Tag Archives: Airbus A321-211

Thomas Cook reportedly receives inquiries for its divisions

Thomas Cook has received inquiries for its business and also parts of its business according to the BBC. The company put its airline division up for sale in February.

Read the full report.

Thomas Cook Group plc is a British global travel company. It was formed on June 19, 2007 by the merger of Thomas Cook AG.

The airline group includes:

Thomas Cook Airlines (UK)

Thomas Cook Airlines Balearics

Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia

Condor Flugdienst

Thomas Cook Group operates across 16 source markets, employs 21,000 people and has generated a total of £9.6 billion in group sales in the year ended 30 September 2018. Thomas Cook has around 200 own-brand hotels and resorts across seven brands – SENTIDO, Sunprime, Sunwing, SunConnect, smartline, Casa Cook and Cook’s Club.

For the 2019 summer schedule the group is making these changes:

Group Airline with a total of four additional short- and medium-haul aircraft compared to summer 2018
Three further Airbus A321s in service for Condor as of early summer, one additional A321 to take-off for Thomas Cook Airlines UK
105 aircraft in UK, Scandinavia, Spain and Germany

The Thomas Cook Group Airline is taking delivery of two additional Airbus A321 aircraft, which will be added to the Condor fleet for the 2019 summer flight schedule.

The jets will be in service for Thomas Cook Airlines UK from winter 2019/20 afterwards.

The Group Airline recently announced to include two further Airbus A321 for summer 2019, and will have a total of 105 aircraft then. Its short- and medium-haul fleet has been expanded by four additional own aircraft in total compared to the previous year.

Two Airbus A321s fly for Condor and are stationed in Leipzig and Hanover in summer 2019. In Leipzig, Condor is significantly increasing capacity with around 100,000 additional seats to the Mediterranean, the Canary Islands, Turkey and Egypt. Another A321 is flying in Germany as well, the fourth airplane completes the A321 fleet of Thomas Cook Airlines UK.

Top Copyright Photo: Thomas Cook Airlines (UK) (Avion Express) Airbus A321-211 LY-VEC (msn 3267) TFS (Wingnut). Image: 946248.

Thomas Cook (UK) aircraft slide show:

Air Canada updates its schedule for May in response to ongoing grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft

Air Canada has issued this statement:

Air Canada said today that due to Transport Canada’s continued closure of Canadian airspace to the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, it has further adjusted its schedule through to May 31. The carrier anticipates it will cover 98 percent of previously planned flying for the month through a series of mitigation measures, schedule changes and temporary route suspensions.

“Air Canada assures its customers that we are doing everything possible to mitigate the effects of the 737 MAX grounding, and we appreciate our customers’ patience and flexibility as we continue to work on transporting them safely to their destinations. By adjusting our schedule for the month of May, we are providing certainty for our customers so they can continue to book and travel with confidence on Air Canada,” said Lucie Guillemette, Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at Air Canada.

In compliance with the safety notice issued by Transport Canada on March 13, 2019, Air Canada grounded its fleet of 24 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. Boeing has advised that deliveries of its 737 MAX are currently suspended. Air Canada was expecting six new aircraft in March and April.

Air Canada is now updating its June schedule to optimize its fleet and re-accommodate customers. Because the timeline for the return to service of the 737 MAX is unknown, for planning purposes and to provide customers certainty for booking and travel, Air Canada has removed 737 MAX flying from its schedule until at least July 1, 2019. Final decisions on returning the 737 MAX to service will be based on Air Canada’s safety assessment following the lifting of government safety notices and approval by international regulatory authorities.

Among the measures taken by Air Canada:

Mitigations

To mitigate the impact, Air Canada has been substituting different aircraft on 737 MAX routes. This includes flying routes with similar-sized or larger aircraft. To help provide this replacement flying, the carrier has extended leases for aircraft which were scheduled to exit the fleet. Air Canada is also accelerating the in-take of recently acquired Airbus A321 aircraft from WOW Air into its fleet.

Above Copyright Photo: Air Canada Airbus A321-211 C-GJVX (msn 1726) YVR (Rob Rindt). Image: 941073.

Working with our Partner Airlines

The carrier has worked with other carriers to provide immediate extra capacity and provide alternative options to passengers. For example, its Montreal–Frankfurt flight for the month of May will be operated by Star Alliance partner Lufthansa.

Schedule Changes until June 30

The airline has implemented a number of route changes to date, either changing operating times or substituting larger aircraft with fewer frequencies on routes operated more frequently by smaller aircraft. For example, beginning in May two daily flights between Toronto and Calgary have been consolidated onto one larger Airbus A330, leaving nine daily flights.

In some cases, seasonal route launches have been delayed. This includes: Toronto–Portland, which will now start July 1 instead of May 24; Vancouver–Boston, which will now start June 16 instead of June 1; and Calgary–Halifax, which will now start July 1 instead of May 18. The seasonal start of the carrier’s Toronto–Shannon route and new Montreal–Bordeaux service will both be delayed until early July.

In addition, selected frequencies on domestic routes such as Toronto–Edmonton, will be served by Air Canada Rouge aircraft.

Route Suspensions

In a small number of cases, Air Canada has temporarily suspended service on certain 737 MAX routes where alternative aircraft are not presently available. This includes flights from Halifax and St. John’s to London Heathrow, for which it is re-accommodating customers over its Toronto and Montreal hubs. These routes are now suspended to May 31, but Air Canada remains committed to these routes.

Customer Information

As changes are finalized in the flight schedule, customers whose flight times or flight numbers have changed can expect to receive an email detailing their updated itinerary. This information is also available in My Bookings on the Air Canada app or Air Canada website. Customers are advised, whether they have booked directly through Air Canada or not, to ensure their contact information is on their booking to facilitate communication of any flight changes.

Top Copyright Photo: Air Canada Boeing 737-8 MAX 8 C-FSOC (msn 61224) LHR (Keith Burton). Image: 945960.

Air Canada aircraft slide show:

Level to fly from Amsterdam to seven European destinations

Level (Austria) (Anisec) has announced it is coming to Amsterdam as its second hub after Vienna. The brand will start flying from AMS to Rome and Vienna starting on April 6.

Service to London (Luton) will begin operating on April 7 followed by Fuerteventura and Lisbon in June.

Barcelona and Milan (Malpensa) will be added in August.

Three Airbus aircraft will be based at AMS.

The Level brand is a subsidiary of the International Airlines Group (IAG).

Top Copyright Photo: Level (Austria) Airbus A321-211 OE-LCF (msn 1966) LGW (SPA). Image: 945029.

Level aircraft slide show:

Air France considers the future of Joon

Air France has made this announcement:

A project for Joon’s future

After much discussion with employees and customers alike, and in consultation with the unions, Air France has decided to launch a project studying the future of the Joon brand and the integration of Joon employees and aircraft into Air France.

Despite the many positive impacts of Joon, in particular the invaluable contribution of the teams at Joon who launched the company and worked with passion and dedication, the brand was difficult to understand from the outset for customers, for employees, for markets and for investors.

The plurality of brands in the marketplace has created much complexity and unfortunately weakened the power of the Air France brand.

Through integration, Air France would see many benefits thanks to fleet, brand, and product harmonisation. Managing the operation would be improved through a common fleet of aircraft. Air France will also be able to ensure a smooth transition of the Airbus A350, currently on order, to the Air France fleet with a more economical cabin configuration.

All Joon flights currently sold or for sale would of course be operated by Joon until the project is completed, and then taken over by Air France.

The simplification of the brand portfolio, while capitalizing on the Air France mother brand, is an undeniable asset for our employees, our customers, and indeed all stake holders. It would also enable Air France to complete this integration without impacting the efficiency of the Air France-KLM Group.

Top Copyright Photo (all others by Joon): Joon (Air France) Airbus A321-211 F-GTAK (msn 1658) CDG (Manuel Negrerie). Image: 942239.

Joon aircraft slide show:

Germania is currently examining various financing options to ensure its short-term liquidity needs

Germania has issued this statement:

Europe’s aviation industry has undergone major changes recently, 2018 was a particularly challenging year. The entire industry is undergoing transition and Germania with it.

Unforeseeable events such as the massive increases in fuel prices last summer and the simultaneous weakening of the euro against the US dollar were major burdens for our company, as were considerable delays in phasing aircraft into our fleet and an unusually high number of maintenance events that our aircraft required.

Therefore, Germania is currently examining various financing options to ensure its short-term liquidity needs. We are focusing on the central question of how we can continue to be effective in a market environment dominated by airlines under larger corporate structures.

Nevertheless, there are no restrictions on our flight operations and all Germania flights continue to be operated as planned.

Top Copyright Photo (all others by the airline): Germania Fluggesellschaft Airbus A321-211 D-ASTP (msn 684) BSL (Paul Bannwarth). Image: 944581.

Germania aircraft slide show:

Joon to add six new destinations in summer 2019

Starting in summer 2019, Joon will serve 6 new destinations:

In Europe:

Madrid;
Stockholm;
Prague;
Manchester.

In the Caribbean:

Saint Martin.

In South America:

Quito.

Starting next summer Joon will serve 6 new destinations from Paris-CDG: Madrid* (Spain), Stockholm* (Sweden), Prague* (Czech Republic), Manchester* (UK), Saint-Martin* (France) and Quito (Ecuador).

Madrid, Stockholm, Prague and Manchester by Airbus A320 and A321!

From Paris-CDG, Joon will fly to Madrid, Stockholm, Prague and Manchester by Airbus A320 (174 seats) and A321 (212 seats).

In Business, Joon provides all you need! A full meal for lunch, hot pastries for breakfast and a snack at any other time of the day are available free of charge.

In Economy, there is a choice of free drinks at any time of the day. Would you like something else? A savoury snack? Or something sweet? Joon has something for everyone, with a selection of organic and gourmet products sold by the crew.

During the flight, you have free access to YouJoon, the onboard streaming offer available on your own smartphone, tablet or computer, which now offers a wide range of newspapers & magazines.

Enjoy the new cabins on the Airbus A340 to Saint Martin and Quito !

Flights from Paris-CDG to Saint Martin and Quito will be operated by Airbus A340 with 278 seats including 30 in Business, 21 in Premium Economy and 227 in Economy.

In Business, Premium Economy and Economy on long-haul flights, you can enjoy the new cabins on the Airbus A340, with:

Latest-generation individual touch screens with more than 1,200 hours of entertainment;
YouJoon, your onboard streaming offer available on smartphone, tablet or computer;
A wide choice of TV series, newspapers & magazines, web TV, cartoons, music and games.

In business, sleep in a seat-bed and enjoy all the comforts. Your seat can be transformed into a 2-metre long bed. As far as the in-flight catering is concerned, Joon takes you on a culinary journey with dishes designed by exceptional French chefs, with savoury and sweet gourmet delights.

The Premium Economy cabin offers you a brand new seat with optimal comfort: a 133° seat recline, 99 cm of generous legroom and 49 cm wide seat. At mealtime, your starters and desserts are inspired by those served in the Business cabin and are accompanied by a drink of your choice, including champagne!

In the Economy cabin, you have 78 centimetres of legroom and a 118° seat recline. A full meal is also available. And if you wish, you can treat yourself to a drink or a sweet or savoury treat from our additional menu!

About Joon

Joon is the new generation of travel by Air France. A trip designed for you that you can create yourself. Launched in September 2017, Joon has carried more than two million customers in Europe and worldwide from Paris-Charles de Gaulle. Its fleet consists of Airbus A320 and A321 on its medium-haul network and Airbus A340 on its long-haul network. Joon is an innovation laboratory for the Air France group, with a modular offer, in-flight catering, streaming programmes with original content and multiple and innovative partnerships for a global travel experience.

A wholly-owned subsidiary of Air France, the company will have a fleet of 28 Airbus aircraft in 2020 (18 A320/A321 and 10 A340/A350). Joon currently employs more than 500 people.

Top Copyright Photo: Joon (Air France) Airbus A321-211 F-GTAS (msn 3419) BCN (Tony Storck). Image: 941918.

Joon aircraft slide show:

Joon Destinations:

Small Planet Airlines will restructure its German business

Small Planet Airlines Germany GmbH, a part of Small Planet Group, has commenced a restructuring process. The German Civil Aviation Authority has no objections that the Air Operator’s License (AOC) will remain in place and therefore, all scheduled flights of Small Planet Airlines GmbH will continue to operate as before.

Small Planet Airlines GmbH has been operating as an independent entity in Germany since the year 2015 and acquired Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) in the spring 2016. This year Small Planet Airlines Germany has decided to go for rapid expansion which didn’t go according to plan.

“After Air Berlin went bankrupt last year, a niche emerged for the other carriers, and Small Planet Airlines Germany chose to almost double in size year on year in order to take advantage of these newly opened possibilities in the market. However, the company struggled to manage this successfully due to several factors: late delivery of aircraft before the start of the summer season, shortage of crews in the market, unreliable sub charter aircraft and unforeseeable technical events had a devastating impact on a very intense schedule, which led to flight irregularities which in turn led to increasing cost burden. The financial losses incurred by the German company forced it to file for a restructuring process under the German law. Nevertheless, the company continues operations under restructuring”, said Vytautas Kaikaris, the CEO of Small Planet Group, adding “we all stand together in this period to achieve the best possible result out of restructuring for our employees, clients and partners”.

Small Planet Airlines in Lithuania, Poland and Cambodia will continue to operate their flights as planned and prepare for the upcoming winter season by cooperating with the tour operators and carrying passengers to the popular tourist destinations. Lithuanian and Polish entities will also continue implementing its seasonal winter projects in Asia, aimed at increasing the aircraft utilization and balancing seasonality. By the end of this year, Small Planet Airlines expects to fly 3,9 million passengers, an increase of 29% from 2017.

As for today, Small Planet Airlines fleet consists of 29 Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft. The airline operates around 240 leisure routes from 15 European bases.

GENERAL INFORMATION FOR THE PASSENGERS ABOUT THE INSOLVENCY PROCEEDINGS

Dear Passengers,

Small Planet Airlines GmbH has decided to restructure its business and today filed an application for insolvency proceedings in self administration with the aim of maintaining the airline’s flight operations in the long term.

This means:

All flights from and to Germany, Austria, Switzerland and The Netherlands will continue to be operated by Small Planet Airlines Germany
Booked tickets retain their validity
All flight schedules remain valid

FAQs

Will flight operations in Germany and the Netherlands continue with Small Planet Airlines?
The current flight program and all scheduled flights under 5Pxxxx flight code will be continued according to an agreement with the German civil aviation authorities about further continuation of the flight operation.

Where will I receive a confirmation that my flight will take place?
No separate confirmation about flights that take place will be send. All (electronic or paper) tickets remain valid.

I have booked a package holiday and am flying with Small Planet Airlines Germany – will this still go ahead?
Yes, all flights will be continued as planned. At this point a cancellation of a ticket for a future flight is not permitted. In case a flight will be changed, your tour operator will inform you accordingly with an upfront notice about any change.

Is it safe to fly with Small Planet Airlines?
Yes, Small Planet Airlines is operating under highest European Civil Aviation standards and is safe and will continue to be safe to fly on board of our aircrafts. “Safety first” remains our top priority.

Will there be any changes in the service level during flights with Small Planet Airlines?
During the flight, our crew will continue to keep up the same service level. Food and drinks will still be available during the flight for purchase.

Can I still book a seat reservation, extra luggage or sports equipment without losing my money? What happens with bookings I already made?
All seat reservations, as well as bookings for extra luggage or sports equipment for all flights remain valid. New services can still be booked through our “check-in” function on our website at http://www.smallplanet.aero.

How can I contact Small Planet Airlines for further information?
We ask for your understanding that due to the current situation the amount of passenger requests will be exceeding our capacities. We can therefore only respond to those which are relevant for the current flight operation.

How can I request special services like Wheelchairs or medical equipment?
Please continue to use info@smallplanet.aero yet put “special service request” into the heading. These will be attended to with priority.

Will I still receive compensation for cancelled flights and delays?
Due to the opening of any insolvency proceedings of Small Planet Airlines GmbH Compensation claims for flight delays prior to 18.09.2018 will have to be lodged to the list of creditors. For this purpose, all affected passengers will automatically receive a form with instructions on how to proceed.

Top Copyright Photo (all others by Small Planet): Small Planet Airlines (Germany) Airbus A321-211 D-ASPD (msn 808) AMS (Ton Jochems). Image: 941834.

Small Planet (Germany) aircraft slide show:

Hongtu Airlines rebrands as Air Travel

Hongtu Airlines (Kunming) commenced scheduled operations on May 21, 2016.

In 2017 Chinese travel agency Tongcheng acquired a controlling interest in the relatively new airline.

Now the airline is apparently set to rebrand itself as Air Travel. The new livery and identity has been revealed on the pending delivery of the pictured Airbus A320 (top).

The company has not yet formally announced the change.

Top Copyright Photo: Air Travel (China) Airbus A320-214 WL F-WWIH (B-303M) (msn 8448) TLS (Eurospot). Image: 943387.

Bottom Copyright Photo: Hongtu Airlines Airbus A321-211 F-WTDB (B-8318) (msn 6268) TLS (Paul Bannwarth). Image: 933073.

Air Transat signs agreement to lease seven new Airbus A321neos

Air Transat, wholly-owned business unit of Transat A.T. Inc., has signed an agreement with AerCap for the long-term lease of seven new Airbus aircraft: two A321neos and five A321neo LRs (long-range). These next-generation, single-aisle jets, which will be delivered gradually between 2020 and 2022, will notably replace wide-body A330s whose leases will expire during this period.

“We are continuing our fleet transformation in order to achieve greater efficiency and versatility,” said Jean-François Lemay, President of Air Transat. “With their smaller size, the A321neos will enable us to implement our air strategy, which involves increasing our flight frequencies, expanding our network and strengthening our position in several markets. The goal: continue to provide our customers with comfortable service at the best possible price.”

With 199 seats in a two-class configuration, the A321neo will be used for feeder flights and service to the South (short- and medium-haul) while the long-range version (A321neo LR) will be deployed for Sun and transatlantic destinations (medium- and long-haul). These aircraft will be added to the 10 new A321neo LRs, on lease from AerCap, announced in July 2017, which will gradually be introduced to Air Transat’s fleet starting in spring 2019.

While this type of aircraft has been selected to optimize the fleet, its fuel efficiency will also keep cost per seat as low as possible, while reducing its carbon footprint. Additionally, because of the cockpit commonality of the A330 and A320 (including the A321), Air Transat’s pilots will be able to fly both types of aircraft, which will result in greater operating flexibility and savings, including on training costs.

Air Transat’s fleet currently consists of 33 permanent aircraft in a unique flexible-fleet model that allows it to deploy more wide-body aircraft in summer for the high transatlantic season, and narrow-body aircraft in winter for the high Sun destinations season.

By 2024, Air Transat will have an all-Airbus fleet.

Air Transat press releases:

Aeroflot introduces a special livery on VP-BEE to celebrate its 95th anniversary

Aeroflot presented an aircraft decked out in the company’s 95^th anniversary celebration livery at Sheremetyevo Airport on May 4.

In the summer of 2017 Aeroflot announced a competition to design an aircraft livery. Members of the public were given the opportunity to create their own livery design and upload it to the contest website.

The next step was online voting, which narrowed the field to 10 finalists. Then the winner was chosen from amongst the finalists by an expert jury that included members of Aeroflot’s Management Board.

Ekaterina Lesik took first place in the competition with a white and blue design in stylized traditional Russian patterns.

An Airbus 321 was painted according to the design of the competition winner. The aircraft bears the name of the celebrated theater director Yuri Lyubimov.

The pictured Airbus A321-211 VP-BEE (msn 6726) performed its first flight in its festive livery on the Moscow-Yerevan route on May 4, 2018.

Photo: Aeroflot.