Tag Archives: Airbus

Drukair confirms order for one Airbus A319 with Sharklets

Drukair-Royal Bhutan Airlines (Paro) has signed a firm order for an Airbus A319 aircraft equipped with Sharklet fuel saving wing tip devices to complement its existing fleet of two A319s. The order announced at the UKโ€™s Farnborough International Airshow, follows a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in February.

Landlocked and surrounded by a wall of the worldโ€™s tallest mountains, Bhutan is one of the worldโ€™s most pristine locations and one of the worldโ€™s most challenging destinations for air services. At over 7,000 feet above sea level, Drukairโ€™s base at Paro airport is only possible using Visual Flight Rules (VFR) for approach. This means the crew can only fly by vision, which requires a high performance and responsive aircraft.

Copyright Photo: Ken Petersen. Drukair currently operates two Airbus A319s.

JetBlue to fly to Samana in the Dominican Republic starting on November 14

JetBlue Airways (New York) todayย announced plans to expand its service to its sixth destination in the Dominican Republic and 73rdย BlueCity with the addition of Samana, subject to receipt of government approval.ย Effective November 14, 2012, JetBlue will launch twice weekly flights between New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and El Catey International Airport (AZS), on Wednesdays and Saturdays โ€“ the only service between the United States and this emerging tourist destination.

JetBlue’s proposed schedule between JFK and AZS:

JFK to AZS: AZS to JFK:
Depart โ€“ Arrive Depart โ€“ Arrive
8:25 a.m. โ€“ 1:05 p.m. 2:00 p.m. โ€“ 4:50 p.m.
– Flights operate on Wednesdays and Saturdays effective November 14, 2012 –

In the Dominican Republic, JetBlue also serves La Romana, Puerto Plata, Punta Cana, Santiago and Santo Domingo with service to Boston, Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood, New York, Orlando and San Juan. JetBlue’s service to Samana will operate with the airline’s fleet of Airbus A320 aircraft.

Copyright Photo: Ken Petersen.

JetBlue Airways:ย 

Arkia jumps to Airbus, orders four A321neo aircraft

Arkia Israel Airlines (Tel Aviv), the second largest airline in Israel, signed today (July 9) a purchase agreement for four A321neos at the Farnborough International Airshow.ย  This order makes the airline a new Airbus customer and the first airline in Israel to order the A320 neo Family.ย  Engine selection will be announced at a later date

The aircraft will be configured in a single all economy class seating 220 passengers. The flexibility and range capabilities of the A321neo will allow Arkia to operate their new aircraft on expanding routes to European and domestic destinations.

Image: Airbus.

Arkia:ย 

Aer Lingus wants to fly domestic routes in the United Kingdom

Aer Lingus (Dublin) is planning to launch a domestic route in the United Kingdom between London (Heathrow) and Edinburgh according to the Irish Independent. The route is up for grabs after British Airways (London) took over bmi (East Midlands) and was forced to give up the appropriate LHR slots as ordered by the European Commission. Virgin Atlantic Airways (London) has also expressed an interest in serving the UK domestic route. The projected expansion comes after Ryanair (Dublin), which owns 29.8 percent of the Aer Lingus stock, launched its hostile bid to take control of the Irish carrier.

Read the full report from the Irish Independent: CLICK HERE

In other news,ย Aer Lingus today announced its schedule for winter 2012 along with the addition of six new routes and increased frequencies.

Dublin to Verona and Stockholm and Cork to Brussels are set to continue right throughout the winter, owing to their continued popularity. Other exciting destinations on offer include Copenhagen, Bordeaux and Venice.

Frequencies will be increased on a further eight popular routes such as Berlin, Vienna and Amsterdam. There will also be extra flights to Lanzarote and Tenerife which will be music to the ears of those seeking out a winter sunshine holiday in the Canary Islands.

Copyright Photo: Sebastian Fernandez.

Aer Lingus:ย 

Airbus starts production of the A320neo Family

Airbus (Toulouse) has issued the following statement:

“The first ‘cutting of metal’ for the Airbus A320neo has taken place in Toulouse. Marking the start of manufacturing of the airliner, machining began of the first engine pylon component at the โ€œSaint-Eloiโ€ Airbus dedicated pylon and nacelle factory in Toulouse.

Pylons are structures which hold the engine to the wing. The new pylon for the A320neo retains high commonality with the existing A320โ€™s pylon design, while also incorporating more titanium as well as some advanced architectures developed for the A380 pylon. In addition, the new component also features an advanced โ€˜aft-pylon-fairingโ€™ concept specifically tailored for the more fuel efficient NEO engines.

The Airbus Saint-Eloi site is specialized in the design, manufacturing, assembly, equipping and testing of engine pylons and design and manufacturing of titanium nacelle parts for all the aircraft in the Airbus family. Featuring the latest efficient โ€˜moving-lineโ€™ lean-production concept, the facility is also the leading European centre for hard metals machining and transformation, including titanium.

The A320neo โ€˜new engine optionโ€™ for the A320 Family will enter into service from late 2015. It incorporates latest generation engines and large Sharklet wing-tip devices, which together with the new engines will deliver up to 15 percent in fuel savings. With more than 1,400 firm orders since its launch in 2010, the A320neo Family has proven to be the fastest selling commercial aircraft programme ever.”

Top Copyright Photo: Airbus. A concept drawing of a future Airbus A320neo for Spirit Airlines.

Bottom Copyright Photo: Airbus. Airbus has issued this “Airbus Concept Plane” design as a possible future design.

 

Bombardier is in talks with AirAsia about a possible order

Bombardier (Toronto) is reportedly in talks with AirAsia (Malaysia)ย (Kuala Lumpur) about a high density (160 seat) version of its new CSeries airliner according to this report by Reuters.

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Ken Petersen. AirAsia has built its expanding fleet around the Airbus A320.

AirAsia (Malaysia):ย 

Etihad Airways’ second quarter revenues increase by 31% to $1.25 billion

Etihad Airways (Abu Dhabi) had a very good second quarter.

The company issued the following financial report for the second quarter (Q2):

“Etihad Airways has announced a 31 percent increase in its Q2 2012 revenues to $1.25 billion (2011: $957 million), contributing to first half 2012 revenues up 30 percent to $2.24 billion (2011 $1.73 billion).ย  Passenger numbers leapt to 2.55 million in Q2, up 34 percent, and to 4.89 million in the half year, thanks to increased overall capacity and improved seat factors.

The record results were boosted by the airline’s growing network of codeshares and strategic partnerships which together fed 800,000 passengers into Etihad Airwaysโ€™ network in the last six months, contributing $281 million.

During the quarter, Etihad Airways took minority equity stakes in Aer Lingus and in Virgin Australia, adding to its minority shareholdings in Airberlin and Air Seychelles.

Together these five airlines carried 72 million passengers on 376 aircraft in 2011, generating combined revenues of more than $14 billion.

Etihad Airways launched new routes to Basra and Nairobi during the quarter, and started a new Abu Dhabi-Lagos service on July 1, 2012, bringing its direct network of cities served up to 87. It also announced new codeshare agreements which brought its total passenger network up to 308 destinations, by far the largest of any Gulf carrier.

Last month, Etihad Airways unveiled plans to launch daily flights to Sao Paolo in Brazil, its first South American destination, which will start in June 2013.

The airline also continued to make considered investments in marketing, products and services, such as new lounges, the introduction of onboard chefs in its Diamond First class cabin and the launch of a global television advertising campaign to drive awareness of its brand and award-winning services.

Etihad Airwaysโ€™ available seat kilometres (ASKs) rose 25 per cent to 15.2 billion in Q2 (12.2 billion), as the fleet grew to 67 aircraft (61).ย  Revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) rose 33 per cent to 11.8 billion (8.9 billion).

The average seat factor was 4.6 percentage points higher in the quarter compared to the previous year, up to 77.6 per cent (73.0 per cent).

Etihad Cargo had another strong quarter, with tonnage up six per cent to 74,000 tonnes, contributing to revenues of $183 million, up 11 percent.ย  There was strong growth in particular in Germany, the UK and Bangladesh.

The airline continues to keep a tight focus on costs, with non-fuel costs per available seat kilometre (CASK) down one per cent.”

Q2 2012 results

Key indicators Q2ย 2012 Q2 2011 Variance
Passenger revenue US$850m US$727m 17%
Cargo revenue US$183m US$164m 11%
Total revenue US$1,253m US$957m 31%
Passengers 2.55m 1.91m 34%
Revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) 11.8b 8.9b 33%
Available seat kilometres (ASKs) 15.2b 12.2b 25%
Total revenue per available seat kilometre (RASK) (fils) 30.27 28.88 5%
Seat factor 77.6% 73.0% 4.6 points
Aircraft 67 61 6

Half year 2012 results


Key indicators H1 2012 H1 2011 Variance
Passenger revenue US$1,608m US$1,335m 20%
Cargo revenue US$348m US$306m 14%
Total revenue US$2,242m US$1,727m 30%
Passengers 4.89m 3.76m 30%
Revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) 22.73b 17.51b 30%
Available seat kilometres (ASKs) 29.5b 24b 23%
Total revenue per available seat kilometre (RASK) (fils) 27.94 26.39 6%
Seat factor 77.1% 72.9% 4.2 points
Aircraft 67 61 6

Copyright Photo: Keith Burton.

Etihad Airways:ย 

Air Seychelles receives its first Airbus A330-200

Air Seychelles (Mahe) on July 5 took delivery of its first Airbus A330-200, leased from its new strategic partner Etihad Airways (Abu Dhabi). Another A330-200 is due by the end of the year. The airliner is named “Aldabra” afterย the world’s second largestย coralย atoll. Aldabraย is located in theย Aldabra Groupย of islands in theย Indian Oceanย which is part of theย Seychelles Islands. Aldabra is uninhabited and isolated and has distinctive faunaย including theย Aldabra Giant Tortoise. Aldabraย is designated aย World Heritage Site.

Read the full story from The National: CLICK HERE

Route Map. Air Seychelles is now feeding all of its European traffic through Abu Dhabi and Etihad Airways.

Please click on the map to expand.

Adria Airways to phase out its Airbus A319s and A320

Adria Airways (Ljubljana) is reorganizing its fleet, downsizing and streamlining the types to meet its current demand structure. The flag carrier is planning to phase out its two Airbus A319s and one A320 at the end of the summer season according to this report by Balkans.com.

The future fleet will be centered around the Bombardier CRJ900 and to a lesser extent the smaller CRJ200. The CRJ200s, due to high fuel costs, could be eliminated in the future.

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Andi Hiltl.

Adria Airways:ย 

The final accident report for AF 447 is issued

Air France‘s (Paris) tragic flight AF 447 will soon be put to rest but the safety implications are bound to last longer. The final French accident report has been issued blaming pilot error, defective pitot sensors, inadequate training and insufficient oversight spreading the blame to several entities. 228 people were killed on June 1, 2009 when the pictured Airbus A330-203 registered as F-GZCP plunged into the Atlantic Ocean.

Read the full report from IOL News: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Paul Denton.

Air France:ย