Tag Archives: A321-231

JetBlue discusses where else it will fly its new Airbus A321

JetBlue Airways (New York) has already announced its intention to operate the new Airbus A321 on trans-con routes starting in 2014. However where else will the airline operate this new larger aircraft? The airline discusses this decision making process in its BlueTales blog:

One of the most popular topics for customers and crew members alike is JetBlue’s network strategy. As an airline that continues to grow, even as other carriers are shrinking, it’s fun to try to guess which city we’ll fly to next – and even more fun to see a new “dot” appear our route map. Will it be a new international destination? Will it be my hometown? Will it really surprise me?

The Airbus A321 has been no exception and we’ve been flooded with inquiries about where our newest fleet type fly. We have already shared that the A321s configured with the Mint Experience will fly between JFK/LAX and JFK/SFO, so the only mystery remains with our all-core configuration. Dave Clark, our Director of Schedule Planning, has all the answers – but before we reveal them, he wanted to make sure we have a full understand of what the A321 means for him and his team from a network perspective.

Again, looking at the all-core A321, our new aircraft is host to 190 total seats. This compares with 150 seats on our Airbus A320s and 100 seats on our Embraer 190s. This means the A321 will afford Dave the opportunity to very easily add more seats to any existing departure simply by using our new, larger airplane. But he breaks it down even further for us:

Some markets demand a lot of frequency, meaning the number of departures per day. An example is Boston/Newark which often carriers a large number of business travelers who need a lot flexibility in their schedule. If their business meetings end a couple hours earlier than planned, for example, they want to have other flight options to jump onto. The same is true if their business meetings run late. In these markets, Customers want to always have a flight within reach.

On the other hand, there are some markets that a lot of people want to fly between but the frequency of flights is less important. New York/Orlando is a great example of this kind of market. Most customers traveling between New York and Orlando are doing so for leisure, so they are less concerned about when their flight leaves. Further, they are less likely to change their reservations.

Pop quiz: which one of these markets would be a good candidate for the new, all-core A321? The answer is New York/Orlando. Dave is able to add more seats to this market with the A321 without adding any new departures.

And the benefits go even further. Because JetBlue flies to the cities our customers want to fly to, we are often constrained by the number of flights we can operate each day. Airports only offer a limited number of “slots” to ensure air traffic flies at manageable levels. For Dave, slots constrain his ability to add new flights and “dots” on the route map when he wants to. But the A321 will help solve this.

Looking again at New York/Orlando, we fly an average of ten flights per day. But we don’t fly ten flights per day because our customers need ten flights per day – we do it because the demand calls for 1,500 seats. With the A321, Dave can substitute two A320 flights, for example, with A321s – flying the same number of seats but on eight fights a day instead of ten. This opens up two “slots” for Dave to use for new cities.

The following chart breaks all this down easily:

So where will it fly?

Dave and his team are still finalizing the plan and adding new markets to the A321 roadmap, but here’s what we know so far:

New York (JFK)/Barbados (BGI)
New York (JFK)/San Juan (SJU)
New York (JFK)/Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood (FLL)
New York (JFK)/Aruba (AUA)
New York (JFK)/Santo Domingo (SDQ)
New York (JFK)/Santiago (STI)
New York (JFK)/Orlando (MCO)
New York (JFK)/Nassau (NAS)
New York (JFK)/Las Vegas (LAS)
New York (JFK)/Punta Cana (PUJ)
New York (JFK)/San Diego (SAN)
New York (JFK)/Seattle (SEA)

Note that with everything in network planning, this is scheduled to change! Stay tuned for additional markets and cities.

Sichuan Airlines receives its first Airbus A321 with Sharklets

Sichuan Airlines (Chengdu), the largest all Airbus operator in China, took delivery of its first A321 aircraft equipped with Sharklets fuel saving wing tip devices on September 26. The pictured A321-231 B-9967 (msn 5470) will also be the first A321 with Sharklets to be operated in China. The A321, powered by IAE V2500 engines, features a comfortable two class cabin, seating 194 passengers with 8 in business class and 186 in economy.

Sichuan Airlines is China’s largest all Airbus operator. It introduced an A320 in 1995 to become the first Chinese airline to operate an Airbus fly-by-wire aircraft. It was also the first airline to operate Airbus A321 in China. In 2009, the airline received the first A320 assembled at the Airbus Tianjin Final Assembly.

At the end of August 2013, Sichuan Airlines operated a fleet of six A330s and 75 A320 Family aircraft.

Sichuan Airlines:

Qatar Airways to join Oneworld on October 30

Qatar Airways (Doha) will become a full member of oneworld® on October 30, 2013, adding one of the world’s fastest growing and most highly rated airlines to the world’s leading quality airline alliance, according to the airline and the alliance.

One of just seven carriers worldwide rated five-star by the Skytrax airline quality agency and the organization’s Airline of the Year 2011 and 2012 and runner-up 2013, Qatar Airways is the only one of the “Gulf Big Three” carriers slated to join any of the global airline alliances.

Qatar Airways received clearance to board oneworld after successfully completing a thorough review of its readiness, conducted by British Airways, which is sponsoring Qatar Airways’ entry into the alliance, with oneworld’s central team.

Qatar Airways completes its oneworld implementation program just one year after receiving its invitation to join, announced at a press conference in the alliance’s New York home in October 2012. This will make its induction into oneworld one of the fastest in the alliance’s history. Normally it takes around 18 months for any airline to be readied to enter any alliance.

Qatar Airways’ addition to oneworld will come shortly before the airline moves into its new home base, Hamad International Airport, which has been designed to strengthen Doha’s position as a premium global hub, with an eventual capacity for 50 million passengers a year.

From its first flights on October 30, Qatar Airways will offer oneworld’s full range of services and benefits.

Also from October 30, the 130 million members of the established oneworld airlines’ frequent flyer programs will be able to earn and redeem awards and tier status points and receive all other oneworld benefits on Qatar Airways.

Qatar Airways is already participating in Global Explorer, the round-the-world fare offered by all oneworld members and various airlines that are not part of the alliance. When it becomes part of oneworld, Qatar Airways’ network – serving 130 destinations in 70 countries across the Middle East, Europe, Africa, North and South America, Asia and Australasia – will be covered by the full and extensive range of oneworld fare and sales products.

More than 20 of its destinations and five countries – Ethiopia, Iran, Rwanda, Serbia and Tanzania – will be new to the oneworld map. More significantly, Qatar Airways will substantially strengthen the alliance’s customer offering by providing superior routing alternatives across many hundreds of city pairs. For example, passengers flying between Asia and Southern Europe or between Asia and Africa will now have convenient one-stop connections not previously available within the oneworld network.

Its implementation, making oneworld the leading alliance in the Middle East region, comes as the group undergoes the biggest expansion in its history with:
• The addition of Malaysia Airlines, one of this industry’s most frequent award winners, six months ago, further strengthening oneworld’s position in South East Asia, one of the fastest growing regions for air travel demand.
• The switch in the second quarter of next year to oneworld from the Star Alliance by TAM, the leading airline in Latin America’s leading economy, Brazil, along with its Paraguayan affiliate, following the addition to oneworld on 1 October 2013 of the newest member of the LAN group, LAN Colombia, solidifying oneworld’s position as the leading alliance in Latin America.
• The introduction early next year of SriLankan Airlines, as the first airline from the Indian subcontinent to join any global alliance, which, with Qatar Airways, will make oneworld the leading alliance in the region.

In addition, US Airways proposes to switch from Star to oneworld as part of its planned merger with American Airlines, subject to necessary approvals.

With Qatar Airways and the other airlines lining up to join, oneworld will:
• Serve almost a thousand airports in more than 150 countries, with 14,000 daily departures.
• Carry 480 million passengers a year on a combined fleet of almost 3,500 aircraft.
• Generate US$ 140 billion annual revenues

Qatar Airways Chief Executive Officer Akbar Al Baker said: “In Qatar Airways’ relatively short history, we have quickly established a reputation for innovation, quality and excellence in everything we do. We are pleased to build on that by becoming the only major airline from the Gulf to date to be joining any of the global airline alliances. We are proud to entering the best of them, in oneworld – and to be doing so in record quick time. We very much look forward to flying alongside some of the best airlines in the world from 30 October, bringing the heightened benefits offered by oneworld to our customers.”

Top Copyright Photo: Bruce Drum/AirlinersGallery.com (all others by Qatar Airways). Airbus A321-231 A7-ADX (msn 3397) climbs away from the runway at the old Doha International Airport. The new replacement Hamad International Airport has been built on reclaimed land adjacent to the old airport.

Qatar Airways:

Finnair becomes the first airline to operate an Airbus A321 with Sharklets

Finnair (Helsinki) today (September 6) has become the first airline in the world to operate Airbus A321 aircraft equipped with new, fuel-saving Sharklet wing tip devices. The extended-range, single-aisle aircraft, which has the lowest fuel burn, emissions and noise footprint in its class, will be quieter and more comfortable for passengers than the older planes it replaces, as well as about 7 per cent more fuel efficient per seat. Representing a substantial reduction in costs and CO2 emissions, the aircraft is the first of five orders for the A321 with Sharklets, with another two expected to enter the fleet later this year and the remainder due in the first half of 2014.

The five A321s with Sharklets will replace Finnair’s four Boeing 757-200s that have been used mainly for leisure and charter flights, enabling more flexibility and inter-operability between European scheduled and leisure flights, driving up aircraft utilization and thus improving returns on the fleet investment. The new aircraft also complete Finnair’s shift to an all-Airbus fleet, bringing further cost efficiencies in maintenance and pilot training to flight operations.

The first aircraft, registered in Finland as OH-LZG, leaves the Airbus facility in Hamburg today and enters regular service in Finnair’s fleet.

The A321s are configured with 209 Recaro BL3510 seats (three on each side of the aisle) with a 31” pitch.

Finnair first announced the A321 order in June 2010. The airline also has firm orders for 11 next-generations Airbus A350s, the first of which is expected in the second half of 2015.

Fact sheet: A321 with Sharklets

	A321-231
Engines	IAE V2533-A5
Additional fuel tanks	Yes
Range	5741km
Wing span	34,10m
Overall length	44,51m
Height	11,76m
Passenger seats	209
Fuel consumption	2740kg/h*
Freight	2500kg**
ETOPS***	Yes (180 minutes)

* Estimate based on average flight distance
** With full payload on average flight distance
*** Extended Range Twin Operations certificate for operation in areas where nearest airport is within 180 minutes

From the Finnair Blog: Buying an aircraft by Finnair Fleet Manager Miika Haatio:

Finnair received, as the first airline in the world, a new A321 Sharklet aircraft from Airbus in Hamburg in the beginning of September, so it’s a good time to take a look at what goes on during an aircraft purchase. The purchase agreements are normally signed years before the aircraft deliveries and for brand new aircraft types even when the aircraft is still in design phase and no actual parts have been manufactured. Airlines have a fair amount of say in the final configuration of the aircraft and this customization is done depending on the aircraft type some 1-3 years before the aircraft delivery. The A320 series for example has already been in production for 25 years and the A321 Sharklet Finnair received now, got serial number 5758. In a serial production mode like this, the customization is done roughly one year before delivery. The A350 aircraft type on the other hand is still in design phase, and Finnair has already made customization decisions three years before the first delivery, which is scheduled in the second half of 2015.

Most possibilities for customization are in the cabin, where we aim to differentiate from other airlines by our interior design and service level. We have the possibility to select the passenger seat type, seat pitch, in-flight entertainment system and galley equipment and to design the overall cabin look and feel. Out of these the passenger seats are actually also bought by the airline directly from the seat supplier. The decision on which seat type to choose is determined by comparing different products by their price, weight, sitting comfort and post delivery support conditions. On the technical side the single most important decision is to determine the engine type by comparing fuel efficiencies and predicted maintenance costs. On top of this there are roughly a hundred other smaller technical decisions.

The customization of the aircraft Finnair is now receiving has largely aimed at fitting them into our existing fleet at seamlessly as possible. The seat and cabin look and feel are identical to exiting aircraft and most other decisions have been made for commonality reasons. The biggest differences are the sharklets, extra fuel tanks and a more fuel efficient engine type. In addition Airbus is constantly developing the aircraft further, so as a whole the aircraft look technically quite different than the last A321 series aircraft we received from Airbus in 2004. Finnair will be receiving all together five A321 Sharklet aircraft of which three during this year and the last two in the beginning of 2014.

The A321 Final Assembly Line is located in Hamburg, and fuselage parts are shipped there from Airbus facilities in England, France, other parts of Germany and Spain and smaller components are of course manufactured all over the world. Finnair monitors the manufacturing of the aircraft very closely and for this aircraft has for example inspected the wings in England, front fuselage in France and passenger seats in Poland. The most important inspection of the two month Final Assembly is the Cabin Check during which all details of the cabin are inspected.

The actually delivery of the aircraft takes one week and is comprised of the physical and operational checks and the inspection of all the paperwork coming with the aircraft. For the operational test a pilot first checks the aircraft behaviour on ground. This is followed by a taxiing test, engine test runs and finally a test flight. This so called acceptance flight lasts normally around two hours during which the aircraft flight characteristics are inspected. This includes for example flying on maximum and minimum speeds and angles of attack and at maximum bank angles. These should trigger specific cockpit alerts and this is also verified. Things that cannot be performed on ground are also checked, for example cabin pressure leak rate and automatic oxygen mask deployment during pressurization failure, emergency gravity extension of the landing gear and deployment of the airflow powered ram air turbine. During the flight the aircraft is obviously very light and it is amazing how powerful the acceleration feels when coming out of the low speed test!

When all three parts of the inspection are adequately performed and Airbus has rectified the findings, the delivery is concluded by the ceremonious signing of the Bill of Sale. Once we have taken care of formalities with the Finnish Civil Aviation Authority, like registering the aircraft, adding it into the Finnair Air Operator Certificate, getting all needed Airworthiness Documents and insured the aircraft, it can be flown to our home base in Helsinki. After the addition of some specific equipment the aircraft is finally ready to serve our customers.

Miika Haatio

A350 Program Fleet Manager

Top Copyright Photo (all others by Finnair): Gerd Beilfuss/AirlinersGallery.com. The pictured A321-231 D-AZAO (msn 5758) at Hamburg (Finkenwerder) became OH-LZG on the hand over.

Finnair:

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November 25 set as the trial date in the American – US Airways merger request

American Airlines (Dallas/Fort Worth) and US Airways (Phoenix) will go to trial on November 25 against the Department of Justice, six states and the District of Columbia. U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly set the trial date. The date was sooner than the DOJ wanted which means they will have to do their research much faster.

The DOJ, the six states and DC entered the lawsuit in the court on August 13 to block the proposed merger. This trial will probably serve as one of the final hearings in the merger request since the DOJ is critical in any approval. In other words, a judge could determine the fate of the two airlines.

The airlines are likely to argue that Southwest Airlines (which was not counted in the original DOJ data) is a formidable competitor and a merger is necessary to stay competitive against WN and other fast-growing ultra low fares carriers like Spirit Airlines and Allegiant Air (they have a good point). They are also likely to argue that air fares have gone up not as a result of the recent mergers but continuously rising fuel costs.

The DOJ meanwhile would prefer to compare the AA-US merger against the previous mergers of United Airlines-Continental Airlines and Delta Air Lines-Northwest Airlines and their international routes.

The other critical point bound to be discussed in detail at the trial is the slots the proposed merged carrier will have at Washington’s super high yield Reagan National Airport. The new AA would be a super carrier at DCA if the merger is now approved. AA-US will likely have to give up more concerning DCA.

Lawyers for both sides are likely to exchange millions of documents according to this report by Reuters. If you are an airline route analysis junkie, this is the “trial of the century”.

As many as 50 people could testify at the trial. Will other airline CEOs testify at the trial?

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

Top Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough/AirlinersGallery.com. American’s Boeing 737-823 N989AN (msn 33205) prepares to land at Dulles International Airport in Virginia near Washington, DC.

American Airlines:

Have you seen the “new look” AirlinersGallery.com?

US Airways:

Bottom Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. US Airways’ Airbus A321-231 N535UW (msn 3993) climbs away from Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Monarch Airlines drops the use of Aurela Airlines after an incident today at Birmingham

Monarch Airlines (London-Luton) has issued the following statement today after an incident involving an Aurela Aircompany (Vilnius) Boeing 737-300 (LY-SKA) at Birmingham:

“Monarch confirms that the flight operating from Nice on flight ZB 467 operated by Aurela Airlines on September 21, 2012, has been involved in an incident upon landing at Birmingham Airport.

It is understood that the flight operating on an Aurela Boeing 737-300 aircraft registration LY-SKA with 135 passengers onboard left the runway whilst taxiing to the terminal, bringing the aircraft to a stop. Passengers have now safely disembarked from the aircraft and have been coached to the terminal where they are being cared for by Monarch Airline staff. At this time we understand that no passengers or crew have sustained any injuries.

Monarch apologises to all passengers on-board and is offering them all possible assistance. Monarch is working with Birmingham Airport to move the aircraft and is fully assisting with the authorities. As a standard precaution emergency services have attended the aircraft.

We have suspended the use of Aurela Airlines.”

Top Copyright Photo: Javier Rodriguez. Boeing 737-35B LY-SKA (msn 23972) was being operated for Monarch in the basic Aurela livery without titles. The airliner is pictured departing from Palma de Mallorca before today’s incident.

Aurela:

Monarch:

Bottom Copyright Photo: Nik French. Monarch’s Airbus A321-231 G-OZBS (msn 1428) has received decals (both sides) of a drawing by an employee’s daughter. This drawing was selected in a competition for the employees’ children to draw a picture depicting new destination Munich. Service to MUC starts today.

WindRose is adding three Airbus A321s, introduces a wild color scheme

WindRose Aviation Services (Kiev) is adding three ex-easyJet Airbus A321s. The first has been painted at Shannon in this new wild color scheme.

Copyright Photo: Malcolm Nason. Airbus A321-231 G-TTIE (msn 2682) is pictured being tugged from the paint shop today at Shannon. The airliner will become UR-WRI on delivery. Donbassaero Airlines will operate the aircraft.

Shanghai Airlines to exit the Star Alliance at the end of October

Shanghai Airlines Airbus A321-231 D-AVZM (B-6591) (msn 3969) XFW (Gerd Beilfuss), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Shanghai Airlines (Shanghai) will exit the Star Alliance on October 31 as a result of the merger with China Eastern Airlines. Shanghai Airlines was welcomed as the 19th member of Star Alliance on December 12, 2007.

Copyright Photo: Gerd Beilfuss. Looking nice in the updated 2007 livery, Shanghai’s Airbus A321-231 D-AVZM (msn 6591) at Hamburg (Finkenwerder) became B-6591 on delivery.