Tag Archives: Airbus A320-251N WL

Frontier Airlines and Denver International Airport break ground on 14-gate facility on east end of Concourse A

Frontier Airlines and Denver International Airport (DEN) celebrated a ceremonial groundbreaking for the new 120,000-square-foot ground boarding facility on the east end of Concourse A at Denver International Airport. The project includes the remodeling of 83,000 square feet of space, along with a 37,000 square-foot expansion area. The facility will feature 14 gates and an adjacent 8,000-square-foot maintenance facility.

Frontier President and CEO Barry Biffle, Denver International Airport CEO Phil Washington and City of Denver Councilwoman Stacie Gilmore, along with Frontier mascot Griz the Grizzly Bear, placed shovels in the dirt to mark the project’s ceremonial groundbreaking.

The new facility will feature a variety of customer conveniences including charging stations, nursing room, pet relief area, food and retail operations and a customer service center. Escalators will transport customers from the existing Concourse A to the new ground-level facility. Air stairs and switchback ramps will enable dual door boarding and deplaning. Frontier will have preferential use and scheduling rights for the 14 gates, along with exclusive branding rights throughout the facility.

A new 8,000-square-foot maintenance facility will allow for centralization of personnel and parts in close proximity to the gates.

The entire facility will be complete and operational by mid-2024.

Top Copyright Photo: Frontier Airlines (2nd) Airbus A320-251N WL N323FR (msn 7925) (Colorado, the Bighorn Sheep) BWI (Brian McDonough). Image: 957013.

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easyJet has confirmed a firm order for 56 additional Airbus A320neo Family aircraft

easyJet has confirmed a firm order for 56 Airbus A320neo Family aircraft following shareholder approval. The order is part of easyJet’s fleet renewal and up-gauging, cost and sustainability enhancements to the business. The agreement includes an upsizing of 18 A320neo to the larger A321neo model.

easyJet currently operates a fleet of over 300 A320 Family including the A319, A320ceo, A320neo and A321neo, making it the world’s largest airline operator of Airbus’ single aisle aircraft. easyJet serves over 130 European airports in some 31 countries operating over 1,000 routes.

Top Copyright Photo: easyJet (UK) Airbus A320-251N WL G-UZHD (msn 7841) (NEO) PMI (Ton Jochems). Image: 958258.

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SAS receives all court approvals necessary to continue operating its business

SAS AB has announced that it has received approval from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York for all of its “First Day” motions as part of the Company’s voluntary chapter 11 process in the U.S.

The approvals granted by the Court confirm that SAS is authorized to continue to operate its business in the ordinary course throughout the chapter 11 process in accordance with the Court’s orders. The Court specifically authorizes SAS to, among other things, continue to:

Pay all employee wages and benefits;
Operate the airline in the ordinary course;
Honor existing customer programs, including the EuroBonus loyalty program;
Honor various pre-petition obligations owed to certain of its critical travel agency partners, vendors and suppliers;
Pay vendors and suppliers in full under normal terms for goods received and services provided on or after July 5, 2022; and
Pay all taxes, insurance, and other regulatory fees in the ordinary course.

Anko van der Werff, President and Chief Executive Officer of SAS, said, “These court approvals confirm that our operations will continue as usual as we begin our restructuring process in the U.S. We remain focused on providing the service our customers are used to, while accelerating our efforts to implement key elements of our comprehensive business transformation plan, SAS FORWARD. Ultimately, our plan is about improving our financial position and continuing our more than 75-year legacy as Scandinavia’s leading airline.”

SAS’ flight schedule is unaffected by the filing and its reservations, customer service, SAS EuroBonus and all other customer services and systems will continue as normal. Separate from the chapter 11 process, the strike undertaken by the SAS Scandinavia pilots’ unions will continue to impact flight schedules.

Top Copyright Photo: Scandinavian Airlines Connect Ltd. (SAS Connect) and formerly SAS Ireland, is a lower-cost Irish subsidiary of Scandinavian Airlines (SAS). The subsidiary operates flights for SAS with a fleet of Airbus A320neo aircraft. Scandinavian Airlines-SAS (SAS Connect) Airbus A320-251N WL EI-SIM (msn 10761) PMI (Ton Jochems). Image: 958115.

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Air Cairo now flies to Hurghada, Sarajevo, Banja Luka and Skopje, launches flights to Tel Aviv

Air Cairo on April 29 started 6 flights a week between Hurghada, Sarajevo, Banja Luka and Skopje.

The civil aviation authorities of Egypt, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Macedonia have approved the operating schedule for two flights per week between Hurghada and Sarajevo on Friday and Tuesday, starting from April 29, 2022, and two more flights per week between Hurghada and Baniyaluka on Friday and Tuesday, starting from April 29, 2022, and two flights on Saturday and Wednesday between Hurghada and Skopje with the latest Airbus/320ne models. CEO, which seats 180 passengers in economy class.

In other news, the carrier has also launched a new route connecting Egyptian resort destination of Sharm El-Sheikh with Tel Aviv in Israel. The new route will operate three days a week.

Air Cairo will compete on the route with Sun D’Or, Arkia and Israir.

Top Copyright Photo: Air Cairo Airbus A320-251N WL SU-BUK (msn 10152) ZRH (Rolf Wallner). Image: 954956.

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Avianca and Viva Air agree to merge under the same holding company

Avianca and Viva Air jointly issued this statement:

The majority shareholders of Viva and Avianca jointly announced that Viva will become part of the same holding company as Avianca Group International Limited (Avianca Group) and that Declan Ryan, founding partner of Viva, will join the board of directors of Avianca Group, bringing his decades of aviation experience.

Any transfer of control rights over Viva’s operations in Colombia and Peru by the new holding company will be subject to requesting and obtaining all necessary regulatory authorizations.

Until the receipt of necessary authorizations, control and administration of Viva in Colombia and Peru will be independent of Avianca; Viva will continue to compete with the other airlines within the Avianca Group. Until the authorizations are obtained, customers, suppliers, employees, and relationships for the companies will remain the same; with separate internal and external operations, as well as independent sales channels and customer service teams.

In the future, if competent authorities approve a change of control, the shareholders anticipate that both airlines may be part of the same holding company, maintaining their individual brands and strategies.

The decision to unify the economic rights of both groups is made after Covid-19 triggered the biggest crisis in the airline industry, forcing airlines around the world to adapt to new ways of flying and strengthen their operations. The pandemic has awakened countries worldwide to see the need to create solid and sustainable airline groups to guarantee and enhance domestic and international air connectivity and, at the same time, generate value for the consumer.

“This is an important day for Viva as it is the perfect scenario to continue with our growth and expansion strategy, staying true to our goal of inclusiveness in air travel. If the authorities approve the management of both groups under the same holding company, it will encourage the growth of the air transport market, promoting low rates for users and good service with the best punctuality, allowing everyone to fly with a world of destinations. This transaction and a potential future combination will create high-skilled jobs for our employees and our suppliers. By delivering the fundamental good of bringing people together, we will positively impact the connectivity of Colombia, the region, and the economic development of the country”, added Declan Ryan, founding partner of Viva.

Potential approval of a full combination will provide both Avianca and Viva with more financial stability allowing them to accelerate investment, innovation, and growth.

Viva Air Route Map:

Top Copyright Photo: Viva (Air Colombia) Airbus A320-251N WL F-WWBH (HK-5352) (msn 10136) TLS (Eurospot). Image: 951288.

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Sky Express increases its flights to Crete for the summer season

Sky express strengthens Crete even more in order to increase the connectivity of the island, create the conditions for arrival of visitors and lengthen the period with premium visitors.

Specifically, in the upcoming period of time, the airline of the new era will directly connect Crete with Brussels, eight French cities (Paris, Lyon, Nantes, Lille, Marseille, Havre, La Rochele, Châteauroux), three Polish cities (Warsaw, Rzeszów, Gdansk), Lisbon, Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Billund, Denmark, but also Timisoara, Romania.

In addition, from the airports of the two major cities, there will be routes to five domestic destinations, namely Athens, Rhodes, Thessaloniki, Volos and Karpathos, while the airport of Sitia continues to serve domestic flights to Preveza and Alexandroupoli.

The country’s youngest and greenest fleet and one of the most environmentally friendly in Europe unites Crete with a network of domestic and European cities, contributing actively to the further promotion of the island as a top choice in terms of tourism and entrepreneurship. At the same time, through the strategic agreements with global carriers such as Air France, KLM, Qatar Airways, American Airlines, Cyprus Airways, Condor, El Al, Middle East Airlines, Transavia, Air Transat and easyJet, SKY express creates additional conditions for interconnection with its entire internal network.

For the rest of the summer schedule:

New destinations are added to the existing network of London, Paris, Rome, Brussels and Larnaca. Amsterdam, Lisbon, Lyon, Lille, Marseille and Nantes, Copenhagen and Bilud, Denmark, Warsaw and the cities of Gdansk, Poznan, Rzeszów and Wroclaw in Poland, Tallinn in Estonia and Timisoara in Romania will enhance SKY express’ flight work for this summer.

Top Copyright Photo: Sky Express (Greece) Airbus A320-251N WL SX-NIG (msn 9456) (Greece is bliss) BRU (Ton Jochems). Image: 957132.

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Air Malta launches its Summer 2022 flight schedule

Summer has finally arrived with Air Malta launching operation of its significantly expanded Summer 2022 flying program. The seven-month schedule, which runs from 27th March till 29th October, will see the airline operate 125 weekly return direct services to 18 key European Airports, across 10 different countries.

After an absence of over a year, Air Malta will be returning with a daily service to London Gatwick and with a three times a week service to Madrid. London Heathrow will be the most served route with 15 weekly scheduled flights, followed by Munich (12), Rome (10), and Paris with nine weekly frequencies on Orly and seven weekly frequencies to/from Charles De Gaulle airport. Amsterdam, whilst operating a daily service, will see this increasing to eight services per week during July – October.

This Summer Air Malta will be operating direct flights to Amsterdam, Berlin, Brussels, Catania, Dusseldorf, Geneva, Paris Charles De Gaulle, Paris Orly, Rome Fiumicino, London Gatwick, London Heathrow, Madrid, Milan Linate, Munich, Lyon, Prague, Vienna, and Zurich.

Top Copyright Photo: Malta – airmalta.com (Air Malta 2nd) Airbus A320-251N WL 9H-NEB (msn 8940) ZRH (Rolf Wallner). Image: 957147.

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SAS reports a 320% increase in traffic during February

SAS issued this report:

During February 946,000 passengers traveled with SAS, an increase of 320% compared to the same month last year. SAS’ capacity increased at the same time by approximately 190% compared with the same period last year. In comparison with last month, the total number of passengers increased with almost 25% while capacity was reduced by 12%. The flown load factor for February was 58%, an improvement of 30 percentage points compared to February last year.

“Once again we saw that demand is positively impacted when travel restrictions around the world ease. We need to stay agile and flexible as demand changes due to unexpected events such as the pandemic or the uncertain geopolitical situation. Our recently launched plan, SAS FORWARD will make us a competitive sustainable airline going forward,” says Anko van der Werff, President & CEO of SAS.

SAS scheduled traffic	Feb21	Change¹	Nov21- Feb22	Change¹
ASK (Mill.)	1,822	170.8%	8,567	150.4%
RPK (Mill.)	1,026	491.7%	4,738	384.6%
Passenger load factor	56.3%	30.5pp	55.3%	26.7 pp
No. of passengers (000)	908	303.9%	3,918	220.3%

Geographical development, schedule	Feb22 vs. Feb21		Nov21- Feb22 vs. Nov20-Feb21
	RPK	ASK	RPK	ASK
Intercontinental	1,438.6%	104.0%	1,047.0%	158.4%
Europe/Intrascandinavia	948.4%	512.8%	562.6%	323.7%
Domestic	145.9%	68.0%	111.5%	31.0%

SAS charter traffic	Feb22	Change¹	Nov21- Feb22	Change¹
ASK (Mill.)	130	2,248.8%	457	1,652.1%
RPK (Mill.)	108	4,969.1%	349	3,401.2%
Load factor	83.2%	44.6 pp	76.3%	38.1 pp
No. of passengers (000)	38	6,793.7%	110	3,931.5%

SAS total traffic (scheduled and charter)	Feb22	Change¹	Nov21- Feb22	Change¹
ASK (Mill.)	1,951	187.7%	9,023	161.8%
RPK (Mill.)	1,134	546.0%	5,087	415.1%
Load factor	58.1%	32.2 pp	56.4%	27.7 pp
No. of passengers (000)	946	319.9%	4,028	228.6%

¹ Change compared to same period last year, p p = percentage points

Preliminary yield and PASK	Feb22	Nominal change¹	FX adjusted change
Yield, SEK	1.03	-25.3%	-28.9%
PASK, SEK	0.58	63.3%	55.3%

			Feb22
Punctuality (arrival 15 min)			74.5%
Regularity			98.4%
Change in total CO₂emissions			78.8%
Change in CO₂emissions per available seat kilometer,			-7.0%
Carbon offsetting of passenger related emissions			47.0%

Definitions:

RPK – Revenue passenger kilometers

ASK – Available seat kilometers
Load factor – RPK/ASK
Yield – Passenger revenues/RPK (scheduled)

PASK – Passenger revenues/ASK (scheduled)

Change in CO₂emissions per available seat kilometers – SAS passenger related carbon emissions divided with total available seat kilometers (incl non-revenue and EuroBonus tickets), rolling 12 months vs rolling 12 months previous year

Carbon offsetting of passenger related emissions – Share of SAS passenger related carbon emissions compensated by SAS (EuroBonus members, youth tickets and SAS’ staff travel) during the month

From fiscal year 2020 we report change in CO₂ emissions in total and per Available Seat Kilometers (ASK) to align with our overall goal to reduce our total CO₂ emissions by 25% by 2025, compared to 2005.

Top Copyright Photo: Scandinavian Airlines-SAS Airbus A320-251N WL SE-ROX (msn 9330) ARN (Stefan Sjogren). Image: 956994.

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Air Corsica to operate seasonal service to Gothenburg

Air Corsica will operate a weekly flight from Bastia to Gothenburg, Sweden this summer season starting on April 25.

The seasonal route will operate through October 3, 2022 with Airbus A320 aircraft.

Top Copyright Photo: Air Corsica Airbus A320-251N WL F-HXKJ (msn 9392) AJA (Paul Bannwarth). Image: 955208.

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Jazeera Airways confirms its order for 28 new Airbus A320neo family aircraft

Jazeera Airways, the Kuwaiti-based carrier, has firmed up an order with Airbus for 28 aircraft, including 20 A320neos and eight A321neos.

The order confirms the Memorandum of Understanding announced in November 2021.

The airline was established in April 2004.

Jazeera Airways is the first non-government owned airline in the Middle East, continuing to be one of the few Middle East-based private airlines to this day.

Jazeera Airways serves to 30 destinations operating a reliable fleet of Airbus A320 and A320neo aircraft – all fitted with our signature leather seats and two or three class cabins. In June 2018, Jazeera was the first airline in the Middle East to introduce the A320neo into its fleet.

Jazeera Airways owns and operates its own terminal at Kuwait International Airport – Terminal 5 (T5) ensuring an enhanced passenger experience with dedicated check-in, fast immigration and short transfer distances.