Tag Archives: Airbus

Thai Smile takes delivery of its first Airbus A320, will now launch operations on July 7

Thai Smile Air (subsidiary of Thai Airways International) (Bangkok) will now launch operations on July 7 (delayed from July 1) following the delivery of its first aircraft. The first route will be from Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi) to Macau. Eventually four A320s will be utilized to fly from BKK to Chiang Mai, Phuket, Kolkata, Jakarta, and Phnom Penh in the first year.

Thai Smile will be a “light-premium sub-brand” according to the parent.

In its first year of operations, using Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport as its main hub, Thai will replace the mainline service to Ubon Ratchathani, Udon Thani, Khon Kaen, Chiang Rai, and Surat Thani.

According to Thai, “the main target market for these initial in-country flights will be the young small and medium business traveler as well as local traveler, government agents, who wants a relaxed, stylish atmosphere on board without the premium price.”

Thai Smile’s light premium service will offer a complimentary meal and drink service, free passenger seat selections, faster check-in procedures, 15-20 kg baggage allowances, and the ability to accrue frequent flyer mileage on both Thai and the Star Alliance network.

Thai does not believe the new Thai Smile brand will be a conflict with low-cost subsidiary Nok Air since Nok Air only flies domestically out of Don Muang airport, while Thai Smile passengers will be able to connect to international flights out of Suvarnabhumi Airport. Thai Smile will also fly to Khon Kaen and Chiang Rai, two destinations not covered by Nok Air.

The name Thai Smile was chosen from 2,229 entries submitted in a contest to name the airline.

Copyright Photo: Gerd Beilfuss. The pictured Airbus A320-232 with the temporary registration of D-AVVM, was handed over yesterday (June 30) as HS-TXA (msn 5198). It seen at the Hamburg (Finkenwerder) plant.

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FlyGeorgia is born in Tbilisi

FlyGeorgia (Tbilisi) is a new airline which has taken delivery of its first aircraft – this Airbus A319. Formerly operated by Armavia as EK32007, A319-111 EI-EWF (msn 3834) is pictured departing from Dublin on June 29. It will become 4L-FGA and is being leased from ILFC. The airliner is named “Iveria”. A second A319 is due to be added shortly.

The new privately-owned airline will offer full-service flights to Berlin, Dubai, London, Minsk, Rome and Vilnius.

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Middle East Airlines (MEA) joins the SkyTeam Alliance

Middle East Airlines-MEA (Air Liban) (Beirut) yesterday (June 28) was welcomed into SkyTeam, the global airline alliance. MEA becomes the 17th member. The flag carrier of Lebanon, MEA becomes SkyTeam’s second Middle Eastern member, offering customers from the region access to an extensive global network.

MEA flies to 30 international destinations throughout Africa, the Middle East and Europe. MEA’s membership of SkyTeam makes it easier for customers to travel to and from Lebanon, whether it’s for business or leisure. This especially benefits the large Lebanese communities living in the US, Canada and Brazil, who will be able to connect via the major hubs Paris CDG and Rome. Beirut is served by SkyTeam members Alitalia, Air France, Aeroflot, Saudia and TAROM, providing additional connections via their hubs in Europe and the Middle East.

China has become an increasingly important trade partner for the Middle East. With members China Airlines, China Eastern and China Southern, the SkyTeam network opens up increased opportunities for commerce in the Greater China Region.

MEA:

Air Malta gets another chance to survive, the European Commission approves its restructuring plan

Air Malta (2nd) (Malta) is getting another chance to survive. The European Commission has approved the carrier’s reorganization plan which also involves a $164.8 million loan from the Maltese government to turn the airline around.

Read the full report from The Malta Independent: CLICK HERE

Air Malta:

JetBlue names San Juan a “focus city”

JetBlue Airways (New York) has named its growing San Juan operation a “focus city”. During a ribbon-cutting ceremony held yesterday (June 28) in celebration of JetBlue Airways’ new home at Terminal A in San Juan’s Luis Munoz Marin International Airport (SJU), the airline’s President and CEO Dave Barger, together with Puerto Rico’s Governor Luis Fortuno, announced that San Juan has become the sixth focus city in JetBlue’s 71-city network.

San Juan joins Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles, New York and Orlando as the sixth focus city in JetBlue’s network. The designation of San Juan as a focus city in JetBlue’s growing route network underscores the airline’s ever-increasing commitment to the Puerto Rican community and its expansion into the new Terminal A at Luis Munoz Marin International Airport, which will be able to accommodate further growth.

In Puerto Rico, JetBlue currently serves Aguadilla, Ponce and San Juan, with service to 13 nonstop destinations, nine within the continental US: Boston, Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood, Hartford/Springfield, Jacksonville, New York, Newark, Orlando, Tampa and West Palm Beach and; four within the Caribbean: Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, St. Maarten, St. Thomas, and St. Croix. The airline has announced it will begin the only direct nonstop to Washington Reagan National Airport, its 14th city out of San Juan, on August 23, 2012.

JetBlue:

South African Airways to add Abidjan and Brazzaville

South African Airways (Johannesburg) will add two new African destinations, Abidjan and Brazzaville, bringing its total of African destinations to 28.

Abidjan, Ivory Coast, will be served twice-weekly with the pictured Airbus A330-200s starting on August 17.

Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, will also be served two days a week with Airbus A319s, starting on September 13.

South African:

Hawaiian Airlines puts its ninth Airbus A330 into revenue service

Hawaiian Airlines (Honolulu) took delivery of Airbus A330-243 N389HA (msn 1316) on June 20, 2012. N389HA is the fourth to join Hawaiian’s fleet this year and the ninth overall since June 2010, when the company began its long-haul fleet renewal and expansion program. The aircraft was flown nonstop from the Airbus Factory in Toulouse, France to Los Angeles last week where it underwent final preparations for entry into service.

Hawaiian’s newest A330 is named Keali‘iokonaikalewa, which is the Hawaiian name for the star Canopus, the second-brightest star in the night sky. Each of Hawaiian’s new A330s is named for a constellation or star used by Polynesians for celestial navigation in ancient times when they voyaged in sailing canoes across the Pacific to Hawai‘i.

Hawaiian will take delivery of 13 additional new A330s between 2013 and 2015, bringing to 22 the total number of A330s in its fleet.

Hawaiian’s new A330s are more fuel-efficient and have a longer operating range than its fleet of Boeing 767-300 aircraft, giving Hawaiian the capability to open new nonstop routes between Hawai‘i and points throughout North America and eastern Asia.

Hawaiian:

Airbus considers opening a new assembly plant in Mobile, Alabama

Airbus (Toulouse) is considering opening a new assembly plant in Mobile, Alabama as a direct competition to Boeing in the largest single market according to this report by Reuters.

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

Emirates to add a second Airbus A380 flight to New York starting on January 1

Emirates Airline (Dubai) is to further boost its fast-growing US network with the start of a second daily A380 service to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK).

From January 1 2013, flight EK 203 from Dubai to JFK, and its return sector EK 204, will become A380 flights, offering an increased capacity of almost 1,000 additional seats in both directions every week. The service is currently operated by a Boeing 777-300 ER.

Emirates:

British Airways announces its winter schedule

British Airways‘ (London) winter 2012 schedule, beginning on October 28, 2012, has been unveiled, with UK regions set to benefit thanks to parent company IAG’s purchase of bmi (East Midlands).

The airline will add extra frequencies and use bigger aircraft on flights to Scotland enabling it to offer nearly 27,000 more seats a week between London and Scotland. This includes two extra flights a day between London Heathrow and Edinburgh and two extra flights per day between Heathrow and Aberdeen.

In addition British Airways is also starting a three-per-day service between London City and Aberdeen on September 24 to connect the two business hubs.

From December 9, British Airways will start four flights per day between Heathrow and Leeds Bradford, connecting Yorkshire with the airline’s extensive global route network at Heathrow and increasing consumer choice in the North of England. The airline has already taken over bmi’s six daily flights to Belfast, and will be launching a new timetable of seven flights a day between London and the Northern Irish capital on October 28.

A new London City to Isle of Man route has also recently launched.

At the time of EU approval for the bmi deal, IAG committed to launching new flights to important trading nations and delivering on that, British Airways is to begin flying six times a week to Seoul (Incheon) in South Korea from December 2, 2012.

Brand new, three times a week Las Vegas flights from London Gatwick start on October 29.

In Europe, Zagreb in Croatia will benefit from new daily flights to Heathrow from December 9 and six flights a week to Venice will be added to the London City route network on September 17. Customers looking for holidays in Barcelona will benefit from more choice with a new three-per-week service from London Gatwick to Barcelona will launch on February 23, 2013.

From October 28, former bmi routes from London Heathrow to Agadir, Bergen and Stavanger will become new British Airways routes from Terminal 5, while former bmi routes to Belfast and Hanover will become new British Airways Terminal 1 routes.

British Airways aircraft and crew will operate these routes, and customers will receive the full-service airline’s on-board experience.

A number of existing British Airways routes including Basel, Dusseldorf, Luxembourg, Lyon and Toulouse will move from Terminal 5 to Terminal 1 on October 28.

There will be an increase in frequencies in winter 2012 (versus winter 2011) from Heathrow to Aberdeen (from six to eight flights per day), Edinburgh (from 10 to 12 flights a day), Manchester (from 10 to 11 flights a day), Oslo (from four to five flights per day), Zurich (from six to seven per day) and Phoenix (from six to seven flights per week). Flights to Bologna will be consolidated at Heathrow, with an increase in frequency on the existing Heathrow service from seven per week to 21 per week.

At Gatwick, services will increase to Faro (from four to five flights per week), Malaga (from seven to ten flights per week) and Marrakech (three to seven flights per week) from October 28, and extra services will be added to Salzburg and Turin for the winter ski season. Flights to Marseille will move from Gatwick to Heathrow on October 28.

British Airways: