Tag Archives: 100th Boeing 737 NG

Norwegian donates a Boeing 737-300 Classic to the Bodø Aviation Musuem

Norwegian 737-300 LN-KKW final flight arrival at Bodo (Norwegian)(LRW)

Norwegian Air Shuttle (Norwegian.com) (Oslo) retired its Boeing 737-300 Classic fleet last month. Yesterday (December 9) the carrier retired and donated Boeing 737-3K9 LN-KKW (msn 24213). A final non-revenue ferry flight was conducted to Bodø.

According to the carrier, “Yesterday morning (December 9) landed one of Norwegian’s 737-300s with the registration of LN-KKW at Bodø Airport in Norway (above) and thus made its last flight. Norwegian donated the aircraft to the Norwegian Aviation Museum in Bodø.

Norwegian 737-300 LN-KKW final flight crew (Norwegian)(LRW)

Above Photo: Norwegian. Captain Johnny Silberg and First Officer Olav Hynne sit in the cockpit of LN-KKW on its final flight.

Behind the controls of the historic flight sat Captain Johnny Silberg who has worked at the airline since 2006.

This aircraft operated 40,106 flights and spent 64,656 hours flying. The plane was part of Norwegian in 2006 when the company had 14 aircraft, 54 routes and 560 employees. Today the company has 102 aircraft, 439 routes and over 5500 employees.”

The remaining four Boeing 737-300 aircraft are parked in Budapest in anticipation of a decision on where they will end up. Norwegian has over 250 aircraft on order including 100 of the new Boeing 737 MAX and 30 of the slightly larger Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.

Norwegian has one of the youngest fleets in the sky with an average of 3.6 years for its fleet.

Norwegian aircraft slide show:

LN-KKW has had a colorful career with Norwegian carrying these two special liveries in 2007 and 2009 including Norwegian’s UNICEF special livery:

Above Copyright Photo: Antony J. Best/AirlinersGallery.com.

Above Copyright Photo: Stefan Sjogren/AirlinersGallery.com.

Aer Lingus reports a first half loss after a second quarter profit as it moves towards acceptance of the IAG takeover

Aer Lingus (Dublin) reported a first half loss of €13.9 million ($15.2 million), an increase from a loss of €9.9 million ($10.8) in the same period a year ago.

However the flag carrier produced a profit of €34.5 million ($37.8 million) for the second quarter of this year as the takeover by Willie Walsh’s IAG nears.

The airline issued this financial report for the first half in which it discussed the upcoming IAG takeover:

Aer Lingus Group plc announces its results for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2015:

Second Quarter 2015 highlights:

Operating profit (before net exceptional items) of €34.5 million; estimated adverse currency movement of €21 million
Strong revenue growth of 7.1% with increases in passenger, retail and cargo revenues
Long haul revenue increase of 24.4% with capacity up 9.7% and revenue per seat up 14.4%
Successful Washington route launch, frequency additions and new business cabin introduction
Short haul load factor improvement delivered by a volume active strategy
Solid short haul forward booking profile achieved, facilitating 5.8% retail growth in Q2 and increased H2 short haul capacity expansion
Network growth, positive forward booking profile and lower unit fuel costs will support H2 2015 performance
Stephen Kavanagh Aer Lingus’ CEO commented:

“I am pleased to report a profitable second quarter with Aer Lingus well positioned to deliver an improved operating performance in the key Q3 trading period and for the full year. I would like to thank my colleagues for their contribution to the delivery of this performance and for their on-going endeavours.

Passenger, retail and cargo revenues all grew strongly in the quarter. The continued investment in our transatlantic business was rewarded with strong growth in unit revenues. The volume active strategy employed in our short haul business delivered stable unit revenue performance in an intensely competitive marketplace.

The adverse effects of unfavourable FX movements on performance which were evident in this quarter will moderate in the second half of the year as a result of a higher proportion of US$ denominated revenues. Both short and long haul capacity are set to expand into the peak season and we are very satisfied with forward yield and load factor profiles at this time.

Finally, I would like to reiterate the view of the independent directors of Aer Lingus that the combination with IAG will strengthen Aer Lingus and will grow our airline and contribute to growth in the tourism sector and wider Irish economy.”

Full year 2015 outlook

Aer Lingus is currently in an offer period as defined by the Irish Takeover Rules. The Group is therefore not issuing specific guidance with regard to 2015 operating profit performance while it remains in this offer period.

Update on Offer from International Consolidated Airline Group S.A (“IAG”)

On June 19, 2015 IAG issued the Offer Document containing the full terms and conditions of the recommended cash offer (the “Offer”) by AERL Holding Limited (“AERL Holding”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of IAG, for the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of Aer Lingus. The Offer values each Aer Lingus share at €2.55, of which €0.05 was paid as a dividend on May 29, 2015 (“the Offer”). The Offer conditions include, amongst other things, approval from the European Commission (“EC”) under the EU Merger Regulation, acceptance of the Offer by Ryanair Limited and the Minister for Finance of Ireland, shareholders approving the connectivity resolutions and a 90% acceptance condition. Full details of the Offer conditions are set out in Appendix I of the Offer Document posted to Aer Lingus shareholders. The following conditions have been fulfilled to date:

On July 14, 2015 the proposed merger received competition approval from the EC under the EU Merger Regulation, following the EC’s initial Phase I review period. IAG offered the following remedies to the EC as part of the regulatory process:

Five daily slot pairs to be made available to other airlines at London Gatwick for flights between the airport and Dublin or Belfast.
Specifically, two of the five daily frequencies must be operated between Gatwick and Dublin.
One daily frequency must be operated between Gatwick and Belfast.

The other two frequencies can be operated between Gatwick and either Dublin or Belfast.
Other airlines can apply for seats on Aer Lingus’ short haul network for their transfer passengers, on normal commercial terms July 2015 Aer Lingus held an Extraordinary General Meeting (“EGM”) and successfully passed the resolutions in relation to the

2. On July 16, 2015 Aer Lingus held an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) and successfully passed the resolutions in relation to the connectivity commitments and received Rule 16 approval from the independent shareholders.

3. On this date IAG also confirmed the extension of the Offer until 1 pm (Irish time) on July 30, 2015.

4. On July 17, 2015 IAG confirmed the receipt of the valid acceptance of its Offer by the Minister for Finance of Ireland. The Minister for Finance’s acceptance was a condition of the Offer. At this date, IAG also announced that on July 16, 2015, AERL Holding had received valid acceptances of the Offer for 269,902,009 Aer Lingus shares, representing 50.53 per cent of the existing issued share capital of Aer Lingus, which AERL Holding may count towards the satisfaction of the acceptance condition to the Offer.

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: SM Fitzwilliams Collection/AirlinersGallery.com. Aer Lingus, under an IAG takeover, is confident it can compete against an aggressive Ryanair. Airbus A320-214 EI-EDS (msn 3755) departs from the Dublin hub.

Aer Lingus aircraft slide show:

ASL Aviation Group to rebrand its four European airlines

ASL Aviation Group (Dublin) is combining and rebranding its four European airlines under the same name. Air Contractors, Europe Airpost, Farnair Switzerland and Faranair Hungary will begin operating under the ASL Airlines brand. The group issued this statement:

Ireland based ASL Aviation Group is to launch a new European airline brand, ASL Airlines, as part of its strategy for continued growth in passenger and cargo operations.

ASL’s 4 European airlines are to be renamed under the new ASL Airlines brand and there will be 4 airline operations ‘centres of excellence’ in Ireland, France, Switzerland and Hungary.

Air Contractors will become ASL Airlines Ireland

Europe Airpost will become ASL Airlines France

Farnair Switzerland will become ASL Airlines Switzerland

Farnair Hungary will become ASL Airlines Hungary

The ASL Group, which employs 1,500 globally, will continue to be based at its Corporate Support Office in Swords, County Dublin and will be led by Group Chief Executive, Hugh Flynn.

The total ASL fleet is +/- 100 aircraft depending on leasing arrangements, of which 75 aircraft are flying in Europe and in future will operate as ‘ASL Airlines’. Some of these aircraft will be painted in airline customer colours while the rest will soon start to become visible in Europe’s airports in the new ASL Airlines livery.

The strategy, named ‘Platform for Growth’, is an initiative aimed building on ASL’s leading role in various express integrator, passenger and postal markets in Europe.

ASL will also expand its global presence through its interest in Safair in South Africa and cargo airlines K-Mile in Thailand and QuikJet in India where ASL announced last week that its shareholding is to increase to 72.59%.

The new ASL Airlines brand and identity will achieve a number of key strategic aims:

The creation of an evolutionary new identity and brand image
A progressive transition from the current ASL Aviation Group identity
Show a clear and consistent link between ASL Aviation Group and the 4 airlines
Reflect key selling points of trust, reliability, size and credibility
Affirm ASL’s commitment to our value proposition to our customers
Enable us to enhance optimisation across the group
Increase the competitiveness of each airline in the market

“Our intent is to have a new strong single brand that will play a major role in helping us to achieve our vision and mission and reflect our corporate values in our business”, said ASL Group Chief Executive, Hugh Flynn.

“This strong single brand will make it considerably easier to use the aircraft of the European fleet across the individual countries to meet customer demand and this increased fleet flexibility and consequent competitiveness will enable us to grow our business”, Hugh Flynn continued.

Hugh Flynn explained that ASL’s optimisation potential will include the creation of ‘Centres of Excellence’, reducing cost and improving safety, reliability, quality and profitability, 4 of ASL’s 5 corporate values.

“In addition”, he said. “there will be increased security of employment, job satisfaction and challenge for all of the people of ASL, our 5th corporate value, and the most important after safety,”, Hugh Flynn concluded.

A 5th operations ‘centre of excellence’ in South Africa will oversee the continued growth in Safair, the specialist humanitarian Hercules operator; FlySafair, South Africa’s first ‘true’ low cost airline launched in October 2014 and the two Asian airlines. ASL’s aircraft leasing platforms will also continue to be based in Dublin.

To facilitate the ‘Platform for Growth’ strategy the ASL Group is being restructured into two divisions, European Airlines and Rest of the World Airlines and Leasing.

The current CEO of Air Contractors, Colin Grant will become Chief Executive of the new European Airline’s division and will be based in Dublin.
The current CEO of Safair, Dave Andrew, will become Chief Executive of the new Rest of the World Airlines and Leasing Division and will be based between Johannesburg and Dublin.
‘Platform for Growth’ will see ASL increase the number of aircraft in its combined cargo and passenger fleets. Aircraft will also be transferred throughout the group to facilitate the airlines and their ‘centres of excellence’ becoming specialists in operating specific aircraft types.

The 4 European airlines to be rebranded ASL Airlines currently operate throughout Europe for the leading express freight integrators and for postal services in France and the UK from hubs in France and Germany and between bases throughout the continent from Norway to Greece.

Passenger services are also operated under the airlines own brand from Switzerland, Ireland and France while the Irish airline, Air Contractors, operates three passenger Boeing 757’s on daily transatlantic flights from Dublin and Shannon to Canada and the United States.

Air Contractors – ASL Airlines Ireland

Copyright Photo above: SM Fitzwilliams Collection/AirlinersGallery.com. ATR 72-212 EI-SLK (msn 395) prepares to land at Shannon.

Irish Airline, Air Contractors, will be rebranded as ‘ASL Airlines’ Ireland. Just last week the airline won the prestigious ‘Aircraft Operator of the Year’ award at the Irish Aviation Authority sponsored Irish Aviation Awards.

Copyright Photo above: TMK Photography/AirlinersGallery.com. Air Contractors operates this Boeing 757-2Q8 EI-LBS (msn 27623) for Aer Lingus.

Air Contractors operates Boeing 757-200 transatlantic passenger services from Shannon and Dublin to North America for Aer Lingus and also operates Boeing 737 charter passenger services throughout Europe from Dublin, Shannon, Cork and Knock Airports.

The airline also operates a fleet of turbo prop and jet aircraft for express parcel integrators throughout Europe and the Middle East.

Air Contractors aircraft slide show:

Europe Airpost – ASL Airlines France

Paris CDG based Europe Airpost will be rebranded as ‘ASL Airlines’ France. The airline operates a fleet of Boeing 737-300/-400/-700 aircraft on passenger and cargo services.

Copyright Photo above: Arnd Wolf/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-31S EI-STA (msn 29057) of Europe Airpost arrives at scenic Salzburg, Austria.

Europe Airpost flies passenger charter services for tour operators throughout Europe and the Mediterranean countries, as well as VIP and ad hoc passenger flights throughout the world. On the cargo side, Europe Airpost flies for overnight and postal operators within France and Europe, and operates ad hoc cargo flights throughout the world.

As part of its strategy of diversification, Europe Airpost also operates a weekly scheduled cargo service out of Paris CDG to Tunis, and a number of seasonal scheduled passenger routes serving France, Austria, Portugal and Halifax (Nova Scotia/Canada) via Dublin.

Europe Airpost aircraft slide show:

Video: Europe Airpost:

Farnair Europe – ASL Airlines Switzerland and ASL Airlines Hungary

The two European airlines in the Farnair Group will be rebranded as ‘ASL Airlines’ Switzerland and ASL Airlines Hungary.

Copyright Photo above: Paul Bannwarth/AirlinersGallery.com. Farnair Switzerland ATR 42-320 HB-AFF (msn 264) arrives back at the Basel/Mulhouse/Freiburg base.

Farnair operates a fleet of turbo prop and jet aircraft for express parcel integrators throughout Europe and also operates cargo turbo prop services in Africa. Farnair also operates ATR42 passenger services.

Farnair’s joint venture airlines in Asia, Quikjet in India and K-Mile in Thailand are not included in the rebranding initiative.

Farnair aircraft slide show:

Video:

Alitalia is impacted today by an air traffic controllers strike in Italy

Alitalia (3rd) (Rome) today (March 20) is dealing with a strike by the Air Traffic Control Agency (ENAV) in Italy. The strike is being implemented by the air traffic controllers union between 10.00 to 18.00 local time in Rome. Alitalia, like other carriers, implemented a reduction in flights in order to limit the inconvenience to its customers.

According to the carrier, the strike is not impacting Alitalia’s intercontinental flights from Rome Fiumicino and Milan Malpensa (above).

According to the airline, “Alitalia is contacting passengers involved in the rescheduling and cancellation of flights affected by the strike in order to provide alternative travel solutions and instructions for the refund of unused tickets.”

Copyright Photo: Jacques Guillem Collection/AirlinersGallery.com. The former Air One Airbus A330-302 EI-DIR (msn 272), now in the SkyTeam motif, taxies to the gate at the Milan (Malpensa) hub.

Alitalia aircraft slide show:

AeroMexico to operate the Boeing 787 domestically between Mexico City and Monterrey

AeroMexico (Mexico City) has announced that it will begin offering four weekly flights in April connecting Mexico City and Monterrey with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Adding the Dreamliner to this route will also allow the airline to increase the seat capacity of its morning flights by 51%, meaning that more customers will be able to travel to and from Terminal B at the Monterrey International Airport, connecting to the other domestic and international destinations served by Aeromexico.

AeroMexico’s seven Dreamliners operate on routes to Buenos Aires, London (Heathrow), Los Angeles, Madrid, New York (JFK), Paris (CDG), Santiago and Tokyo (Narita) routes.

Copyright Photo: Fred Freketic/AirlinersGallery.com. Brand new Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner XA-AMR (msn 36844) is the third AM aircraft to wear this registration. Pictured at New York (JFK), XA-AMR was delivered new on February 9, 2015 and is named “Ciudad de Mexico”.

AeroMexico aircraft slide show:

WestJet celebrates the delivery of its 100th Next-Generation Boeing 737

WestJet Airlines (Calgary) and Boeing (Chicago) celebrated the 100^th Next-Generation 737 to join the airline’s fleet on December 6.

WestJet began in 1996 with three Boeing 737-200s serving five cities and has grown into Canada’s largest low-fare airline serving 81 destinations across Canada, the United States, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central America. With today’s delivery of a Boeing 737-800, WestJet’s fleet now consists of 100 airplanes – all Boeing Next-Generation 737s.

The airplane, the pictured 737-8CT registered as C-GAWS (msn 38880), was initially delivered to Newport Beach, California-based leasing company Aviation Capital Group (ACG) and is now being leased and operated by WestJet.

Copyright Photo: Rick Schlamp. Wearing its test registration of N1781B, the new jetliner carries unique #100 Boeing 737 NG sub-titles at Seattle (Boeing Field).

WestJet: