British Airways invests in its first class product

British Airways issued this statement:

British Airways is set to deliver significant changes to the onboard product and service in its First cabin as part of its £6.5bn investment for customers.

The new look and feel, set to take to the skies from March 31, will include new bedding, amenities and menus that would not look out of place in a revered five-star British hotel.

The airline’s First customers will be offered super-soft, sophisticated new male and female loungewear designed exclusively by luxury British fashion brand, Temperley London. The loungewear will be coupled with bespoke British Airways amenity bags, featuring Temperley’s “Star” design. The bags will be filled with products from No 1 British Skincare brand, ELEMIS, including products from the highly sought after ULTRA SMART PRO-COLLAGEN range*. The amenity kit contains the essentials to cleanse, revive and hydrate.

The airline’s chefs have also designed new delicious A La Carte menus that focus on fresh seasonal ingredients of British provenance. The new menus will be served on elegant bone china crockery, designed exclusively for the airline by high-end British tableware designer William Edwards. The new tableware will be accompanied by contemporary cutlery from Studio William.

The airline will also be introducing a new signature afternoon tea service, showcasing the great British tradition of high tea. The menu will include a selection of sandwiches, delicate pastries and scones, as well as a wide range of tea infusions.

As part of the changes, British Airways is also investing in new Dartington glassware. Travellers will now be able to enjoy the airline’s fine wines and champagnes from sophisticated stemware, while soft drinks and spirits will be served from elegant cut-glass tumblers.

Carolina Martinoli, British Airways’ Director of Brand and Customer Experience, said: “As part of our £6.5bn investment for customers, we’re changing parts of the travel experience in our First cabin. Our teams of designers, chefs and customer service experts have carefully thought through the details we know matter most to our customers.

“In this, our centenary year, we’ve sought out some of the best British designers and manufacturers to work with to ensure travelling in First with British Airways is an unforgettable experience.”

The airline’s First customers will benefit from an improved turndown service for the perfect night’s sleep, thanks to new luxurious 400 thread count bedding, accompanied by a foam fibre mattress topper. Customers will also receive a stylish new day blanket and bolster cushion.

And those wishing to relax and enjoy the 1,000 hours of programmes available on the in-flight entertainment channels, can do so through high performance headphones crafted by Meridian, the British Pioneers of High Resolution audio.

British Airways’ First customers continue to have access to the airline’s exclusive First Wing at Heathrow Terminal 5. Re-designed and unveiled in 2017, the First Wing provides customers with a private check-in area leading through to dedicated security lanes, which grant customers direct access to British Airways’ prestigious First Lounge.

2019 is British Airways’ Centenary year. The airline is investing £6.5 billion for customers over five years, including new aircraft, new cabins, new catering, new lounges, WiFi, and new routes.

* ULTRA SMART PRO-COLLAGEN is a new bespoke range of skincare that adapts to individual needs to preserve and promote younger looking, luminous skin.

Female amenity bags contain:

Cleansing micellar facial wipe

Soothing apricot facial wipe

Pro-collagen rose mist

Ultra smart pro-collagen matrix moisturiser

Ultra smart pro-collagen eye cream

Hydra-nourish lip balm

Sea lavender and samphire hand cream

Fortitude deodorant

Male amenity bags contain:

Ultra smart pro-collagen eye cream

Ultra smart pro-collagen matrix moisturiser

Cleansing micellar facial wipe

Skin soothe shave gel

Fortitude deodorant

Hydra-nourish lip balm

Wizz Air takes delivery of its first Airbus A321neo

Wizz Air, the largest Central and Eastern European low cost carrier, has taken delivery of its first of 184 A321neo aircraft on order at an event in Hamburg, with József Váradi, CEO Wizz Air and Christian Scherer, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer.

The new generation aircraft is powered by two Pratt & Whitney GTF engines and features the widest single aisle cabin with 239 seats in a single class configuration and offers operators maximum flexibility, fuel efficiency and low operating costs.

Wizz Air is an all Airbus operator, with more than 100 A320 Family aircraft operating all around Europe with 261 more to be delivered. With 184 of the larger A321neo aircraft on order, Wizz Air is the largest Airbus customer worldwide of the type.

Photos: Airbus.

airBaltic to launch new routes from Riga

airBaltic will launch flights from Riga to Dublin, Stuttgart and Lviv in late March. In addition, in May, airBaltic will also add regular flights to two leisure destinations – Kos and Menorca.

Destination served	Flight frequency	Start date	*Price , Basic**	*Price , Premium**	*Price, Business**
Riga – Dublin	4 flights weekly	March 31, 2019	39 EUR	99 EUR	589 EUR
Riga – Stuttgart	4 flights weekly	March 31, 2019	49 EUR	105 EUR	399 EUR
Riga – Lviv	4 flights weekly	April 1, 2019	49 EUR	115 EUR	399 EUR
Riga – Kos	1 flight weekly	May 11, 2019	79 EUR	139 EUR	499 EUR
Riga – Menorca	1 flight weekly	May 12, 2019	79 EUR	139 EUR	519 EUR

*Lowest fare (one way), including taxes, fees and service charges.

airBaltic serves over 70 destinations from Riga, Tallinn and Vilnius, offering the largest variety of destinations and convenient connections via Riga to its network spanning Europe, Scandinavia, the CIS and the Middle East. In summer 2019, airBaltic will introduce three new destinations from Tallinn to Malaga, Brussels and Copenhagen.

Top Copyright Photo: airBaltic Airbus A220-300 (Bombardier CS300 – BD-500-1A11) YL-CSB (msn 55004) LGW (Antony J. Best). Image: 937371.

airBaltic aircraft slide show:

Horizon Air celebrates its 1981 beginnings with this special livery on N421QX

Horizon Air launched regional operations on September 1, 1981 as an independent carrier in the Pacific Northwest. Now the Alaska Airlines-owned carrier is celebrating its past with this Q400 now painted in a 1981-like livery.

Horizon Air made this announcement and photos on social media:

New paint, old-school. N421QX

In celebration of Horizon Air’s heritage, we’ve debuted a new themed-aircraft. N421QX flew on its inaugural flight from Yakima, WA to Seattle on Tuesday, which was also Horizon’s first flight ever in 1981.

The livery was the idea of Andrew S. (above), a Seattle-based crew scheduler. “I pitched the idea of a Horizon livery to Gary [Gary Beck, Horizon Air CEO] when he took over the helm of Horizon in January 2018,” Andrew said. “I was impressed with his genuine willingness to listen to employees, and he was keen on the idea.

“Creating an airline people love happens when we’re all working together as one team, valuing and appreciating each other’s contributions,” says Horizon President & CEO Gary Beck. “This livery celebrates the people of Horizon and the essential role the company has played in Air Group’s success.”

Top Copyright Photo: Alaska Horizon (Horizon Air) Bombardier DHC-8-402 (Q400) N421QX (msn 4149) SEA (Royal S. King). Image: 945910.

Alaska Horizon aircraft slide show:

Horizon Air aircraft slide show:

Bottom Copyright Photo: Horizon Air Fairchild F-27 N271PH (msn 14) BFI (Christian Volpati Collection). Image: 934396.

Spirit Airlines introduces an Airbus A321 “Disney Dumbo” logo jet

Spirit Airlines has painted its Airbus A321-231 N662NK (msn 6897) in a promotional “Disney Dumbo” livery.

Spirit Airlines made this short announcement on social media:

Keep an eye out on the sky, as we are excited to bring the magic of Disney’s Dumbo to one of our Spirit planes. This special addition to our fleet is another opportunity to surprise and delight our valued Guests and showcase our fun and friendly service. Don’t miss it, and make sure you catch Dumbo in theaters on March 29!

The company also issued this press release and photo:

Spirit Airlines on March 6 unveiled its specially-themed Airbus A321 that features a larger-than-life image of the beloved Disney character Dumbo. The airline known for inspiring its Guests to take to the skies, is teaming up with Disney to celebrate the upcoming release of its live-action movie “Dumbo,” director Tim Burton’s all-new take on the classic story where differences are celebrated, family is cherished, and dreams take flight. Dedicated to everyone’s favorite flying elephant known for inspiring many to soar to new heights, Spirit and Disney revealed the new plane with a time-lapse video of the decal wrapping process which took place at Spirit’s state-of-the-art Detroit maintenance hangar.

Video:

All other photos by Orlando International Airport.

Qatar Airways unveils its enhanced economy class product and seven new upcoming destinations

Qatar Airways revealed the airline’s new Economy Class experience and announced seven upcoming additions to its rapidly-growing global network.

The unveiling ceremony, which took place on Wednesday, March 6, 2019 at ITB Berlin 2019.

Also present at the reveal were FC Bayern München stars Corentin Tolisso, French international and World Cup winner in 2018, and Lothar Matthäus, former German international who captained his nation to victory in the 1990 World Cup. Last year Qatar Airways signed a five-year partnership agreement with leading German football team FC Bayern München, making the airline the Official Airline Partner of FC Bayern München until June 2023.

Qatar Airways’ new Economy Class experience features a seat with an innovative 19-degree recline system, additional legroom, dual trays, 13.3-inch 4 K widescreens and type ‘C’ fast charging USB port. The airline’s new in-flight dining experience ‘Quisine’, truly redefines Economy Class service, with all new retail-style tableware, a menu offering more choices, 25 per cent larger main courses, 20 per cent larger appetisers, and 50 per cent larger desserts.

The airline is especially pleased to be ‘going green with Quisine’, as the new Economy Class proposition sees a significant increase in rotable, recyclable and biodegradable products and reduction in single-use plastic. Economy Class passengers will also be able to enjoy improved connectivity, including up to 10 times faster broadband, as well as more than 4,000 entertainment options on Qatar Airways’ Oryx One in-flight entertainment system.

At a press conference attended by nearly 200 members of the media, H.E. Mr. Al Baker also revealed an array of forthcoming global destinations the airline will launch in 2019, including Lisbon, Portugal; Malta; Rabat, Morocco; Langkawi, Malaysia; Davao, Philippines; Izmir, Turkey; and Mogadishu, Somalia.

Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “We are very pleased to reveal our new Economy Class experience here at ITB, proving that our commitment to providing the very finest experience extends to all of our passengers, not only those in Premium class. Our new Economy Class seat, with its redesigned recline system and additional leg room, will ensure that our passengers in Economy Class arrive at their destinations feeling rested and refreshed. We invite all visitors to ITB to visit our stand, so that they can experience this unique product for themselves.

“We are also tremendously excited to be adding seven new destinations to our rapidly expanding global route network later this year, and to be able to connect our passengers to anywhere in the world they wish to go.”

At ITB 2017, Qatar Airways launched its revolutionary Business Class seat, Qsuite, which features the world’s first-ever double bed in Business Class. Qsuite takes cabin innovation to a whole new level with its quad configuration, providing passengers even more choice, privacy and personalisation in their travel experience. Since its launch, Qsuite has won a host of awards, including the prestigious Skytrax awards in 2018 for ‘World’s Best Business Class’ and ‘Best Business Class Seat’.

ITB Berlin 2019 will showcase a range of travel exhibitors from more than 180 countries and five continents, providing more than 160,000 visitors with the latest information on new products, services and facilities in the tourism industry. Qatar Airways welcomes all guests to ITB to visit its exhibition pavilion in Hall 2.2, stand 207 and 208 from 6-10 March.

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Qatar Airways to operate its last Airbus A340-600 revenue flight on May 1

https://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Endangered-Species-List/Endangered-Species-List/i-FXLQkRP/A

Qatar Airways, according to Airline Route, is operating the 372-seat Airbus A340-600 currently on three Asian routes from the Doha hub (Bangkok, Colombo and Kuala Lumpur).

The A340-600s are being replaced with newer Airbus A350s

The Colombo and Kuala Lumpur routes will see the A340-600 depart on March 31.

The remaining route, Bangkok – Doha, will see the last last Airbus nA340-600 revenue flight on May 1, 2019.

Top Copyright Photo: Qatar Airways Airbus A340-642 A7-AGB A7-AGB (msn 715) LHR (Antony J. Best). Image: 925615.

Endangered Species aircraft slide show:

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Kenya Airways is impacted by a strike at Nairobi Airport

Kenya Airways issued this statement:

Kenya Airways regrettably wishes to inform its customers and the general public that due to the illegal strike by Kenya Aviation Workers Union (KAWU), the airline will be experiencing disruptions in normal flight operations.

As a result of this strike, we anticipate situations of flight delays, cancellations and schedule changes. We regret this situation and we are making every effort to minimize the inconveniences this strike action may cause to our guests.

The relevant stakeholders are already doing everything possible to restore operations at the airport.

Kenya Airways wishes to issue the following update to all customers and the general public as at 13:15 hrs.

Please note the revised flight schedule below. We have since combined a number of flights to the following destinations.

We would like to thank you for your continued support and apologise for the disruption caused to your travel plans.

Alitalia in February – the most punctual airline according to Flightstats

https://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Airlines-Europe-1/Airlines-Italy/Alitalia-2nd/i-9qhsxVG/A

Alitalia made this announcement:

Alitalia has ranked most punctual airline in the world in February 2019 with 90.12 per cent of flights landed on schedule, according to the report published by FlightStats, the authoritative US independent society which every month drafts the list of the major airlines in the world for on-time performance, comparing the data of equivalent airlines for size and network.

The analysis performed by FlightStats reported that the Alitalia’s on-time performance was, in February, more than 12 percentage points higher than the average punctuality index of world airlines (77.6%).

The data related to the month of February confirm the Italian airline’s excellent on-time performance in January when Alitalia had ranked second most punctual airline in the world. A positive trend also registered during 2018 when the Italian airline, with 83.2 per cent of flights landed on schedule, had ranked second most punctual airline in Europe and eighth in the world.

FlightStats is one of the few data service companies that monitors almost every flight operated by each airline. FlighStats follows the “A14” on-time performance method, monitoring flights which arrive at the gate less than 15 minutes after the scheduled arrival time. Full February 2019 report by Flightstats

Top Copyright Photo: Alitalia (3rd) (Societa Aerea Italiana) Airbus A321-112 I-BIXP (msn 583) LHR (SPA). Image: 940944.

Alitalia aircraft slide show:

TAP Portugal puts its first Airbus A320neo delivery of 2019 into service, expands at Porto

TAP made this announcement:

On March 2, TAP debuted its new Airbus A320neo CS-TVB, with flight TP1699 from Lisbon to Funchal. This is the first model of this jetliner to arrive at the company this year.

The new Airbus A320neo, which is now part of the TAP Medium-Haul fleet, offers 174 seats. By the end of this year, TAP will receive 37 new airliners of the four Airbus models: A320neo, A321neo, A321LR, and A330neo.

TAP plans to receive 71 new aircraft by 2025, making it one of the most modern fleets in the world. The TAP fleet currently includes two Airbus A320neo, five Airbus A321neo, and three Airbus A330neo.

Above Photo: TAP/SpotterBR. Last week, the Airbus A330neo flew for the first time from Lisbon to Brasília.

In other news, TAP has announced an increase in the number of departures from Porto. Recently, TAP had announced new flights between Porto and Newark, moving from the current two flights per week to six weekly flights.

TAP flights between Porto and Newark will be operated by one of the most modern jetliners in the world: the Airbus A321 Long Range, an aircraft that offers high levels of comfort, efficiency, and technology. Flights between Porto and São Paulo will take place on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

With these new flights from Porto Airport, TAP will operate 288 connections per week. This includes 19 direct flights from Porto to Brazil, the US and Europe.

TAP’s new destinations from Porto – Brussels, Lyon and Munich – represent a 34% increase in direct connections from Porto to Europe, compared to last year. TAP’s investment in Porto is only possible thanks to the expansion of its fleet.

Top Copyright Photo: Sister aircraft: TAP Portugal – Air Portugal Airbus A320-251N WL CS-TVA (msn 8043) LHR (Rolf Wallner). Image: 944440.

TAP aircraft slide show: