Austrian Airlines wants more women in the cockpit

Austrian Airlines has made this announcement:

More aircraft, more flights and more staff. Austrian Airlines is continually expanding. In the first half of 2018 alone, Austria’s home carrier hired 400 new employees, mainly pilots and flight attendants. At present Austrian Airlines plans to add 100 fully trained pilots. In addition, training courses for future pilots will be offered again in the coming year. “We are pleased that we can offer so many career entry opportunities to experienced pilots and those who still want to become pilots”, says Helmut Haubenwaller, Head of Crew Training at Austrian Airlines.

More women in the cockpit
The job and training offering particularly targets women. Over the last three years, the percentage of female pilots at Austrian Airlines has risen from three percent in 2015 to the current level of five percent. This is a positive development. However, it also demonstrates that women are still strongly underrepresented in this profession. For this reason, the declared objective of Austrian Airlines is to have more women in the cockpits of its aircraft.

Learning to fly from scratch
Four so-called ab initio courses will be offered in 2019, each with 24 training positions for interested candidates without previous flight experience. The requirements demanded of prospective candidates include EU citizenship, a secondary school leaving certificate, a secondary school vocational certificate, or the subject-related university entrance qualification of the country of origin. Furthermore, candidates should be at least 165 cm tall and have an unrestricted passport. In addition, they should have a very good command of written and spoken German and English. People wearing glasses or contact lenses may only have maximum of +/- 3.0 diopter lenses. More information for potential applicants is available at www.austrianpilot.at.

Delta to end Orlando – Sao Paulo service

Delta Air Lines will drop the daily Orlando – San Paulo, Brazil route on March 11, 2019.

The route is currently flown with Boeing 767-300ER aircraft according to Airline Route.

Ryanair signs agreement with Portuguese Pilot Union SPAC – BALPA (UK) sign seniority and base transfer agreements, adds 2 new routes from Cardiff

Ryanair on October 19 announced that it has signed an agreement with the Portuguese pilot union SPAC, which will provide for seniority and base transfer agreements, to cover all of Ryanair’s directly employed pilots in Portugal. Negotiations with SPAC on a full CLA under Portuguese Law with local contracts will now commence before the end of October.

Ryanair also this week signed similar agreements with BALPA in the UK and ANPAC in Italy covering all of Ryanair’s directly employed UK and Italian Pilots. Following negotiations in Madrid this week, Ryanair also expects to sign a recognition agreement with Spanish pilot union SEPLA shortly, which will pave the way for rapid negotiations on a CLA, and under Spanish law.

Ryanair’s Chief People Officer, Eddie Wilson said:

“These signed agreements with our pilot unions in Portugal, the UK, Italy and shortly in Spain, demonstrate the considerable progress we’re making in concluding union agreements with our people in our major EU markets.

The recent wave of airline failures in Europe including Primera Air, Cobalt, Air Azur, and Small Planet (GER), as well as base closures/cuts announced by many of Europe’s major airlines in response to higher oil prices and lower air fares, have given a significant stimulus to these union negotiations over recent weeks. Ryanair’s pilots and cabin crew recognise that they enjoy better pay, better rosters, and significantly better job security than their counterparts at many other EU airlines, and we for our part, are recognising and working with unions to conclude agreements which address the major issues of concern to our pilots and cabin crew in all our major EU markets.

I expect that these agreements in Spain, and Portugal in particular, will encourage the cabin crew unions in both those countries to remove competitor airline employees (who have been blocking progress) and to quickly conclude cabin crew agreements in those countries, as that’s what our Portuguese and Spanish cabin crew are now demanding.”

In other news, Ryanair launched its Cardiff Summer 2019 schedule with 2 new routes to Barcelona and Malta and 4 routes in total, as it doubles its Cardiff traffic.

Photo: Ryanair.

Air France signs an agreement with representative unions on compensation

Air France and its representative unions CFDT, CFE-CGC/UNAC, FO/SNPNC, SPAF and UNSA aérien Air France (both ground staff and cabin crew components) signed an agreement regarding employee compensation. These unions represent 76.4% of the employees who voted in the last union elections. This agreement is therefore considered valid and will be implemented.

“I would like to thank everyone involved at Air France for the quality of our discussions over the past few weeks, and for the trust that has prevailed throughout,” said Benjamin Smith, CEO of Air France-KLM and Air France. “This way of working between all parties provides Air France and the Air France-KLM Group with a new perspective going forward, and it is my hope that it will ensure the future success of our airlines.”

The key provisions of the agreement include a general pay increase of 2%, retroactive to January 1, 2018, and a general pay increase of 2% on January 1, 2019.

The next round of annual salary negotiations (NAO) will begin with all representative unions in October 2019. These discussions will be based on the global economic environment, the present situation of the Air France-KLM Group, as well as the company’s economic performance.

Air France to establish a museum fund, asks for contributions

Air France has made this announcement:

The company is strengthening the protection and promotion of its historical heritage by setting up the Air France Museum Heritage Endowment Fund.

An innovative legal entity launched under the 2008 Law on the Modernisation of the Economy, the Air France Museum Heritage Endowment Fund is intended to house the most precious and representative objects of the company’s and the Air France group’s history, from the Air France Museum and Heritage collections. Once inventoried, these objects will become inalienable, thus securing their future. The first meeting of the Heritage Endowment Fund was held on October 2, 2018.

With more than 500 works of art, 2,000 posters, 600 uniforms, 400 aircraft models, 600 antique aviation toys, a unique collection of 14,000 commemorative stamped envelopes, several hundred thousand photos, films and more, Air France’s historical heritage is exceptionally rich. The creation of the Air France Museum Heritage Endowment Fund thus marks an important step in the protection and promotion of this heritage.

In addition, by guaranteeing the preservation and therefore the durability of the objects in its possession, the Air France Museum Heritage Endowment Fund will make it possible to receive more donations*. Donors will be able to claim tax deductions.

Air France celebrates its 85th anniversary

In October 2018, Air France is celebrating its 85th anniversary. The company’s heritage and its modernity through the ages are in the spotlight during this period of festivities that will last several months. With special flights, entertainment on board and at the airport, sporting events, special fares and more, all these events will highlight the history of an airline at the forefront of modern technology and innovation for the benefit of its customers.

* Anyone wishing to make a donation of items connected with the airline’s heritage are invited to contact the Air France Museum at the following address: airfrance.musee@orange.fr. The Air France Museum will then forward them to the Heritage Endowment Fund after analysis and valuation.

Video: UPS air-to-air aircraft video shoot

A new video from UPS:

UPS planes get their moment in front of the camera.

With help from production company 3 Delta Fox and funding from Boeing, UPSers used a 16-hour work day to make some movie magic with our aircraft. First, the video crew went up in a Learjet and UPS pilots took their seats in a Boeing 767. They cruised around downtown Los Angeles and up the California coast line, including the Pacific Ocean. Eventually, they worked their way to San Bernardino, California, where the video crew switched from the Learjet to a helicopter to capture ground shots.

The crew repeated this for the Boeing 757 and the MD-11. Thanks to the clear skies, they were able to capture sunrise, sunset and the afternoon California glow. This kind of shoot takes months of planning, meetings and safety briefings to make sure the entire crew is safe and prepared.

The BrownTales crew went behind the scenes to see what it takes to get these beauty shots. Enjoy!

Qatar Airways Cargo commences freighter services to Macau and introduces transpacific services

Qatar Airways Cargo is pleased to announce that it has commenced freighter services to Macau, the carrier’s fourth freighter destination in Greater China. The arrival flight was greeted with the traditional water cannon salute (below).

Alongside the launch of the new twice-weekly services to Macau, the carrier has also introduced transpacific freighter services, providing direct flights over the Pacific from Macau to North America, resulting in reduced flight times and faster services for customers.

Macau becomes Qatar Airways Cargo’s fourth freighter destination in greater China after Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Shanghai. The cargo carrier also transports belly-hold cargo on passenger flights to seven destinations in Greater China. In North America, the carrier has an extensive network of nine freighter destinations and 11 belly-hold cargo destinations.

The carrier’s Boeing 777 freighter operates twice a week from Doha to Macau. From Macau, it departs across the Pacific to Los Angeles and Mexico City. On the return leg, the freighter flies over the Atlantic to Liege before arriving at the carrier’s hub in Doha. One hundred tons of cargo capacity is offered on each flight leg.

Top Copyright Photo (all others by Qatar): Qatar Airways Cargo Boeing 777F A7-BFO (msn 62772) PAE (Nick Dean). Image: 943451.

Qatar Airways aircraft slide show:

Delta expands at Ontario International Airport with new nonstop service to Atlanta

Delta Air Lines has made this announcement:

Beginning in April, Delta will add a new route at Ontario International Airport through new service to its hub at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world’s largest airline hub airport.

Delta will offer one daily flight beginning April 22 and add a second flight beginning June 9, 2019.

The flights will operate on the following schedule and will be for sale beginning Oct. 20:

Ontario International Airport – Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport

Depart ONT at 10:55 a.m. / Arrive ATL at 6:25 p.m.
Depart ONT at 10:45 p.m. / Arrive ATL at 6:05 a.m. (next day) *

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport – Ontario International Airport

Depart ATL at 8:30 a.m. / Arrive ONT 9:57 a.m.
Depart ATL at 7:30 p.m. / Arrive ONT at 8:57 p.m.*

*Begins June 9

The onboard Delta experience will be on Boeing 737-900ER aircraft with 20 seats in First Class, 21 in Delta Comfort+ and 139 in the main cabin. Every seat includes access to Wi-Fi, free personal in-flight seatback entertainment screens, power ports as well as complimentary snacks and beverages.

Top Copyright Photo (all others by Delta): Delta Air Lines Boeing 737-932 ER WL N811DZ (msn 31916) LAX (Michael B. Ing). Image: 943986.

Delta aircraft slide show:

Gol renewing fleet with 135 Boeing 737 MAXs, will launch flights to Miami and Orlando

Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes, Brazil’s largest airline, is renewing its fleet with an order of 135 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, which are expected to be fully delivered by 2028.

Gol already operates Brazil’s newest and most modern fleet. The delivery of 105 Boeing 737 MAX 8 and 30 Boeing 737 MAX 10 aircraft will maintain this competitive advantage, while enabling the airline to expand its operations with more long-haul flights.

The first three MAX 8 aircraft were delivered to Gol between June and October 2018 and are already operating on commercial flights. The company will add four MAX 8 aircraft to its fleet by the end of 2018, replacing its Next Generation (NG) models.

Gol currently operates 91 Boeing 737-800s and 24 737-700s.

The Boeing 737 MAX 8 was developed by Boeing with the help of Gol’s pilots, engineers and technicians. The new aircraft are equipped with state-of-the-art technology, offering the best operational performance and a range of over 4,000 miles, enabling Gol to fly to new destinations. Among other improvements and innovations, the Boeing 737 MAX 8 also has reduced fuel consumption and lower emissions.

The 737 MAX 10 aircraft will comfortably accommodate 30 additional passengers when compared to the MAX 8 seating configuration, which accommodates up to 186 clients. This increase in passenger numbers will give GOL greater network flexibility and a competitive advantage over long-term costs, as the MAX 10 will have the lowest cost-per-seat of any single-aisle aircraft on the market. It expects to fly the first MAX 10 aircraft in its fleet in 2022.

In other news, the company announced it is launching direct flights from Brazil to U.S. destinations, including Miami and Orlando on November 4, 2018. The routes will be operated by Gol’s new Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, which can fly further.

The new routes to Florida will have four daily flight departures from Brasília and Fortaleza in Brazil. GOL’s route network ensures that Customers can make fast and efficient connections to and from a further 30 Latin American destinations.

Gol’s existing partnership with Delta Airlines (NYSE: DAL) will also allow the new flights to Florida to be connected to eight cities served by the North American airline: Atlanta, Salt Lake City, Cincinnati, New York LaGuardia, Detroit, Los Angeles, Indianapolis and Minneapolis.

Top Copyright Photo (all others by Gol): Gol Transportes Aereos Boeing 737-8 MAX 8 PR-XMA (msn 43986) GRU (Rodrigo Cozzato). Image: 942795.

Gol aircraft slide show:

Delta continues international growth in Boston with new nonstop flights to Scotland

Delta Air Lines is adding another new international route from Boston, with a daily nonstop flight from Boston Logan International Airport to Edinburgh, Scotland, next summer.

The route will be the eighth nonstop trans-Atlantic destination from Boston on Delta and its partners during the summer 2019 season.

The new route complements Delta’s existing service between Boston and the U.K., which includes flights to London-Heathrow, offered both on Delta and joint venture partner Virgin Atlantic, as well as Virgin Atlantic’s service to Manchester.

The flying will operate on the following schedule effective May 23:

Boston Logan International Airport – Edinburgh Airport

Departs BOS at 10:15 p.m.
Arrives EDI at 9:25 a.m. (next day)

Edinburgh Airport – Boston Logan International Airport

Departs EDI at 10:55 a.m.
Arrives BOS at 1:02 p.m.

The onboard Delta experience will be on Boeing 757 aircraft equipped with 16 seats in Delta One, 44 seats Delta Comfort+ and 108 seats in the Main Cabin. Every seat includes access to Wi-Fi, free personal in-flight seatback entertainment screens and power ports as well as complimentary beverages, snacks and meals.

Edinburgh service follows recently announced nonstop service from Boston to Lisbon. Meanwhile, Delta’s Dublin service, which debuted in 2017, will operate on larger 767-300ER aircraft in 2019 due to increased demand.

Along with its partners, Delta operates 118 peak-day departures from Boston, an increase of 12 departures compared with 2017 and up 32 departures over 2016. Earlier this month, Delta marked its 49^th and 50^th nonstop destinations from Boston to Las Vegas and Philadelphia respectively – up from just 32 destinations from Boston in 2016.

Delta will serve a total of 16 international destinations from Boston in 2019. Additional Boston service enhancements made in 2018 include new service to Charleston, Las Vegas, New Orleans, Philadelphia, and Savanah; additional flights to top business markets Jacksonville, Atlanta, Tampa, Kansas City, Nashville, and Pittsburgh; and continued leisure expansion with new Saturday service to Aruba, marking Delta’s sixth destination in the Caribbean from Boston. Delta’s partner Virgin Atlantic offers service to London-Heathrow; partner KLM will begin nonstop Amsterdam service in March; and partner Korean Air will begin service to Seoul-Incheon in April.

Delta also serves Edinburgh from its New York-JFK hub.

Copyright Photo (all others by Delta): Delta Air Lines Boeing 757-232 WL N699DL (msn 29970) DCA (Brian McDonough). Image: 924146.

Delta aircraft slide show: