Tag Archives: A340-300

Norwegian wants Boeing to repair a defective 787

Norwegian Air Shuttle (Norwegian.com) (Oslo) is demanding repairs from Boeing on a newly delivered Boeing 787-8 after the 787 suffered repeated maintenance breakdowns according to this report by Reuters.

Norwegian Long Haul will again lease an Airbus A340 from Hifly to maintain its schedules and will not take re-delivery of the 787 until it is more reliable according to the report.

Meanwhile Boeing is stationing a 787 repair crew in Stockholm, Sweden to handle any maintenance issues. The broken 787 is still located in Bangkok, Thailand.

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

For the 787 to be a successful airliner, it must be reliable. Right now that is in question. For small, but fast-growing carriers like Norwegian, reliability is paramount as it does not have the luxury of a spare aircraft when one breaks, in this case often.

Read the analysis of the problem by Reuters: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Kok Chwee K.C. Sim/AirlinersGallery.com. Norwegian is again leasing an Airbus A340 from Hifly to fill the gap while the 787 is repaired. On the first round when the 787 delivery was delayed, the pictured Hifly A340-313X CS-TQY (msn 190) wore a red norwegian.com banner on the lower fuselage.

Norwegian:

Iran Aseman Airlines starts twice-weekly flights to Stockholm

Iran Aseman Airlines (Tehran) launched twice-weekly flights between Tehran and Stockholm (Arlanda) on September 1, delayed from the original planned date of May 2.

Copyright Photo: Stefan Sjogren/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A340-311 EP-APA (msn 002) touches down at Arlanda Airport today. The wide body airliner now wears “Sponsor of Iran National Football Team” sub-titles.

Iran Aseman Airlines:

SAS Group’s third quarter net profit rises to $128 million

SAS Group (Scandinavian Airlines-SAS) (Stockholm) reported its third quarter net profit rose to 844 million kroner ($128 million). Facing stiff competition from low-fare airlines, the SAS Group cut 800 jobs last year in order to reduce its costs. The SAS Group issued this financial statement for its third quarter:

SAS delivers positive result for the May-July 2013 quarter:

· Revenue: MSEK 11,593 (11,638)
· Traffic: up 5.6%
· Passenger revenue adjusted for currency: up 5.3%
· Income before tax and nonrecurring items: MSEK 973 (497)
· EBIT margin: 11.6% (9.0%)
· Income before tax: MSEK 1,120 (726)
· Net income for the period: MSEK 844 (534)
· Earnings per share: SEK 2.57 (1.62)
· Cash flow from operating activities: MSEK -276 (-187)

November 2012-July 2013

· Revenue: MSEK 31,123 (31,007)
· Traffic: up 3.8%
· Passenger revenue adjusted for currency: up 5.3%
· Income before tax and nonrecurring items: MSEK 229 (-788)
· EBIT margin: 2.2% (-1.3%)
· Income before tax: MSEK -9 (-2,694)
· Net income for the period: MSEK -174 (-2,436)
· Earnings per share: SEK -0.53 (-7.40)
· Cash flow from operating activities: MSEK 518 (299)

“It is gratifying that our robust and sweeping restructuring program is having the anticipated effect and SAS exits the third quarter strongly with a positive income before tax of MSEK 1,120.

We have made substantial progress in the implementation of our plan to improve our financial position. When the sale of Widerøe is concluded in September, we will have completed the sale of assets corresponding to about SEK 2.7 billion.

In parallel, during the quarter, we were able to increase traffic through a significant improvement in productivity. During the summer, 32 new routes were opened, which contributed to increased passenger revenue at the same time as operating expenses decreased. We have signed a letter of intent with Airbus regarding the renewal of the SAS Group’s long-haul fleet, which bolsters our long-term competitiveness.

Competition in European air traffic remains very intense. Consequently, our focus is on completing the entirely necessary transition to a lower and more flexible cost structure, in parallel with our continued aggressive investment in our customer offering. Our forecast of achieving positive earnings for the full-year remains firmly in place,”

Rickard Gustafson, SAS President and CEO.

Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough/AirlinersGallery.com. SAS has eight Airbus A350-900s on order with the first deliveries in 2018. The new type will replace the older Airbus A340-300s. A340-313X LN-RKG (msn 424) approaches the runway at Washington Dulles International Airport.

Scandinavian Airlines-SAS:

Delta and Virgin Atlantic receive tentative DOT antitrust immunity for trans-Atlantic alliance

Delta Air Lines (Atlanta) and Virgin Atlantic Airways (London) have received tentative U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) (Washington) antitrust immunity for its proposed trans-Atlantic alliance. As part of the deal, Delta is acquiring a 49 percent stake in Virgin Atlantic for $360 million from Singapore Airlines (Singapore).

All other parties will have 14 days to comment on the DOT decision, otherwise it will become final.

Read the full report from Reuters: CLICK HERE

Top Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough/AirlinersGallery.com. Delta’s Boeing 757-232 N650DL (msn 24390) banks on the final turn on the River Approach into Washington (Reagan National).

Delta Air Lines:

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

Virgin Atlantic Airways:

Bottom Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A340-313 G-VAIR (msn 164) climbs away from Tokyo (Narita) painted in the updated 2010 livery which also includes airline titles on the fuselage underside.

Finnair and Marimekko launch a design collaboration, the first “Marimekko A340” is launched

Finnair (Helsinki) and Finnish design house Marimekko are teaming up to enhance the air travel experience with a new design partnership. From spring 2013 all Finnair aircraft will feature a Marimekko for Finnair collection of textiles and tableware, featuring Marimekko’s classic patterns. The Marimekko for Finnair collection is specially designed to add a light and fresh visual and tactile dimension to the onboard experience, while lightening the airline’s carbon footprint as well.

Two of Finnair’s long-haul aircraft will also wear livery based on Marimekko designs. An Airbus A340-300 (A340-313X OH-LQD) featuring Maija Isola’s iconic Unikko floral print from 1964 is already operating between Helsinki and Finnair’s Asian destinations, and it will be followed by another aircraft in Marimekko livery in spring 2013. OH-LQD was unveiled on October 21 at Helsinki.

Marimekko is a Finnish textile and clothing design company renowned first and foremost for its original prints and colors. The company designs and manufactures high-quality household goods ranging from interior decoration textiles to tableware as well as clothing, bags, and other accessories. When Marimekko was founded in 1951, its unprecedented printed fabrics gave it a strong and unique identity. Marimekko products are sold in about 40 countries. In 2011, sales of the company’s brands were some EUR 170 million with net sales of EUR 77 million. At the end of the year, there were 90 Marimekko stores. The key markets are North America, Northern Europe and the Asia-Pacific region. The Group has about 500 employees. Marimekko’s shares are quoted on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd.

Video and Image: Finnair.

Finnair:

Aerolineas Argentinas to join SkyTeam in 2012

Aerolineas Argentinas Airbus A340-312 LV-BMT (msn 048) MIA (Bruce Drum), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Aerolineas Argentinas (Buenos Aires) is planning to join the SkyTeam Alliance in 2012.

South African Airways fiscal yearly profit rises 45% to $81.3 million

South African Airways Airbus A340-313E ZS-SXA (msn 544) IAD (Brian McDonough), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

South African Airways (Johannesburg) reported its fiscal year profit rose 45 percent to $81.3 million according to this report by Bloomberg.

Read the full report:

CLICK HERE

China Airlines to join the SkyTeam alliance

China Airlines Airbus A340-313X B-18801 (msn 402) FRA (Gunter Mayer), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

China Airlines (Taipei) is planning to join the SkyTeam alliance.

The airline issued the following statement:

“China Airlines, the flag carrier of Taiwan, today (September 14) formally announced the start of its joining process leading to full entry into the SkyTeam airline alliance. The process is expected to be completed by mid-2011. The announcement comes just a few months after China Eastern signed an agreement to join SkyTeam.”

Finnair to lease two Airbus A340-300s from ILFC

Finnair Airbus A340-313E OH-LQE (msn 938) (Oneworld) HEL (Ton Jochems), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Finnair (Helsinki) will lease two 270-seat Airbus A340-300 wide-bodied aircraft for four years from the leasing company ILFC. The aircraft will join the Finnair fleet in late 2010 and early 2011.

Finnair currently has 12 Airbus long-haul aircraft, which fly to nine
destinations in Asia as well as to New York in North America. At the end of this year, one further new Airbus A330 aircraft, ordered earlier, will join the fleet. With the coming additions, Finnair’s long-haul fleet will grow to a total 15 Airbus aircraft by the beginning of next year.

Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems. A splendid view of Airbus A340-313E OH-LQE (msn 938) at the HEL hub in the Oneworld scheme.

Next May, Finnair will open a daily direct route to Singapore.

Gabon Airlines wet leases Airbus A340-313X CS-TQM from HiFly

Gabon Airlines (Libreville) has wet leased Airbus A340-313X CS-TQM (msn 117) from HiFly. This airliner was recently operated for PAL Airlines (Santiago).