Boeing delivers its 2,000th airplane to China

Boeing today delivered its 2,000^th airplane to a Chinese operator, a 737 MAX for Xiamen Airlines. The milestone and the pace at which it was reached reflect the accelerating growth in the world’s largest commercial aviation market.

Boeing delivered its first 1,000 airplanes to Chinese airlines over four decades. The next 1,000 Boeing jets have now been delivered over the past five years. The rapid pace continues as one in four Boeing-made commercial jet goes to a Chinese operator, either through direct purchase or lease.

XiamenAir 737 MAX 8 C1 Flight: Milestone 2000th Boeing Aircraft for China – November 29, 2018

The new 737 MAX delivered today sports a special logo commemorating the milestone. It is the eighth MAX airplane to join fast-growing Xiamen Airlines, which operates the largest all-Boeing fleet in China with more than 200 jets. The carrier also uses Boeing Global Services to improve the efficiency of its network and operations. Xiamen is the first Chinese airline to use Optimized Maintenance Program, which leverages Boeing AnalytX to recommend customized airplane maintenance plans.

“We’re pleased to be a part of this historic delivery for Boeing and China,” said Che Shanglun, chairman of Xiamen Airlines. “In our 34-year history of operations, Xiamen Airlines has steadily grown, doubling our fleet size over the past five years and achieving profits for 31 years in a row. Throughout that time, Boeing has been a valued partner in our growth and expansion by providing safe and reliable airplanes.”

Xiamen Airlines is one of Boeing’s more than 30 commercial customers in China. In all, Boeing-made jets comprise more than half of the greater than 3,000 jetliners flying in the country.

China’s commercial fleet is expected to more than double over the next 20 years. Boeing forecasts that China will need 7,690 new airplanes, valued at $1.2 trillion, by 2038. Boeing also forecasts China will experience strong growth in the commercial services market with demand growing $1.5 trillion over the next 20 years, accounting for 17 percent of world demand.

China also plays a major role in building the world’s jetliners. The Chinese aerospace manufacturing industry supplies parts for every Boeing jet, including the 737 MAX, 777, and 787 Dreamliner. In December, Boeing and the Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China (COMAC) are set to deliver the first 737 MAX airplane from a completion and delivery center in Zhoushan, China. The facility will handle interior work and exterior painting of 737 MAXs for the Chinese market. Final assembly work will continue to be done at Boeing’s factory in Renton, Wash.

Boeing activity in China is valued at more than $1 billion in economy activity in China. This includes procurement from Boeing’s extensive supply base, joint venture revenues, operations, training, and research and development investment.

Top Copyright Photo (all others by Boeing): Xiamen Air Boeing 737-8 MAX 8 B-1136 (msn 43831) (2000th Boeing aircraft for China) BFI (Joe G. Walker). Image: 944602.

Xiamen Air aircraft slide show:

American Airlines celebrates unveiling of new concourse at New York’s LaGuardia Airport

American Airlines on November 29 joined New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo; Rick Cotton, Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey; representatives from LaGuardia Gateway Partners (LGP) and LaGuardia Airport (LGA) team members to celebrate the unveiling of a new concourse at LGA’s Terminal B. American will begin operating flights out of the new concourse December 1.

The construction of the new concourse is the first step in the reimagining of Terminal B, where American has exclusively operated since December 2017. The $5.1 billion transformation of the rest of Terminal B is scheduled for completion in 2022 and is led by the Port Authority, LGP, American and other airport stakeholders.

The new concourse is filled with world-class technology, innovation, best-in-class amenities and services, including notable brand names like FAO Schwarz, Shake Shack, and M∙A∙C, and provides a preview of what the completed project will offer.

Over the next few years, two new concourses featuring 35 gates will be built at Terminal B. The two concourses will be connected to the main terminal by dual pedestrian bridges spanning an active taxiway, allowing customers and aircraft to move about seamlessly. The project includes a new 840,000-square-foot main terminal with soaring ceilings and corridors filled with natural light.

LGA is not American’s only hub or gateway getting an extreme makeover. With its airport partners, American has spent and committed billions of dollars for projects at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), Miami International Airport (MIA), Reagan National Airport (DCA) in Washington, D.C., O’Hare International Airport (ORD) in Chicago and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), where the airline recently broke ground on a $1.6 billion project.

All images by American Airlines.

Finnair prepares for possible changes in domestic and regional flights due to Norra pilots’ industrial action

Finnair has issued this statement:

Norra’s pilot union FAPA ry. has informed about industrial action regarding standby work for its pilots as of Dec 1. Norra operates many of Finnair’s domestic and regional flights.

Due to the industrial action, Finnair prepares for changes in domestic and regional flights in December. Flight cancellations are possible.

To minimize the impacts to our customers’ travel plans, Finnair leases an ATR aircraft with pilots and cabin crew from Danish DAT. The leased aircraft will be used to flights that might otherwise be cancelled.

”We apologize for the inconvenience this situation may cause to our customers. We do our best to ensure that our customers get to their destinations smoothly,” says Jaakko Schildt, Chief Operating Officer, Finnair.

Finnair communicates about the cancellations and changes in carrier directly to customers affected via SMS and/or e-mail. If a flight is cancelled, Finnair re-routes customers to their destinations. Customers can also choose to change the travel date +/- 2 days of the original date or apply for full refund for an unused ticket.

Top Copyright Photo (all others by the airline): Norra – Nordic Regional Airlines ATR 72-212A (ATR 72-500) OH-ATG (msn 757) HEL (Ton Jochems). Image: 937416.

Norra aircraft slide show:

TAP Air Portugal to add Chicago and Washington

TAP Air Portugal aims to double operations in North America in the next years and is expanding again, adding two new routes to the United States in 2019 with nonstop service from Lisbon, to Washington, DC and Chicago.

TAP will commence five round-trip flights per week between Chicago O’Hare and Lisbon on June 1, 2019, and then add five weekly round-trips between Washington-Dulles and Lisbon on June 16, 2019.

Flights will depart Chicago O’Hare at 6:05 PM, arriving in Lisbon at 7:50 AM (next day). Returning flights leave Lisbon at 1:05 PM, arriving at O’Hare at 4:05 PM. From Washington Dulles, flights will depart at 10:40 PM, arriving in Lisbon at 10:50 AM (next day). Returning flights leave Lisbon at 4:30 PM, arriving at Dulles at 7:40 PM.

TAP is the launch carrier for the brand new Airbus A330-900neo aircraft, with 19 planned for delivery until the end of 2019. In all, TAP has a new fleet of 71 brand new aircraft being delivered until 2025, also including 19 A320neos, 17 A321neos, and 14 A321 Long Range jets. This huge fleet growth allows TAP to launch new destinations and spread the global network offered to the airline’s costumers.

The A330neo will feature the new Airspace by Airbus cabin. The economy cabin now comprises two categories: Economy and EconomyXtra. The configuration and design provide a fresh atmosphere, with more legroom, deeper seat recline, and new seat covers in shades of green and gray in Economy, and green and red in EconomyXtra.

In TAP’s Executive business class, the configuration now comprises 34 new fully-flat reclining chairs that are more than six feet long when fully reclined.

Also, TAP has powered up its new business class chairs to include USB slots and individual electrical sockets, connections for headphones, individual reading lights, and more space, including more storage room.

“We have 10 gateways in Brazil with service from Portugal. We believe we can support the same number to the US. So, we have several more new destinations in North America in our planning. USA are already TAP’s third major market worldwide and has great potential for further growth. Our network beyond Lisbon is also growing. We now serve 55 destinations in Europe and 17 in Africa and most of our passengers fly with TAP to final destinations beyond Portugal”, says Antonoaldo Neves, TAP’s CEO.

TAP introduced the Portugal Stopover program in 2016 to further attract the ‘beyond Lisbon’ guest. Travelers to all of TAP’s European and African served destinations can enjoy up to five nights in Lisbon or Porto along the way, for no extra airfare.

The Portugal Stopover comprises a network of more than 150 partners who provide exclusive offers for Stopover customers for hotels and shopping discounts and even a free bottle of Portuguese wine in participating restaurants.

Travelers can also enjoy a stopover in Lisbon or Porto even if their final destination is in Portugal, such as: Faro (Algarve); Ponta Delgada or Terceira (the Azores); and, Funchal or Porto Santo (Madeira).

Top Copyright Photo (all others by the airline): TAP Portugal – Air Portugal Airbus A330-941N F-WWKM (CS-TUA) (msn 1819) FAB (Antony J. Best). Image: 942899.

TAP aircraft slide show:

Video: First British Airways Boeing 787 service landing in Johannesburg: A pilot’s perspective

Recorded by Captain Dave Wallsworth this video shows the inaugural landing of British Airways’ Boeing 787 service in to Johannesburg. In the video Captain Simon Scholey can be seen setting up the approach for runway 03 right at OR Tambo before handing over to First Officer Mark Grigg for the landing. Senior First Officer, Nigel Holgate, is also in the cockpit.

Will Air France end the Joon experiment?

The new CEO of Air France-KLM (Ben Smith) wants to end Joon, the lower-cost subsidiary project of Air France designed to appeal to millennials according to Reuters.

Joon was the project of previous CEO Jean-Marc Janaillac.

The employees of Joon are expected to be placed with parent Air France if the final decision is made.

Look now, Joon painted aircraft could become a rarity in 2019.

Previously Joon was planning to add six new destinations for the summer of 2019:

Starting in summer 2019, Joon will serve 6 new destinations:

In Europe:

Madrid;
Stockholm;
Prague;
Manchester.

In the Caribbean:

Saint Martin.

In South America:

Quito.

Starting next summer Joon will serve 6 new destinations from Paris-CDG: Madrid* (Spain), Stockholm* (Sweden), Prague* (Czech Republic), Manchester* (UK), Saint-Martin* (France) and Quito (Ecuador).

Madrid, Stockholm, Prague and Manchester by Airbus A320 and A321!

From Paris-CDG, Joon will fly to Madrid, Stockholm, Prague and Manchester by Airbus A320 (174 seats) and A321 (212 seats).

Here is the full report by Reuters:

Air France-KLM is mulling the closure of Joon, its newest airline brand, company sources told Reuters, in an about-face that could help new boss Ben Smith address the chronic underperformance of the main Air France business.

The discussion about scrapping Joon, which has not been decided, may be a sign of the Canadian chief executive’s determination to tackle weak Air France profitability head-on rather than mitigate it with lower-cost secondary offerings, as many of his predecessors have tried and failed to do.

The new CEO “has made clear he doesn’t understand the positioning or identity of Joon,” one Air France source said. “It’s a question he’s raised internally, several times.”

An Air France-KLM spokesman declined to comment.

Smith, hired in August to restore peace and prosperity to the Franco-Dutch group after devastating strikes that led to his predecessor’s resignation, has said Air France must narrow the profitability gap with its more efficient KLM stablemate. The Dutch carrier recorded an 8.8 percent profit margin last year, more than double Air France’s 3.7 percent margin.

The former Air Canada second-in-command is now urging Air France pilots to relinquish some perks if they want more pay rises, two people familiar with the matter said. That may include giving up downtown hotels and sleeping at the airport on long-haul layovers, as their KLM colleagues already do.

Layover accommodation is just one aspect of the complex accords now up for renegotiation with pilots’ unions – who are pressing for a 4.7 percent pay increase in addition to the 4 percent company-wide raise negotiated last month to offset real-income erosion during earlier pay freezes.

“We’ve always had downtown hotels as part of our package,” one pilot union official said. “It’s not really our job to hang around at airports for two days, as nice as they are.”

By winding down Joon, created a year ago, Smith could actually foster staff goodwill and help reach cost-saving agreements for Air France and its other two brands – low-cost operator Transavia and domestic short-haul Hop. Strikes earlier this year wiped 335 million euros ($381 million) off earnings.

Created by his predecessor Jean-Marc Janaillac to replace Air France on the least profitable routes, Joon combines standard company pilot contracts with 540 cabin staff on lower-cost terms. But it has proven unpopular with clients, employees and investors alike.

“The intention to get rid of Joon would be understandable,” said HSBC analyst Andrew Lobbenberg. “You’ve got a whole new business created with all the complexity and cost, just to get a handful of cheap cabin crew – that’s not rational.”

Smith “should be negotiating what he can get in terms of productivity and efficiency across the whole Air France group, against which he trades the closure of Joon,” Lobbenberg added.

The decision may be swayed by growing discontent among Joon cabin crew, who recently threatened fresh strike action unless pay and conditions are improved.

“When Ben Smith got here, he said to us, ‘What is this Joon thing?’,” another Air France union official said. “That’s more or less what we’ve been saying all along.”

Top Copyright Photo: Joon (Air France) Airbus A320-214 F-GKXT (msn 3859) LIS (Ton Jochems). Image: 940724.

Joon aircraft slide show:

Video: Air France spotlights its Boeing 787 in 8K

Air France spotlights the most modern aircraft in its fleet in flight with 8K images, a high-flying technical feat.

In partnership with Daher and Airborne Films, Air France has created a video of the latest flagship in its fleet, the Boeing 787 in flight, using state-of-the-art technology to produce unprecedented 8K Ultra High Definition images.

Discover the Air France Dreamliner as you’ve never seen it before:

And to understand the extent of this technological challenge, click here for the video’s Making Of:

The best of Air France on board the Boeing 787

For Air France customers, the Boeing 787 has many assets, including:

the latest Air France cabins: a cocoon in the sky in the Business cabin (30 seats) and enhanced comfort for all in the new Premium Economy cabin (21 seats) and Economy (225 seats);
on-board WiFi adapted to the needs of customers;
more comfort and space with the new Premium Economy seats;
windows that are approximately 30% larger than on similar aircraft; and
improved air pressure and humidity levels for greater travel comfort.

Ethiopian delays the launch of the Istanbul route to March 2019

Ethiopian Airlines has announced a delay in its new route between Addis Ababa and Istanbul, which had been originally planned for December 5, 2018.

The route has now been postponed to March 4, 2019 due to the delay in the issuance of operating permit and landing slots by the Turkish Aviation Authorities, although Ethiopian has duly finalized all preparations to start the flights. Ethiopian Airlines regrets this unexpected delay.

Cayman Airways takes delivery of the first MAX 8 in the Caribbean

Cayman Airways took formal delivery of its new Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft from Air Lease Corporation (ALC) on November 28, 2018 at a ceremony in Seattle hosted by Boeing to mark the occasion.

Cayman Airways 737 MAX 8 Delivery (7256) – November 28, 2018

Above Photo: Cayman Airways. Pictured at the ribbon cutting ceremony in Seattle, Washington are (from left): Kishore Korde, Air Lease Corporation; Ricardo Cavero, The Boeing Company; Phillip Rankin, Cayman Airways; Steve Hazy, Air Lease Corporation; Fabian Whorms, Cayman Airways; and Andrew Zollers, Boeing.

“This year, as we celebrate 50 years of safe and reliable service, we take great pride in introducing the first Boeing 737-8 MAX 8 to our fleet,” said Fabian Whorms, President and CEO of Cayman Airways. “Over the next 20 months, we will be adding three additional MAX 8 aircraft while retiring our existing Boeing 737-300 jet fleet. Following a competitive public tendering process, the unique lease structure and terms offered to Cayman Airways by ALC, has afforded Cayman Airways the ability to be the first 737-8 MAX 8 operator based in the Caribbean, and we look forward to a strong working relationship with ALC.”

“In 2014, we purchased our 737-300s as the first step of our fleet modernization plan. That purchase was made with the expectation to retire those aircraft within 3-5 years and the aim of replacing them with a new fleet capable of cutting fuel consumption and maintenance costs, while offering greater opportunities for revenue growth and enhanced customer experience,” said Philip Rankin, Chairman of the Cayman Airways Board of Directors.

“In 2016, our business case demonstrated that the Boeing 737 MAX 8 was the preferred aircraft, but was expected to be out of reach financially. However, the unique terms and pricing of the successful proposal from ALC made these aircraft a logical replacement choice for our retiring Boeing 737-300s compared to any other available mission-suitable aircraft, be it new or used.”

As part of its fleet modernization plan, Cayman Airways is replacing its four 737-300 aircraft with the MAX 8, offering 30% more seating capacity while achieving up to 30% savings in fuel costs. The airplane incorporates the latest technology CFM International LEAP-1B engines, Advanced Technology winglets, and other airframe enhancements to improve performance and reduce operating costs.

The new Boeing 737 MAX 8 is expected to arrive on Grand Cayman on November 30, 2018 around 4:30 pm, where there will also be a customary celebration for its arrival.

Boeing also made this announcement:

Boeing and Air Lease Corporation delivered the first 737 MAX 8 for Cayman Airways. The first 737 MAX to enter service in the Caribbean marks the beginning of the airline’s plans to modernize its fleet and expand its network.

Cayman Airways plans to take delivery of four MAX 8 airplanes to replace its fleet of 737 Classics.

Compared to the 737-300, the MAX 8 offers 30 percent greater seat capacity, and a more than 30 percent improvement in fuel efficiency per seat. The MAX achieves the higher levels of performance with the latest technology CFM International LEAP-1B engines, Advanced Technology winglets, and other airframe enhancements.

To prepare for their new 737 MAX, Cayman Airways will train pilots at Boeing Global Services’ Miami training campus. Under this agreement, Cayman will use Boeing simulators for its entire 737 fleet including 737 Classics and Next-Generation 737s.

The 737 MAX family is the fastest-selling airplane in Boeing history, accumulating about 4,800 orders from more than 100 customers worldwide. Boeing has delivered more than 200 737 MAX airplanes since May 2017.

Top Copyright Photo: Cayman Airways Boeing 737-8 MAX 8 VP-CIW (msn 68309) BFI (Joe G. Walker). Image: 944529.

Cayman Airways aircraft slide show:

Video:

Indigo Partners to invest in Wow Air

Indigo Partners LLC and Wow air, the Icelandic airline based in Keflavik (Reykjavik), have agreed in principle for Indigo to invest in Wow. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Following successful completion of due diligence, the parties would work to close as soon as practicable. Wow’s CEO and primary shareholder, Skuli Mogensen, would remain a principal investor in Wow upon completion of the transaction.