Cabo Verde Airlines resumes operations to Italy

Cabo Verde Airlines has announced it will resume operations to Italy this summer, with connections to Sal island and other destinations operated by the airline.

According to the document authorized by ENAC, National Aviation Entity, Cabo Verde Airlines will resume operations for Milan Malpensa and Roma Fiumicino airports from June 24 to October 26, 2019.

Photo: Cabo Verde Airlines.

Flights will have weekly frequencies with flights to Sal-Malpensa departing at 08h00, arriving at 16h55 on Monday/Thursday/Friday/Sunday and Malpensa-Sal departing at 17h55 arriving at 21h00 on Monday/Thursday/Friday and Sunday.

Also, Sal-Rome departing at 08h15 and arriving at 17h00 on Tuesday/Wednesday/Saturday and Rome-Sal departing at 18h00 and arriving at 21h00 on Tuesday/Wednesday/Saturday.

Virgin Atlantic’s new Airbus A350-1000 including “The Loft”

By Dave Gunner.

Virgin Atlantic has given us a peak preview of its new Airbus A350-1000 on its blog:

Ahead of the delivery of our first A350 aircraft, we’ve been showcasing our gorgeous new cabin interiors to an audience of VIPs. It was a special night at our West Sussex base, attended by journalists, leaders from the travel industry and some of our most valued customers, alongside representatives from Airbus and Rolls Royce. They all enjoyed a tour of our new Airbus A350 experience which included VR and augmented reality displays, talks by the design team and even the opportunity to try their hand at opening our A350 training door. There was also a pop-up Clubhouse supplying food and drink and a spa as well as speeches from our CEO Shai Weiss and EVP Customer Mark Anderson. It was a great night and a fitting celebration of our new aircraft.

There are new planes and then there are Virgin Atlantic new planes.

Here’s everything you need to know about our A350, the designs, the cabins and some of the people that made the magic happen.

Introducing The Loft

The Loft is a unique space for Upper Class customers to gather, chat, grab a drink or dine with friends. As well as enjoying luxe comfort and high end finishes, you can settle in with Bluetooth headphones and catch a show or watch the live tailcam.

The Loft is the largest social space of any business class cabin at Virgin Atlantic. The space features a 32-inch touchscreen monitor and eight Bluetooth audio jacks so you can view content together. This is the first time we’ve offered Bluetooth in the social space.
It provides space for eight customers – twice the capacity of the existing social spaces on board (five seated three standing).
All of the chairs in The Loft feature seatbelts, a new feature for Virgin Atlantic, which means you can even continue to occupy The Loft during turbulence.
The Loft was designed collaboratively by Virgin Atlantic and London based Factory Design, and is manufactured by AIM Altitude in Bournemouth

Introducing the A350 Upper Class suite – experience the evolution

The new Upper Class suite is the perfect retreat at 30,000 feet. Every seat faces towards the window and comes with enhanced privacy, plenty of space and storage, adjustable mood lighting, and an 18.5 inch screen – all with inimitable Virgin Atlantic style.

The dreamiest, comfiest flying experience
The brand new Upper Class suite has been exclusively designed for Virgin Atlantic in collaboration with our in-house design team
Each aircraft offers 44 Upper Class suites in a 1-2-1 configuration
The stylish suite features luxurious Claret leather with intricate, signature Virgin red stitching
You can relax into a 44 inch seat pitch or recline into a fully flat bed
Each suite features a cocktail table, shelving and a larger tray table to store personal items
More privacy
The cabin offers greater levels of privacy with higher walls around each suite and deployable privacy screens
The 1-2- 1 configuration offers flexibility for leisure and business travellers to fly together
Each Upper Class suite will offer our largest ever inflight entertainment screen at 18.5 inches
For the first time customers can connect to the inflight entertainment via Bluetooth and enjoy wireless freedom on board. All Upper Class suites feature two USB sockets, and an AC socket adaptable for UK, US and EU plugs

A350 Premium – luxe leather seats and Premium perks

Rich, custom leather seats and high end finishes welcome you into the Premium cabin of the A350. You can enjoy a lot more storage for all your belongings and a generous 13.3 inch screen for the next generation entertainment system. Tailored for Virgin Atlantic, our Premium seat features a luxurious Claret leather seat with intricate stitch detailing, a pressed black wool cocktail tray and meal table, and an Oxblood red upper literature pocket interior.

Four-way adjustable leather headrest
56 seats offering a generous 7 inch recline
Full size bi-fold table
More areas and pockets for storage including a side amenity pocket, as well as upper and lower seatback stowage
USB ports
18.5 inch seat width
13.3 inch seatback screens – the biggest ever in Premium
Intuitive new entertainment system, controllable by personal devices

A350 Economy – bespoke design for ultimate comfort

Our newest Economy seats are designed with bespoke woven fabrics inspired by fashion houses. Six-way adjustable headrests ensure comfort, and the 11.6 inch seatback screens with our next generation entertainment system are worth settling in for.

235 seats in a 3-3-3 configuration
New upgraded seats in luxury woven fabrics and high quality wool blend
11.6 inch seatback screens
Intuitive new entertainment system, controllable by personal devices
USB ports in every seat
Up to 17.4 inch seat width
31 inch Classic and Light seat pitch
34 inch Economy Delight seat pitch

A350 fleet information

In total, Virgin Atlantic will take delivery of 12 A350-1000 aircraft between 2019 and 2021, in an order worth $4.4bn (list price). The first four aircraft will be delivered in summer/autumn 2019, and further names and registrations will be revealed in due course.

The configuration

44 seats in Upper Class
56 seats in Premium
235 seats in Economy

Routes

Our new aircraft will fly from both London Heathrow and London Gatwick, with initial flights operating between London Heathrow and New York JFK and Atlanta

Typical operating characteristics

The Airbus A350-1000 has a range up to 7950 nautical miles
Overall length – 72.25m (237ft 0.5in)
Wing Span – 64.75m (212ft 5.2in)
Height – 17.08m (56ft 0.3in)
Cargo capacity of 208.2m3, (7352 cubic feet)
Maximum take-off weight of 308,000kg
Typical cruising speed of M0.85

Additional customer benefits of the Airbus A350-1000

Larger panoramic windows
Spacious feel thanks to the illuminated dome ceiling design
Cleaner air with an advanced filtration system
Calmer cabin with quieter engines and air conditioning
Improved cabin atmosphere with lower cabin altitude
Improved storage with larger overhead bins

Video: MCAS System on the Boeing 737 MAX: From a pilot’s perspective

Sun Country Airlines to add six new seasonal routes

Sun Country Airlines has announced the addition of six new seasonal routes to their fall schedule. Sun Country will bring more passengers to Las Vegas with new service from Providence, Rhode Island, St. Louis, San Antonio and Redmond, Oregon. The additions also include service from Portland, Oregon to San Diego, and from Providence, Rhode Island to New Orleans.

This route expansion adds Redmond Municipal Airport (RDM) to Sun Country’s network, bringing the airline to a total of 54 airports. The airline first added new routes beyond its home base of Minneapolis/St. Paul in June 2018, bringing on service from Dallas-Fort Worth, Madison, Wisconsin, Portland, Oregon and St. Louis, which brought the network at the time from 53 to 64 nonstop routes. Nashville, Tennessee was added in August 2018, Providence, Rhode Island was added in January 2019, and the airline now operates a total of 95 routes, which marks a more than 80 percent growth in routes since June 2018.

The full list of new seasonal routes includes:

From Redmond (RDM)

Nonstop service to McCarran International Airport (LAS) with connections to Dallas-Ft. Worth, Minneapolis and Providence.
- Service starts September 5, 2019
- Operates 2x/week with roundtrips on Thursday and Sunday
- One-way fares start as low as $69*

From Providence (PVD)

Nonstop service to McCarran International Airport (LAS)
- Service starts September 5, 2019
- Operates 5x/week initially with roundtrips Monday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday
- One-way fares start as low as $139*
Nonstop service to Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY)
- Service starts September 6, 2019
- Operations 3x/week with roundtrips on Monday, Wednesday and Friday
- One-way fares start as low as $89*

From Portland (PDX)

Nonstop service to San Diego International Airport (SAN)
- Service starts October 3, 2019
- Operates 2x/week with roundtrips on Thursday and Sunday with service moving to 4x/week on November 10 with the addition of Monday and Wednesday
- One-way fares start as low as $79*

From San Antonio (SAT)

Nonstop service to McCarran International Airport (LAS)
- Service starts September 5, 2019
- Operates 4x/week with roundtrips on Monday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday
- One-way fares start as low as $69*

From St. Louis (STL)

Nonstop service to McCarran International Airport (LAS)
- Service starts September 5, 2019
- Operates 2x/week with roundtrips on Thursday and Sunday
- One-way fares start as low as $79*

Top Copyright Photo: Sun Country Airlines Boeing 737-83N WL N861AM (msn 30706) YYC (Chris Sands). Image: 946051.

Sun Country Airlines aircraft slide show:

Eurowings with new summer destinations from Stuttgart, Nuremberg and Munich

Eurowings has just launched new routes in its summer timetable to further expand its services for travellers from southern Germany. The new destination from Stuttgart is Ohrid in northern Macedonia. The route will be offered on Mondays and Fridays from 21 June to September. The city of Ohrid captivates with its picturesque old town, many churches, monasteries and mosques and is situated on Lake Ohrid: the million-year-old water is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

New from Stuttgart to Tirana on Thursdays. From 25 July to the end of September, Eurowings flies to the capital of Albania, which is highly appreciated by tourists because of its colourful old town. Tirana is not far from the Adriatic Sea on the river Tirana and is the cultural centre of the young democracy of Albania. Florence is one of the most beautiful cities in Italy – and can now be reached directly from Stuttgart from 27 July on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays with Eurowings. The city in Tuscany is known above all for its numerous masterpieces of Renaissance art and architecture.

New in the Stuttgart flight schedule for the first time is Timișoara in Romania. The city, located in the west of the country, is flown to on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Timișoara is particularly known for its secession architecture. On the central square, Piața Victoriei, there are numerous baroque buildings as well as the Cathedral of the Three Hierarchs (Catedrala Mitropolitană) with its mosaic bricks and the icon gallery.

With its extensive Croatia program, Eurowings is one of the most important airlines on the Adriatic, and now Nuremberg is also moving closer to the Dalmatian coast: Eurowings is launching a new route to Split from Nuremberg – it is on Thursdays and Sundays in its flight schedule.

From Munich, Eurowings is once again adding a classic to its flight schedule: This year, the port city Bastia in the northeast of Corsica will be served again every Saturday. The French island is characterised by its mountainous landscape and the mixture of elegant coastal towns, dense forests and jagged peaks. Although Corsica has been part of France since 1768, it still retains a characteristic Italian culture.

Top Copyright Photo: Eurowings Airbus A320-214 D-ABFR (msn 4631) BSL (Paul Bannwarth). Image: 946212.

Eurowings aircraft slide show:

Uganda Airlines firms up orders for two Airbus A330neo aircraft

Uganda Airlines, the national carrier of Uganda, has firmed up its order for two Airbus A330-800 airliners, the latest version of the most popular A330 widebody airliner.

Fitted with the new Airspace by Airbus cabin, the A330neo will bring a range of benefits to Uganda Airlines and its customers, offering unrivalled efficiencies combined with the most modern cabin.

Uganda Airlines plans to use the A330-800 to build its medium and long-haul network with the aircraft offering cutting-edge technology along with more efficient operations

Launched in July 2014, the A330neo Family is the new generation A330, comprising two versions: the A330-800 and A330-900 sharing 99 percent commonality. It builds on the proven economics, versatility and reliability of the A330 Family, while reducing fuel consumption by about 25 percent per seat versus previous generation competitors and increasing range by up to 1,500 nm compared to the majority of A330s in operation. The A330neo is powered by Rolls-Royce’s latest-generation Trent 7000 engines and features a new wing with increased span and new A350 XWB-inspired Sharklets. The cabin provides the comfort of the new Airspace amenities including state-of-the-art passenger inflight entertainment and Wifi connectivity systems, amongst others.

Image: Airbus.

British Airways takes the top brand for the United Kingdom

British Airways has been voted the number one British brand in both the consumer and business Superbrands lists for 2019.

Over 1,500 brands were included in both surveys and British Airways was voted in fourth place in the Business Index and fifth place in the Consumer Index. The airline also secured the number one spot in the ‘Travel – Airlines’ category in the consumer survey, ahead of 18 of its competitors from the UK and internationally.

All voters were asked to judge brands against the three core factors inherent in a Superbrand: quality, reliability and distinction. According to the experts at Superbrands, brand perception and voting by individuals is also influenced by a range of both short and long-term factors, from the brand’s current profile to its latest marketing activities and new product and service developments, giving a holistic picture of how brands are currently perceived.

The business Superbrands voting process involving 2,500 UK business professionals, supplemented by an expert council comprising 24 senior business-to-business marketing leaders.

In addition to the British public vote in the consumer Superbrands survey, which was weighted to reflect the breadth of opinion across the whole country, all brands awarded Superbrand status were also highly rated by an objective and voluntary council of senior industry experts to provide a secondary quality control mechanism.

Brands do not pay or apply to be considered – in order to provide a broad review of the market and identify the strongest brands in each category, all the key players in each sector need to be voted on.

The research process was managed by The Centre for Brand Analysis (TCBA) in partnership with Dynata, one of the world’s leading data research companies.

Top Copyright Photo: British Airways Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner G-ZBKM (msn 38629) LHR (SPA). Image: 944862.

British Airways aircraft slide show:

Widerøe signs up another four Dash 8-100 aircraft for Bombardier’s Extended Service Program

Bombardier Commercial Aircraft has announced Widerøe’s Flyveselskap AS of Norway has signed an agreement to apply the Extended Service Program (ESP) to another four Dash 8-100 aircraft operated by the Norwegian airline.

The ESP is the result of several structural and engineering analyses that utilized fatigue and test data accumulated on Dash 8-100 aircraft. The ESP is initiated through a Service Bulletin that makes reference to a new Maintenance Program Supplement. Widerøe will incorporate the Service Bulletin and Maintenance Program Supplement and arrange for the replacement of some structural and systems components as identified by the Service Bulletin.

In 2015, Bombardier also successfully launched an Extended Service Program for the Dash 8-300 aircraft with Chorus Aviation Inc. and Jazz Aviation LP (‘Jazz’) as the launch customer and operator.

Top Copyright Photo: Wideroe (Widerøe’s Flyveselskap AS) Bombardier DHC-8-103 LN-WIA (msn 359) BOO (Wingnut). Image: 909356.

Wideroe aircraft slide show:

QANTAS Freight: Long haul, short haul… shopping haul?

By QANTAS Airways:

There are no window seats on this QANTAS flight. In fact, there are no windows…not that you’d see much anyway.

It only flies after dark.

Last night, while you were sleeping, QANTAS transported over 240,000 kilograms of shirts, suits, sunnies, socks, shoes – and much more – across our domestic freight network.

Freight is a key part of our business, and over the last few years, global demand has strengthened off the back of online shopping mania.

We move about 55 million kilograms of items a year, from clothing to Formula 1 racing cars to helicopters. (We flew a rhinoceros across the Tasman Sea once, too.)

You can probably guess which month is our busiest.

In the lead up to Christmas, we’ll ship about three million kilograms worth of items.

Thankfully, around this time, we operate a codeshare with a North Pole, sleigh-bound freighter that is known for its extraordinary capacity and speed.

Today, QANTAS Freight is Australia’s leading cargo carrier and cargo terminal operator with a fleet of dedicated freighters as well as being able to use the belly space of our passenger services to get your online shopping to your door.

And this week we announced that two next generation 747-8F – the most efficient freighter aircraft in service – will join our fleet, operated by our good mates Atlas Air*, servicing cargo hubs in China and the US.

Our freighter fleet also includes a Boeing 767-300 ER and five 737s.

We also use four BAe 146-300 jet freighters known as the “curfew busters” from our colleagues at Cobham. This aircraft is allowed to operate a limited number of services during the night to busy capital city airports because of the low noise levels they generate. And the fact they usually avoid flying over residential areas on approach to landing.

Our domestic freighter network operates four nights a week from Monday to Thursday and because there’s no mail deliveries on Saturdays, there’s no need for Friday night flying. But mail is also transported in the belly space of our passenger flights to make sure the post arrives in time on Mondays.

The QANTAS Freight team from aircraft loaders to the pilots who fly them are perhaps the unsung heroes of e-commerce.

They keep our economy ticking, our couriers busy, and our wardrobes full.

Next time you’re at the airport, keep an eye out for the window-less flying kangaroo.

*subject to government and regulatory approval

Top Copyright Photo: QANTAS Freight-Express Freighters Australia Boeing 767-381F ER VH-EFR (msn 33510) SYD (Micheil Keegan). Image: 907902.

QANTAS Freight aircraft slide show:

Domestic Route Map:

International Route Map:

Hawaiian Airlines arrives in Boston

Hawaiian Airlines Flight 90 flew into aviation history on April 5, inaugurating the nation’s longest interstate route when it left Honolulu’s Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) on April 4 and touched down at Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) on the morning of April 5, bringing with it a five-times-a-week dose of aloha to New England.

Prior to this flight, Boston was the largest U.S. market without nonstop service to Hawai‘i with some 250 people flying between eastern New England and the islands each way on any given day. Boston’s renowned educational and medical facilities are among the many attractions drawing Hawai‘i travelers to the Bay State. The route generated about $79 million in ticket sales last year.

A celebration of Hawaiian Airlines inaugural flight from Honolulu to Boston on 4/5/2019.

In addition to vacations, the route opens economic and cultural opportunities. The seafood industry, important in both states, will benefit. On board Flight HA89 as it departed Boston for Hawai‘i: nearly one-and-a-half tons of live lobster. Hawaiian fish and produce will also be regularly flown to New England.

At 5,095 miles, Hawaiian’s HNL-BOS route is the longest regularly scheduled interstate route in U.S. history. It will take nearly 10 hours traveling to Boston from Honolulu, and roughly 11.5 hours traveling from Boston in the morning and arriving in Honolulu in the afternoon. When the ship Thaddeus sailed from Boston to Hawai’i in 1819, it took the missionaries who were onboard 164 days to reach the islands.

For JetBlue fans, Hawaiian’s expanded codeshare with Boston’s largest airline lets customers earn and redeem TrueBlue points on Hawaiian flights. The relationship also opens a plethora of new cities with connections through Boston, including Washington, D.C. (DCA), Pittsburgh (PIT), Philadelphia (PHL), Baltimore (BWI), Cleveland (CLE), and Detroit (DTW), all of which currently cannot connect to Hawai‘i through JetBlue in New York.

Last year, about 127,000 people from New England – more than half of them from Massachusetts — visited Hawai’i, according to the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority.