easyJet (UK) has announced 12 new routes from eight U.K. airports.
The company will add weekly and bi-weekly new routes from Southampton (March 31) and Belfast City (May 2) to Alicante
easyJet will also restart twice-weekly Newcastle-Alicante services along with London Luton flights to Reus, Catalonia on April 2, 2024. Manchester-Reus flights will also be launched on April 2.
Year-round flights from Liverpool (April 1), Belfast (April 20) and Glasgow (May 2) to Enfidha, Tunisia will operate two days a week.
Bristol-Malta flights will also depart during the Easter weekend and flights from Glasgow to Larnaca (May 4) and Southampton to Faro (June 6) will also commence.
Top Copyright Photo: easyJet (UK) Airbus A320-251N WL G-UJEB (msn 11242) PMI (Ton Jochems). Image: 961903.
Frontier Airlines (2nd) Airbus A320-251N WL N396FR (msn 11155) (Ted, the Sea Turtle) BOS (Fred Freketic). Image: 961900.
Frontier Airlines has announced it will open a new crew base at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE) in March of 2024.
The base is expected to employ up to 110 pilots, 250 flight attendants, and 50 aircraft maintenance personnel within its first year of operation. Combined with airport positions, the airline is expected to generate nearly $80 million annually in local wages with further growth anticipated in the coming years.
Frontier is the fastest growing carrier at CLE, having increased passenger capacity by 53 percent over the past year. The airline currently offers 17 nonstop routes from CLE, more than any other carrier this winter.
Current Service from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport (CLE):
SERVICE TO:
Atlanta (ATL)
Charlotte (CLT)
Cancún (CUN)
Denver (DEN)
Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW)
Fort Lauderdale (FLL)
Las Vegas (LAS)
Orlando (MCO)
Miami (MIA)
Philadelphia (PHL)
Phoenix (PHX)
Punta Cana (PUJ)
Raleigh-Durham (RDU)
Fort Myers (RSW)
San Juan (SJU)
Sarasota (SRQ)
Tampa (TPA)
Top Copyright Photo: Frontier Airlines (2nd) Airbus A320-251N WL N396FR (msn 11155) (Ted, the Sea Turtle) BOS (Fred Freketic). Image: 961900.
SAS has announced that it has entered into an investment agreement with the winning bidder consortium in its exit financing solicitation process, consisting of Castlelake, L.P., on behalf of certain funds or affiliates, Air France-KLM S.A. and Lind Invest ApS, together with the Danish state.
As part of the agreed transaction structure, SAS has also entered into a new debtor-in-possession (“DIP”) financing credit agreement for USD $500 million (SEK 5.5 billion)[1] with Castlelake to, among other things, refinance SAS’ existing DIP term loan, increase liquidity, and support SAS’ path to exit from its voluntary restructuring proceedings. The agreements are subject to review and approval by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.
On October 3, 2023, SAS announced that it had selected the Investors as the winning bidder consortium in its exit financing solicitation process, and that the parties were in agreement on a transaction structure including a total investment in the reorganized SAS corresponding to USD 1,175 million (SEK 12.925 billion). The winning bidder consortium has now increased its proposed investment by USD 25 million (SEK 275 million) to a total of USD 1,200 million (SEK 13.2 billion), which includes USD 475 million (SEK 5.225 billion) in new unlisted equity and USD 725 million (SEK 7.975 billion) in secured convertible debt, as well as Castlelake providing a USD 500 million (SEK 5.5 billion) facility to refinance SAS’ Existing DIP Financing (as defined below).
The investment agreement entered into by SAS and the Investors includes the final terms of the Investors’ equity investment, as well as the key terms for the secured convertible debt and SAS’ chapter 11 plan of reorganization (the “Chapter 11 Plan”). The agreed investment structure, which (save for the increased convertible debt amount) is consistent with the key terms set out in the press release announced by SAS on October 3, 2023, will result in a shareholder structure post-reorganization (based on total equity, but pre-conversion of the convertible debt) where:
(i) Castlelake holds approximately 32.0% of the equity and 55.2% of the convertible debt;
(ii) the Danish State holds approximately 25.8% of the equity and 30.0% of the convertible debt;
(iii) Air France-KLM holds approximately 19.9% of the equity and 4.8% of the convertible debt;
(iv) Lind Invest holds approximately 8.6% of the equity and 10.0% of the convertible debt; and
(v) the remaining approximately 13.6% of the equity will be distributed among and held by certain creditors who may receive recovery in equity.
The New DIP Financing will be provided under a term loan agreement by way of a non-amortizing senior secured super-priority debtor-in-possession term loan facility in an aggregate principal amount of USD 500 million, entered into by Scandinavian Airlines System Denmark-Norway-Sweden (the SAS Consortium), as borrower, SAS AB and all wholly-owned subsidiaries of SAS AB that are debtors in the chapter 11 cases as guarantors, and Castlelake as lender. The New DIP Financing will refinance and replace SAS’ existing DIP financing credit agreement in the amount of USD 700 million (SEK 7.7 billion) entered into with funds managed by Apollo Global Management (the “Existing DIP Financing”), under which an initial tranche of USD 350 million (SEK 3.85 billion) was drawn by SAS in September 2022. The terms of the New DIP Financing are substantially similar to the Existing DIP Financing (the principal terms of which are described in the press release announced by SAS on August 14, 2022), with some key differences, including a lower interest rate and the removal of certain fees and equity-linked features. The New DIP Financing has an initial term of nine months, subject to two additional three-month extensions at the election of SAS (as well as payment of certain escalating extension fees), and will be repaid in connection with emergence from the chapter 11 process. The New DIP Financing will be available to SAS subject to approval by the U.S. Court and following the satisfaction of certain conditions precedent.
SAS will seek U.S. Court approval of the investment agreement and the New DIP Financing as soon as possible in November 2023.
[1] All amounts cited are based upon a USD/SEK exchange rate of 11.00
Top Copyright Photo: Scandinavian Airlines-SAS Airbus A320-251N WL SE-RUB (msn 9518) ARN (Stefan Sjogren). Image: 960739.
PLAY Airlines Airbus A320-251N WL TF-PPB (msn 10134) AMS (Ton Jochems). Image: 961049.
PLAY airlines has launched ticket sales for flights to Frankfurt in Germany.
PLAY’s first flight out of Frankfurt will be on December 14, 2023, and PLAY will operate four to five flights a week over the winter period.
Frankfurt will have direct connectivity to PLAY’s destinations in North America, which are Boston, Baltimore, New York and Washington DC in the United States as well as Toronto in Canada.
Frankfurt is PLAY´s fourth destination in Germany.
PLAY operates flights year-round to Berlin as well as Düsseldorf and Hamburg over the summer months.
PLAY’s flights will be operated from Frankfurt Airport (FRA), only 20 minutes away from the city that is best known for its unique art scene, history, museums, dashing skyscrapers and inviting neighborhoods.
Top Copyright Photo: PLAY Airlines Airbus A320-251N WL TF-PPB (msn 10134) AMS (Ton Jochems). Image: 961049.
As part of its regional network expansion, Sultanate’s fastest-growing value-for-money airline SalamAir has added a new direct service from Muscat to Bahrain. With the introduction of flights to Bahrain, SalamAir now flies to all Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries in the region. The connectivity reflects the strong ties between Sultanate of Oman and the kingdom of Bahrain in a number of areas including culture, commerce and tourism.
Scheduled to commence from November 14, 2019, the new link will initially operate three times a week on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday departing Muscat at 19:05 local time and arriving in Bahrain at 19:50 local time. The flight will depart Bahrain at 20:35 local time arriving in Muscat at 23:10 local time. From December 2019 onwards, SalamAir will fly six times a week to Bahrainexcept on Fridays following the same schedule.
The Bahrain route is the airline’s tenth destination in the GCC, which includes Dubai, Doha, Riyadh, Jeddah, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Muscat, Salalah, and Suhar.
SalamAir currently operates three Airbus A320 aircraft and four Airbus A320neo aircraft making it the first Omani carrier to utilise the highly rated single aisle aircraft. SalamAir flies to international destinations including Chattogram, Dubai, Doha, Jeddah, Karachi, Multan, Sialkot, Shiraz, Kathmandu, Khartoum, Dhaka, Alexandria, Riyadh, Kuwait, Abu Dhabi, Tehran, Istanbul and to domestic routes Muscat, Salalah, and Suhar. Additional passenger services to compliment the customer experience on the home-grown airline include options for extra luggage, seat and meal selection.
Route Map:
Top Copyright Photo: SalamAir Airbus A320-251N F-WWDM (A40-OVI) (msn 9197) TLS (Paul Bannwarth). Image: 947945.
SalamAir (Muscat) today (December 7) took delivery of its first Airbus A320neo.
The upstart is Oman’s first budget airline.
The airline previously announced the addition of six brand new Airbus A320neo aircraft to its growing fleet. The first is now delivered, and five additional leased Airbus A320neo aircraft will in the first quarter of 2019. The new A320neos are specifically customized for SalamAir to seat 180 guests.
The airline previously launched operations on January 30, 2017. The airline has grown to operate 173 flights a week operated across 16 destinations in 11 countries.
Today, the SalamAir network consists of 16 destinations including Muscat, Salalah, Suhar, Dubai, Doha, Jeddah, Karachi, Multan, Sialkot, Shiraz, Tbilisi, Baku, as well as newly introduced Dhaka, Kathmandu, Khartoum and Najaf.
Top Copyright Photo: SalamAir Airbus A320-251N A40-OVD (msn 7181) TLS (Eurospot). Image: 944692.
Gulf Air on August 18, 2018, took delivery of its first Airbus A320neo (A9C-TA, msn 8323).
The airline released photos of its new updated cabin for the new engine option.
Gulf Air also issued this statement and photo:
Gulf Air, the flag carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain, took delivery of its first A320neo. The aircraft, powered by CFM LEAP-1A engines, made its maiden journey from Toulouse to Bahrain, landing at the Bahrain International Airport at 16:00 local time.
The aircraft is the first of the 29 A320neo Family aircraft ordered during the 2016 Bahrain International Airshow. This delivery also makes Gulf Air the first Middle Eastern national carrier to fly the A320neo.
Gulf Air currently operates 28 Airbus aircraft. The new addition complements the airline’s existing fleet and thanks to Airbus’ overall fleet commonality, the airline will benefit from low operating costs, optimum fuel efficiency and seamless, best-in-class passenger comfort of any single aisle aircraft.
Featuring the widest single aisle cabin in the sky, the A320neo Family incorporates the very latest technologies including new generation engines and Sharklets, which together deliver at least 15 percent fuel savings at delivery and 20 percent by 2020. With more than 6,100 orders received from over 100 customers, the A320neo Family has captured nearly 60 percent share of the market.
Top Copyright Photo: Photo before the engines were added: Gulf Air Airbus A320-251N F-WWBB (A9C-TA) (msn 8323) TLS (Eurospot). Image: 942587.
Airbus on June 14, 2017 delivered easyJet’s first A320neo, which is also the airline’s 300th A320 Family aircraft, at a ceremony in Toulouse involving Carolyn McCall, easyJet CEO, Gaël Méheust, CFM international CEO, Tom Enders, Airbus CEO, and other senior executives.
The aircraft, powered by CFM LEAP-1A engines, is configured in a comfortable 186 seat layout. To mark the occasion and to distinguish the NEO fleet, the aircraft has a specially designed NEO logo on the fuselage. easyJet’s NEO fleet will be based out of London Luton Airport and operate its first commercial flights in June to Amsterdam, Madrid and Edinburgh.
From its first A320 Family delivery in 2003, easyJet has grown to operate Europe’s largest A320 Family fleet and is also Europe’s largest customer for the NEO. Environmentally, the NEO has significant benefits with a 15 percent reduction in fuel burn and CO2 emissions rising to 20 percent by 2020. The noise footprint is also reduced by 50 percent.
In May 2017, easyJet upsized orders for 30 A320neo with 186 seats to the larger capacity A321neo with 235 seats for growth at slot constrained airports.
Photos: Airbus. Airbus A320-251N G-UZHA (msn 7646) was handed over on June 14, 2017.
Citilink, the low cost unit of Garuda Indonesia, has taken delivery of its first A320neo at Airbus headquarters in Toulouse, France. The aircraft is the first of 35 A320neo set to enter service with the carrier.
Citilink has selected CFM Leap-1A engines to power its A320neo fleet, which will be operated on its domestic network, and new international services to China and the Middle East.
Seating 180 passengers in a single class layout, the A320neo joins an existing fleet of 44 A320ceo aircraft flying with the carrier.
Photo: Airbus. Airbus A320-251N F-WWDZ became PK-GTA (msn 7466) when it was handed over on February 22, 2017.
