Titan Aircraft Investments and Ethiopian Airlines announce long-term dry lease agreement for three Boeing 767-300ER freighters

Titan Aircraft Investments, the joint venture between Titan Aviation Holdings, Inc. and Bain Capital Credit, has announced the placement of three Boeing 767-300ER converted freighters on long-term dry leases with Ethiopian Airlines Group.

Ethiopian Airlines is expected to take delivery of the first of these aircraft later this month, with the second delivery planned for later this year, and the third aircraft planned for 2023.

The addition of these three aircraft brings Titan Aircraft Investments’ freighter fleet to 10 aircraft, five of which are Boeing 767 converted freighters.

Ethiopian Airlines aircraft photo gallery:

Flights into London Heathrow Airport could be disrupted this afternoon and Monday

London Heathrow Airport issued this statement:

Out of respect for the period of mourning following the passing of Her Majesty The Queen, some flights between 13:50–15:40 on Wednesday, September 14 will be disrupted to ensure silence during the ceremonial procession.

We anticipate further changes to the Heathrow operation on Monday, September 19, when Her Majesty’s funeral is due to take place. We will communicate more details over the coming days. We apologise for the disruption caused, as we work to limit the impact on the upcoming events.

The airport also details the impact of the Queen’s funeral:

Out of respect for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Heathrow will be making appropriate alterations to our operation throughout the period of national mourning.

Changes at the airport

On Wednesday 14th September, some flights between 13:50-15:40 will be disrupted to ensure silence over central London as the ceremonial procession moves from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall. Passengers affected by this will be contacted by their airline.

Throughout the period of national mourning, further changes can be expected at the airport, including:

Observing the National Moment of Reflection with a one-minute silence at 8pm on Sunday 18 September.
Showing Her Majesty the Queen’s funeral on screens at the airport on Monday 19 September.

Further changes to the airport operation will be communicated in full over the coming days.

Travelling to the airport

The procession of Her Majesty the Queen’s coffin to St George’s Chapel in Windsor on Monday 19 September will impact local roads around Heathrow. Passengers travelling to the airport are advised to consider alternative routes, such as the Piccadilly or Elizabeth Lines or Heathrow Express.

airBaltic to fly to Malaga, Barcelona and Lisbon into the winter

airBaltic has made this announcement:

Among the most popular airBaltic destinations for the past summer season were Malaga, Barcelona and Lisbon.

Scheduled flights between Riga and all three leisure destinations will continue to be operated also during the upcoming winter season.

airBaltic will launch direct flights from Riga to Marrakesh (Morocco) on October 31 and to Gran Canaria (Canary Islands) on November 1. The airline will continue to perform four weekly flights to Dubai and six weekly flights to Tenerife in addition to other leisure destinations in airBaltic network.

airBaltic aircraft photo gallery:

Tailwind delays launch of DC service until at least September 26

Tailwind Air made this announcement:

For reasons beyond the company’s control, Tailwind Air is delaying its new Washington DC area to Manhattan seaplane service by at least two weeks while seeking approval to serve from an alternate airport in the capital region.

“Our original intent was to launch from College Park Airport September 13th and we were compliant with published rules, however we have encountered additional considerations around scheduled service from new gateways into the Washington, D.C. area. We look forward to working expediently with all stakeholders to address those concerns.” says Tailwind Air CEO Alan Ram.

“Advanced sales on our new route since we announced it have been stronger than expected, showing there is interest in our much faster, less stressful solution.” says Peter Manice, EVP Tailwind Air Shuttle “ We hope to secure the ability shortly to take off from a DC area airport and land on the water in Manhattan, which we know will be a time-saving benefit for our customers and the region.”

Flights to/from Manhattan to DC will be approximately 75-85 minutes and will be operated by our fleet of Cessna Grand Caravans featuring two experienced pilots, eight premium economy leather seats, aisle and window access, crisp air-conditioning, and an ability to land on water or at an airport.

New York Skyport (NYS) is Manhattan’s dedicated seaplane base. Located at the eastern end of 23rd Street along the East River, Tailwind Air operates all Manhattan departures from there and has a dedicated climate-controlled lounge for all passengers.

Check-in cutoff is just 10 minutes prior to departure. Tailwind Air erases the hassle and expense of commuting via a commercial airport, train, ferry, or rental car. By eliminating the uncertainty of check-in, security, airport congestion, and drive time delays, Tailwind Air reduces stress and delivers memorable and fast solutions on all of our routes.

Route Map:

While Tailwind Air’s turboprop seaplane fleet is young—less than five years on average—seaplane travel certainly is not. The Manhattan Skyport opened in 1936 and has been hosting popular seaplane travel for decades. In addition, seaplane operations have been part of the core transportation landscape of cities such as Seattle, Miami, and Vancouver for nearly a hundred years.

With the expected addition of Washington, D.C., Tailwind Air will serve up to nine destinations from its Manhattan base. Manhattan destinations are Boston Harbor – Fan Pier Marina (BNH), Washington, D.C, East Hampton, Sag Harbor, Shelter Island, Montauk, Provincetown, Plymouth, and Bridgeport.

Photo: Jordan Aviation-JAV Boeing 737-322 JY-JAX (msn 23955) AYT (Ton Jochems). Image: 958851.

New livery and logo for Jordan Aviation.

Jordan Aviation-JAV aircraft photo library:

Etihad Cargo expands in China with additional belly capacity to Guangzhou

Etihad Cargo, the cargo and logistics arm of Etihad Aviation Group, will reinforce its commitment to the China market with the introduction of an additional 30 tonnes of belly capacity via two new weekly direct passenger flights to Guangzhou from 10 October, subject to regulatory approvals.

With this latest addition to the carrier’s network, Etihad will become the first international airline to operate long-haul passenger and cargo services to the top three Chinese gateways since the start of the pandemic.

In July, the carrier announced the introduction of direct passenger flights to Beijing, bringing the total number of direct passenger and freighter flights for China to 15. With the introduction of an additional two direct passenger services per week to Guangzhou using a two-class Boeing 777, Etihad Cargo will offer 1,520 tons of total cargo capacity into and out of China per week.

In addition to offering cargo capacity on passenger flights, Etihad Cargo also operates six Boeing 777-200 freighter flights for Shanghai and five dedicated freighter services for Hong Kong per week.

Etihad Cargo exports a wide range of products from China to the UAE, Europe and the US, with electronics being the most widely transported product.

Etihad Airways aircraft photo gallery:

airBaltic reaches the 2,000 employee mark

airBaltic has announced that the number of employees at the company has exceeded 2 000, reaching the all-time highest count since the founding of the airline in 1995. The newest member of the airBaltic team will be working in Customer Relations team at the airline’s headquarters in Riga.

Martin Gauss, Chief Executive Officer of airBaltic: “Reaching the mark of 2 000 employees at airBaltic is another significant milestone that we have achieved together this year. A professional and highly motivated team is our main driving force towards sustainable growth, and I thank each and every employee of airBaltic for their hard work and dedication over the years.”

“We constantly follow the latest trends in the labour market and our employees’ feedback. Our team already works in a hybrid model and from next year, airBaltic plans to further improve and trial a flexible work concept for office employees, offering three working models – fixed, hybrid and remote. We strongly believe that it will improve well-being, motivation and productivity of our team, therefore further supporting our journey towards innovative and sustainable internal organization,” Martin Gauss added.

We keep on growing! Yesterday we welcomed our 2000th employee at the airBaltic headquarters, reaching the all-time highest count since the founding of the airline in 1995 ✈️ We're thankful to have such a professional and highly motivated team that takes us to the sky! pic.twitter.com/rtW48QGKyZ

— airBaltic (@airBaltic) September 13, 2022

With the current total of over 2 000 employees, the company is continuing active recruitment and currently has more than 40 open vacancies, seeking more than 190 additional employees in total.

airbalticv aircraft photo gallery:

American Airlines celebrates 80 Years in Mexico with record growth in the country

American Airlines is celebrating 80 years of service to Mexico this month. In 1942, the airline launched service from Dallas to Mexico City with a Douglas DC-3 aircraft, first stopping in Monterrey to refuel. With this flight, Mexico became the airline’s second international destination, following the launch of Toronto, Canada, in 1941.

“As the leading U.S. airline in Mexico, we are proud to celebrate 80 years of connecting our two countries, offering our customers an unbeatable network and the highest level of service,” said José A. Freig, Vice President of International. “It’s important we recognize and thank our Mexico-based team members for their outstanding work leading American’s largest international operation during a year of record growth for us in the country.”

Strengthening our footprint in Mexico

Mexico is American’s largest international destination, where the airline operates more than 500 weekly flights to 27 cities: Acapulco, Aguascalientes, Cancún, Chihuahua, Mexico City, Cozumel, Culiacan, Durango, Guadalajara, Hermosillo, Huatulco, La Paz, León, Loreto, Mazatlán, Mérida, Monterrey, Morelia, Oaxaca, Puerto Vallarta, Querétaro, San José del Cabo, San Luis Potosi, Torreon, Zacatecas, as well as seasonal service to Zihuatanejo and Manzanillo.

American has more than 1,100 team members based in Mexico, the largest number of employees outside of the United States. The operation includes two Reservations offices in Mexico City and Monterrey, four Ticket Sales Centers in Mexico City, Monterrey, Guadalajara and León, and an Admirals Club at Benito Juárez International Airport in Mexico City.

2022: A banner year

In 2022, American has had record growth in Mexico with a more than 40% increase in capacity compared to 2019. In addition to operating more strategic routes with larger aircraft, the airline has also launched new flying, such as Austin to Cozumel, and, beginning in November, new service from Mexico City and Monterrey to New York.

American Airlines aircraft photo gallery (historic):

Cyprus Airways registers solid August 2022 performance

Cyprus Airways announced today its traffic results for August’22 confirming steady operational progress. During this month, the airline operated 321 flights and carried a total of 47,514 passengers (39,237 on scheduled routes and 8,277 on charter business). Average Seat Load Factors for the month stood at a healthy 94%, whilst OTP (On Time Performance) figures show that 89% of flights operated on time.

“These results continue to build on the constant progress registered this year,” Andreas Georgiou, Chief Operating Officer, and Accountable Manager of Cyprus Airways. “We have invested over Eur50 million to be in a position to add two new Airbus A320 aircraft to our fleet and employ additional crew sets to increase capacity. Notwithstanding the substantially increased capacity, we are happy to note that our Seat Load Factors are above the 90% and our OTP figures over July ’22 improved from 76% to 89% which is well above the current European average.”

Paul Sies, Chief Executive of the airline added, “After announcing a strong (and net profitable) July 2022 performance, we are today announcing an even better result for August. We have continued to improve our already high Seat Loaf Factors by 2% (July: 92%) and registered new business opportunities including extra (sports related) charter flights. Over the last two months we operated 750 flights, carried over 100,000 passengers, and achieved strong load factors all over our network. On top of this we have also secured an ACMI leases operation of one of our aircraft in Latvia, which in August, secured us another 126 more flights which we operated on behalf of the charterer. This summer, our most popular routes of Athens, Beirut, Tel-Aviv and Yerevan have improved our revenues and we are looking forward to announcing soon a strong route network for this winter.

“As we continue to grow the connectivity between Cyprus and key destinations, we remain committed to assist the Island by boosting tourism demand and facilitating travel to and from the Island. We are proud to be the only airline in Cyprus serving the Cypriot market and working for the benefit of the Cypriot Economy and its Tourism industry by Connecting Cyprus,” concluded Mr Sies.

Cyprus Airways will soon be announcing its winter 2022/23 flight schedule with new frequencies to the most popular destinations at great timings and the best value for money prices.

Cyprus Airways (2nd) aircraft photo gallery:

LATAM expects to reach 81% of operations in September and aims to end the year above 85%

LATAM group projects passenger operations of 81% for September (measured in available seat kilometers – ASK) compared to the same period in 2019 (in a pre-pandemic scenario), and projects to exceed 85% in terms of consolidated operational recovery for the close of 2022.

LATAM expects to operate approximately 1,290 daily domestic and international flights during September, connecting 142 destinations in 22 countries, and the group’s cargo business has scheduled more than 1,270 flights. These projections are subject to the evolution of the pandemic in the countries where the group operates.

In August 2022, passenger traffic (measured in revenue passenger-kilometers – RPK) was 80.9% compared to the same period in 2019, based on an operation measured in ASK (available seat-kilometers) of 81.8% compared to August 2019. As a result, the load factor decreased 0.9 percentage points, reaching 83.0%.

The load factor of cargo operations was 55.8%, which corresponds to an increase of 1.3 percentage points compared to August 2019.

LATAM Group Operational Estimate – September 2022

(Passenger operations measured in ASK / Cargo operations measured in ATK)

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Brazil	● 89% projected operation (versus September 2019). August 2022 projection reference: 89% ● 103% domestic and 72% international ● Total September destinations: 54 domestic and 20 international.
Chile	● 70% projected operation (versus September 2019). August 2022 projection reference: 69% ● 74% domestic and 68% international ● Total September destinations: 16 domestic and 25 international.
Colombia	● 115% projected operation (versus September 2019). August 2022 projection reference: 109% ● 138% domestic and 88% international ● Total July destinations: 17 domestic and 5 international.
Ecuador	● 55% projected operation (versus September 2019). August 2022 projection reference: 51% ● 132% domestic and 31% international ● Total September destinations: 8 domestic and 3 international.

Perú	● 79% projected operation (versus September 2019). August 2022 projection reference: 78% ● 91% domestic and 74% international ● Total July destinations: 19 domestic and 26 international
Cargo	● 96% projected operation (versus September 2019). August 2022 projection reference: 100% ● 68% domestic belly and 79% international belly* ● 153% dedicated freighter

*Belly: mercancía transportada en la bodega de carga (lower deck) del avión.

Operational Estimate by Segment vs. 2019 – September 2022

(Measured in ASK)

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Domestic Spanish-speaking countries	81%
Domestic Brazil	103%
Internacional	68%
Consolidated Total	81%

Note: While Argentina’s domestic operations are considered in the 2019 operational statistics above, LATAM announced the indefinite cessation of its domestic passenger and cargo operations in Argentina on June 17, 2020.

LATAM Airlines (Chile) aircraft photo gallery: