Tag Archives: 777

Vietnam Airlines is coming to London Heathrow Airport

Vietnam Airlines (Hanoi) is switching London airports. Starting on March 30 the flag carrier will switch from Gatwick Airport to Heathrow Airport. The airline currently operates twice-weekly Boeing 777-200 service from Hanoi and twice-weekly flights from Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon).

The airline is planning to switch to the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners starting on July 1 per Airline Route.

Copyright Photo: Ole Simon/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 777-26K ER VN-A144 (msn 33503) taxies at Paris (CDG) in the now old livery.

Vietnam Airlines aircraft slide show:

http://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Airlines-Asia-3/Airlines-Asia3-QZ/Vietnam-Airlines

Video: The revised new livery of Vietnam Airlines:

 

Qatar Airways finalizes its order for four Boeing 777 freighters

Qatar Airways (Doha) and Boeing (Chicago, Seattle and Charleston) have finalized an order for four 777 Freighters, valued at $1.24 billion at current list prices. The airline also has purchase rights for four additional airplanes, which when exercised will bring the combined value to $2.46 billion.

Qatar Airways first announced an intent to order the four 777 Freighters at the 2014 Farnborough Airshow.

Qatar Airways currently operates a fleet of 37 Boeing 777-300E Rs (Extended Range) and 777-200 LRs (Longer Range), in addition to seven 777 Freighters.

The 777 Freighter is capable of flying 4,900 nautical miles (9,070 kilometers) with a full payload and general cargo market densities, making it the world’s longest-range twin-engine freighter.

Global air freight traffic is forecast to grow at an annual rate of 4.7 percent, doubling the cargo traffic over the next 20 years, according to the Boeing World Air Cargo Forecast released in October.

Copyright Photo: TMK Photography/Airlinersgallery.com.ย Boeing 777-FDZ A7-BFD (msn 41427) arrives in Amsterdam.

Qatar Airways aircraft slide show:

http://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Airlines-Asia-3/Airlines-Asia3-QZ/Qatar-Airways

American Airlines files to serve the Los Angeles – Tokyo Haneda route

American Airlines (Dallas/Fort Worth) has formally submitted an application to the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) proposing to operate daily, year-round, nonstop service between Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Tokyo’s Haneda Airport (HND). Per the U.S.-Japan bilateral agreement, U.S. airlines may only operate a total of four daily round-trip flights at Haneda Airport. Currently that service is provided by Delta Air Lines from Los Angeles and Seattle/Tacoma, Hawaiian Airlines from Honolulu, and United Airlines from San Francisco. American’s application seeks to transfer an existing route authority from Seattle/Tacoma, and would provide new service to Haneda from American’s hub in Los Angeles.

In December, the DOT instituted a carrier-selection proceeding to determine whether current service between Seattle/Tacoma and Haneda should be reallocated to another airline. Citing underutilization of a scarce resource, American seeks a reallocation of the Haneda authority. The airline intends to fly it year-round with daily service from Los Angeles. American’s application is in response to the DOT’s decision to consider the best allocation of the slots.

American would provide important consumer and competitive benefits in the Haneda market, by competing head-to-head with other carriers on the Los Angeles-Haneda route and bringing the first-ever oneworld service to the LAX-HND market to compete with other alliances. American’s proposal would also enhance the overall competition for service between the U.S. and Tokyo. Los Angeles is the largest continental U.S. gateway to Tokyo and demand in the Los Angeles-Tokyo market is almost five times larger than Seattle-Tokyo.

American will operate its proposed LAX-HND service with a Boeing 777-200 aircraft. The airline is retrofitting all 47 of its 777-200s to refresh the cabins and enhance the premium experience on international flights. The retrofitted 777-200 features a Business Class product designed especially for American Airlines customers, with a fully lie-flat seat, direct aisle access and a private flying experience. The plane has a modern interior โ€“ including a walk-up bar โ€“ with unique lighting, a dramatic archway and a spacious look. It also has Main Cabin Extra and all Main Cabin seats have in-seat entertainment systems.

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 777-223 ER N753AN (msn 30261) arrives at Los Angeles International Airport.

American Airlines aircraft slide show (current livery):ย AG Slide Show

Kenya Airways to introduce the new Boeing 777-300 ER on the London Heathrow route

Kenya Airways (Nairobi) will introduce the new Boeing 777-300 ER on the Nairobi – London (Heathrow) route next summer as a replacement aircraft. The Triple Seven will replace the smaller Boeing 787-8 on the route from June 14 through September 14 per Airline Route.

Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 777-3U8 ER 5Y-KZX (msn 42097) taxies to the gate at Amsterdam.

Kenya Airways aircraft slide show:

http://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Airlines-Africa-2/Airlines-Africa2-GZ/Kenya-Airways

Kuwait Airways finalizes its order for 10 new Boeing 777-300 ERs

Kuwait Airways (Kuwait City) will remain a Boeing operator. The flag carrier hasย finalized its order for 10 777-300 ERs (Extended Range) with Boeing. The order is valued at $3.3 billion at list prices.

The airline originally announced its intent to order the 777-300 ER in November.

The 777-300 ER carries 386 passengers in a standard three-class configuration up to 7,825 nautical miles (14,490 kilometers), on nonstop routes.

Copyright Photo: SPA/AirlinersGallery.com. The airline also has 10 Airbus A350-900s on order with the first delivery in 2019. Kuwait is no stranger to the Boeing Triple Seven. The carrier has been a Boeing 777-200 ER operator. The pictured Boeing 777-269 ER 9K-AOA (msn 28743) will be replaced.

Kuwait Airways aircraft slide show:

http://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Airlines-Asia-2/Airlines-Asia2-FP/Kuwait-Airways

Emirates to add a third daily flight to Birmingham

Emirates (Dubai) has announced a third daily service to Birmingham Airport, becoming the first airline to offer a direct First Class service to the region.

Commencing on Saturday August 1, 2015, Emirates flight EK 41, operated by a Boeing 777-300 ER, will depart Dubai International Airport at 0235 and arrive in Birmingham at 0705. The outbound flight, EK 42, will depart Birmingham Airport at 0910 and arrive in Dubai at 1910. The additional service adds seven more inbound flights a week to Birmingham, increasing passenger and cargo capacity on the route by 42 percent.

Copyright Photo: Antony J. Best/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 777-31H ER A6-EBK (msn 34481) holds short of the runway at London Gatwick Airport.

Emirates aircraft slide show:ย AG Slide Show

United Airlines to add seasonal service from Chicago O’Hare to Rome next summer

United Airlines (Chicago) next summer from May 16 (changed from June 4) to September 23, 2015 will operate a Chicago (O’Hare) – Rome (Fiumicino) service. The seasonal route will operate with Boeing 777-200 ER equipment.

On December 22 confirmed the seasonal route:

United Airlines will launch new nonstop flights between its Chicago hub at O’Hare International Airport and Rome on May 16, 2015, subject to government approval. The summer-season service will operate five-times-weekly through June 3, daily from June 4 to August 17, and six-times-weekly from August 18 through September 23, 2015.

Flight UA 970 will depart Chicago at 6:00 p.m. (1800), arriving at Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci -Fiumicino Airport at 10:30 a.m. (1030) the following day (all times local). On the return, flight UA 971 will depart Rome at 12:45 p.m. (1245), arriving in Chicago at 4:20 p.m. (1620) the same day.

Schedules may vary slightly on some days. Flight times will be nine hours 30 minutes eastbound and 10 hours 35 minutes westbound.

United will operate the flights using Boeing 777 aircraft with a total of 269 seats โ€“ eight flat-bed seats in United Global First, 40 flat-bed seats in United BusinessFirst and 221 seats in United Economy, including 104 Economy Plus extra-legroom seats.

Copyright Photo: SPA/AirlinesGallery.com. Former Continental Airlines Boeing 777-224 ER N77006 (msn 29476) climbs away from Heathrow Airport.

Video: Fantasy Flights 2014:

United Airlines aircraft slide show (current livery):ย AG Slide Show

Air France-KLM to defer 10 Boeing 777-300 ER deliveries as it issues its third profit warning in 6 months

Air France (Paris) and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (Amsterdam) have announced they are going to defer delivery of their combined 10 Boeing 777-300s on order due to its third profit warning in six months according to Reuters. This raises concerns for Boeing for a potential production gap for Boeing for the 777 production line until the new 777X enters production.

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

Meanwhile Air France-KLM issued this statement:

During its meeting on December 18, 2014, the Air France-KLM Board of Directors reviewed the updated financial outlook for the fourth quarter 2014.

The Group is revising down its 2014 EBITDA target by an additional โ‚ฌ200 million compared with the targets communicated on July 8 and October 8. There are four factors behind this revision:

The persistent weakness in unit revenues in several long-haul markets, witnessed since the summer and still prevailing in early December.

The updating of the estimated impact of the Air France pilotsโ€™ strike on the fourth quarter including, in particular, a higher-than-expected re-invoicing charge for passenger transportation by other airlines during the strike (โ€˜interlineโ€™ invoicing).

Due to new fiscal regulations, the group will not recognize in its 2014 EBITDA a positive pension cost adjustment that was previously expected. Any potential adjustment will be booked under โ€˜other non-current income and expensesโ€™.

A limited fuel price effect in the fourth quarter, in view of the continued decline in the crude oil price which has fallen by more than that of jet fuel, of the structure of the procurement contracts and of the fuel hedging portfolio.

As announced in the third quarter results press release, with no impact on the principles of the Perform 2020 plan, the Group has decided to revise its 2015 and 2016 business plans to take into account the consequences of the pilotsโ€™ strike and of the weaker unit revenue trend that has developed since the summer. The Group is thus planning further unit cost* reduction measures and a significant scale back in its investment plan.

Air France-KLMโ€™s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Alexandre de Juniac, made the following comments: โ€œThe Perform 2020 dynamic is under way across all the Groupโ€™s activities, based on the imperatives of an ongoing improvement in competitiveness and strict financial discipline. By significantly stepping up our cost-cutting efforts and adapting the investment plan, Air France-KLM can gain the resources and be well prepared to tackle 2015 despite the difficult competitive environment.”

Top Copyright Photo: TMK Photography/AirlinersGallery.com. Air France’s Boeing 777-328 ER F-GZNI (msn 39973) taxies at Toronto (Pearson).

Air France aircraft slide show:ย AG Slide Show

KLM aircraft slide show:ย AG Slide Show

Bottom Copyright Photo: Nick Dean/AirlinersGallery.com. KLM’s Boeing 777-306 ER PH-BVC (msn 37582) departs from Paine Field.

The latest theory on what happened to Malaysia Airlines missing flight MH 370

Malaysia Airlines (Kuala Lumpur) missing flight MH 370 from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014 with 239 people on board tragically remains missing. Several articles and a book have expressed many different unproven theories. No part of the aircraft has been officially found. The latest unproven theory, written by former Proteus Airlines CEO Marc Dugain and published by Paris Match, claims the the Boeing 777-200 ER may have been hijacked by a “remote control system” and possibly shot down by U.S. forces near Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. The U.S. has denied the aircraft came down near the British island.

Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean

Google Maps: Diego Garcia in the lonely Indian Ocean. A close-up of the British island below.

Diego Garcia

Read the full story from France 24: CLICK HERE

On November 10, 2014 Malaysia Airlines issued this statement (the last statement from the airline on MH 370):

Malaysia Airlines refers to recent news articles speculating on an official declaration of loss of flight MH 370.

Addressing the speculation to family members via letters, the airline highlighted that any course of action is always guided by the advice of the technical team in charge of the search operations.

The assurances given to us are that the ongoing search and recovery operations will remain and will not be discontinued.

Recent speculation in the press regarding a declaration of loss followed the expression of a personal opinion only. Any information regarding MH 370, the search and recovery operations and any matters related to the missing aircraft will only be communicated by the Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC).

Malaysia Airlines is hopeful that we will find closure to this tragedy and we support and thank our government as well as the governments of Australia and China for their invaluable assistance in this time of crisis.

The airline shares the pain and anguish of family members in having to deal and come to terms with this situation, as such we have assured them that locating the aircraft and recovering the flight data recorders remain the key priority. Every party involved in this complex operation is as determined as the families and Malaysia Airlines to find answers to our many questions.

With regard to the level of compensation available pursuant to the Montreal Convention, or similar applicable legal regime, the airline has made it very clear that payments are determined by law to take account of proven passenger and family circumstances and will be assessed accordingly.

Malaysia Airlines and its insurers remain steadfast to ensure that fair and reasonable compensation is paid to the families of all MH370 passengers in accordance with the law when the families are ready to discuss the issue. We have stated this publicly on many occasions and we reiterate that the airline will honour any commitments that we have made.

The well-being of the family members is always our main priority, and we will continue to communicate on any updates as and when we have them.

Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the families of passengers and crew of MH 370.

What do you think?

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Where is 9M-MRO? Missing Boeing 777-2H6 ER 9M-MRO (msn 28420) lands in Kuala Lumpur before the tragic disappearance.

Malaysia Airlines aircraft slide show:

http://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Airlines-Asia-2/Airlines-Asia2-FP/Malaysia-Airlines

China Airlines to launch Boeing 777-300 service to Frankfurt

China Airlines (Taipei) is planning to launch new Boeing 777-300 ER service to Frankfurt from Taipei (Taoyuan) starting on November 1, 2015. The new type will replace the current Boeing 747-400 service and will operate five days a week per Airline Route.

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 777-36N ER B-18051 (msn 41821) prepares to land at Los Angeles International Airport.

China Airlines aircraft slide show:

http://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Airlines-Asia-1/Airlines-Asia1-AE/China-Airlines

Video: The fleet history of China Airlines: