Canada Jetlines Operations Ltd. (Canada Jetlines),ย the new, all-Canadian, leisure airline, has received its air operating certificate (AOC) from Transport Canada, granting approval to initiate operations out of its travel hub at Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ) (below).
Securing the AOC confirms that Canada Jetlines has all required professional capabilities and adheres to all safety regulations needed for aircraft operations.
Canada Jetlines looks forward to its inaugural flight and will be releasing new destinations and updated scheduling shortly.
โThe entire team at Canada Jetlines is thrilled to obtain our AOC after meeting all necessary operation standards and passing all inspections,โ shared Eddy Doyle, CEO of Canada Jetlines. โWe thank Transport Canada and greatly appreciate the tireless effort and diligence they undertake to approve new airlines. We excitedly look forward to our launch date, meeting the increased demand for convenient, leisure travel in Canada and beyond and to provide more options to explore the world.โ
TAAG Angola Airlines will reinforce flights within domestic and international destinations, providing passengers with greater availability and options while scheduling their trips. Consequently, the following destinations Cabinda (Angola), Maputo (Mozambique), Windhoek (Namibia) and Saฬo Paulo (Brazil) will have additional frequencies, as follows:
Luanda > Cabinda
From August 13th. Weekly frequencies increase from 24 to 26 flights. Additional flights to be operated on Saturday and Sunday by a Boeing 737-700 aircraft.
Luanda > Maputo
From October 2nd. Weekly frequencies increase from 3 to 4 flights, with the additional flight being operated on Sunday by a Boeing 737-700 aircraft.
Luanda > Windhoek
From October 2nd. Weekly frequencies increase from 4 to 5 flights, with the additional flight being operated on Sunday by a Dash 8-400 aircraft.
Luanda > Saฬo Paulo
From the 5th of November. Increase in weekly frequencies from 3 to 4 flights, with the additional LAD/GRU flight operated on Saturday (the return flight to Luanda will be carried out on Sunday) by a Boeing 777-300 aircraft.
In other news, the airline previously made this announcement:
TAAG Angola Airlines will receive six aircraft Airbus A220-300 to be delivered in phases – from 2023 until 2024 – after a lease agreement with ALC which is placing the orders to Airbus manufacture. Moreover, 5 of 6 aircraft ordered are scheduled to be delivered between January-July 2023.
TAAG is therefore reinforcing the fleet and for the first time introducing a ยซmulti-brandยป strategy by incorporating the Airbus into its operation. The lease agreement format was the most agile and financially sustainable model complying with the company’s current context.
The Airbus A220-300 are state-of-the-art aircraft concerning efficiency and average fuel consumption. TAAG expects savings of around 30% in fuels – when compared to existing Boeing 737 models on long-haul routes – and a 20% reduction in operational cost globally.
VAS Aero Services, a global leader in aviation logistics and aftermarket services, announced it has acquired four Airbus A330-300 airframes and 11 Pratt & Whitney PW4168 engines from Fort Worth, TX-based American Airlines, the largest commercial air carrier in the US.
The four Airbus A330-300 widebody aircraft were retired from Americanโs fleet in 2020. Adding to the breadth and depth of VASโs already significant aftermarket parts inventory, the airframes will be allocated for teardown and the surplus parts distributed through VASโs worldwide airline operator customer base.
The Pratt & Whitney PW4168 engines will be placed with VASโs aftermarket services partner, SR Technics, for engine lease pool support and ultimately disassembled to increase their Used Serviceable Material (USM) availability. The addition of the PW engines further strengthens VASโs Supply Program with SR Technics and offers major end users favorable green-time leasing options and vital USM solutions.
Icelandair has announced an extension of summer seasonal flights from Portland, OR (PDX) and Raleigh-Durham (RDU) to Keflavik (Reykjavik) into January 2023.
As Iceland becomes an increasingly popular winter destination, travelers from Oregon and North Carolina will now have the opportunity to travel non-stop to the land of Fire and Ice during Northern Lights season with connections to the hottest destinations in Europe.
The extended PDX & RDU season will add four flights a week from November 1, 2022 โ January 7, 2023.
PDX to KEF flights (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday)
RDU to KEF flights (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday)
Azul, the largest airline in Brazil in terms of number of flights and cities served, was ranked by Cirium, a leading aviation data analysis company, as the most on-time airline in the world in July.ย According to “The Airline On-Time Performance Report”, Azul’s on-time performance was 89.02% in the global ranking for “The most on-time Global Airlines โ Mainline”, leading all the airlines analyzed in Asia/Pacific, North America, Europe, Africa, Middle East and Latin America.ย The analysis tracked 99.4% of Azul’s 25,003 flights during the month of July.
“Once again I am incredibly proud of my more than 13,000 colleagues for delivering an industry leading experience for our customers.ย This is the 2nd time in the previous 5 months that we have been number 1 in the world and we have been in the top 5 in every month since March.ย This achievement perfectly coincides with the historically high satisfaction scores we are seeing from our customers.”, says John Rodgerson, President of Azul. “The culture we have within the company, the spirit of working together as one team was key to this achievement”
Currently, Azul operates 900 daily flights to more than 150 destinations, on more than 240 routes with a flexible fleet of 160 aircraft ranging from Cessna Caravans to A330neo widebody aircraft for its international operations to the United States and Portugal.
Anyone can dream they can fly, but only a select few make it happen. Thatโs exactly what two American Airlines Cadet Academy graduates did. And, they made history along the way.
Blazing trails
As graduates of the Cadet Academy, Keith Taylor and Damion Washington continue American’s legacy of firsts by becoming the first graduates of a legacy carrier’s pilot training program to make it to the mainline flight deck as first officers. Both began their aviator journeys at the Cadet Academy, completing their flight training, building their hours, and flying for one of American’s wholly owned carriers โ Envoy. They now will join American’s flight deck as mainline first officers.
Keith said his love of flying began as a kid watching planes take off and land at Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C. Flying by age 13, he continued to gain hours throughout college while pursuing a double major in Aviation and Political Science, and eventually a Masters in Business Administration, at Jacksonville University in Florida.
Keith said he thought he would train to fly in the military, but life took him on another path. Living in Los Angeles in 2018, Keith was working in the aviation industry but knew he should be in the sky and not on the ground. When one of Keithโs friends, who was also pursuing her dream of becoming a pilot, sent him information about the recently launched American Airlines Cadet Academy, he knew it was a sign to pursue his dream.
โIt was everything I needed,โ said Keith. โThe Cadet Academy offered financing, the connection to American Airlines โ which was who I had always wanted to fly for โ and pilot mentoring.โ
Keith was accepted as a member of the first ever Cadet Academy class and started the program in August 2018, graduated in February 2020 and started flying for Envoy the very next month.
โReceiving the job offer from American Airlines is truly something I will never forget,โ Keith said. โIt still doesnโt seem real. Iโm so excited to fly for American and I plan to continue mentoring and supporting future aviators. Itโs our job as cadets to leave the program better than we found it and I will continue to support the Cadet Academy for all itโs done for me.โ
Like Keith, Damionโs love for aviation started early. He grew up listening to the stories of his grandfather, who was the first Black private pilot in Arkansas. At that time, Damionโs grandfather wasnโt able to fly commercially, but Damion could see his future. The seed of one day flying as a commercial pilot was planted.
โAt that time, I didnโt know how to become a pilot,โ he said. โWe werenโt in those circles, so it just seemed out of reach for me.โ
He went on to pursue other dreams and became a pastor. โAs a pastor, I was telling people to pursue their dreams using all their gifts and talents and I realized that there was a big dream I had yet to pursue for myself,โ he said.
โTo those considering or those in the process of becoming a professional aviator, continue to pursue, continue to push through any barriers that may be holding you back, because today, I can tell you itโs so worth it to reach your dream.โโ First Officer Damion Washington
So he decided to change that. Damion applied to and was accepted into the Cadet Academy in the same 2018 class. He started with zero flight hours, but he had the determination and the support of his family to fulfill a lifelong dream.
โBecoming a pilot and joining American is a dream come true. Iโve always seen American as the biggest, the best, and the airline with the greatest history,โ Damion said. โItโs been a challenging road with a lot of hard work and sacrifice from my family to get here. To those considering or those in the process of becoming a professional aviator, continue to pursue and push through any barriers that may be holding you back because today, I can tell you, itโs so worth it to reach your dream.โ
Keith and Damion received their job offers from American at the recent Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals 46th annual conference. They were joined by another legend, Capt. Dave Harris, the first black pilot for a major passenger airline hired by American in 1964. Together, these three professional aviators are trailblazers and a testament to the power of perseverance and dedication.
Looking forward
Americanโs charge of turning aviatorsโ dreams into a reality is real, with its plan to hire 4,000 pilots by the end of 2023. American has a mission to bridge the gap between a future pilotโs dreams and reality by connecting them with flight schools and eliminating the financial barriers that prospective pilots face.
Through its Cadet Academy, American provides a structured platform that involves financing, training, and ongoing support while creating greater diversity among the current and future pilot ranks. With nearly 600 cadets in the program today โ and many graduates already working in the flight deck โ American continues to grow the program, significantly impacting the diverse makeup of flight crews industrywide.
Qantas is expanding its South Pacific presence with the addition of Tonga to its network, offering a new tropical destination for Australian travellers to explore.
Following the recent reopening of Tongaโs borders, Qantas will fly weekly between Sydney and Nukuโalofaโs Fuaโamotu Airport. The four and a half hour flights will be the only direct services between Australia and Tonga.
Qantas has been operating services since December 2020, supported by the Australian Governmentโs Pacific Flights Program. These flights have maintained critical passenger and freight links while international borders were closed. From today, passengers can book a flight directly on qantas.com with services operating every Thursday to Tonga.
The inclusion of Tonga to the international network follows the recent commitment of weekly services to Samoa as Qantas grows its presence in the South Pacific Islands off the back of strong holiday travel demand.
Qantas will initially operate one flight a week with a A330 aircraft between Tonga and Sydney alongside the Samoa service.
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