Virgin Atlantic Airways (London) has moved up the planned date for the final revenue flight of the Airbus A340-300 according to Airline Route. The last flight is tentatively scheduled as flight VS 251 from Shanghai (Pudong) to London (Heathrow) on March 29.
Copyright Photo: Keith Burton/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A340-313 G-VELD (msn 214) departs from London (Heathrow).
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Lufthansa (Frankfurt) is further expanding its route network to South America. From November 16, 2015, the airline will offer year-round flights to Panama City for the first time, subject to government approval.
An Airbus A340-300 aircraft will fly five times a week between Frankfurt and the economic metropolis in Central America. Flight LH 484 will take off from Lufthansaโs Frankfurt hub in the morning at 10.15 a.m. and arrive in Panama City in the afternoon at 4.40 p.m. (local time) after a flight time of 12 hours and 25 minutes. The return flight LH 485 will depart from Panama City in the early evening as a night flight and land at Frankfurt Airport the following morning.
Lufthansa is also expanding its partnership with Copa Airlines. Lufthansa passengers will in future be able to easily reach a further 50 destinations in Central and South America and the Caribbean with the partner airline.
Copyright Photo: Bruce Drum/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A340-313 D-AIFE (msn 434) lands at Miami.
Lufthansa aircraft slide show:
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Virgin Atlantic Airways (London) is currently scheduling the last Airbus A340-300 revenue flight on October 24, 2015 subject to change. The last route for the type is currently planned to be from Johannesburg to London (Heathrow) per Airline Route. The A340 is currently also operated to Boston (ending on May 14, 2015) and New York (JFK).
In other news, Virgin Atlantic will now introduce the new Boeing 787-9 on the daily London (Heathrow) – Shanghai (Pudong) route on June 15, 2015 (moved up from October 25 per Airline Route).
Copyright Photo: Airbus A340-313 G-VELD (msn 214) departs from London (Heathrow).
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Turkish Airlines (Istanbul) will start a new route from Istanbul (IST) to Manila next year. The new route will be operated three days week with Airbus A340-300 aircraft starting on March 30, 2015 according to Airline Route.
Copyright Photo: Ken Petersen/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A340-311 TC-JDJ (msn 023) taxies at New York (JFK).
Turkish Airlines aircraft slide show:ย
Finnair (Helsinki) has firmed up the eight Airbus A350 XWB aircraft options in its 2006 A350 order placed with Airbus. The eight A350s will be delivered to Finnair starting in 2018. The firm up of the options increases the total number of Finnair’s A350 orders to 19.
Finnairโs current long-haul fleet consists of seven Airbus A340 aircraft and eight A330 aircraft. The long-haul fleet is planned to grow, on average, by one new-generation energy-efficient aircraft per year between 2016 and 2020. Based on the current delivery schedule of A350s, Finnair will receive the first four aircraft in the second half of 2015, seven A350s between 2016 and 2017, and eight A350s between 2018 and 2023. Finnair plans to phase out its A340 aircraft by the end of 2017, following the successful delivery and entry into service of A350 XWB. As a part of the deal Airbus has also agreed to acquire four Airbus A340-300 aircraft currently owned by Finnair in 2016 and 2017.
Top Image: Airbus.
Finnair aircraft slide show:ย
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South African Airways (Johannesburg) continues to lose money and up until now has relied on state funding. However the SAA board recentlyย appointed Mr. Nico Bezuidenhout as the new acting Chief Executive Officer of the struggling airline. Mr.ย Bezuidenhout has given the company a 90-day turnaround plan to turnaround the loss-making company by March according to EWN. The new CEO is warning the company is facing insolvency unless the plan is fully implemented. The airline has also reportedly reached out to Etihad Airways (Abu Dhabi) for a possible minority investment and guidance by the fast-growing Gulf carrier. Etihad has been investing in struggling carriers and helping to turn them around and also feed traffic to its Abu Dhabi hub.
Read the full report: CLICK HERE
In other news,ย South African Airways announced on December 2 that it has commenced adding additional frequencies to its network which will substantially increase air services to some of its key African routes.
According to the airline, “The additional capacity injection answers the commercial mandate of the Long-Term Turnaround Strategy (LTTS), and is in response to positive market growth. As of yesterday, Harare (Zimbabwe) and Maputo (Mozambique), have included additional frequencies, with Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo), and Mauritius to follow.”
โThe strengthening of these routes comes in the wake of positive load factors and increased traffic between the countries,โ says SAA Acting Chief Executive Officer Nico Bezuidenhout. Presently, GDP growth in Mozambique (7% – African Development Bank) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (8.1%- African Development Bank) exceed World Bank growth statistics for the continent (4.7%-2013) while South Africaโs trade and demand for leisure and business travel to Mauritius is growing at a steady pace. โAir lift services traditionally lead GDP in all markets and also track the rate of increased leisure travel, investment and business engagement between South Africa and its continental peers.โ
Effective December 1, SAA increased frequencies between Johannesburg and Maputo by 24% from 17 to 21 weekly frequencies, effective 1 December Johannesburg and Harare from 18 to 19 every week (6%), effective 4 December Johannesburg and Kinshasa from 6 to 7 a week (17%) and effective 4 December Johannesburg and Mauritius from 9 to 10 weekly frequencies (11% increase).
Finally,ย Air China and South African Airways (SAA) have announced the further strengthening of their bilateral cooperation within the Star Alliance as part of the strengthened cooperation between the two countries.
The key element in this strengthened relationship will be some network reconfiguration for both airlines to provide better passenger and cargo services between South Africa and China and countries adjacent to both.
Copyright Photo: Fred Freketic/AirlinersGallery.com. The company has already retired the Airbus A340-200s. The fuel-inefficient Airbus A340-300s are likely to be the next type to retired and replaced in any reorganization. Airbus A340-313 ZS-SXC (msn 590) taxies at New York’s JFK International Airport.
South African aircraft slide show:ย
Lufthansa (Frankfurt) is facing another strike by its pilots starting tomorrow, Monday, December 1. The airline issued this statement:
Strike by pilots union Vereinigung Cockpit from 12.00 on December 1 to 23.59 on December 2
The pilots union Vereinigung Cockpit has announced a strike for all Lufthansa short-haul and continental flights departing between 12.00 CEST on December 1 to 23.59 CEST on December 2, and for all intercontinental flights departing between 03:00 CEST to 23:59 CEST on December 2. During the strike period disruptions of Lufthansa flights are expected. Lufthansa is currently working intensely on a special timetable for the strike period. All flights operated by the Lufthansa Group airlines Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Germanwings, Swiss and Air Dolomiti (operated by OS, SN, 4U, LX, EN) will not be affected.
Passengers, whose flights have been cancelled, can rebook free of charge to alternative flights.
Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A340-313 D-AIFF (msn 447) arrives in Washington.
Lufthansa aircraft slide show:ย 
Lufthansa (Frankfurt) has turned over an Airbus A340-300 for Ebola patient humanitarian evacuation flights byย the German government. Airbus A340-313 D-AIGZ (msn 347) has been converted from a passenger aircraft to this special transport aircraft. The airline issued this statement:
Federal Foreign Minister Dr Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Federal Minister of Health Hermann Grรถhe accepted receipt of the worldโs first evacuation aircraft for transporting and treating Ebola patients on behalf of the German government.
Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr handed over an Airbus A340-300 for its new role in Berlin on Thursday (November 27). At the request of the Federal Foreign Office, Lufthansa Technik spent the last few weeks converting what was previously a passenger aircraft called the โVillingen-Schwennigenโ so that it could be used for this special humanitarian mission. Under its new name, the โRobert Kochโ, it now serves as the worldโs only evacuation facility for highly contagious patients. Unlike the smaller aircraft that have been sporadically available to date, the facility can provide comprehensive intensive care on board. The Lufthansa Group was able to complete such a complex and technically demanding undertaking so quickly because the airline was in a position to provide a long-haul aircraft at short notice that was suitable for the specific requirements of the project. As a global leader in aviation technology, Lufthansa Technik also has a wealth of experience in installing a diverse range of non-standard cabin interiors on aircraft for governments, VIPs and the business travel sector. It was able to draw on this expertise for the construction and installation of the special isolation unit in the aircraft cabin. The aircraft conversion, which started on November 17 in Hamburg, was carried out in partnership with the Robert Koch Institute (RKI).
In the middle and rear of the long-haul aircraft, passenger seats, kitchen and washing areas, and baggage lockers were removed to make way for a patient transport isolation unit surrounded by an airtight tent with negative pressure. Inside, medics can provide patients with intensive care and treatment during the flight while remaining fully protected. Two exterior tents, which are also airtight, serve as buffers so that the treatment tent can be entered and exited safely. At the front of the cabin, there are still seats for up to 19 passengers such as doctors, attendants from the RKI, isolation tent technicians and a Lufthansa engineer. Within a short space of time, a total of more than 700 pilots and flight attendants volunteered as cockpit and cabin crew for the โRobert Kochโ humanitarian project, which will initially run for six months.
Lufthansa aircraft slide show:ย
Lufthansa (Frankfurt) is expected to announce later today it will bring its new Jump low-fare Airbus A340-300 subsidiary to Tampa, Florida from Frankfurt starting on September 25, 2015. The new service will use its aging Airbus A340-300s configured with approximately 300 seats. LH will initially launch Jump with three A340-300s.
Lufthansa issued this statement:
Lufthansa continues to expand its network in the United States. For the very first time in its history, Lufthansa will offer service to the Tampa Bay area, the gateway to the West Coast of Florida. The new nonstop service from Frankfurt will begin on September 25, 2015.
The airline will be operating five weekly flights in summer and four weekly in winter on the Airbus A340-300 on the route between Frankfurt and Tampa. Tampa joins Miami and Orlando as Lufthansaโs third destination in Florida.
Flight LH 482 will leave Lufthansaโs Frankfurt hub and arrive in Tampa in the afternoon (local time) after a flight of nearly eleven hours. The return from Florida is a night flight, which will depart in the early evening and touch down at Frankfurt Airport in the morning of the following day.
The A340-300 seats a total of 298 passengers in Business, Premium Economy and Economy Class offering the comforts and quality that Lufthansa is known for, with the newest cabin layout in all traveling classes: Seats in the new Business Class extend horizontally at the touch of a button into a flat and comfortable bed 1.98 meters (6.5 feet) in length, and the recently introduced Premium Economy Class offers more personal space and more legroom. In all classes, passengers will enjoy an individual inflight entertainment system with a plethora of offerings, along with fast broadband Internet connectivity via the FlyNet Wi-Fi hotspot onboard.
Tampa is known as the birthplace of commercial aviation. 100 years ago, the first commercial flight in history occurred between St Petersburg and Tampa on January 1, 1914.
In other news, Lufthansa announced its new Premium Economy Class will take off nine days earlier with this announcement:
The Lufthansa Premium Economy Class is taking off nine days earlier than planned. Already on November 22, the new travel class will be available for the first time on all routes flown by a Boeing 747-8 (including Bangalore, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Peking, Sao Paolo, Seoul, Tokyo-Haneda and Washington D.C.).
Its take-off on the newest and most modern Lufthansa long-haul fleet was earmarked for December 1, but the new cabin was completed ahead of schedule. From the end of November, all the benefits and comfort of Premium Economy Class can be enjoyed by passengers on the Boeing 747-8. The free baggage allowance, for one, is double that allowed a passenger in Economy Class. For a fee of 25 euros, passengers in the new class can access and relax in comfort in Lufthansa Business lounges prior to take-off. On board, each passenger in Premium Economy will be greeted with a welcome drink. At their seat in the cabin is an upmarket amenity kit with useful accessories, a water bottle and a power socket. Meals will be presented in menus and served on china tableware. Available, too, is an extensive Inflight Entertainment program for passengers to view on a large monitor fitted on the backrest of the seat in front.
Passengers can even upgrade last-minute to available Premium Economy seats at check-in at the airport. The entire Lufthansa long-haul fleet is to be equipped with Premium Economy by late summer 2015 when the retrofit is successively completed on all the long-haul aircraft. Following its installation on the Boeing 747-8 fleet, the new class will be fitted on the airlineโs Airbus A380โs.
Copyright Photo: Rob Rindt/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A340-313 D-AIFC (msn 379) of Lufthansa touches down in Vancouver.
Lufthansa aircraft slide show:ย
Virgin Atlantic Airways (London) is close to making a decision on its five Boeing 787 options according to this report by Bloomberg. The British carrier is updating its fleet plans as it retires its older aircraft types with the new generation aircraft.
According to the report, Virgin Atlantic will retire the last Airbus A340-300 (above) at the end of February 2015. The last five Boeing 747-400s will leave the fleet between September 2015 and July 2016.
Two Airbus A340-600s will be retired at the beginning of 2015.
Read the full report: CLICK HERE
Copyright Photo: SPA/AirlinersGallery.com. The older Airbus A340-300s will be the first to be retired in February.ย Virgin Atlantic Airways’ Airbus A340-313 G-VFAR (msn 225) climbs away from London’s Heathrow Airport.
Virgin Atlantic Airways:ย 
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