Vueling Airlines (Vueling.com) ย (Barcelona) will open a new base in Brussels in May 2014. The airline stated it would launch seven new routes from BRU to Ibiza, Lisbon, Oporto, Palma de Mallorca, Rome, Santiago de Compostela and Venice bringing the Brussels total to 11 routes.
Copyright Photo: Tony Storck/AirlinersGallery.com. Vueling’sย Airbus A320-214 EC-LVP (msn 5587) with Sharklets in the “Linking Europe” special scheme arrives at London Heathrow.
Vueling Airlines:ย 
JetBlue Airways Corporation (JetBlue Airways) (New York) has released the following statement from CEO and President Dave Barger in regards to the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) proposed settlement, that would permit American Airlines and US Airways to proceed with their merger plans:
“On behalf of the 15,000 crewmembers of JetBlue Airways, New York’s Hometown Airlineโข, I applaud the Department of Justice’s pro-consumer proposed settlement and we look forward to participating in the divestiture process.ย JetBlue is eager to increase our low fare service in communities across the country and particularly at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport and New York’s LaGuardia Airport.”
In other news,ย JetBlue hasย announced its expanded winter schedule in the Caribbean, featuring more flights than ever before. With the planned launch of service to two new island destinations, JetBlue will serve the Caribbean region this winter with an average of 200 daily flights.
Two new cities and five new routes planned
JetBlue has announced five new Caribbean routes that will launch in the coming months, including service to two new destinations: Port-au-Prince, Haiti and Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago (a). New routes include:
Five destinations to see added capacity with larger aircraft
JetBlue plans to meet peak winter demand this winter by deploying its brand new Airbus A321 aircraft to a variety of Caribbean destinations. The A321 is outfitted with 190 seats, featuring the most legroom in coach (b), and boosting the number of seats per departure by 40 compared to JetBlue’s current 150-seat A320 aircraft. The following destinations will see select flights to/from New York (JFK) operated by the larger A321:
Additionally, JetBlue will offer even more frequencies between New York (JFK) and Barbados during peak holiday times, including President’s Day and Easter.
JetBlue’s A321s will be operating fresh from the factory and will not yet have in-flight television, radio or movies.
More destinations with new and expanded interline partnerships
JetBlue has added two new interline agreements, with LIAT and Seaborne Airlines, and expanded its existing partnership with Cape Air, bringing a number of new Caribbean destinations within reach for JetBlue customers.
LIAT now offers JetBlue customers connections to several new destinations including Antigua, Grenada, St. Kitts, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, when transferring at Barbados and St. Maarten. Founded in 1956, LIAT is one of the largest and most experienced carriers in the Caribbean region. Tickets are now available for sale through travel agencies.
Seaborne Airlines also opens up several new destinations for JetBlue customers, including St. Kitts, Dominica, and Guadeloupe and Martinique in the French Caribbean, all via San Juan, as well as connections to La Romana, Dominican Republic on a daily basis. In addition, Seaborne will offer more flight options for customers connecting at San Juan to/from both the U.S. and British Virgin Islands. Seaborne’s regional network includes 11 destinations from San Juan and a total of 625 weekly departures. JetBlue-Seaborne itineraries are now available for sale through travel agencies.
JetBlue’s longstanding partnership with Cape Air also expands this winter, with new destinations available via San Juan: Culebra, Puerto Rico, and Virgin Gorda in the British Virgin Islands. With service to these two unspoiled island destinations, which is expected to kick off in early 2014, Cape Air will serve a total of nine destinations from San Juan including options like Anguilla and Nevis.
Copyright Photo: Ken Petersen/AirlinersGallery.com. The new JetBlue Airways Airbus A320-232 N615JB (msn 2461) in the special FDNY – Fire Department New York taxies past the camera at the JFK hub.
JetBlue Airways:ย
Virgin America (San Francisco) today reported its financial results for the third quarter of 2013 with operating income of $44.4 million and net income of $33.5 million on total revenue of $387.3 million. ย The airline posted an operating margin of 11.5 percent โ a 7.2 point improvement for the third quarter, driven largely by a 9.4 percent growth in revenue per available seat mile (“RASM”) over the year-earlier period.
Third Quarter 2013 Financial Highlights
Since taking a pause in its fleet and network expansion, Virgin America is now experiencing improved revenue and profitability performance across its network. Virgin America took delivery of one aircraft in the first quarter of 2013, increasing its total operating fleet to 53 aircraft.ย The Company does not plan to increase its fleet again until the second half of 2015, when aircraft on order from Airbus are scheduled for delivery.
Virgin America completed a restructuring of the majority of its debt with investors during May 2013, eliminating more than $300 million of existing debt and accrued interest.ย As a result of this restructuring, Virgin America expects its interest expense to substantially decline to approximately $10 million per quarter through 2014.ย Had the May 2013 restructuring been completed prior to the beginning of the year, Virgin America’s year-to-date net income would have been approximately $30 million higher.
Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough/AirlinersGallery.com.ย Virgin America’s Airbus A320-214 N836VA (msn 4480) completes its final bank on the River Approach into Washington’s Reagan National Airport.
Virgin America:ย
Spirit Airlines (Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood) yesterday (November 7)ย started daily nonstop seasonal service between Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) and four new cities, including Los Angeles (LAX), Orlando (MCO), Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX) and Tampa (TPA). In addition, Spirit’s nonstop seasonal service from MSP to Fort Lauderdale and Fort Myers has also resumed.
Spirit has continued to grow since starting service at MSP in June 2012. The ultra-low fare airline now offers nonstop service from MSP to Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver (summer seasonal) and Las Vegas, as well as nonstop winter seasonal service to Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Los Angeles, Orlando, Phoenix and Tampa.
| Spirit’s Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP) — Los Angeles (LAX) seasonal schedule effective November 7, 2013: | |||||
| Depart | Arrive | Flight # | Stops | Frequency | |
| Minneapolis/St. Paul — Los Angeles | 4:15 PM | 6:15 PM | 323 | 0 | Daily |
| Los Angeles — Minneapolis/St. Paul | 8:05 AM | 1:45 PM | 424 | 0 | Daily |
| Spirit’s Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP) — Orlando (MCO) seasonal schedule effective November 7, 2013: | |||||
| Depart | Arrive | Flight # | Stops | Frequency | |
| Minneapolis/St. Paul — Orlando | 7:50 AM | 12:05 PM | 135 | 0 | Daily |
| Orlando — Minneapolis/St. Paul | 12:55 PM | 3:25 PM | 250 | 0 | Daily |
| Spirit’s Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP) — Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX) seasonal schedule effective November 7, 2013: | |||||
| Depart | Arrive | Flight # | Stops | Frequency | |
| Minneapolis/St. Paul — Phoenix | 9:25 AM | 11:50 AM | 345 | 0 | Daily |
| Phoenix — Minneapolis/St. Paul | 3:10 PM | 7:15 PM | 342 | 0 | Daily |
| Spirit’s Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP) — Tampa (TPA) seasonal schedule effective November 7, 2013: | |||||
| Depart | Arrive | Flight # | Stops | Frequency | |
| Minneapolis/St. Paul — Tampa | 3:00 PM | 7:10 PM | 427 | 0 | Daily |
| Tampa — Minneapolis/St. Paul | 7:55 PM | 10:20 PM | 428 | 0 | Daily |
Additionally, Spirit Airlinesย started daily nonstop seasonal service from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) to three new cities, including Chicago O’Hare (ORD), Denver (DEN) and Minneapolis-St. Paul (MSP).
Spirit also recently started daily nonstop service between Phoenix Sky Harbor and Dallas/Fort Worth on October 24, 2013.
Spirit’s Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX) — Chicago (ORD) seasonal schedule effective November 7, 2013:
| Depart | Arrive | Flight # | Stops | Frequency | |
| Phoenix Sky Harbor — Chicago O’Hare | 1:25 am | 5:50 am | 168* | 0 | Daily |
| Chicago O’Hare — Phoenix Sky Harbor | 9:15 pm | 12:10 am +1 | 167 | 0 | Daily |
*effective 11/8/13
Spirit’s Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX) — Denver (DEN) seasonal schedule effective November 7, 2013:
| Depart | Arrive | Flight # | Stops | Frequency | |
| Phoenix Sky Harbor — Denver | 12:35 pm | 2:23 pm | 906 | 0 | Daily |
| Denver — Phoenix Sky Harbor | 12:40 pm | 2:30 pm | 939 | 0 | Daily |
Spirit’s Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX) — Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP) seasonal schedule effective November 7, 2013:
| Depart | Arrive | Flight # | Stops | Frequency | |
| Phoenix Sky Harbor — Minneapolis/St. Paul | 3:10 pm | 7:15 pm | 342 | 0 | Daily |
| Minneapolis/St. Paul — Phoenix Sky Harbor | 9:25 am | 11:50 am | 345 | 0 | Daily |
Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems/AirlinersGallery.com. Spirit Airlines has changed its website URL from Spiritair.com to Spirit.com and the aircraft are now starting to reflect this change. Airbus A320-232 N620NK (msn 5624) with Sharklets and the new web address lands at Las Vegas.
Spirit Airlines:ย
Frontier Airlines (2nd) (Denver) has announced it will add nonstop service from Wilmington- New Castle Airport in Wilmington, Delaware (ILG) to Atlanta, Georgia (ATL) and Detroit, Michigan (DTW) starting on April 29, 2014.
The addition of these two new cities brings the total number of routes served from the Wilmington/Philadelphia area to seven: Atlanta; Chicago-Midway; Denver; Detroit; Fort Myers; Orlando; and Tampa.
Following is the schedule for Frontierโs Atlanta service**:
Wilmington-Atlantaย (beginning April 29, 2014)
Following is the schedule for Frontierโs Detroit service:
Wilmington-Detroitย (beginning April 29, 2014)
All service from Wilmington-New Castle Airport operates on 168-seat Airbus A320 aircraft.
Copyright Photo: Rurik Enriquez/AirlinersGallery.com.ย Airbus A320-214 N204FR (msn 2325) with the Bald Eagle on the tail lands in Cancun, Mexico.
Frontier Airlines:ย
Route Map:
JetBlue Airways (New York) received approval for gate-to-gate personal electronic device (PED) from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) atย 4:15 p.m. ET on November 1, and implemented the policy immediately. The very first commercial flight of any U.S. airline to allow gate-to-gate PED use was JetBlue’s flight 2302 fromย New York’sย JFK to Buffalo, scheduled departure timeย 4:30 p.m.ย All JetBlue customers were immediately allowed to start using personal electronic devices (PEDs) during all phases of flight, on all flights.
Prior to the new policy, customers had to turn off and stow all electronic devices during taxi, takeoff, landing and when the aircraft was below 10,000 feet. The new policy allows JetBlue customers to use smart phones, tablets, games and other smaller electronic devices at any time during taxi, takeoff and during flight, unless otherwise instructed by a crew member. Laptops must be stowed for taxi, takeoff and landing.
Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough/AirlinersGallery.com.ย JetBlue Airways Airbus A320-232 N586JB (msn 2160) ย in the special “I Love NY” scheme arrives at Washington (Reagan National).
Have you see the “new look” AirlinersGallery.com photo library website?
JetBlue Airways:ย
Spirit Airlines, Inc. (Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood) today reported third quarter 2013 financial results.
“I want to say thanks to our team members that contributed to our strong third quarter results. It is becoming clear that Spirit’s customers understand that our ultra-low fares plus optional services offer them a total price that’s tough to beat,” said Ben Baldanza, Spirit’s Chief Executive Officer. “Spirit is known for doing things differently than other air carriers, and we celebrate those differences because they allow us to offer our customers the freedom to pay for only what they value while earning a return for our shareholders.”
Revenue Performance
For the third quarter 2013, Spirit’s total operating revenue was $456.6 million, an increase of 33.4 percent compared to the third quarter 2012.
Total revenue per available seat mile (“RASM”) for the third quarter 2013 was 12.55 cents, an increase of 8.9 percent compared to the third quarter 2012 as a result of higher load factors and higher average passenger yields.
Passenger flight segment (“PFS”) volume for the third quarter 2013 grew 19.9 percent year over year. Average revenue per PFS for the third quarter 2013 increased 11.3 percent year over year to $135.34 primarily driven by an increase in ticket revenue per PFS.
Cost Performance
Total operating expenses for the third quarter 2013 increased 22.6 percent year over year to $358.8 million on a capacity increase of 22.4 percent.
Spirit reported third quarter 2013 cost per available seat mile excluding special items and fuel (“Adjusted CASM ex-fuel”) of 5.86 cents, a decrease of 2.7 percent year over year, primarily driven by lower aircraft rent and other operating expense per ASM. During the second quarter 2013, the Company negotiated lease extensions at reduced rates for 14 of its A319 aircraft which was the primary driver of the decrease in aircraft rent per ASM. The decrease in other operating expense per ASM, as compared to the same period in 2012, was primarily driven by the in-sourcing of certain contract work and a decrease in software consulting costs associated with the implementation of the Company’s ERP system. Partially offsetting the benefit of these items was higher depreciation and amortization expense related to the amortization of an increased number of heavy maintenance events.
Selected Balance Sheet and Cash Flow Items
As of September 30, 2013, Spirit had $540 million in unrestricted cash and cash equivalents, no restricted cash, no debt on its balance sheet, and total shareholders’ equity of $724 million.
For the nine months ended September 30, 2013, Spirit incurred capital expenditures of $17.0 million. The Company paid $41.3 million in pre-delivery deposits for future deliveries of aircraft, net of refunds, and recorded an increase of $10.2 million in maintenance deposits, net of reimbursements.
Fleet
In the third quarter 2013, Spirit took delivery of one new A320 aircraft, ending the quarter with 51 aircraft in its fleet. The Company also took delivery of one new A320 in October 2013 and has two more new A320 aircraft scheduled for delivery by year-end 2013.
Thirdย Quarter 2013 and Other Current Highlights
| — Dallas/Fort Worth – Phoenix Sky Harbor (10/24/13) |
| — Phoenix Sky Harbor – Chicago (11/7/13)2 |
| — Phoenix Sky Harbor – Denver (11/7/13)2 |
| — Minneapolis/St. Paul and Los Angeles (11/7/13) |
| — Minneapolis/St. Paul and Orlando (11/7/13)2 |
| — Minneapolis/St. Paul and Phoenix Sky Harbor (11/7/13)2 |
| — Minneapolis/St. Paul and Tampa (11/7/13)2 |
Copyright Photo: Eddie Maloney/AirlinersGallery.com. The first Airbus A320 with Sharklets,ย Airbus A320-232 WL N620NK (msn 5624) touches down in Las Vegas.
Spirit Airlines:ย
Swiss International Air Lines (Zurich) has issued this statement:
Swiss International Air Lines and its Aeropers and IPG pilotsโ unions have reached an agreement in their negotiations on the future overall structure and working parameters for the companyโs cockpit crew corps.
Swiss and its Aeropers and IPG cockpit crew unions have been in discussions since the end of last year with a view to establishing forward-looking working structures and laying the foundations for a single pilot corps. After intensive negotiations, the parties have found a viable compromise in the last few days that has met with the approval of both unions and the company.
The key issues in these discussions have been creating an integrated Swiss European and Swiss International pilot corps, efficiently introducing the new Bombardier CS100 and Boeing 777 aircraft types, sustainably maintaining Swissโ competitive edge, securing cockpit jobs and establishing and developing the companyโs new Geneva crew base.
The agreement reached will now be used to work out the corresponding amendments to the collective labour agreements (CLAs) of the two pilot corps between now and the end of this year. These amendments will then be presented to the unionsโ respective members for approval. The aim here is to have all collaborations under the new employment parameters from April 2014 onwards.
With the result of these negotiations, and the corresponding integration of Swiss European Air Lines into Swiss International Air Lines, Swiss is both setting a vital course for its own corporate future and breaking new ground within the airline industry.
In other news,ย Swiss International Air Lines has named its Airbus A320 HB-JLT โGrenchenโ (above) after the town in northwest Switzerland. The aircraft is something of a celebrity in the Swiss fleet: itโs the first member of Swiss’ Airbus A320 family to be equipped with sharklets, the winglets developed by the manufacturer to enhance inflight performance.
The symbolic naming ceremony was held in Grenchen and was attended by Boris Banga, the current Mayor of Grenchen, Daniel Bรคrlocher, Swiss’ Head of Corporate Communications and Peter Fasler, Head of Licence and Rating Training at Swiss Aviation Training subsidiary. Performing the honor was top Swiss ski jumper Simon Ammann, the four-time Olympic gold medallist, World Champion and World Cup Winner, who serves as an ambassador for watch manufacturer Breitling, which is headquartered in the town.
The sharklet-equipped HB-JLT is the 38th member of the Airbus A320 family to be delivered to Swiss. The aircraft is deployed on medium-haul routes in Europe and on services to Africa and the Middle East.
The sharklets reduce aerodynamic drag in the wingtip area. Airbus calculates that the resulting fuel savings reduce the associated carbon dioxide emissions by some 1,000 tons per aircraft per year โ the equivalent of the CO2 produced by around 200 averagely-used family cars.
Copyright Photo: Nik French/AirlinersGallery.com.ย Airbus A320-214 WL HB-JLT (msn 5518) with Sharklets and a new name departs from Manchester.
Swiss:ย
JetBlue Airways (New York) today launched new nonstop flights from Hartford Bradley International Airport to both Fort Myers and Tampa.
JetBlue will serve eight airports in New England: Boston, Burlington, Hartford, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, Portland and Providence, with new service to Worcester, starting November 7.ย Hartford service will peak in December 2013 at 10 daily departures from Hartford Bradley to six destinations. Service on the Hartford-Fort Myers route is seasonal.
JetBlue’s schedule between Hartford (BDL) and Fort Myers (RSW), effective October 27, 2013:
| BDL to RSW: | RSW to BDL: |
| Depart – Arrive | Depart – Arrive |
| 11:55 a.m. โ 3:12 p.m. | 3:53 p.m. โ 6:45 p.m. |
JetBlue’s schedule between Hartford (BDL) and Tampa (TPA), effective October 27, 2013:
| BDL to TPA: | TPA to BDL: |
| Depart – Arrive | Depart – Arrive |
| 9:10 a.m. โ 12:22 p.m. | 12:25 p.m. โ 3:07 p.m. |
Copyright Photo: Eddie Maloney/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A320-232 N526JL (msn 1546) lands at Las Vegas.
JetBlue Airways:ย
Aeroflot Russian Airlines (Moscow) is celebrating 10 years of flying the Airbus A320 Family of aircraft. The airline issued this statement:
Ten years ago Aeroflot received its first aircraft from the Airbus familyย โ an A319 which was named after the eminent Russian composer, pianist and conductor Sergei Prokofiev.
The A320 family airplanes meet all the requirements ofย security, reliability and passenger comfort. Aeroflot operates A320 aircraft onย European and domestic routes. Inย terms ofย operational reliability and actual hours flown per aircraft, the company isย among the world leaders. Cabins ofย this aircraft family are made inย two-class configuration and designed toย carry 116 (A319), 140 and 158 (A320), and 170 (A321) passengers.
Many aircraft ofย the A320 family which isย the backbone ofย Aeroflotโs park are decorated with unique liveries and logos. You can find A320s with the Dobrolet retro livery, Winter Olympics mascots (see below) and the Yekaterinburg World Expo 2020 Bid Committee logo. Aย jet from A320 family became the Olympic Torch Relay aircraft and brought the Olympic flame from Greece toย Moscow. The Olympic Torch Relay team will travel toย the northern regions ofย the country (from Kaliningrad toย Vladivostok) and toย the Caucasus onย board one of Aeroflotโs A320s.
Today Aeroflotโs fleet counts 140ย airplanes, most ofย them are ofย A319/320/321ย family. All the Airbus aircraft are delivered toย Aeroflot directly from the manufacturer. The average age ofย anย A320 family aircraft isย 5ย years.
Aeroflotโs fleet isย one ofย the youngest inย Europe. Byย the end ofย 2012, Aeroflot reached the fourth place among European carriers inย terms ofย aircraft deliveries, according toย Airline Business rating.
Aeroflot is celebrating its 90th anniversary inย 2013. Aeroflotย isย Russiaโs flagship airline and the largest national air company. Proudly being aย member ofย the SkyTeam global airline alliance,ย Aeroflotย with its partnering members provides service toย more than 1000 destinations inย 178ย countries.ย Aeroflotย operates one ofย the most modern and youngest fleets inย Europe counting 140 aircraft formed byย Airbus, Boeing and Sukhoi airliners with anย average airplane age between five and six years old. Inย 2012ย Aeroflotย carried 17.7 million passengers (27.5 million passengers asย Aeroflot Group), continuously showing the best results inย modern Russiaโs history.
Top Copyright Photos: Rolf Wallner/AirlinersGallery.com.ย Airbus A320-214 VP-BWD (msn 2116) taxies past the camera at Zurich.
Aeroflot Russian Airlines:ย
Bottom Copyright Photo: OSDU/AirlinersGallery.com.ย Airbus A320-214 VP-BMF (msn 3711) in the Sochi 2014 – 2014 Winter Olympics scheme arrives at the Moscow (Sheremetyevo) hub.
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