Tag Archives: Airbus A320-214

Jazeera Airways to fly to London

Jazeera Airways is expanding in 2019. The airline will take delivery of three additional new Airbus A320neo aircraft which will allow for further expansion.

According to Airline Route, the airline expects to start new service to London (Gatwick) in 2019. The carrier will add new routes to Bodrum and Istanbul (Sabiha Gokcen) in Turkey, Kathmandu in Nepal, Dhaka in Bangladesh and Karachi in Pakistan.

Allegiant Air files application with DOT to fly to Mexico

Allegiant Air today signaled its next phase of growth by filing an application with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to offer scheduled service between the United States and Mexico.

This will be the company’s initial venture into scheduled international service.

The DOT application is the first step in the process for Allegiant to begin scheduled service to Mexico. Projected dates and locations for commencement of service will be announced at later dates as the process moves forward.

Top Copyright Photo (all others by the airline): Allegiant Air Airbus A320-214 N261NV (msn 4115) LAX (Michael B. Ing). Image: 943560.

Allegiant Air aircraft slide show:

Eurowings with new summer destinations from Stuttgart, Nuremberg and Munich

Eurowings has just launched new routes in its summer timetable to further expand its services for travellers from southern Germany. The new destination from Stuttgart is Ohrid in northern Macedonia. The route will be offered on Mondays and Fridays from 21 June to September. The city of Ohrid captivates with its picturesque old town, many churches, monasteries and mosques and is situated on Lake Ohrid: the million-year-old water is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

New from Stuttgart to Tirana on Thursdays. From 25 July to the end of September, Eurowings flies to the capital of Albania, which is highly appreciated by tourists because of its colourful old town. Tirana is not far from the Adriatic Sea on the river Tirana and is the cultural centre of the young democracy of Albania. Florence is one of the most beautiful cities in Italy – and can now be reached directly from Stuttgart from 27 July on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays with Eurowings. The city in Tuscany is known above all for its numerous masterpieces of Renaissance art and architecture.

New in the Stuttgart flight schedule for the first time is Timișoara in Romania. The city, located in the west of the country, is flown to on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Timișoara is particularly known for its secession architecture. On the central square, Piața Victoriei, there are numerous baroque buildings as well as the Cathedral of the Three Hierarchs (Catedrala Mitropolitană) with its mosaic bricks and the icon gallery.

With its extensive Croatia program, Eurowings is one of the most important airlines on the Adriatic, and now Nuremberg is also moving closer to the Dalmatian coast: Eurowings is launching a new route to Split from Nuremberg – it is on Thursdays and Sundays in its flight schedule.

From Munich, Eurowings is once again adding a classic to its flight schedule: This year, the port city Bastia in the northeast of Corsica will be served again every Saturday. The French island is characterised by its mountainous landscape and the mixture of elegant coastal towns, dense forests and jagged peaks. Although Corsica has been part of France since 1768, it still retains a characteristic Italian culture.

Top Copyright Photo: Eurowings Airbus A320-214 D-ABFR (msn 4631) BSL (Paul Bannwarth). Image: 946212.

Eurowings aircraft slide show:

Air Malta returns to profitability after almost two decades

Air Malta returns to profitability after almost two decades:

Presents its Annual Report and Consolidated Financial Statements for Year Ended March 2018
Registers an operating profit of €1.2 million compared to a loss of €10.8 million last year
Increased revenue by €5.3 million
Decreased operating costs by €6.7 million
168,000 (+11%) more passengers
77.6% (+2.8% improvement in) seat load factor

Air Malta has today presented its Annual Report and Consolidated Financial Statements for year ended March 2018 during which it reported an operatingprofit of €1.2 million (2017: Loss €10.8 million). When non-recurring items are taken into account (including the payment of the early retirement schemes and the gain on the disposal of landing rights), the airline registered a profit of €15.7million (2017: Loss €13.1 million).

These results were announced today during Air Malta’s Annual General Meeting. During the meeting the airline gave an overview of its financial figures for the year ended in March 2018 and an outlook for the coming year.

During the year under review Air Malta’s operating revenue increased by €5.3million to €197.5 million mainly driven by 11% more passengers
(2018: 1.7 million passengers, 2017: 1.5 million passengers), 8.5% more flights (2018: 14,126, 2017: 13,024) and a 2.8% improvement in seat load factor (2018: 77.6%, 2017: 74.8%). Total operating costs decreased by €6.5 million mainly attributed to a decrease in fuel, aircraft leases and maintenance costs.

During a press briefing announcing the results, Air Malta’s Chief Financial Officer, Omar Bonello attributed these positive performance to better aircraft utilisation, the implementation of a new sales strategy, the investments in IT technology, the signing of the all collective agreements aimed to give a strong base for increased productivity, flexibility and industrial peace stability, and thenegotiation of more favourable terms with the airline’s suppliers.

Speaking at the briefing Minister for Tourism Konrad Mizzi noted the fact that the airline had registered a significant profit after 18 years demonstrating a story of perseverance, determination and commitment. He noted the positive achievements at Air Malta, such as the addition of 21 new routes, the increase in passenger numbers and revenue, and the increase in fleet. He congratulated all the team at Air Malta for their efforts whilst adding that this success is also attributed to all the employees working day to day at the airline.

Air Malta’s Chairman Dr Charles Mangion added that in spite of these positive results, Air Malta cannot rest on our laurels. “A lot more needs to be done toget the Company out of the woods and on firm sustainable ground. Our growth strategy is underway and is being executed in an extremely competitive environment and a continually changing aviation scenario. The main challenge remains for Air Malta is on how fast it can adapt successfully to change.”

Whilst addressing the conference CEO Capt. Clifford Chetcuti said, “We areseeing the results of the transition to a strategy of growth and credit must be given to all the efforts afforded by the whole team at Air Malta. Aviation is a highly competitive industry dictated by thin margins, high fixed costs and large capital investments. Despite all these business pressures, Air Malta has managed to face these challenges resulting in its being awarded the CAPA turnaround airline of the year in 2018.” The airline’s CEO added, “This is not thetime though to become complacent. Whilst there are challenges with fluctuating fuel prices and increased competitive pressures, we have shown that growthis still achievable.”

Paul Sies, Air Malta’s Chief Commercial Officer added, “During this financialyear we increased capacity by 20%, achieving a growth of 11% more passengers. The new routes generated a +€12 million increase in revenue.”He said that during this financial year the airline implemented a new Revenue Management, new unbundled pricing with the launch of the Go Light, new sales strategies and developed and launched the new buy on board product. During the conference he announced that as from next month, Air Malta will be launching its new Business class service where passengers will be offered new gourmet menus presented in traditional Maltese ceramic crockery thatshowcase the islands’ heritage. During the conference Mr Sies announced thehighlights of the airline’s schedule for this summer which include increasedfrequencies to/from Paris Charles De Gaulle, Hamburg, Kiev, London Heathrow, Lyon, Munich and Tunis. He also announced that after an absenceof 12 years Air Malta is planning to resume flights to Egypt’s capital, Cairo andfor the first time the airline will also offer scheduled services to/from Warsaw.

During the conference presentations were also given by Chief Information Officer, Alan Talbot, who spoke about the digital transformation at Air Malta, and Charlene Camilleri, who spoke about the Ancillary Revenue unit and how this unit is assisting the airline to increase revenue.

Top Copyright Photo: Malta – airmalta.com (Air Malta 2nd) Airbus A320-214 9H-AEP (msn 3056) LHR (SPA). Image: 946045.

Air Malta aircraft slide show:

Alaska Airlines begins daily nonstop service between Seattle/Tacoma and Columbus, Ohio

Alaska Airlines issued this statement:

Alaska Airlines launched daily nonstop service today between Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and John Glenn Columbus International Airport. It’s the only nonstop flight between the two cities.

Columbus becomes the 91^st nonstop destination served from Alaska’s largest hub in Seattle. Columbus is the largest city in Ohio and the 14^th largest city in the nation. It’s also home to The Ohio State University, one of the largest universities in the country and home of the Buckeyes. Recently, technology companies have made sizeable investments in the Columbus area.

Effective Date	City Pair	Departs	Arrives	Frequency	Aircraft
March 7, 2019	Seattle – Columbus	9:45 a.m.	5:10 p.m.	Daily	A320
March 7, 2019	Columbus – Seattle	6:15 p.m.	8:15 p.m.	Daily	A320
Flight times based on local time zones.

Top Copyright Photo: Alaska Airlines Airbus A320-214 N625VA (msn 2800) JFK (Fred Freketic). Image: 945916.

Alaska Airlines aircraft slide show (Airbus):

Eurowings and Hertz start a new relationship with a logo jet

Eurowings has made this announcement:

From now on, car rental company Hertz will be taking off with Eurowings. An Airbus A320 in the Hertz special livery was christened in hangar 7 at Düsseldorf Airport. Oliver Wagner, Eurowings CCO, and Vincent Gillet, Vice President Marketing International at Hertz, celebrated the official christening during a formal ceremony attended by many guests of honor and employees from both companies. As champagne was poured over the aircraft, the “Hertz plane” was then symbolically incorporated into the Eurowings fleet in Düsseldorf.

Eurowings has been working on a strategic collaboration with its partner Hertz since March 2018. To celebrate the company’s 100th anniversary, Hertz had decided to go for a special livery on a Eurowings Airbus A320. Following the ceremonial act, the first destination in regular service for the newly christened Hertz plane was London where the car rental company’s headquarters are located.

Nine days of demanding painting work on the Hertz Airbus A320

The distinctive design of the Eurowings aircraft with the Hertz look had presented the painters with a formidable challenge. They managed it with thorough preparation and by working closely with designers, graphic artists, paint specialists, technicians, painters and engineers during the nine-day layover at the East Midlands Airport (Nottingham/UK) where at times up to 20 people were working on the aircraft simultaneously.

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The new livery of the Hertz plane took around 250 kg of paint. This was special paint applied in a single coat that nevertheless gave the aircraft an especially high-gloss appearance. The paint has a lot to accomplish. During operation, it not only has to protect the aircraft’s outer skin from corrosion due to wind, weather, kerosene and hydraulic fluid, it also has to brave the severe temperature fluctuations on the ground and in flight (approx. +30 /-60 °C) and the surface stresses due to changes in the pressurised cabin while cruising.

On the day of the roll-out, it was not only the painters but also the plane spotters who were impressed. Even before the aircraft landed at its home base in Düsseldorf, the first photos of the special livery, taken from the airport fence in Nottingham, could be seen on the Internet.

Top Copyright Photo (all others by the airline): Eurowings Airbus A320-214 D-ABDU (msn 3516) (Hertz 100 – Since 1918) PMI (Javier Rodriguez). Image: 945681.

Eurowings aircraft slide show:

Austrian Airlines adds additional flights to Germany, Japan and the USA for the summer

Austrian Airlines has made this announcement about its upcoming Summer 2019 Schedule:

Austrian Airlines will once again offer a dense network of destinations in the summer of 2019.

The number of flight connections to Germany will be increased. Holidaymakers have the option of selecting among different destinations for example in Greece, Italy, Spain and many more. There is also a premiere on the airline’s long-haul offering starting at the end of April. “We already look forward to our inaugural flight to Montreal. Moreover, we will introduce two additional flight connections to Tokyo in the summer and thus fly there daily”, says Andreas Otto, Member of the Management Board and CCO of Austrian Airlines.

The summer flight schedule will take effect on March 31, 2019.

Continued focus on Germany

Austrian Airlines will once again increase the number of flights from Vienna to Germany in the upcoming summer season. Accordingly, Austria’s home carrier will fly up to 39 times per week to Hamburg, comprising a rise of eleven flight connections compared to the 2018 summer flight schedule. Up to 56 flights will be offered to Berlin-Tegel and up to 40 weekly connections to Düsseldorf, an increase of two per week in each case. One additional flight will be operated to Stuttgart, pushing up the total to 32 flights per week. On balance, Austrian Airlines is expanding its flight offering from Vienna to Germany by up to fifteen frequencies each week. All in all, it will operate as many as 263 weekly flights linking Vienna and Germany.

On holiday to Greece, Italy or Spain

Starting in the summer season, Austrian Airlines will fly up to 56 times each week to a total of 17 destinations in Greece. This includes popular holiday islands such as Crete (Chania and Heraklion), Corfu, Karpathos and Rhodes.

Italy continues to be a coveted holiday destination. As a result, the summer flight schedule includes twelve Italian destinations, for example Catania, Olbia, Cagliari and most recently Brindisi. On balance, Austrian Airlines will offer as many as 112 weekly flights to destinations in Italy.

Vacationers going to Spain can take advantage of Austrian Airlines flights to the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands. Accordingly, one flight per week will take off from Vienna to Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura and Tenerife, whereas flight service will be operated to Ibiza twice a week and once weekly to Menorca.

Central and Eastern Europe remain core markets

Austrian Airlines is retaining its position as the flight specialist for Central and Eastern Europe. In the upcoming summer months, the Austrian flag carrier will offer as many as 441 flights per week to 33 destinations in the region. Alongside the previously mentioned destinations in Greece, the offering includes 42 weekly flights to the Ukrainian cities of Kiev, Dnipro, Lviv and Odessa. The portfolio also consists of three destinations in Romania, with up to 47 flights per week operated to Bucharest, Iasi and Sibiu.

Austrian Airlines’ offering to Russia amounts to as many as 27 weekly flights to Moscow, St. Petersburg and Krasnodar.

Up to 20 flights per week will be offered to Belgrade, representing an increase of two frequencies from the summer flight schedule 2018. One additional flight connection will be offered to Skopje, pushing up the total to a maximum of fourteen weekly flights.

Flight service to Montreal as of April and more flights to Japan and the USA

The first Austrian Airlines flight to Montreal will depart from Vienna on April 29, 2019, with daily flights scheduled to the Canadian metropolis. Frequencies to Tokyo will be increased following the successful resumption in 2018. One Austrian Airlines aircraft will take off for Japan each day in the summer, two more than in the previous year. North America is represented with five other destinations in the summer flight schedule in addition to Montreal.

One of them is Miami. Florida’s metropolis will be served four times each week in the summer season. Austrian Airlines will increase its flight offering to the popular tourist destination of Los Angeles by one weekly connection thus serving it on a daily basis. One more flight will also be operated to New York, with one daily flight scheduled to each of the New York airports of JFK and Newark. All in all, Austria’s home carrier will have as many as 46 weekly flights heading towards North America in its flight program.

Austrian Airlines aircraft slide show:

Thomas Cook Group will consider selling its airline division

The Thomas Cook Group has stated it is conducting a review of its airline division. The group wants to concentrate more on its hotels division.

The group also stated it would consider all options including a possible sale of the individual airlines.

The Thomas Cook Group airline division consist of three sun and beach focused leisure airlines: Thomas Cook Airlines UK, Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia, the German airline Condor Flugdienst GmbH and Thomas Cook Airlines Balearics.

The group issued this full financial report:

Fiscal first quarter trading statement for the three months ended December 31, 2018:

2018/19 started in line with expectations; strategic review of airline announced

HIGHLIGHTS¹

First quarter revenue up 1% to £1,656 million²
Q1 underlying operating loss increased by £14 million to £60 million against a strong prior-year period – loss from operations on a reported basis increased £7 million reflecting lower separately disclosed items
Strategic review of Group Airline to increase financial flexibility and accelerate execution of our core strategy

1. Comments are based on like-for-like comparisons

2. Includes adjustment for IFRS 15 accounting change for Group Airline and residual amounts relating to the transfer of the Thomas Cook Airlines Belgium to Brussels Airlines and as such is no longer part of the Group

Peter Fankhauser, Chief Executive of Thomas Cook commented:

“As expected, the knock-on effect from the prolonged summer heatwave and high prices in the Canaries have impacted customer demand for winter sun. Where Summer 2018 bookings started very strongly, bookings for Summer 2019 reflect some consumer uncertainty, particularly in the UK, and our decision to reduce capacity which will both mitigate risk in our tour operator business and help our airline to consolidate the strong growth achieved last year.

“We’ve made further good progress in transforming our business with a rigorous focus on managing our cost base while innovating to deliver high-quality holidays for our customers. Our strategic alliance with Expedia is now live in all our key markets. In addition, we are set to open 20 new own brand hotels this summer, including three Casa Cooks and eight Cook’s Clubs, and have announced two new hotel projects with Fosun in China.

“At the same time, we recognise that we need greater financial flexibility and increased resources to accelerate the execution of our strategy of differentiation: to invest in strengthening our own-brand hotel portfolio; further digitising our sales channels; and driving greater efficiencies across the business. As a result, we are today announcing a strategic review of our Group Airline. We are at an early stage in this review process which will consider all options to enhance value to shareholders and intensify our strategic focus. We will provide an update on this process in due course.”

FIRST QUARTER PERFORMANCE

Group revenue was broadly unchanged in the first quarter, rising by 1% on a like-for-like basis to £1,656 million, led by strong customer demand for Turkey and North African destinations, offsetting weaker demand for Spain.

Gross margins were lower, reflecting a continuation of the highly competitive market conditions in the UK at the end of the summer season, and weaker demand for winter holidays in the Nordics.

As a result, the Group’s seasonal underlying loss from operations increased by £14 million on a like-for-like basis to £60 million. Currency translation movements during the quarter led to an impact of £4 million. On a reported basis, our loss from operations increased by £7 million, reflecting an improvement in separately disclosed items. The seasonal loss was led by the Group Tour Operator where a weaker performance in the UK and Northern Europe was partially offset by a good performance in Continental Europe. Our Group Airline continued to perform well, delivering a seasonal underlying loss in line with a strong comparative period last year.

Financial position

Net debt at December 31, 2018 was £1,588 million. The Group has kept a healthy level of liquidity headroom over the important winter cash low period, maintaining a minimum buffer within our targeted range of £150 million to £200 million. In addition, our bank covenant tests as at 31 December 2018 were met.

CURRENT TRADING AND OUTLOOK

Winter 2018/19

Trading for the Winter 2018/19 season is largely unchanged from the last update. Total bookings are up 8%, supported by higher volumes in the Group Airline as a result of the full season impact of extra aircraft acquired last spring. We continue to see strong demand for Turkey, Egypt and Tunisia as customers seek alternatives to high hotel prices in the Canary Islands. However, average selling prices are 10% lower overall, reflecting a higher mix of short and medium-haul airline volumes.

Group Tour Operator bookings are down 2%, with pricing 3% lower. Bookings from the Nordics and Continental Europe are lower than last year, in line with reductions in capacity. In the UK, charter risk bookings are in line with last year.

For the Group Airline, overall bookings are 8% ahead, in line with capacity increases. Bookings to short and medium-haul destinations are up by 10%, largely as a result of a growth in demand for Egypt. Long-haul bookings are up 3% with good demand for USA and Caribbean. Overall airline pricing is down 3% due to the mix effect of a shift towards short and medium-haul flying.

Summer 2019

Our Summer 2019 program is 30% sold, slightly ahead of last year. Group Tour Operator bookings are consistent with the capacity reductions we have made across our markets to closely manage our risk capacity throughout the year. As a result, tour operator bookings are down 12%, helping to support pricing, which is up in all key segments, and 4% higher overall.

Group Airline bookings are below last year, as we have selectively reduced capacity in short and medium-haul destinations by taking in less wet-lease capacity. This is partially offset by good growth in demand to long-haul destinations. Average selling prices are up 6%, with higher yields in both short and medium-haul and long-haul.

Outlook

We are addressing some of the challenges we faced in Summer 2018 by reducing our committed airline capacity for 2019 and increasing the focus on high quality, higher-margin hotels and destinations. In addition, we continue rigorously to drive down costs to give us greater operational flexibility, while remaining fully focused on our strategy, and managing our financial and commercial commitments.

We are making no changes to the full-year expectations set out in November 2018, reflecting the early stage in the year and limited visibility due to wider market uncertainty, particularly in the UK.

INTENSIFYING STRATEGIC FOCUS

Thomas Cook Group has undergone significant transformation over the last five years as we have streamlined our operations and focused on a clear strategy in both our Airline and Tour Operator businesses.

However, it is clear that we need greater financial flexibility and increased resources to accelerate the execution of our strategy of differentiation: to invest in strengthening our own-brand hotel portfolio; further digitising our sales channels; and driving greater efficiencies across the business. As a result, we are today announcing a strategic review of our Group Airline. We are at an early stage in this review process which will consider all options to enhance value to shareholders and intensify our strategic focus. We will provide an update on this process in due course.

Our strategy for the airline has been to profitably grow as a leading European leisure airline with a reliable, customer-focused service. This has involved a continuous review of our cost structure in order to stay competitive in a highly fragmented market. We currently operate a fleet of 103 aircraft, of which a quarter serve long-haul destinations. Our Group Airline delivered strong growth in 2018, despite facing industry-wide disruption.

We made good progress in strengthening our seat-only offer, and growing services to third-party tour operators. We carried over 20 million passengers and generated £3.5 billion in revenue, with underlying operating profits growing 37% year-on-year to £129 million.

Top Copyright Photo: Thomas Cook Airlines (UK) (SmartLynx Airlines Latvia) Airbus A320-214 LY-LCO (msn 1873) PMI (Ton Jochems). Image: 945605.

Thomas Cook (UK) aircraft slide show:

Ryanair takes full control of Laudamotion

Ryanair and Laudamotion have made this announcement:

Laudamotion on January 29, 2019 confirmed that Ryanair has completed the purchase of 100% shareholding in Laudamotion GmbH from NL Holdings in late December.

Laudamotion now becomes a 100% subsidiary of Ryanair Holdings Plc, the Group which owns Europe’s largest airline.

With the support of Ryanair Holdings, Laudamotion has also announced a series of exciting growth initiatives, which includes:

Increasing Lauda’s fleet to 25 aircraft in summer 2019 (from 19 in S2018). Lauda has announced that it has signed LOI agreements with a number of lessors which will increase its Summer 2020 fleet to 30 – all Airbus – aircraft, which will allow Lauda to grow its traffic from 4 million guests in year 1 to 6 million guests in year 2 (FY March 2020) to 7.5m guests in FY March 2021.
This summer, Laudamotion will operate 4 bases as it grows in Vienna from 4 to 8 aircraft, Dusseldorf 7 aircraft, Stuttgart 3 aircraft, and Palma de Mallorca 2 aircraft. In winter 2019, the Vienna base will increase further to 11 aircraft, making Laudamotion Vienna’s No.2 airline, just behind Austrian Airlines. Laudamotion is releasing the first part of its winter 2019 flight schedules, offering passengers lower fares and more frequencies, from Vienna in particular. Details of up to 20 new routes from Vienna, Stuttgart, Dusseldorf, and Palma de Mallorca, will be announced in the next month or two once airport and handling negotiations have been successfully completed.
Laudamotion also announced details of up to 400 new jobs for pilots, cabin crew, and engineers across its 4 bases. It also unveiled details of its new Head Office (at Concorde Business Park), which it will move into in March 2019, and released details of a 250,000 seat sale with fares starting from €19.99 one way for travel in Feb, Mar, Apr and May from Vienna, Stuttgart, and Dusseldorf bases.

Top Copyright Photo (all others by the airline): Lauda – laudamotion.com Airbus A320-214 OE-LOA (msn 3147) PMI (Javier Rodriguez). Image: 945376.

Laudamotion aircraft slide show:

Eurowings to fly between Berlin Tegel and Munich

Eurowings starting on May 1, 2019, will be flying from Berlin Tegel to Munich up to four times a day according to Flughafen Berlin Bradenburg.

The first Eurowings aircraft of the day will leave TXL for Munich at 7.00 a.m., the last will arrive in the capital at 9.55 p.m. The flight time is one hour and ten minutes.

Eurowings is thus increasing its range of flights from Berlin.

In the summer of 2019, the airline will fly to 19 destinations in eight countries, including Düsseldorf, Cologne/Bonn, Karlsruhe, Stuttgart, Nuremberg and Munich.

Top Copyright Photo (all others by the airline): Eurowings Airbus A320-214 D-ABDU (msn 3516) (Hertz 100 – Since 1918) ZRH (Andi Hiltl). Image: 945325.

Eurowings aircraft slide show: