Tag Archives: A320-232

JetBlue to launch new service to Orlando and Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood from Baltimore/Washington and Philadelphia, will also expand to Mexico City

JetBlue Airways (New York) has announced plans for two new routes that will grow its presence in the Baltimore-Washington and Philadelphia metropolitan areas and continue its expansion in its focus cities in Orlando and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood.

Beginning November 12, JetBlue will operate new once daily service between Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) and Orlando International Airport (MCO) — the same day JetBlue launches previously announced service between Baltimore/Washington and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood. Within the National Capital Region, JetBlue also operates flights out of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) and Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD).

Beginning November 19, JetBlue will operate twice daily service between Philadelphia (PHL) and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood (FLL). Philadelphia is one of the largest markets JetBlue currently does not serve from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood and will play a part in its growth towards 100 daily flights to meet increasing customer demand in South Florida.

JetBlue will serve both routes with its Airbus A320 aircraft.

JetBlue’s Daily Schedule between Baltimore-Washington and Orlando as of November 12, 2015:

BWI – MCO MCO – BWI

11.20 a.m. – 1.56 p.m. 2.42 p.m. – 5.15 p.m.

JetBlue’s Daily Schedule between Philadelphia and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood as of November 19, 2015:

PHL – FLL FLL – PHL

7.30 a.m. – 10.09 a.m. 9.45 a.m. – 12.21 p.m.

1.05 p.m. – 3.50 p.m. 6.30 p.m. – 9.13 p.m.

JetBlue also announced plans to begin flying to Mexico City’s Benito Juarez International Airport, one of the largest markets in the Americas. Mexico City will be JetBlue’s second destination in Mexico and its 35th in the Latin America and Caribbean region, where JetBlue continues to expand its presence as a leading U.S. airline.

Daily service to Mexico City International Airport (MEX) will launch on October 1 from JetBlue’s two focus cities in Florida, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) and Orlando International Airport (MCO).

Service from Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood and Orlando to Mexico City will operate in the evening, with flights back to the U.S. from Mexico City offered in the early morning.

JetBlue will serve both routes with its Airbus A320 aircraft.

JetBlue continues to grow its footprint in Latin America and the Caribbean. The airline recently announced plans to serve Quito, Antigua, and Grenada, and to offer its successful Mint experience from New York to Aruba and Barbados on Saturdays between November 7, 2015 and April 30, 2016, and daily between December 19, 2015 and January 4, 2016.

Copyright Photo below: Brian McDonough/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A320-232 N746JB (msn 3622) in the special New York Jets motif arrives at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL).

JetBlue Airways aircraft slide show:

The growing route map from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport:

VivaAerobus receives its first direct delivery Airbus A320

VivaAerobus (Monterrey) took delivery of its first new Airbus A320 (the pictured A320-232 F-WWIY and XA-VAA, msn 6574) following the aircraft handover at the Airbus Delivery Centre in Toulouse on May 9, 2015. The A320 is the first to be delivered from an order placed in 2013 for 52 aircraft (12 A320ceo and 40 A320neo), which is the largest single deal by a Mexican customer. VivaAerobus already operates six leased A320s and will become an all Airbus operator as it completes its fleet transition from Boeing 737-300s by early 2016.

Including the first A320, all VivaAerobus’ A320ceo are powered by IAE engines. The A320neo will be powered by Pratt and Whitney engines. The aircraft will be deployed on the airline’s domestic network and international routes to the United States.

Copyright Photo below: Eurospot/AirlinersGallery.com. The pictured A320-232 F-WWIY (msn 6574) became XA-VAA when it was handed over on May 9.

VivaAerobus aircraft slide show:

British Airways announces two new routes from London Heathrow, also increases Gatwick frequencies

British Airways (London) has announced that it will serve two new routes from its London-Heathrow hub for Winter 2015/16, with one route ending a 7-year hiatus to and from Iceland.

The British flag-carrier will begin thrice-weekly services between London (Heathrow) and Keflavik (near Reykjavik) from October 2015, and then a twice-weekly service from London (Heathrow) to Salzburg, Austria beginning in December 2015.

Lynne Embleton, BA’s director of strategy and business units, said: “Reykjavik is a new destination for us, and customers will now have the convenience of flying from Heathrow as well as Gatwick to Salzburg.”

BA will also increase the frequencies on its routes from London (Gatwick) to Funchal, Faro, Seville and Turin for the winter 2015/16 season starting on October 27, 2015 and running to March 25, 2016.

The airline will add two flights from London (Gatwick) to Faro on Tuesdays and Thursdays, two flights to Seville on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, two flights to Funchal, Madeira, on Wednesdays and Fridays, and one extra frequency to Turin on Sundays, which will operate between December 13, 2015, and March 20, 2016.

Assistant Editor Oliver Wilcock reporting from Manchester.

British Airways aircraft slide show:

JetBlue Airways to fly New York – Havana charter flights

JetBlue Airways (New York) has announced it will operate weekly New York (JFK) – Havana, Cuba charter flights for tour organizer Cuba Travel Services starting on July 3. JetBlue also operates to Cuba from both Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood and Tampa. The airline issued this full statement:

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo joined with JetBlue Airways, and its charter partner, Cuba Travel Services, yesterday (May 5) to announce a new flight from New York to Havana, Cuba. The milestone makes JetBlue the first major carrier to announce a new flight to Cuba from New York since travel restrictions were recently eased.

The expanded charter service comes on the heels of Governor Cuomo’s trade mission to Cuba, where the Governor, joined by JetBlue CEO Robin Hayes and other New York business leaders, led a dialogue to connect New York businesses to new opportunities in Cuba.

Cuba Travel Services is offering the flight, operated by JetBlue, on Fridays from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Havana’s José Martí International Airport (HAV) beginning July 3, 2015. Travelers should make arrangements directly with Cuba Travel Services.

Cuba Travel Services, a leading authorized carrier service provider, believes expanding its flight network will provide licensed travelers more travel options for a lower cost. The additional service offers customers additional options to travel to Cuba from New York without connection delays or extra domestic travel expenses to connect in Florida.

The New York metropolitan area has the second largest Cuban-American population in the United States after Florida.

JetBlue serves all charter flights to Cuba on its 150-seat Airbus A320.

With the addition to the New York-Havana flight, JetBlue will operate five weekly round trips to Cuba, including flights from Tampa (TPA) and Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood (FLL) with various charter partners. Cuba will one day play an important role in JetBlue’s overall Caribbean network, a region where JetBlue is the largest airline. The airline began flying to Cuba for charter companies in 2011.

Schedule between New York and Havana on Fridays as of July 3, 2015:

JFK – HAV HAV – JFK 12:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. 4:30 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

About Cuba Travel Services

Cuba Travel Services Inc. arranges daily, nonstop public charter flights between the United States and Cuba and is licensed by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) as an authorized Carrier Service Provider specializing in travel to Cuba. They offer full service travel arrangements to individuals, groups, families, educators, students, professionals and organizations, under Specific or General Licenses issued by the Office of Foreign Assets Control.

Copyright Photo: Fred Freketic/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A320-232 N624JB (msn 2520) touches down at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York last winter.

JetBlue Airways aircraft slide show:

JetBlue Airways files to serve Antigua from New York

JetBlue Airways (New York) today announced its continued expansion in the region as it filed an intent to serve Antigua’s V.C. Bird International Airport (ANU) three times weekly from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), with the aim to launch service on November 5, subject to receipt of government operating authority.

Additionally, the airline will add seasonal weekly service from Boston’s Logan International Airport (BOS) to Barbados’ Grantley Adams International Airport (BGI), which will launch November 7, subject to receipt of government operating authority.

The Boston-Barbados flight is the fifth new seasonal service to the Caribbean and Latin America launched from Boston in the last year following Liberia, Costa Rica (LIR); Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic (POP), which begins June 17; Saint Lucia (UVF); and Port-au-Prince, Haiti (PAP). JetBlue also recently announced it would offer its highly successful Mint experience on flights between JFK to Barbados this winter with Saturday service between November 7, 2015 and April 30, 2016, and daily service between December 19, 2015 and January 4, 2016.

The weekly Boston-Barbados flight will complement JetBlue’s existing daily service from New York JFK, which was launched in 2009.

JetBlue’s flights to both Antigua and Barbados will be operated on a 150-seat Airbus A320.

Copyright Photo: Ken Petersen/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A320-232 N586JB (msn 2160) in the special “I Love New York” livery taxies to the gate at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City.

JetBlue Airways aircraft slide show:

JetBlue Airways launches flights from Cleveland, its 88th destination

JetBlue Airways (New York) today (April 30) launched service to its latest destination, Cleveland’s Hopkins International Airport (CLE), with twice daily flights from Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) and daily flights from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL). Today, the airline also introduced daily flights from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood to Detroit’s Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW).

Above Photo: Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. The JetBlue ticket counter at CLE.

Cleveland is JetBlue’s 88th BlueCity and the 55th nonstop destination from Boston, where it is the largest operating airline. From Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood, JetBlue’s growing South Florida focus city, JetBlue now offers 30 nonstop destinations and with these two latest routes, the airline continues to strengthen its position in this key market as it ramps up its schedule to 100 daily flights.

JetBlue’s Schedule between Boston and Cleveland as of April 30, 2015:

BOS – CLE CLE – BOS

6:45 a.m. – 8:47 a.m. 9:29 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.

4:15 p.m. – 6:22 p.m. 6:58 p.m. – 8:45 p.m.

JetBlue’s Schedule between Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood as of April 30, 2015:

FLL – CLE CLE – FLL

8:00 a.m. – 10:49 a.m. 11:30 a.m. – 2:18 p.m.

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A320-232 N796JB (msn 5060) prepares to depart from Long Beach.

JetBlue Airways aircraft slide show:

Spirit Airlines announces its adjusted first quarter net quarter increased 87.1% to $70.7 million

Spirit Airlines, Inc. (Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood) today reported first quarter 2015 financial results:

Adjusted net income for the first quarter 2015 increased 87.1 percent to $70.7 million ($0.96 per diluted share) compared to the first quarter 20141. GAAP net income for the first quarter 2015 increased 83.0 percent year over year to $69.0 million ($0.94 per diluted share).

Adjusted pre-tax margin for the first quarter 2015 was 22.7 percent, up 900 basis points year over year1. On a GAAP basis, pre-tax margin for the first quarter 2015 was 22.1 percent.

Spirit ended the first quarter 2015 with an unrestricted cash and cash equivalents balance of $741.6 million.

Spirit’s return on invested capital (before taxes and excluding special items) for the twelve months ended March 31, 2015 was 30.2 percent2.

“I want to thank our team members for delivering strong first quarter operational and financial performance while continuing to execute on our growth plan. We’ve announced 38 of the new routes to begin in 2015 and, over the last two fiscal quarters, we have added 12 new aircraft to our fleet all while improving our on-time performance and maintaining our high degree of reliability,” said Ben Baldanza, Spirit’s Chief Executive Officer. “Our consistent, reliable operational performance, solid track record in successfully launching new markets, and continued strong financial performance position us well for the year ahead.”

Revenue Performance

For the first quarter 2015, Spirit’s total operating revenue was $493.4 million, an increase of 12.6 percent compared to the first quarter 2014, driven by an increase in flight volume.

Total revenue per available seat mile (“RASM”) for the first quarter 2015 decreased 9.9 percent compared to the first quarter 2014 on a capacity increase of 25.0 percent. The RASM decrease was primarily driven by a 7.8 percent decrease in average yield due to the ramp up of our growth in new and mature markets, overall fare compression in many of our markets, and increased capacity from other carriers in the Dallas markets.

Total revenue per passenger flight segment (“PFS”) for the first quarter 2015 decreased 7.6 percent year over year to $123.96, primarily driven by a 11.7 percent decrease in ticket revenue per PFS and a 2.1 percent decrease in non-ticket revenue per PFS. The decrease in non-ticket revenue per PFS was primarily attributable to lower bag revenue per PFS and the outsourcing of the Company’s onboard catering to a third-party provider under a revenue share agreement.

Cost Performance

Total operating expenses for the first quarter 2015, excluding $2.7 million of special items, increased 0.9 percent to $381.4 million3. Including special items, total operating expenses increased 1.6 percent year over year to $384.1 million. Operating expenses benefited from economic fuel expense decreasing 25.4 percent, or $37.7 million, on a fuel volume increase of 21.5 percent.

Spirit reported first quarter 2015 cost per available seat mile (“ASM”) excluding special items and fuel (“Adjusted CASM ex-fuel”)3 of 5.72 cents, a decrease of 5.6 percent compared to the same period last year driven primarily by lower labor expense per ASM and lower aircraft rent per ASM. Labor expense per ASM in the first quarter 2015 was lower compared to the same period last year primarily due to scale benefits from overall growth and from larger gauge aircraft. The decrease in aircraft rent per ASM was driven by a change in the mix of leased (rent recorded under aircraft rent) and purchased (depreciation recorded under depreciation and amortization) aircraft.

“Once again our team executed well on improving our cost structure. Despite very disruptive winter weather which caused a number of cancelations, and nearly a one percent shorter stage length, our first quarter 2015 Adjusted CASM ex-fuel decreased 5.6 percent year-over-year. This performance sets us up nicely to meet our full year target of delivering Adjusted CASM ex-fuel down 6 to 8 percent year over year,” said Ted Christie, Spirit’s Chief Financial Officer.

Copyright Photo: Eurospot/AirlinersGallery.com. In the first quarter of 2015, Spirit took delivery of five new A320 aircraft, ending the quarter with 70 aircraft in its fleet. The first Airbus A320 in the new bright yellow livery is the pictured A320-232 F-WWDV (msn 6586) at Toulouse which will become N642NK on the pending delivery from Airbus.

Spirit Airlines aircraft slide show:

JetBlue Airways Corporation reports first quarter net income of $137 million

JetBlue Airways Corporation (New York) issued its first quarter financial report today:

JetBlue Airways Corporation today reported its results for the first quarter 2015:

Operating income of $253 million in the first quarter. This compares to operating income of $41 million in the first quarter of 2014

Pre-tax income of $222 million in the first quarter. This compares to pre-tax income of $6 million in the first quarter of 2014.

Net income of $137 million, or $0.40 per diluted share. This compares to JetBlue’s first quarter 2014 net income of $4 million, or $0.01 per diluted share.
Financial Performance

JetBlue reported record first quarter operating revenues of $1.5 billion. Revenue passenger miles for the first quarter increased 11.1% to 9.6 billion on a capacity increase of 9.6%, resulting in a first quarter load factor of 84.3%, an increase of 1.2 points year over year.

Yield per passenger mile in the first quarter was 14.64 cents, up 3.1% compared to the first quarter of 2014. Passenger revenue per available seat mile (PRASM) for the first quarter 2015 increased 4.5% year over year to 12.33 cents and operating revenue per available seat mile (RASM) increased 3.0% year over year to 13.34 cents.

Operating expenses for the quarter decreased 2.9%, or $38 million, over the prior year period. Interest expense for the quarter declined 8.9%, or $3 million, as JetBlue continues to reduce its debt. JetBlue’s operating expense per available seat mile (CASM) for the first quarter decreased 11.3% year over year to 11.13 cents. Excluding fuel and profit sharing, first quarter CASM1decreased 1.9% to 7.95 cents.

Operational Performance

Despite a series of winter storms, which created operational challenges, system on time departures, or D0, improved 1.8 points year-over-year in the first quarter. System arrival performance, or A14, also improved 1.4 points.

“We posted strong first quarter results based on healthy demand across our network and a continued focus on cost control. Our 16,500 crewmembers delivered great customer service despite the challenges presented by winter storms. I’d like to thank all our Crewmembers for their hard work. They truly inspired humanity during this busy winter period.” said Robin Hayes, JetBlue’s President and CEO.

Fuel Expense and Hedging

In the first quarter JetBlue had hedges in place for approximately 21% of its fuel consumption. This resulted in a realized fuel price of $2.06 per gallon, a 34% decrease versus first quarter 2014 realized fuel price of $3.14. JetBlue recorded $35 million in losses on fuel hedges settling during the first quarter.

JetBlue has hedged approximately 20% of its second quarter 2015 projected fuel requirements using a combination of jet fuel swaps and collars. Based on the fuel curve as of April 20th, JetBlue expects an average price per gallon of fuel, including the impact of hedges and fuel taxes, of $2.11 in the second quarter. For the balance of the year beyond the second quarter, JetBlue has hedged approximately 14% of projected fuel consumption.

Liquidity and Cash Flow

JetBlue ended the quarter with approximately $1 billion in unrestricted cash and short term investments, or about 17% of trailing twelve month revenue. In addition, JetBlue maintains $600 million in undrawn lines of credit.

During the first quarter, JetBlue repaid approximately $55 million in regularly scheduled debt and capital lease obligations. JetBlue anticipates paying approximately $216 million in regularly scheduled debt and capital lease obligations during the remainder of 2015 and plans to continue to opportunistically prepay other debt. JetBlue expects to pay approximately $43 million in regularly scheduled debt and capital lease obligations in the second quarter of 2015.

“JetBlue had a strong first quarter despite challenging winter weather conditions.” said Mark Powers, JetBlue’s Chief Financial Officer. “As we look forward, we expect to implement the return accretive initiatives we outlined at Investor Day and improve the balance sheet while continuing to reinvest in our business.”

Second Quarter and Full Year Outlook

For the second quarter of 2015, CASM excluding fuel and profit sharing is expected to increase between 1.0% and 3.0% versus the year-ago period. Excluding fuel and profit sharing, CASM for the full year 2015 is forecasted to grow between zero and two percent year over year.

Capacity is expected to increase between 5.5% and 7.5% in the second quarter 2015 and between 7.0% and 9.0% for the full year, in line with prior guidance.

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A320-232 N793JB (msn 4647) in the Barcode tail design lands at the focus city of Long Beach.

JetBlue Airways aircraft slide show:

Wizz Air to fly to Iceland from Poland

Wizz Air (Budapest) has announced further growth of its route network from Poland. From July 3, 2015 Wizz Air will start operating a new service from Gdansk to Keflavik (near Reykjavik) in Iceland, with two weekly flights.

Wizz Air now offers a total of 116 Polish routes to 22 countries from seven Polish airports.

In other news, Wizz Air has announced twice-weekly service from Budapest to Tenerife, starting on October 30 with departures on Mondays on Fridays.

Wizz Air now flies from Budapest Airport with 41 routes to 21 countries.

Finally, Wizz Air announced a new Debrecen route to Bergamo (near Milan) which will start operating with two weekly flights on October 25.

Copyright Photo: Antony J. Best/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A320-232 HA-LYA (msn 6077) with Sharklets lands in London (Luton).

Wizz Air aircraft slide show:

Turkish Airlines Airbus A320 makes a hard landing, engine catches on fire, makes another emergency landing at Istanbul

Turkish Airlines (Istanbul) flight TK 1878 from Milan (Malpensa) to Istanbul (Ataturk) today (April 25) made an emergency landing at Istanbul after the engine on the Airbus A320 caught on fire.

The aircraft initially reportedly made a hard landing with the right engine and wing contacting the runway. The crew performed a go around and then made the emergency landing.

According to Reuters the 97 passengers and crew members were safely taken to the terminal.

The aircraft involved is A320-232 TC-JPE (msn 2941) painted in the Star Alliance livery.

Read the full report from IBT: CLICK HERE

Photo by EmS on Twitter: