APFA and TWU International blast American Airlines management

Joint Statement from APFA National President and TWU International President

Instead of investing in its workers, American Airlines has chosen to enrich their executives with hefty compensation packages and bonuses at the cost of customer service and employee morale. They’ve saddled employees with unfair contracts and failed to address the consistently low rankings that leave AA dead last of the big three airlines for flight delays and customer complaints.

Blaming and attacking their employees and the unions that represent them will do nothing to improve American’s ranking or the future of this once great airline.

The Wall Street Journal: MAX’s return to flight delayed by FAA’s re-evaluation of safety procedures for older 737 models

From the Wall Street Journal.

According to the WSJ, the FAA review of The Boeing 737 MAX has expanded to older 737 models.

Read the full article.

Bloomberg: Boeing faces SEC investigation into its 737 MAX disclosures

From Bloomberg:

“The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating whether Boeing Co. properly disclosed issues tied to the grounded 737 Max jetliner, according to people familiar with the matter, as regulators intensify their scrutiny of the company following two deadly crashes.”

Read the full story.

Lufthansa improves travel experience on short- and medium-haul routes

Lufthansa has made this announcement:

New, innovative seats make travelling even more comfortable
USB port, tablet holder and more personal space
First Airbus A321neo delivered with single cabin for all Network Airlines
Reduction of CO2 emissions through new engines

Lufthansa customers can now enjoy a completely new flight experience on short- and medium-haul routes.

The Group has now received its first Airbus A321neo in Frankfurt (top), which will be operated by Lufthansa. New on board: a new, improved seat for an even more comfortable travel experience, which is jointly introduced by the three Network Airlines, Lufthansa, SWISS and Austrian Airlines.

The Italian manufacturer Geven clearly won the contract to produce the seat. The comfortable full-structure upholstery of the seat and the backrest ensure a noticeably pleasant sitting experience thanks to ergonomic pressure distribution. Thanks to the innovative slimming of the backrest, guests enjoy even more personal space. This is achieved by the newly developed horizontal arrangement of the literature bag above the table. In addition, travelling is not only more comfortable during the flight, but also during taxiing, take-off and landing: instead of the previous 12 degrees during these three phases, guests travel constantly comfortably with a 20 degree inclination of the backrest; business class guests can even adjust the backrest to 26 degrees during the cruise.

Each row of seats has its own USB ports in the current and future standard, which for the first time in the Lufthansa Group will also be available on short-haul flights. In future, Lufthansa Group passengers will also be able to set up their own tablets even more conveniently. A special column has been inserted into the table to facilitate the tablet holder.

“Many customer feedbacks have been incorporated into the design of the seat. We received a lot of positive feedback on the new features. We are therefore convinced that the new seat and the modern ambience of the cabin will further improve the travel comfort of our guests,” says Paul Estoppey, Head of Product Management Cabin Lufthansa Group Hub Airlines.

Uniform cabin for all Network Airlines

The first A321neo now flies for the first time with a cabin harmonized for all three Network Airlines. The three airline brands Lufthansa, SWISS and Austrian remain clearly recognizable thanks to individual design elements. The standardization applies to all aircraft of the A320 family, which will be delivered to the three hub airlines from now on. The standardization focused on the large, cost-intensive components such as the cabin design and the galleys.

The Airbus A321neo is now configured and unified in such a way that aircraft can be adapted quickly and easily when transferred between Lufthansa Group airlines. This enables the Lufthansa Group to react faster and more flexibly to current developments and to move aircraft and capacities more easily and efficiently to another airline or to another hub. Costs for adjustments and lay times can be significantly reduced. In addition, the standardization will lead to further synergies in aircraft purchasing.

Reduction of CO2 emissions through new engines

In addition to benefits for customers, the reduction of weight and thus CO2 emissions as well as maintenance costs were the focus of development. The Lufthansa Group Airlines expect more than 100 brand-new Airbus A320neo family aircraft by 2025. The newly developed engine technologies from Pratt & Whitney and CFM International as well as the aerodynamic wingtips (sharklets) with which the aircraft are equipped will lead to a significant fuel reduction of up to 20 per cent per seat kilometer. An A320neo taking off has a 50 percent smaller noise contour than other aircraft of this type.

Top Copyright Photo: Lufthansa Airbus A321-271NX WL D-AIEA (msn 8761) FRA (Bernhard Ross). Image: 946595.

Lufthansa aircraft slide show:

Batik Air launches a new a route to Penang

Batik Air has made this announcement:

Batik Air, a member of Lion Air Group, on May 29, 2019 will launch a new international route from Soekarno-Hatta, and Tangerang to Penang.

Photo: Choirul Anwar Alquresi.

Batik Air will operate a Boeing 737-800 NG with a capacity of 12 business class seats and 150 economy classes on the route.

The first route will be from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and Tangerang (CGK) with flight ID 7161. The aircraft takes off at 07.00 West Indonesia Time (GMT + 07) and is scheduled to arrive at 10:15 local time (Malaysia Time, GMT + 08) at Penang International Airport. For return flights, Batik Air has a departure time from Penang at 11.00 local time ID-7160 number and is expected to arrive at 12:15 WIB at Soekarno-Hatta.

Batik AIr operates a fleet comprising 43 Airbus A320-200ceo (12 business classes and 144 economy classes), six Boeing 737-900ERs (12 business classes and 168 economy classes) and eight Boeing 737-800 NG (12 business classes and 150 economy classes).

Top Copyright Photo: Batik Air-Lion Group Boeing 737-8GP WL PK-LBL (msn 39281) BFI (Steve Bailey). Image: 923859.

Batik Air aircraft slide show:

British Airways opens centenary archive collection to celebrate its 100-year history

To mark British Airways’ centenary this year, the airline has opened its archive collection to the public for the first time to share never-before-seen memories of key moments from its 100-year history.

The British Airways Centenary Archive Collection explores moments from the very first international flight with its predecessor airline, Aircraft Transport and Travel Limited (AT&T) on August 25, 1919 carrying a journalist, Devonshire cream, leather and several brace of grouse, to the latest images of its brand-new Club Suite.

The collection, which will be hosted on a special centenary hub – ba.com/100/centenary-collection, showcases hundreds of historical photos and videos, as well as articles explaining how the British Airways we know today evolved from a single-engine De Havilland aircraft flying the world’s first daily international scheduled flight to Paris, to become a leading airline flying more than 45 million customers a year to more than 200 destinations across the world.

The digital collection includes images and videos of aircraft throughout the decades, close-up photographs of uniforms worn by generations of cabin crew and pilots, behind-the-scenes memorabilia from Royal and Olympic flights, and artefacts from Concorde – the most famous aircraft that ever flew.

The reveal of the Centenary Archive Collection comes just days after British Airways had the honour of hosting a visit from Her Majesty the Queen at the airline’s headquarters at Heathrow, to mark the centenary.

British Airways will continue to develop and add to the site throughout its centenary year, including adding recollections written by current and retired colleagues and carefully preserved records, documents and images from its extensive archive.

Alex Cruz, British Airways’ Chairman and CEO, said: “Air travel has always been about connecting people around the world, and this website will share the stories, achievements and memories of 100 years of British Airways history.

“Since 1919, British Airways and its forerunners pioneered commercial air travel, and our Centenary Archive Collection will continue to evolve as we look forward to the next 100 years of aviation.”

The British Airways Heritage Collection is managed by retired British Airways’ colleagues based at the airline’s head office near Heathrow. It comprises hundreds of thousands of documents and pieces of memorabilia from British Airways and its predecessor companies British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC), British European Airwats (BEA), British South American Airways (BSAA) and the pre-war Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd.

British Airways is also hosting a range of activities and events throughout the year to mark its 100^th birthday. As well as looking back, the airline is also hosting BA 2119 – a programme, which will lead the debate on the future of flying and explore the future of sustainable aviation fuels, the aviation careers of the future and the customer experience of the future.

This year the airline has also unveiled four aircraft re-painted in heritage liveries as part of its Centenary celebrations – a British Overseas Airways Corporate (BOAC) liveried Boeing 747, an Airbus A319 in a British European Airways (BEA) livery, and two further Boeing 747 aircraft painted in the Negus and Landor livery designs.

The Centenary activity is taking place alongside the airline’s current five-year £6.5bn investment for customers. This includes the installation of the best quality WiFi and power in every seat, fitting 128 long-haul aircraft with new interiors and taking delivery of 72 new aircraft. The airline has also revealed a brand-new business class seat with direct aisle access, the Club Suite, which will debut on the Airbus A350 later this year.

Southern Airways Express to fly to Nantucket this summer

Southern Airways Express has announced it will open summer seasonal service to Nantucket, MA from Norwood, Providence and New Haven.

The seasonal service to the island will operate from June 13 through October 14 mainly from Thursday through Monday, except New Haven which will operate Friday through Sunday.

Entire Route Map:

United Airlines extends Boeing 737 MAX cancellations into August

United Airlines has announced it will extend all cancellations in its schedule of the Boeing 737-9 MAX 9 through August 9.

The company has grounded its 14 MAX 9s which translates to about 40-45 cancelled flights on a daily basis.

WestJet is now flying to Barcelona

WestJet on May 24 opened greater access to both Europe and Canada with its inaugural flight between Barcelona-El Prat Airport (BCN) and Toronto Pearson Airport (YYZ). The airline’s new route is its first to Spain and gives European business and leisure travellers access to the greater WestJet network through the airline’s Toronto hub.

The three-times weekly service is operated on WestJet’s Boeing 767-300 that includes the airline’s updated Premium and Economy cabin service. This summer, with the addition of Barcelona, WestJet will operate to five European cities including London, Gatwick, Paris, Dublin and Glasgow.

Route	Frequency	Departing	Arriving	Effective
Toronto-Barcelona	Three-times weekly	10:05 p.m.	11:50 a.m. +1	May 24, 2019
Barcelona-Toronto	Three-times weekly	1:20 p.m.	4:15 p.m.	May 25, 2019

Photo: WestJet.

JAL introduces its “Arashi Hawaii Jet”

Japan Airlines (JAL) has introduced a special “Arashi Hawaii Jet” livery on Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner JA873J (msn 34852) in support of the boy band from Japan.

The group Arashi is on their 20th anniversary tour, named the “Arashi Anniversary Tour 5×20” tour.

The Dreamliner is different on both sides:

According to Wikipedia, Arashi are a Japanese boy band consisting of five members formed under the Johnny & Associates talent agency. The members are Ohno Satoshi, Sakurai Sho, Aiba Masaki, Ninomiya Kazunari, and Matsumoto Jun.

In November 2018, Arashi began their 20th Anniversary tour, the “Arashi Anniversary Tour 5×20”.

On January 27, 2019, the group announced on their official fan club website that they will cease all group activities on December 31, 2020.

In other news, JAL Group (JAL) has announced that the first Airbus A350-900 aircraft will launch on September 1, 2019 from Tokyo Haneda to Fukuoka airport.

The carrier will have a special “Airbus A350” logo on the first three aircraft, each in a different color.

Top Copyright Photo: On May 22 JA873J visited Honolulu for the first time in the new livery. JAL Hawaii (Japan Airlines) Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner JA873J (msn 34852) (Arashi) HNL (Ivan K. Nishimura). Image: 946593.

JAL aircraft slide show: