JetBlue officially introduces its Brooklyn Nets logo jet

JetBlue Airways today revealed its latest special livery dedicated to the Brooklyn Nets.

The pictured Airbus A320-232 N633JB (msn 2671) “BK Blue” joins JetBlue’s legion of New York-themed aircraft. JetBlue was named the Official Domestic Airline of Barclays Center and the Brooklyn Nets in 2013 and has renewed its partnership for another five-year term.

“BK Blue” was designed by a team of Brooklynites and New Yorkers. The aircraft honors New York City’s largest borough with special touches unique to Brooklyn such as street art, architecture, and hip hop. Additional highlights of the livery:

Straying from the airline’s traditional blue paint scheme, this all black and white aircraft includes the Brooklyn Nets logo on the tail, the silhouette of the Brooklyn Bridge and Barclays Center on the fuselage, and the phrase “Spread Love” on the underbelly.
The design includes the airline’s co-branded trademark with New York State’s iconic tourism campaign and logo, I LOVE NEW YORK, solidifying JetBlue’s status as the official hometown airline of New York.
Aligned with JetBlue’s mission of inspiring humanity, “BK Blue” will “Spread Love” and award-winning service as it travels throughout JetBlue’s network in the U.S., Latin America and the Caribbean.

As the Official Domestic Airline of the Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center and part of the renewed partnership, JetBlue has also brought one of its most popular products to the arena. JetBlue is now sponsoring the arena’s wireless network renamed Fly-Fi^®, same as JetBlue’s award-winning, free onboard Wi-Fi. Already a customer favorite onboard, Fly-Fi^® will be available to Barclays Center’s millions of annual attendees.

“For JetBlue, continuing our partnership with the Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center was a slam dunk,” said Marty St. George, executive vice president commercial and planning, JetBlue. “Crossing the bridges into Brooklyn, you’ll find that the borough has a distinct personality and some of the most loyal customers and fans around. Our full court press approach makes our unique product offerings like Fly-Fi accessible to customers both in the air and at Barclays Center.”

The new Airbus A320 livery was revealed at JetBlue’s Hangar at New York’s JFK International Airport. To celebrate the tip-off of the 2018-19 NBA basketball season, the extended partnership and this new plane, the Brooklyn Nets revealed their new Nike NBA City Edition uniform and merchandise line with a fashion show.

City Edition uniforms are designed by Nike to honor each NBA team’s hometown in a unique way, and this season, the Nets’ City Edition uniforms will honor The Notorious B.I.G., who grew up and made a name for himself in the borough’s Bed-Stuy neighborhood.

The black uniform features a multi-color “Brooklyn Camo” pattern inspired by the iconic rapper, which runs down the sides of the jersey & shorts, and along the sleeve & neckline piping. The pattern represents the cultural diversity in the borough, which is home to people of all races, religions, and ethnicities, who have one important unifying trait – Brooklyn swagger.

“JetBlue Airways was one of Barclays Center’s first partners when we opened our arena doors in 2012, and today marks a terrific expansion to our great partnership,” said Brett Yormark, CEO of BSE Global. “A fully branded aircraft that pays homage to Brooklyn and one of its most beloved icons is a fitting statement to make as we enter the next phase of our strategic alliance. JetBlue is committed to providing their customers with the same world-class experience we provide to our guests, and we are excited to work with New York’s hometown airline in new and innovative ways.”

Korean Air announces its winter schedule, increasing frequencies of key routes

Korean Air has announced changes to its flight schedule in time for the 2018 winter season, which commenced on October 28, 2018. The changes include launching new routes and increasing service frequency on key routes that have shown steady growth.

Korean Air has launched a new, regular service between Danang, Vietnam, and Busan, Korea, which will run daily and operate on Boeing 737-900 aircraft (top). The Busan-Danang flight, KE465, will depart the Gimhae International Airport at 09:25 PM, arriving at Danang at 12:20 AM the next day. KE466, the return flight will depart Danang at 02:45 AM and arrive at Gimhae at 08:30 AM.

Korean Air will boost the frequency of the Incheon-Istanbul route, which has shown a steady increase in demand and will now be operated four times a week. Due to the expected rise in seasonal demand, Korean Air will now operate the Incheon-Nha Trang service daily.

The airline will also increase the frequency of some American routes in December and January, including the Seoul (Incheon)-Seattle/Tacoma and the Seoul (Incheon)-Las Vegas service which both change from five times a week to six times a week.

The Seoul (Incheon) to Zagreb service, which is the first regular service connecting East Asia and Croatia directly, will merge with the Zurich route during the winter season. Therefore, the flight will operate to Zurich via Zagreb three times a week. The route between Seoul (Incheon) and Hong Kong will be increased from 28 times a week to 35 times a week to provide customers with a wider range of flight options.

During the winter season, Korean Air will suspend selected flights including Incheon-St. Petersburg, Incheon-Irkutsk, Incheon-Nanning, Busan-Hong Kong, and Busan-Guam.

Meanwhile, Korean Air will deploy recently introduced aircraft, such as Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental, and Bombardier/Airbus CS300 (A220-300) on the main routes, where the demand is expected to grow during the winter season, to provide a more comfortable flight experience.

Top Copyright Photo: Korean Air Boeing 737-9B5 HL7726 (msn 30001) PEK (Michael B. Ing). Image: 907818.

Korean Air aircraft slide show:

Lufthansa reduces planned growth for 2019

Lufthansa Group issued this report:

Lufthansa Group achieved an Adjusted EBIT of EUR 2.4 billion for the first nine months of 2018 – a 7.7 percent decline on the prior-year period which is primarily attributable to the integration costs at Eurowings. Adjusted EBIT margin for the period amounted to 8.8 percent. Nine-month results were also burdened by a EUR 536 million rise in fuel costs, an increase in the costs incurred in connection with flight delays and cancellations, and higher maintenance expenses.

“We expect to see our full-year costs increase by more than EUR 1 billion in 2018 due to fuel costs and the extra expenses incurred from delays and cancellations alone,” says Carsten Spohr, Chairman of the Executive Board & CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG. “But despite this, we achieved an Adjusted EBIT of EUR 2.4 billion for the first three quarters of this year, the second-best nine-month result in our history. And had it not been for the losses at Eurowings, we would have posted another record earnings result. This is a clear testament to our sustainable financial strength – a strength that we have demonstrated even under challenging conditions this year.”

Lufthansa Group generated total revenues of EUR 26.9 billion in the first nine months of 2018. Total revenues increased by 6 percent on the prior-year period, while traffic revenues were up 7 percent. As a result of the first-time adoption of the new IFRS 15 accounting standard, the reported growth of total revenues to EUR 26.9 billion was only 0.5 percent, while the reported traffic revenues declined by 1 percent to EUR 21.1 billion.

Unit costs for the period remained stable excluding fuel and currency effects, despite the extraordinary expense. Unit revenues excluding currency effects increased 0.3 percent. The airlines of Lufthansa Group transported some 108.5 million passengers in the first three quarters of 2018, a new record volume. Nine-month seat load factor was also at a record high of 82 percent. The exceptionally strong capacity growth for the period, which was driven by the insolvency of Air Berlin, will be substantially lower in 2019.

“Future growth in the air transport sector will need to pay far more regard to the capacities of the infrastructure in the air and on the ground,” Carsten Spohr observes. “At the same time, we aim to secure the profitability of our airlines through capacity discipline. We also expect the substantial rises in fuel costs to lead to higher ticket prices from 2019 at the latest.”

According to current market expectations, airlines in Germany are likely to expand their capacities by over 10 percent for the 2018/19 winter timetable period, a development that is still being driven by the demise of Air Berlin. The airlines of Lufthansa Group, however, will raise their capacity by a more modest 8 percent, and will further reduce their capacity growth to 3.8 percent for the 2019 summer timetable period.

Balance sheet further strengthened

Free cash flow for the period declined 59 percent to EUR 1.2 billion. The reduction is largely attributable to a 57-percent increase in net investments, which rose to EUR 2.6 billion. Most of this spending – EUR 2.2 billion – was on aircraft and reserve engines. Pension provisions for the period declined 6.2 percent to EUR 4.8 billion, owing partly to the increase in the discount rate from 2.0 to 2.1 percent. Net financial debt declined 14 percent from its 2017 year-end level to EUR 2.5 billion. The debt ratio (adjusted net debt in relation to Adjusted EBITDA) was reduced accordingly, declining 0.2 points to 1.5.

Network Airlines

The Network Airlines – Lufthansa, Swiss and Austrian Airlines – further improved on their record earnings of 2017, raising their aggregate nine-month Adjusted EBIT by another EUR 13 million to just under EUR 2 billion. The driver behind this development was Swiss, which achieved an outstanding nine-month Adjusted EBIT of EUR 525 million, 18.8 percent above its prior-year level. Swiss remains the Group’s most profitable airline, with an Adjusted EBIT margin of 14.3 percent. Lufthansa’s nine-month Adjusted EBIT of EUR 1.3 billion was 4.2 per cent down on the prior-year period, while Austrian Airlines’ EUR 92 million represents a 14-per-cent decline.

Eurowings

Eurowings reports an Adjusted EBIT of EUR -65 million for the first nine months of 2018. The EUR 210 million decline on the prior-year period is attributable in particular to a non-recurring expense of EUR 170 million for completing the integration of parts of the former Air Berlin, and to additional costs incurred as a result of flight delays and cancellations.

“In 2017 we seized a historic opportunity in the consolidation of Europe’s aviation sector,” comments Carsten Spohr. “And it was the right decision to do so in strategic terms, even if this has given Eurowings a very challenging 2018. We view the one-off costs of integrating these operations and of our rapid expansion as a long-term investment that will help sustainably strengthen our market position.”

Aviation Services

Buoyed by strong demand and continuing high yields at Lufthansa Cargo, the Group’s Logistics business segment raised its nine-month Adjusted EBIT 56.1 percent to EUR 153 million. The LSG Group also posted a much-improved Adjusted EBIT for the period of EUR 99 million, a 50-percent increase that was especially achieved through lower transformation costs. Nine-month Adjusted EBIT at Lufthansa Technik declined 3.3 percent to EUR 322 million, owing mainly to rises in the costs of spares and greater use of external maintenance capacities.

Outlook

Lufthansa confirms its full-year earnings projection for 2018. With originally-planned capacity for the winter timetable period now slightly reduced, total annual capacity is expected to be around 8 percent above 2017. The Group still expects to post a slight increase in unit revenues for the year as a whole. The reduction in unit costs excluding fuel and currency effects is expected to be around 1 percent, despite the negative impact of integration costs at Eurowings. Fuel costs are projected to be around EUR 850 million higher than in 2017.

The Group expects to report a slightly lower annual Adjusted EBIT for its Aviation Services segment. This is related to a more negative result at Other Businesses & Group Functions, owing to an absence of the currency gains reported here in 2017. All in all, Lufthansa Group continues to predict an Adjusted EBIT for 2018 that is slightly below the record level seen last year.

“We have achieved solid earnings for the first nine months of this year, and are still on course for our second-best-ever annual EBIT result,” confirms Ulrik Svensson, Chief Financial Officer of Deutsche Lufthansa AG. “So our earnings projections for 2018 as a whole remain unchanged at slightly below previous year.”

On a like-for-like basis, excluding volume growth, Lufthansa Group expects its fuel costs to rise by a further EUR 900 million in 2019.

Top Copyright Photo: Lufthansa Airbus A321-231 D-AISP (msn 3864) FRA (Marcelo F. De Biasi). Image: 944223.

Lufthansa aircraft slide show:

Singapore Airlines to fly nonstop to Seattle/Tacoma

Seattle will become the fifth US city in Singapore Airlines’ route network – and the fourth to be served nonstop from Singapore – when new flights are introduced next year.

The nonstop Singapore-Seattle/Tacoma flights are due to be launched on September 3, 2019 and will initially be operated three times per week before increasing to four times per week in October 2019.

Airbus A350-900 aircraft will be used on the route, fitted with 42 Business Class, 24 Premium Economy Class and 187 Economy Class seats.

Subject to regulatory approvals, flight SQ28 will initially depart Singapore at 0925 hrs every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and arrive in Seattle/Tacoma at 0905 hrs on the same day (all times local). The return sector, operated as SQ27, will depart Seattle/Tacoma at 1040 hrs every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday and arrive in Singapore the following day at 1730 hrs. From October 2019, flight SQ28 and flight SQ27 will operate every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.

The new Seattle flights will complement Singapore Airlines’ existing services to the US cities of Houston, Los Angeles, New York (both JFK and Newark airports) and San Francisco. Singapore Airlines recently introduced daily nonstop flights between Singapore and Newark and from tomorrow will fly nonstop between Singapore and Los Angeles using Airbus A350-900ULR (ultra-long-range) aircraft. Existing nonstop services to San Francisco will also be increased from seven to 10 flights per week with effect from November 28, 2018.

Singapore Airlines will operate 53 flights per week to the US by December 2018, including 27 nonstop Singapore-US services. With the introduction of the new Seattle flights next year, total US frequency will increase to 57 flights per week.

Top Copyright Photo (all others by the airline): Singapore Airlines Airbus A350-941 9V-SMS (msn 158) SIN (Michael B. Ing). Image: 944221.

Singapore aircraft slide show:

Air Lease Corporation announces delivery of Airbus A321-200neo aircraft with Air New Zealand

Air Lease Corporation (ALC) has announced the delivery of one new Airbus A321-200neo aircraft featuring Pratt & Whitney PW1133G-JM engines on long-term lease to Air New Zealand. This A321-200neo is the first of five Airbus A320neo family aircraft confirmed to deliver to Air New Zealand through 2019 from Air Lease Corporation’s order book with Airbus and joins two A320-200 aircraft currently on long-term lease to the airline.

“This deal is part of a long history between Air Lease Corporation and Air New Zealand and we are pleased to announce this new A321-200neo delivery today,” said Steven Udvar-Házy, Executive Chairman of Air Lease Corporation. “Air New Zealand is known for aviation excellence worldwide and this A321-200neo adds significant enhancements to the airline’s first-rate fleet.”

Air New Zealand issued this statement on November 3, 2018:

The airline formally took delivery of the aircraft on Wednesday (Hamburg time) and it departed the Airbus Delivery Centre at Finkenwerder, Hamburg at 9.00 am Friday (local time). The four-day journey will see the aircraft travel from Hamburg to Auckland via Oman, Kuala Lumpur and Cairns with a small team of nine on board. It’s expected to arrive in Auckland late on Monday evening (NZ time)

The aircraft, with the tail registration ZK-NNA, is the first of 13 new Airbus neo aircraft (seven A321neos and six A320neos) to join Air New Zealand’s fleet and is expected to enter commercial service on 23 November operating flight NZ739 from Auckland to Brisbane.

A second A321neo is also expected to enter service in the coming weeks, while the majority of the remaining aircraft will follow at intervals through until late 2019, with the new fleet eventually replacing the airline’s A320s that currently operate Tasman and Pacific Island services.

A further seven A321neos have also been ordered for the airline’s domestic network and are expected to be delivered from 2020 to 2024.

Allegiant Travel Company releases its third quarter 2018 financial results, the last MD-80 to be retired after Thanksgiving holiday period

Allegiant Travel Company (Allegiant Air) has reported the following financial results for the third quarter 2018, as well as comparisons to the prior year:

	Three Months Ended September 30,						Nine Months Ended September 30,
Unaudited	2018		2017		Change		2018		2017		Change
Total operating revenue (millions)	$	393.1	$	350.2	12.3	%	$	1,255.3	$	1,132.0	10.9	%
Operating income (millions)	26.2		44.3		(41.0	)	180.4		203.9		(11.5	)
Net income (millions)	15.1		23.4		(35.2	)	120.4		114.8		4.9
Diluted earnings per share	$	0.94	$	1.45	(35.2	)	$	7.45	$	6.99	6.6

“We are proud to announce our 63rd consecutive profitable quarter,” stated Maurice J. Gallagher, Jr., chairman and CEO of Allegiant Travel Company. “Our transition to an all-Airbus fleet is nearly complete. Our decision to move the transition up by a year from 2019 to 2018 has proven to be an excellent one given the higher fuel cost environment. Compared to our all-MD-80 fleet from 2010, we expect our ASMs per gallon to increase by almost 40 percent in 2019, from 59 ASMs per gallon to the low 80s.

“This has been a busy couple of years across the Company as we transitioned our fleet. Since the end of 2016:

We will have purchased and inducted 43 Airbus aircraft, while retiring 47 MDs. We will have trained more than 350 Airbus pilots and 300 maintenance technicians as well as our flight attendants, ground staff and other operations personnel by the time we fly the final MD-80 flight at the end of November.

We have grown the Company 20 percent in capacity (ASMs), adding 51 routes and carrying 13.6 million passengers during the last twelve months, an increase of 1.64 million passengers over 2016.

We have dramatically improved our operations. Since last October, we have led the industry in monthly completion factor six times and have been among the top three except for a few months. Our on-time performance is improving nicely as well; this September we were up ten percentage points in A14, from 72 percent to 82 percent.

“I couldn’t be more excited about where we are at this point in our history. As we outlined in our Sunseeker Resort investor day, we are ready for Allegiant 2.0. Stay tuned!

“Needless to say, we couldn’t have accomplished this difficult transition without our great group of team members. They have done an amazing job this quarter – as well as over this entire past year – with the highly complex effort to transition our fleet and improve our operations. Hats off to the entire team for their tireless professionalism in any environment.”

Shareholder returns

2018 shareholder returns – over $33 million in the first three quarters of the year through dividends
° Will pay dividends of $0.70 per share on December 5, 2018 to shareholders of record as of November 23, 2018

2018 outlook

Fourth quarter scheduled and system ASMs are expected to grow between four and six percent vs last year
° The remaining MD-80s will be retired immediately after the Thanksgiving travel period
2018 full year ASM growth is expected to be between 9.5 and 10.5 percent
2018 full year tax rate is expected to be between 18 and 19 percent
2018 full year average fuel cost is expected to be $2.38 per gallon using the forward curve as of October 23, 2018
Due to several one-time maintenance events, 2018 maintenance per aircraft per month is expected to be between $90 and $95 thousand
2018 EPS is expected to be between $9 and $10 per share even with the higher than expected fuel cost

Guidance, subject to revision

*Full year 2018 guidance*	Previous*	Current
Fuel cost per gallon	$2.35	$2.38
Available seat miles (ASMs) / gallon	77.5 to 78.5	77.5 to 78.5

Interest expense (millions)	$50 to $60	$50 to $60
Tax rate	21 to 22%	18 to 19%
Share count (millions)	15.9	15.9
Earnings per share	$9 to $10	$9 to $10

System ASMs – year over year change	9 to 11%	9.5 to 10.5%
Scheduled service ASMs – year over year change	9 to 11%	9.5 to 10.5%

Depreciation expense / aircraft / month (thousands)	$115 to $120	$115 to $120
Maintenance expense / aircraft / month (thousands)	$80 to $85	$90 to $95

*Full year 2018 CAPEX guidance*
Capital expenditures (millions) **	$300	$300
Capitalized Airbus deferred heavy maintenance (millions) ***	$45	$45

*Sunseeker CAPEX*
2018 year to date (millions)		$15
Project since inception (millions)		$46

* – Previous guidance as of July 25, 2018
** – Excludes Sunseeker Resorts
*** – Not included in capital expenditure total

Aircraft fleet plan by end of period

Aircraft – (seats per AC)	1Q18	2Q18	3Q18	YE18
MD-80 (166 seats)	32	27	19	—
A319 (156 seats)	26	31	31	32
A320 (177/186 seats)	30	35	43	44
Total	88	93	93	76

Aircraft listed in table above include only in-service aircraft, planned retirements and future aircraft under contract (subject to change).

Top Copyright Photo: Allegiant Air McDonnell Douglas DC-9-83 (MD-83) N411NV (msn 53245) RDU (Ton Jochems). Image: 944220.

Allegiant aircraft slide show:

SkyMiles members get exclusive tour of Airbus A220-100

Trying to decide how to use those miles? Four lucky SkyMiles Members and their guests’ bids paid off with an exclusive trip to the Airbus manufacturing facility in Mirabel, Quebec last week to check out the newest addition to Delta’s fleet before the global carrier even took delivery of it.

Delta — the first airline in North America to take delivery of the A220 — and Airbus set up a day Members will never forget. As some of the first people to step onboard and preview the new aircraft, this SkyMiles Experience included:

A220 flight simulator experience
Private tour of the Airbus A220 final assembly line, with guided overview of each stage of assembly
Visit to the flight test center, including a behind-the-scenes look at the high-tech laboratory used to test A220 flight systems
Sneak peek inside Delta’s first ever A220, complete with a guided tour of the aircraft’s state-of-the-art interior

“You can use your miles to go a lot of places, but this experience couldn’t be replicated,” said Delta Platinum Medallion Member and SkyMiles Experience winner, Peter S. “From getting a chance to fly the A220 simulator to being one of the first people to see the thoughtful features of the new aircraft, it was an incredible and memorable day.”

As the first North American operator of the A220, Delta is bringing an elevated customer experience to top business routes with features that customers will look forward to every time they fly. Delta’s A220 is the latest investment in a fleet modernization program that aims to replace 20 percent of older, less-efficient aircraft by 2020.

All photos by Delta.

British Airways: A time piece of history – own a piece of G-BOAB

British Airways made this announcement:

British Airways is proud to partner with luxury British watchmakers Bremont on the launch of a new limited-edition timepiece that features metal from one of the most famous and iconic planes in history – Concorde.

Ahead of the airline’s centenary celebrations next year, the special edition watch was unveiled at an event in London this evening, exactly 15 years after Concorde’s official farewell was held at Heathrow on October 24, 2003.

‘The Supersonic’ contains aluminium from the G-BOAB Concorde, known as Alpha Bravo, that was donated by British Airways to Bremont to incorporate into these exclusive timepieces. The watch features an eight-day power reserve and has a sunburst white dial that represents Concorde’s specially developed highly reflective paint. The blue hands echo British Airways’ livery and a subtle motif of the plane’s iconic silhouette can be seen on the second-hand sub dial. The metal has been incorporated into the case back that features a description of the aircraft’s main attributes: number and registration, years of active service, number of supersonic flights as well as her top speed. The watch will be limited to 300 steel, 100 white gold and 100 rose gold pieces, with prices starting from £9,495.

Alex Cruz, British Airways’ Chairman and CEO, said: “Concorde was such a magnificent piece of engineering and will always be an important part of our heritage. We are hugely excited to have partnered with Bremont, another British brand with a history of exceptional design, as we celebrate Concorde’s 50th year and look ahead to our centenary in 2019.”

Alpha Bravo was registered in 1974 and was the third Concorde to be added to the fleet, taking to the skies for the first time in May 1976. In September 1984, she set a distance record for an airliner with a 4,565-mile flight from Washington to Nice and in November of that year, flew the inaugural charter service from London to Seattle via New York. She was even famed for flying the England squad home from France from the 1998 World Cup. More than 2.5 million customers experienced flying eleven miles high at twice the speed of sound, with Concorde halving the time of transatlantic crossing and flying faster than a rifle bullet.

Giles English, Bremont’s Co-founder, said: “Concorde was more than just metal. She inspired pride and emotion – that is truly a rare thing. We are delighted to dedicate the Bremont Supersonic chronometer to this remarkable type and will incorporate aluminium from Concorde Alpha Bravo into the watch. The Bremont Supersonic is our unique tribute to the world’s only successful supersonic airliner; it’s an honour to work with a prestigious company such as British Airways and for them to trust us with their Concorde heritage.”

Nick English, Bremont’s Co-founder, said: “Concorde made the dream of supersonic travel a reality. She was a landmark in aircraft design and her incredible achievements make her a classic example of British engineering at its finest.”

Parts of the proceeds from these unique limited-edition timepieces will be donated to the Air League Trust, an organisation that works to teach under privileged children to learn how to fly. This exceptional cause is part of a wider network of charities supported by British Airways, known as Flying Start.

Top Copyright Photo (all others by BA): British Airways Aerospatiale-BAC Concorde 102 G-BOAB (msn 208) MIA (Bruce Drum). Image: 102762.

British Airways aircraft slide show:

Below Copyright Photo: British Airways Aerospatiale-BAC Concorde 102 G-BOAB (msn 208) YYZ (TMK Photography). Image: 944219.

Azul and Turkish Airlines enhance cooperation with frequent flyer agreement

Azul and Turkish Airlines have announced the enhancement of their cooperation with a frequent flyer agreement between the two airlines’ loyalty programs. Starting today, members of Azul’s loyalty program TudoAzul and members of Turkish Airlines loyalty program Miles&Smiles will have access to exclusive benefits and the ability to earn and redeem points when flying on each airline. This new frequent flyer agreement builds upon the very successful codeshare agreement between Turkish and Azul that was implemented in December 2017. Via this codeshare agreement customers traveling on a connecting itinerary between the two airlines can enjoy a seamless travel experience and connect to over 100 destinations in Brazil.

“Azul has proven itself to be a critical connecting partner for international airlines that fly into Brazil. With an unparalleled network of over 100 domestic destinations, airlines flying into Brazil can access an unrivalled portfolio of destinations and experiences for their customers when they partner with Azul for their domestic connectivity in Brazil“, says Abhi Shah, Chief Revenue Officer at Azul.

The Director of Marketing for Turkish Airlines, Ahmet Olmustur, also celebrated this new agreement. “We are very happy to amplify our strategic partnership with Azul. This clearly demonstrates that the codeshare we put in last year is working and that our customers are asking for even closer cooperation between our two airlines”, confirmed Olmustur.

The codeshare between Azul and Turkish allows a single ticket to be flown on both airlines the convenience of thru baggage and thru check-in. In this way, customers traveling on Turkish Airlines long-haul flights into Brazil have access to over 100 domestic destinations with the Azul network. At the same time Azul customer leaving Brazil can connect to the Turkish Airlines global network via their long haul flights.

“We are delighted to expand our partnership with Azul” said Ahmet Olmuştur, Turkish Airlines’ Chief Marketing Officer, that was present at the ceremony today. “This signing shows that the codeshare agreement, we made at the end of last year with Azul, was a great success that led up to bring our existing collaboration on a higher level.”

Watermakers Air becomes Makers Air today

Watermakers Air, the leading private flight charter based out of Fort Lauderdale, also with scheduled service to the Bahamian Islands, will debut a new name and brand at the start of the 2018 Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, which will take place this upcoming October 31st through November 4th.

The boutique airline is proud to announce they will now be known as Makers Air. The name change comes at the heels of the launch of a new brand look that reflects their unparalleled personalized service and prestige.

“With Watermakers Air we set out to create an island airline that provided top level service to more remote Bahamian destinations and eliminated the challenges of commercial flying. Now, with Makers Air, we’ve taken our brand promise to the next level by creating a tailored passenger experience that is focused on customer service and connecting our clients with the Out Islands of The Bahamas,” stated David Hocher, Makers Air’s Owner and CEO.

Makers Air

About Makers Air

Makers Air, based out of Fort Lauderdale Executive airport, is a charter operator with scheduled service to the Bahamian Islands. As a family-owned business founded in 1999, this boutique airline provides a personalized and upscale alternative to commercial flying. Offering multiple daily flights at competitive prices, Makers Air connects passengers to many of the most pristine and hard to reach destinations in the Bahamas. Makers Air delivers an experience made for the journey seeker, air travel that is both effortless and exciting.

Route Map: