Tag Archives: 737-300

airBaltic to launch two new routes to Dubrovnik and Rhodes next summer

airBaltic (Riga) will launch a new weekly route between Riga and Dubrovnik, Croatia, on May 26, 2015.

In addition, the Latvian airline will also launch a new weekly route between Riga and the Greek island of Rhodes next summer, starting on June 12, 2015.

Both routes will be operated with Boeing 737-300 aircraft.

Previously the carrier announced it will start a new route connecting Riga and Aalborg, Denmark, starting on April 18, 2015.

airBaltic aircraft slide show:

http://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Airlines-Europe-1/Airlines-Europe-1/airBaltic

Southwest Airlines and the International Association of Machinists reach agreement

Southwest Airlines (Dallas) issued the following announcement:

Southwest Airlines (Dallas) announced on December 3 that its Customer Service Agents (CSAs) and Customer Representatives (CRs), represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM), have voted in favor of a new four-year contract. The agreement includes pay increases, as well as bonus opportunities that are tied to Company and Employee performance.

Southwest Airlines is approximately 83 percent unionized and actively engaged in negotiations with six out of its 12 unions. The airline is known for its friendly Customer Service and currently serves as the largest domestic carrier in terms of passengers boarded.

Copyright Photo: Jeffrey S. DeVore/AirlinersGallery.com. Southwest Airlines has started repainting the Boeing 737-300 fleet. Boeing 737-3H4 N640SW (msn 27713) is the first.

Southwest Airlines aircraft slide show:

Canadian North unveils a Canadian Football League logojet for the Grey Cup

Canadian North (Calgary and Yellowknife) today (November 18) unveiled this new Canadian Football League (CFL) logojet at its Edmonton hangar for the upcoming Grey Cup Championship Game. The right side of Boeing 737-36N C-GCNO (msn 28596) carries the team logos of the Eastern teams and left side the western teams.

The airline issued this statement on November 18:

On November 18, at an exciting “reveal” ceremony, the CFL and Canadian North jointly unveiled a custom-painted Boeing 737-300 aircraft, emblazoned with the CFL logo and the logos of all nine CFL franchise teams. This eye-catching plane will be used to fly the 102nd Grey Cup Champions home from Vancouver, British Columbia on Monday, December 1 and will serve as a highly visible billboard for the CFL and its teams wherever it lands.

Canadian North is the premier charter provider for Canada’s resource sector, top sport franchises and air-inclusive vacationers. The CFL and Canadian North announced a three-year partnership earlier this year that made Canadian North the official airline of the CFL.

Photos Below: Canadian North. Both sides are displayed at the unveiling event:

Video: The painting of the aircraft:

Canadian North is the official airline of the CFL.

On July 9, 2014 the airline announced it had become the official airline of the CFL:

Canadian North is proud to become the official airline of the Canadian Football League. This new three-year partnership will include flying the East and West Division Champions to the 102nd Grey Cup game in Vancouver this November.

“There is nothing more Canadian than the CFL and we are excited to be partnering with both the league and the Grey Cup,” said Steve Hankirk, President of Canadian North. “We’re thrilled to broaden our relationship with the CFL and believe this creates opportunities for more teams to charter with Canadian North.”

Mark Cohon, Commissioner of the Canadian Football League, said: “Canadian North prides itself in contributing to the communities it serves, and that makes the airline a great fit for our league, which has a long history of doing the same.”

In other news, the company is planning to expand with more charters to warmer climates in early 2015.

Top Copyright Photo: Sam Hawkins/Canadian North.

Canadian North aircraft slide show:

JustPlanes Video:

Norwegian’s third quarter net profit drops by 14%, will phase out the last Boeing 737-300 next year

Norwegian Air Shuttle (Norwegian.com and Norwegian Long Haul) (Oslo) reported a net profit of NOK 373.8 million ($57.0 million) for the third quarter, down 14% from a net profit of NOK 435.9 million ($65.8 million) for the same quarter in 2013.

The airline issued this full report:

Norwegian reports strong growth in all European markets with a capacity increase of 36 percent and a load factor of 85 percent in its third quarter results. The pre-tax result (EBT) was 505 MNOK, compared to 604 MNOK the same quarter previous year. The costs associated with wet-leasing replacement aircraft and a weak Norwegian Krone (NOK) significantly affected the figures.

Even with strong passenger growth, the load factor was high and increased by three percentage points to 85 percent in the third quarter. Norwegian carried 7.1 million passengers this quarter and the company’s operations at London Gatwick had the strongest passenger growth.

The pre-tax result (EBT) was 505 MNOK, compared to 604 MNOK the same quarter previous year. The combination of a weak Norwegian Krone (NOK), the delayed approval from the U.S. Department of Transportation and costs associated with flight delays, affected the results this quarter. Wet-leasing replacement aircraft and extra fuel, as well as accommodation, food and drink for delayed passengers also created extra costs. The costs associated with the long overdue application before the U.S. Department of Transportation for a foreign air carrier permit for Norwegian’s Irish subsidiary, Norwegian Air International were also considerable. The application is in full accordance with the Open Skies Agreement between the EU and the U.S.

“We’re very satisfied that throughout our world-wide route network, an increasing number of new passengers choose Norwegian. Norwegian has recently received several international awards and was even named ‘Europe’s best low-cost airline’ the second year running. However, we have also experienced some turbulence this quarter. Our results are affected by additional costs related to the pending U.S. permit for our subsidiary in Dublin, consequently reducing our ability to optimize our fleet of aircraft. Even though technical difficulties with our Boeing 787 Dreamliners have also caused additional costs, our long-haul operation now consists of more aircraft and improved reliability. Looking into 2015, we will see a year of consolidation and lower growth. Next year, our fleet of short-haul aircraft will consist exclusively of Boeing 737-800s as older Boeing 737-300s will be phased out,” said CEO Bjørn Kjos.

Copyright Photo: Stefan Sjogren/AirlinersGallery.com. Norwegian will retire its last Boeing 737-300 in 2015. Devoid of a tail photo, Boeing 737-31S LN-KHC (m,sn 29295) arrives in Stockholm (Arlanda).

Norwegian Aircraft Slide Show:

Siam Air starts operations in Thailand

Siam Air (Siam Air Transport Company Limited) (Bangkok-Don Mueang) is a new Thai airline that started operations this month between Bangkok (Don Mueang) and Hong Kong with two Boeing 737-300s (HS-BRU and HS-BRV)

Irelandia Aviation and Grupo IAMSA to expand the Viva brand in Central and South America

Irelandia Aviation and Grupo IAMSA, owners of Mexico’s low-cost airline VivaAerobus (Monterrey) and the Colombian airline VivaColombia (Medellin), announced their intention to expand the Viva airline brand in Central and South America.

Grupo Viva is being established as a multinational airline holding company based in Panama City, Panama. The new company will be responsible for the further development of the Viva airline brand beyond current operations in Mexico and Colombia, maximizing cost synergies and operational efficiencies across the group and centralizing key management functions.

Grupo Viva is chaired by Roberto Alcántara Rojas, also Chairman of the Board of VivaAerobus and Grupo IAMSA. Irelandia Aviation Managing Partner Declan Ryan will be a principal investor.

Tony Davis, currently Partner and COO of Irelandia Aviation, has been appointed CEO. In addition to working with Irelandia Aviation for the past three years, Tony has an extensive track record in establishing low-cost airlines around the world, and he has been closely involved in the recent development of VivaAerobus and VivaColombia. Tony will be responsible for the creation of the Group’s corporate structure and management infrastructure over the next 12 months.

Joe Mohan, who is joining from his position as Senior VP Commercial at COPA Airlines, has been appointed President and COO. Joe has worked in Central and South America for more than 10 years and led the commercial function in one of the region’s most successful airline groups, consistently achieving impressive growth and profitability results. He also brings direct experience of helping lead a high-performing Latin American company listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Joe will be responsible for the expansion of the group’s regional coverage and improving cost synergies and operational efficiencies for airlines in the group.

Commenting on the appointments, Declan Ryan said, “We are delighted that two executives of the caliber of Tony and Joe have agreed to lead the creation and development of our new low-cost airline group in Latin America. We are convinced that there are tremendous opportunities for our ultra-low-cost airline model to expand in the region. With our existing airlines already well-established in Mexico and Colombia, together with our order last year for 52 new Airbus A320 aircraft, this is the right time to establish Grupo Viva.”

Top Copyright Photo: Fernandez Imaging/AirlinersGallery.com. VivaAerobus (vivaaerobus.com) Boeing 737-3B7 XA-VIB (msn 23378) taxies at Austin, TX.

VivaAerobus:

Bottom Copyright Photo: Greenwing/AirlinersGallery.com. Formerly operated by OLT Express, Airbus A320-214 EI-EPX (HK-4905) (msn 1454) is now with VivaColombia (VivaColombia.com).

A new color scheme is also coming for Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines (Dallas) is also planning to make an announcement tomorrow (September 6). It is believed the company is planning to introduce a new livery too.

A Boeing 737-800 is expected to be rolled out tomorrow at Dallas’ Love Field showing a new blue, yellow and red color scheme.

Like Frontier, Southwest issued this short teaser comment:

We’ve been working on something special. And Monday, we’ll get to the heart of the matter.

DFWTower.com has published photos of a Southwest 737-800 in a hangar with the new design. It does not appear to be a special livery. The main changes, an apparent deeper shade of blue and white fuselage titles: CLICK HERE

This will be third basic livery for Southwest:

Top Image: Southwest Airlines. Southwest recently had a “Plane Palooza” voting contest for its special liveries on Facebook. The finalists were Florida One and Lone Star One. Naturally for the Texas-based airline, Lone Star One won.

Copyright Photo: Bruce Drum/AirlinersGallery.com. Reflecting an American Southwest look, Southwest started operations with this orange, red and mustard color scheme. When Southwest launched intrastate operations in Texas on June 18, 1971 this was the color scheme on its three Boeing 737-200s. Boeing 737-2H4 N21SW (msn 20345) (+ the other two) are seen at the Love Field base. The full titles ran up the rear fuselage and the tail. Later the titles were shortened to just “Southwest” and were placed alone on the tail.

Copyright Photo: Bruce Drum/AirlinersGallery.com. The current “Canyon Blue” fuselage top livery was introduced in 2001. Boeing 737-3H4 N608SW (msn 27928) departs from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

Southwest Airlines Aircraft Slide Show:

In other news, Southwest is recycling its old leather seats. According to CNN, “Southwest Airlines after a large-scale redesign of many of its 737 aircraft, the carrier found itself with an excess of 80,000 leather seat covers — enough to fill the Empire State Building.

Southwest dubbed the initiative “Luv Seat: Repurpose with Purpose,” and reached out to potential partners to take the used leather, but found that there were few takers.

Following the advice of Bill Tiffany, a Southwest VP who grew up in Kenya, the airline started looking towards Africa for recipients of the used leather. Rather than just donating the goods and leaving it there, the airline decided to take a more holistic approach, giving the materials to NGOs that will use them to provide job training and health education.

The main partner is SOS Children’s Villages Kenya, which is providing paid apprenticeships and training to orphaned youth, who in turn make shoes and soccer balls from the leather. The shoes are given to Maasai Treads, who distributes them as part of a campaign to fight debilitating foot parasites. The soccer balls are donated to Alive & Kicking, a charity that uses sport to educate young people on HIV/AIDS and malaria prevention.”

Great idea Southwest. Read the full article: CLICK HERE

Photo courtesy of Southwest Airlines.

Jet2 to add four new routes from Leeds/Bradford for the summer of 2015

Jet2 (Leeds/Bradford) has announced four new destinations for the summer of 2015 for Leeds/Bradford: Antalya, Kefalonia, Malta and Enfidha Airport in Tunisia starting on May 27, 2015..

The company is also adding new services from its key Northern airports; East Midlands, Glasgow, Manchester and Newcastle.

In other news, Jet2.com and Jet2holidays have announced further expansion plans at Glasgow Airport, including new routes, an additional aircraft (the sixth at GLA) plus even more seats for summer 2015. The new routes include Prague – a brand new route for Glasgow airport – plus Antalya, Larnaca and Malta.

Jet2:

Flyvista launches operations from Tbilisi, Georgia to Tehran, Iran

Flyvista (Tbilisi) started scheduled passenger operations on August 4 with the pictured Boeing 737-33R 4L-AJC (msn 28873). The first route was twice-weekly service from Tbilisi, Georgia to Tehran, Iran.

Top Copyright Photo: Flyvista.

Bottom Copyright Photo: Flyvista. Flyvista celebrated its official launch together with TAV Georgia.

FAA proposes a $12 million civil penalty against Southwest Airlines, Southwest has 30 days to respond

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) (Washington) has issued this statement concerning Boeing 737 maintenance issues by Southwest Airlines (Dallas) and a contractor:

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is proposing a $12 million civil penalty against Southwest Airlines for failing to comply with Federal Aviation Regulations in three separate enforcement cases related to repairs on Boeing 737 jetliners operated by the Dallas-based airline.

The FAA alleges that beginning in 2006, Southwest conducted so-called “extreme makeover” alterations to eliminate potential cracking of the aluminum skin on 44 jetliners. The FAA conducted an investigation that included both the airline and its contractor, Aviation Technical Services, Inc., (ATS) of Everett, Wash. Investigators determined that ATS failed to follow proper procedures for replacing the fuselage skins on these aircraft. FAA investigators also determined that ATS failed to follow required procedures for placing the airplanes on jacks and stabilizing them. All of the work was done under the supervision of Southwest Airlines, which was responsible for ensuring that procedures were properly followed.

Southwest returned the jetliners to service and operated them when they were not in compliance with Federal Aviation Regulations, the FAA alleges. The regulatory violations charged involve numerous flights that occurred in 2009 after the FAA put the airline on notice that these aircraft were not in compliance with either FAA Airworthiness Directives or alternate, FAA-approved methods of complying with the directives. The FAA later approved the repairs after the airline provided proper documentation that the repairs met safety standards

“Safety is our top priority, and that means holding airlines responsible for the repairs their contractors undertake,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “Everyone has a role to play and a responsibility to ensure the safety of our transportation system.”

During its investigation, the FAA found that ATS workers applied sealant beneath the new skin panels but did not install fasteners in all of the rivet holes during the timeframe for the sealant to be effective. This could have resulted in gaps between the skin and the surface to which it was being mounted. Such gaps could allow moisture to penetrate the skin and lead to corrosion. As a result of the improper repairs, these airplanes did not comply with Federal Aviation Regulations.

The FAA also alleges that ATS personnel failed to follow requirements to properly place these airplanes on jacks and shore them up while the work was being performed. If a plane is shored improperly during skin replacement, the airframe could shift and lead to subsequent problems with the new skin.

In the third case, the FAA alleges that Southwest Airlines failed to properly install a ground wire on water drain masts on two of its Boeing 737s in response to an FAA Airworthiness Directive addressing lightning strikes on these components. As a result, the aircraft were not in compliance with Federal Aviation Regulations. The airplanes were each operated on more than 20 passenger flights after Southwest Airlines became aware of the discrepancies but before the airline corrected the problem.

“The FAA views maintenance very seriously, and it will not hesitate to take action against companies that fail to follow regulations,” said FAA Administrator Michael Huerta.

Southwest Airlines has 30 days from the receipt of the FAA’s Civil Penalty letter to respond to the allegations.

Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-3H4 N363SW (msn 26574) prepares to land at Baltimore/Washington (BWI).

Southwest Airlines: