Air France (Paris) is getting ready to celebrate 80 years of flying. To help celebrate the carrier is getting ready to take delivery of this brand new Airbus A320 with a special 80 ans-years logo.
Copyright Photo: Eurospot/AirlinersGallery.com. The pictured Airbus A320-214 F-WWIX (msn 5802) with Sharklets will become F-HEPG on the handover.
Air France:ย 
Aegean Airlines (Athens) today won approval from the European Commission to acquire rival Olympic Air (3rd) (Athens). The company issued this statement:
The European Commission announced today its decision to approve the acquisition of Olympic Air by Aegean.
The rationale of the European Commission decision supports the absolute necessity of economies of scale to achieve viability within the Greek aviation market. The acquisition creates the conditions for the establishment of a sustainable Greek carrier, competitive within the Region and capable of supporting a growth momentum which will benefit Greek Tourism and the local economy.
Following EU approval, the acquisition of the shares of Olympic Air and the assumption of management by Aegean is expected to be completed by October 18, 2013. The total consideration for the transaction has been set at โฌ72 m., of which โฌ20 m. have already been paid. Upon the completion of the acquisition, Olympic Air will become a subsidiary of the listed Aegean, while the process of unification of the support functions will begin immediately. The two brands and logos of the companies will remain with each one retaining distinct aircraft and flight activity.
The Chairman of Aegean Mr.ย Theodore Vassilakisย said:
“As of today our obligation and commitment to serve our passengers and our country become even greater. While growing in size we also have to further improve our services to be more effective in the support of all Greek regions and ensure competitive access even to the smallest Greek island. The economies of scale will allow us to offer more competitive fares on our domestic network, especially for the small islands. At the same time, the synergies will allow us to support an improved growth rate for our international network, both from Athens and the periphery, contributing substantially to the development of Tourism and the Economy “.
The company will host a press conference on October 23, 2013, following the share purchase, to present its customer offering and development plan as well as its 2014 network plans.
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AEGEAN
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Olympic Air
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Total
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| Fleet (10/2013) | ย 30 | 15 | 45 |
| Personnel (10/2013) | 1480 | 610 | 2090 |
| Passenger traffic ( 2013 estimation in million) | ย 6,50 | 1,90 | 8,40 |
| Domestic | 2,50 | 1,65 | 4,15 |
| International | ย 4,00 | 0,25 | 4,25 |
| Turnover (in million โฌ – 2013 estimation) | 630 | 170 | 800 |
Top Copyright Photo: Robbie Shaw/AirlinersGallery.com. Aegean’s Airbus A320-232 SX-DVQ (msn 3526) painted in the Star Alliance colors departs from London (Heathrow).
Aegean Airlines:ย
Olympic Air (3rd):ย
Bottom Copyright Photo: Antony J. Best/AirlinersGallery.com. Olympic Air has been reduced down to mainly a Bombardier DHC-8/Q400 operator. Operated by Flybe, DHC-8-402 (Q400) G-JECV (msn 4148) prepares to land at London (Heathrow).
LAN Colombia (formerly AIRES Colombia) (Bogota) yesterday (October 1) joined theย oneworldยฎย alliance.
Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough/AirlinersGallery.com.ย LAN Colombia’ Airbus A320-233 CC-CQN (msn 3319) prepares to land at Miami.
Republic Airways Holdings Inc. (Indianapolis) today (October 1) announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell Frontier Airlines (2nd) (Denver) to an affiliate of Indigo Partners LLC (Phoenix) in an all-cash transaction.
Indigo Partners and its principals, led by managing partner William A. Franke, have a history of investing in airline transportation and related industries and creating successful, differentiated companies. Under the terms of the stock purchase agreement, which has been approved by Republicโs Board of Directors, the buyer, an affiliate of Indigo Partners, will acquire all the outstanding shares of Frontier Airlines Holdings, Inc. in a transaction valued at approximately $145 million, of which $36 million (subject to certain adjustments under the purchase agreement) is to be paid in cash for the equity of Frontier Holdings and the balance is indebtedness that will be retained by Frontier. In addition, Indigo plans to invest additional funds directly in Frontier after the closing.
As part of the transaction, under a separate agreement, Republic will assign to Frontier all of Republicโs rights under agreements relating to the Republicโs Airbus A320neo order in exchange for reimbursement of pre-delivery deposits, which total $32 million.
โWe endorse and will support continued efforts to build Frontier into a leading nationwide ultra-low cost carrier (ULCC),โ said Franke. โAs airline fares continue to move up, passengers need affordable travel alternatives. Our goal will be to meet that need in more markets as we invest in the airline to grow its footprint, while maintaining a commitment to quality service, customer choice and satisfaction and continued employment opportunities for the Frontier team.โ
Completion of the transaction is conditioned on agreements being reached with the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA) and FAPA Invest LLC by no later than October 31, 2013, as well as agreement and documentation of other third-party commercial agreements. The transaction is also subject to receipt of required approvals by the Federal Communications Commission for the transfer of Frontierโs radio licenses, the receipt of certain third-party consents and releases and other customary closing conditions.
Assuming satisfaction of the conditions of the agreement, Republic expects the transaction to close in December 2013.
Barclays is serving as financial advisor and Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP is serving as legal advisor to Republic in connection with the transaction. Latham & Watkins LLP is serving as Indigo Partners LLCโs legal advisor.
Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough/AirlinersGallery.com. Frontier’sย Airbus A320-214 N208FR (msn 4562) with the Cougar on the tail prepares to land at Baltimore/Washington.
Frontier Airlines:ย
VietJetAir (Ho Chi Minh City) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for up to 92 A320 Family aircraft and will lease eight more from third party lessors. Theย agreement signed with Airbus covers for 42 A320neo, 14 A320ceo and six A321ceo, plus 30 purchase rights for the A320 Family.
VietJetAir is an existing A320 operator, with eight leased aircraft already in service. The carrier took delivery this week of its ninth A320, delivered new from Airbus via the US leasing company AWAS.
Top Copyright Photo: Antony J. Best/AirlinersGallery.com. Formerly with Olympic Air, Airbus A320-214 SX-OAU (msn 4193) became VN-A699 with VietJetAir.
VietJetAir:ย
Bottom Copyright Photo: Airbus. The first Airbus A320 with Sharklets, the pictured A320-214 F-WWDR (msn 5742), was just handed over to the carrier as VN-A682 on September 26, 2013.
Air New Zealand (Auckland) is planning to operate a demonstration flight to the Pegasus ice runway near the McMurdo Station in Antarctica on October 5 per Wired Magazine. ANZ will operate a Boeing 767-300 to the ice runway. Currently the United States Air Force (using C-17S) and the Royal New Zealand Air Force (using a Boeing 757) operate regular flights to the station, mainly during the Southern Hemisphere summer. If feasible, the airline will operate charter flights to the southern continent.
Air New Zealand has a long history with Antarctica. ย In the 1970s the company operated sightseeing charter flights to the continent the overflew the rugged terrain. Tragically on November 29, 1979 while operating flight NZ 901, DC-10-30 ZK-NZP (msn 46910) with 257 passengers and crew members on board crashed into Mount Erebus killing all on board.
Read the full article: CLICK HERE
Meanwhile on the livery front, following the announcement onย June 12, 2013, Air New Zealand, in cooperationย with the national tourism agency,ย Tourism New Zealand, is going to the pictured “New Zealand Fern Mark” as the airline’s official color scheme to also promote tourism to the nation.
As previously reported, there will be two livery versions. The first features a white fuselage with a black strip running diagonally on the rear fuselage from the tail, adorned with the iconic koru logo in white. The black and white “New Zealand Fern Mark” is vividly displayed on the fuselage. This livery will be used on most of the fleet. A few aircraft will be painted in a distinctive all black livery with the fern mark in silver.ย The first to display the new look, the pictured Airbus A320-232 ZK-OXB (msn 5682), was rolled out of the paint shop on September 24, 2013.
Copyright Photo: Colin Hunter/AirlinersGallery.com. ZK-OXB is captured beautifully on the taxiway at the Auckland hub.
Have you seen the “new look” AirlinersGallery.com photo library?
Hot New Photos:ย 
Air New Zealand:ย
LATAM Airlines Group (LAN Airlines and TAM Linhas Aereas) (Santago and Sao Paulo) reported it lost $330 million in the second quarter. The group was created last year with the merger of the two airlines. The group is struggling in Brazil with TAM due to a weakening Brazilian economy. TAM is cutting costs and reducing flights.
Read the full report: CLICK HERE
LATAM Airlines Group Fleet Plans (excerpt from the report):
Top Copyright Photo: Rodrigo Cozzato/AirlinersGallery.com. Sporting new Sharklets, Airbus A320-214 PR-MYY (msn 5591) taxies at the Sao Paulo (Guarulhos) hub.
LAN Airlines (Chile):ย
TAM Linhas Aereas:ย
Bottom Copyright Photo: Alvaro Romero/ModoCharlie.com. Boeing 777-F6N N772LA (msn 37708) arrives at the Santiago hub.
LAN Argentina (Buenos Aires) has been served notice to terminate its maintenance hangar lease at the downtown Aeroparque Jorge Newbery Airport in Buenos Aires. The Argentine airline of the LATAM Group is being evicted from the Aeroparque hangar although it has been faithfully paying its rent and has a contract through 2023. The carrier needs the hangar to maintain operations in Argentina. LAN Argentina has stated it will take the forced eviction to court in Argentina.
The airline competes against state-run Aerolineas Argentinas (Buenos Aires). According to this report by the BBC, the current government of Argentina, headed by Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, has been accused of protecting state-run companies in the past.
Meanwhile the government of Argentina has accused LAN Airlines and LAN Argentina of stirring up worker sentiment against Argentina.
Read the full report from the BBC: CLICK HERE
Read the full report from Reuters: CLICK HERE
Read analysis by Argentina Airline News: CLICK HERE
Copyright Photo: Bernardo Andrade/AirlinersGallery.com.ย LAN Argentina’s Airbus A320-233 LV-BFO (msn 1877) in the Oneworld scheme, taxies at Aeroparque. The government wants to reportedly reserve the convenient downtown airport for the exclusive use of Aerolineas Argentinas and its subsidiary Austral.
Video: Arriving over Buenos Aires and landing at AEP:
LAN Argentina:ย
Gulf Air (Bahrain) has clarified its position regarding its involvement in a new domestic airline in Saudi Arabia. The flag carrier is acting as a consultant to the Al Qahtani Group. The airline has issued this statement:
Gulf Air, Bahrainโs national carrier, has issued a statement clarifying the recent awarding of two licenses by the General Authority of Civil Aviation of Saudi Arabia (GACA) to operate domestic services within the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Gulf Air did not bid and has not been awarded domestic traffic rights to operate in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The airlineโs involvement is in a consultative capacity only to the Al Qahtani Group, a consortium of privately owned companies based in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Accordingly, Gulf Airโs name and brand remain independent of the venture.
An initial contract signed last year appointing Gulf Air in an advisory role to support the Al Qahtani Groupโs bid for national traffic rights in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, has concluded with the consortium being awarded one of the two licenses. A second consulting agreement between Gulf Air and the Al Qahtani Group is currently being negotiated whereby Gulf Air will support the Al Qahtani Group in obtaining its Saudi Arabian Air Operatorโs Certificate (AOC).
Gulf Air has been operating to Saudi Arabia for over 63 years, amassing extensive operational and logistical knowledge of the Kingdom. As such, the national carrier is in a position to support Al Qahtani obtain its Air Operatorโs Certificate and further facilitate its entrance into the market.
Copyright Photo: Paul Denton/AirlinersGallery.com.ย Airbus A320-214 A9C-AH (msn 4218) with Grand Prix 2012 markings arrives at Dubai.
Gulf Air:ย
Iberia Express (Madrid) will start a new route on October 27 between the Madrid hub and Berlin (Tegel). The flights will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.
Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A320-211 EC-FLP (msn 266) taxies to the runway at Palma de Mallorca.
Iberia Express:ย
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