited Partnership (CSALP) reflects Airbus’ majority stake in the A220

The change of name of CSALP to Airbus Canada Limited Partnership, which was announced in March 2019, will come into effect on June 1, 2019.

The new name reflects the majority interest of Airbus in the partnership since July 1, 2018. The partnership is adopting the Airbus logo as its single visual identity.

Over the course of the coming weeks, the new name will be applied to the limited partnership’s documentation, materials and branded items. The Airbus and Bombardier logos will continue to be displayed side-by-side on the building exteriors in Mirabel, reflecting production activities on the site for both the Airbus A220 and Bombardier CRJ aircraft families.

About the limited partnership

Headquartered in Mirabel, Québec, the limited partnership is responsible for the development and manufacturing of the Airbus A220 Family of single-aisle passenger aircraft. Majority owned by Airbus SE, partners include Bombardier Inc. and Investissement Québec (acting as mandatory for the government of Québec). The limited partnership employs approximately 2,200 at its headquarters and manufacturing facilities in Mirabel. The second A220 manufacturing facility in Mobile, Alabama will start production in the third quarter of 2019.

Photo: Airbus.

Volotea launches a new base in Cagliari

Volotea inaugurated on May 30 its thirteenth base, in Cagliari, where two Airbus A319s will be permanently based to operate 15 routes, ten of which exclusively offered by Volotea.

Since Volotea started operations in Cagliari in 2012, Volotea has carried over 750,000 passengers, increasing its number of customers’ year-on-year. In 2018, the airline has carried 270,000 passengers from Cagliari, up by 66% in comparison to the previous year and achieving an average 94% seat load. For 2019, Volotea will offer 414,000 seats, increasing its capacity by 44%.

Volotea also operates in Olbia’s Airport, transporting in 206,000 passengers in 2018 and in Alghero, where last year has transported 51.000 passengers. Since 2012 Volotea has transported in Sardinia more than 1,6 million of passengers. With the launch of Cagliari’s base Volotea will offer in Sardinia more than 700,000 seats and 26 international and national routes to connect the Italian island with different destinations.

In 2019, Volotea is opening 41 new routes to serve a lineup of 319 routes, operating flights to more than 80 mid and small-sized European cities in 13 countries: France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Greece, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Portugal, Malta, Austria, Ireland, Luxembourg and Morocco. The airline expects to carry more than 7.5 million passengers in 2019.

Volotea has currently twelve bases: Venice, Nantes, Bordeaux, Palermo, Strasbourg, Asturias, Verona, Toulouse, Genoa, Bilbao, Marseille and Athens. These last three have been inaugurated in 2018. Volotea will inaugurate a new base in Cagliari on May 30^th 2019.

Volotea operates its network with 36 aircraft, Boeing 717s and Airbus A319s, after adding six additional aircraft in 2019.

The Airbus A319 is the aircraft model selected for its future growth and will allow the company to increase its passenger capacity by 25% to 156 seats and to serve longer routes.

Photo: Volotea.

American to add Honduras service from DFW

American Airlines is adding two new international routes to Honduras from its Dallas/Fort Worth hub.

According to Airline Route, the carrier will add service to Tegucigalpa on June 6 and San Pedro Sula on June 7 with Airbus A319s.

Top Copyright Photo: American Airlines Airbus A319-132 N801AW (msn 889) ONT (Michael B. Ing). Image: 946606.

American Airlines aircraft slide show:

Emirates announces the shortest Airbus A380 route

Emirates is gearing up for a big summer in Muscat with the deployment of double daily Airbus A380 flights from July 1, 2019.

The airline will operate the A380 on EK 862/863 and EK864/865 to and from Muscat International Airport (MCT).

Muscat will become Emirates’ shortest scheduled A380 flight, flying a distance of 340 kilometers (211 miles) each way.

The new A380 services to Muscat demonstrate the airline’s agile approach to fleet deployment and its commitment to providing an enhanced onboard experience for its passengers.

The launch of the A380 flights will come exactly one year after the first deployment of a scheduled one-off A380 service that marked 25 years of operations to Oman, and reaffirmed the airport’s infrastructure readiness to handle double-decker operations.

The twice daily A380 services will replace EK 862/863 and EK 864/865. Emirates morning flight, EK 862, will depart Dubai at 0825hrs, arriving in Muscat at 0940hrs. The return flight, EK 863, will depart Muscat at 1115hrs, arriving in Dubai in the afternoon at 1225hrs. Emirates late afternoon flight EK 864 will depart Dubai at 1610hrs and will arrive in Muscat at 1725hrs. EK 865 will depart Muscat at 1905hrs, arriving in Dubai at 2015hrs. Flight timings will vary slightly with the commencement of the winter schedule in late October.

Both A380s flying to Muscat will be operated in a three-class configuration, with 429 seats in Economy Class on the lower deck, as well as 76 flat-bed seats in Business Class and 14 First Class Private Suites on the upper deck. Passengers travelling across all three classes will enjoy the airline’s award-winning inflight entertainment system, ice, offering more than 4,000 channels of entertainment, and savour regionally inspired meals.

Emirates has been flying to Oman since 1993, and today operates three daily services utilising the Boeing 777-300ER between Dubai and Muscat, connecting passengers to over 150 global destinations in the Far East, Europe and the US.

Note: The new flights will break Emirates’ previous record. The airline previously operated the world’s shortest scheduled A380 service (Dubai – Doha), a distance of 379 kilometers (236 miles).

Photos: Emirates.