TAP Air Portugal (TAP) is to increase its routes to the Americas in the summer of 2023, offering a total of 17 additional flights during this peak period.
This rise, compared to the same period in 2022, will restore pre-pandemic flight levels, and provide more freedom to customers when booking summer holidays.
In line with customer demand, routes to the US are set to gain an additional 10 flights per week next year, with Boston increasing to 14, both Miami and Washington up to 10, and five to Chicago and San Francisco.
TAP will also boost the number of flights to Brazil, with six new weekly services, with Sào Paulo increasing to 20, Belo Horizonte to seven, six to Salvador and Brasília, and four to Belém.
Flights between Lisbon and Caracas will increase from two to three flights per week, allowing improved connectivity to Venezuela.
The growth in transatlantic flights from Lisbon is critical to TAP’s goals, with further plans for their Porto hub in the pipeline for the future.
Top Copyright Photo: TAP Portugal Airbus A330-223 CS-TOG (msn 312) OPO (Ton Jochems). Image: 959704.
With travel restrictions evolving and vaccination programs underway, the demand for air travel is slowly picking up. Brussels Airlines has redesigned its network to meet this demand, especially for holiday destinations. Next to the reopening of its leisure destinations, Brussels Airlines also launches flights to Bordeaux in France and Tangier, Nador and Al Hoceima in Morocco. With the opening of these new destinations, the airline emphasizes its important position on the leisure and VFR (Visit Friends and Relatives) market.
Over the past six months, the airline operated a network that focused on essential travel, mainly with flights to and from Africa. Today the airline gives its leisure customers a positive outlook on the summer, together with partners and tour operators. Over the coming months, the airline expects an increase in demand for air travel during the summer holidays. On top of the destinations the airline offers today, following destinations will join the network in the coming months:
Opening in May 2021:
Austria: Vienna Greece: Heraklion, Kos, Rhodes
Israel: Tel Aviv Italy: Bologna, Napoli, Rome
Scotland: Edinburgh Slovenia: Ljubljana
Spain: Bilbao, Ibiza, Palma de Mallorca, Valencia
Opening in June 2021:
Angola: Luanda Armenia: Yerevan
Czech Republic: Prague Croatia: Dubrovnik, Split
England: Birmingham France: Bordeaux
Greece: Corfu, Zakynthos Hungary: Budapest
Italy: Bari, Catania, Florence, Milan Linate, Palermo
Lithuania: Vilnius Morocco: Nador, Tangier
Norway: Oslo Poland: Krakow, Warsaw
Russia: Moscow Sheremetyevo, Saint Petersburg
Sweden: Gothenburg
United States: New York, Washington D.C.
Opening in July 2021:
Italy: Olbia (Sardinia)
Opening in August 2021:
Germany: Frankfurt (new destination)
Opening in September 2021:
Switzerland: Basel
New destinations: Bordeaux, Tangier, Nador and Al Hoceima
In addition to the reopening of a large part of its network, Brussels Airlines is also thrilled to add four destination to its portfolio: Bordeaux in France and Al Hoceima, Tangier and Nador in Morocco. These last three destinations will be offered in cooperation with ML Tours. The first flight to Bordeaux will take off on June 20, with two weekly flights on Fridays and Sundays. Nador and Tangier will join the network as of June 26 and 27 respectively. Nador will be connected with Brussels Airport twice a week on Tuesdays and Saturdays, while flights to Tangier will be operated every Wednesday and Sunday. Flights to Al Hoceima will exclusively be bookable through ML Tours.
Next to Bordeaux, Tangier, Nador and Al Hoceima, also Frankfurt joins the Brussels Airlines network for the first time, as the airline announced on February 24th. The first flight from Brussels to Frankfurt will take off on August 2nd.
Africa and North Atlantic
Washington DC and New York are planned to be operated as of June 14. These will be the first North-Atlantic flights of Brussels Airlines since March 21st, 2020. Montreal is planned to join the network on June 15, but given the current travel restrictions in Canada these plans might still alter.
As for the African network, Brussels Airlines gradually increases its flight frequencies to all its African destinations as of mid June, when West African destinations Abidjan (Ivory Coast), Accra (Ghana), Banjul (Gambia) and Dakar (Senegal) are planned to be offered on a daily basis. In Central and East Africa Douala and Yaounde (both in Cameroon), Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo) and Entebbe (Uganda) are also foreseen to be served daily. Luanda joins the network again after more than a year. As of June 15, the Angolan city will be served three times weekly.
Top Copyright Photo: Brussels Airlines Airbus A330-223 OO-SFT (msn 291) IAD (Brian McDonough). Image: 953397.
Aerolineas Argentinas has announced it will begin a new route from Buenos Aires (EZE) to Orlando starting on December 9, 2019.
The new route will be initially operated three days a week with Airbus A330-200s.
The flight will depart from Ezeiza on Mondays, Wendesndays and Saturday sat 23:30 (11:30 pm) and will arrive Orlando at 07:10 (7:10 am) (all local times).
Meanwhile, the return flight will be on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at 16:25 (4:25 pm) (all local times) and will arrive Ezeiza at 04:00 (4:00 am).
The arrival time will permit connections at the Buenos Aires hub (below) to other destinations such as Porto Alegre, Asunción (PAR) and Santiago.
Martin Ortiz reporting from Argentina.
Top Copyright Photo (all others by the airline): Aerolineas Argentinas Airbus A330-223 LV-FNK (msn 358) MIA (Bruce Drum). Image: 104587.
Scandinavian Airlines-SAS has made this announcement:
SAS has divested its 37.5% ownership in Air Greenland A/S to the Government of Greenland. The transaction is a result of several years of discussions and negotiations, ending an era of ownership which dates back over 50 years.
Under the agreement, which was closed today, the Government of Greenland will pay DKK277 million in cash for SAS’ 37.5% shareholding in the Greenland based airline group.
The transaction price is slightly above the book value, resulting in a marginal capital gain for SAS.
SAS would like to thank Air Greenland and its other shareholders – the Government of Greenland and the Danish State – for the good cooperation over the years and wish the airline all the best for the future.
Greenland’s national airline Grønlandsfly was founded in 1960. The company changed its name to Air Greenland in 2002 and has undergone rapid development during the last 50 years: From seaplanes to jet planes; and from helicopter services to scheduled services with fixed-wing aircraft. Then, as now, Air Greenland operates in Arctic airspace, which presents a unique range of challenges.
All above photos by Air Greenland.
Above Copyright Photo: Air Greenland Airbus A330-223 OY-GRN (msn 230) HAM (Gerd Beilfuss). Image: 928525.
Delta Air Lines will drop the Sao Paulo (Guarulhos) route from its Detroit hub on March 29. The route currently operates three days a week with Airbus A330-200s according to Airline Route.
Top Copyright Photo: Delta Air Lines Airbus A330-223 N859NW (msn 722) LHR (SPA). Image: 945992.
The Government of Denmark and the Government of Greenland have on September 10, 2018 come to a political agreement in which it is mentioned that the Government of Greenland will look into acquiring the shares in Air Greenland owned by the Danish State.
The acquisition is conditional on the two parties reaching satisfying agreements on a number of issues, including a satisfying agreement on the valuation of the shares.
Furthermore, the acquisition of the shares owned by the Danish State is conditional on getting the necessary approvals from the relevant authorities.
Following the political agreement mentioned above, SAS and the Government of Greenland also announce that the Government of Greenland will consider buying the 37.5% stake in Air Greenland owned by SAS.
This potential acquisition is subject to the same terms and conditions as outlined above, and conditional on SAS AB board approval.
Top Copyright Photo (all others by Air Greenland): Air Greenland Airbus A330-223 OY-GRN (msn 230) ZRH (Rolf Wallner). Image: 922693.
The Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18 has come to an end but Hi Fly’s Airbus A330, painted under the same livery as the “Turn the Tide on Plastic” boat, is still soaring around the globe and raising ocean awareness in all four corners of the world.
Completing its 10th month carrying the pertinent message proudly displayed on its fuselage, the aircraft has already been to all five continents flying for different company clients, operating more than 400 flights and landing in close to 40 different destinations.
Above Photo: Duarte Gomes. Arriving in Lisbon.
The countries where the “Turn the Tide on Plastic” aircraft has landed include European destinations in the UK, Belgium, Portugal, Spain, Germany, Italy, Bulgaria and Turkey, African countries such as Tunisia, Morocco, Nigeria, Guinee, the Congo, Senegal and Mauritius, as well as some of the world’s most paradisiac destinations such as Reunion Island, the Dominican Republic, French Polynesia, Cuba and Jamaica. The largest nations on the American continent: the USA, Canada and Brazil, as well as other countries in the Americas such as Panama and Guyana have also already received Hi Fly’s themed Airbus A330. In Asia, the “Turn the Tide on Plastic” aircraft have been to India, China, Thailand, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, the world’s largest country, Russia, and the middle eastern nations of Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Last but not least, one of the regions where the aircraft spent the most time in was the Australian continent, where it flew between Australia and New Zealand operating for Air New Zealand – the country’s flagship carrier.
Hi Fly joined the project in cooperation with Mirpuri Foundation, the founding partner of “Turn the Tide on Plastic” boat, and AkzoNobel, that provided the coating to personalize the aircraft. The Airbus A330-200 is painted on both sides, matching the “Turn the Tide on Plastic” boat – one dark blue “polluted” side and another light blue “clean” one.
With this initiative, Hi Fly is raising awareness for this unprecedented campaign to eliminate marine litter and plastic in particular, supporting the United Nations Environment’s “Clean Seas” campaign. If no action is taken, there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean by 2050.
This is not a stand-alone initiative; since mid-2017 Hi Fly has been putting forward a number of actions, not only to raise awareness but also to set the example and be the first airline to be completely ‘Plastic Free’ by 2019.
Hi Fly is also committed to be ‘carbon neutral’ by the same year and has just painted the company’s first A380 (see video below) in a coral themed livery alerting the public to the critical state of the world’s coral reefs. In this way, Hi Fly aims to involve and inspire the industry to become more environmentally conscious by protecting the health of our oceans, as well as of the whole planet.
Top Copyright Photo (all others by Hi Fly): Hi Fly – Mirpuri Foundation – Volvo Ocean Race Airbus A330-223 CS-TQW (msn 262) (Turn the Tide on Plastic – Clean Seas) YYZ (TMK Photography). Image: 940228.
Korean Air celebrated its inaugural flight from Seoul, South Korea to Zagreb, Croatia on September 1, marking the first regular service connecting Croatia and Far East Asia directly.
The airline’s maiden flight KE919 from Seoul, which took 11 hours and 40 minutes, was welcomed with a water cannon salute upon landing at Zagreb (Franjo Tuđman) International Airport on Saturday. An inaugural flight ceremony was held at Zagreb Airport, with government and industry officials, Mr. Park Won-sup, Korean Ambassador to Croatia, Mr. Damir Kušen, the newly appointed Croatian Ambassador to Korea, Ms. Olivera Šarić, Assistant Minister of Tourism, Ms. Martina Bienenfeld, director of Touristic Board of Zagreb, Mr. Jacques Feron, CEO of the Zagreb International Airport attended.
Korean Air commenced the three-times weekly nonstop service between Incheon and Zagreb, utilizing Airbus A330-200 aircraft. The flight departs Incheon, Seoul at 11:00, arriving in Zagreb at 15:45. It then departs Zagreb at 17:20, arriving back in Incheon at 11:30 the next day.
With the addition of the new route, Korean Air will operate international flights to 112 cities in 43 countries.
Flight Schedules (*All Times Local)
Flight Schedule
Route
Flight Number
Departure
Arrival
Aircraft
Days of Operation
Incheon – Zagreb
KE919
11:05
15:45
A330-200
Tue, Thu, Sat
Zagreb – Incheon
KE920
17:20
11:30+1
A330-220
Tue, Thu, Sat
Top Copyright Photo: Korean Air Airbus A330-223 HL8276 (msn 1393) BSL (Paul Bannwarth). Image: 943390.
Brussels Airlines is today being struck by its pilot’s union. The airline will endure another day of industrial action on Wednesday.
The airline issued this statement before the strikes started:
Brussels Airlines deeply regrets that strike actions triggered by its social partners representing the airline’s pilot community are causing massive disruptions in Monday’s and Wednesday’s flight operations.
The strike will impact Brussels Airlines flights to and from Brussels on May 14 and May 16, 2018. 278 flights to and from Brussels were scheduled on Monday and 279 flights on Wednesday, with respectively 34,000 and 29,000 passengers booked.
“Despite the fact that we do everything we can to reduce the inconveniences to our guests to a minimum, the strike severely impacts the travel plans of our customers, for which we wish to sincerely apologise. We have mobilized a maximum of staff and have increased the capacity of our Service Center to assist our guests as much as possible with rebooking”, explains Thibault Demoulin, Chief Operating Officer of Brussels Airlines. “From Brussels Airlines’ point of view, the strike is incomprehensible, since the company has submitted substantial offers to the cockpit union delegation”, continues Thibault Demoulin.
Priority is given to the stranded guests
Significant disruptions to the flight operations are to be expected during the days of the strike.
Passengers booked on a flight on Monday or Wednesday can rebook their flight free of charge or cancel their reservation at no extra charge with a full refund. Guests who are stranded at their destination will be offered maximum care, including hotel accommodation, alternative travel options on Brussels Airlines, Lufthansa Group airlines or other available carriers.
New conciliation process to start
A first proposal of a flexible benefit plan, that foresaw as of January 1, 2019 an increase of 3% of the pilot’s monthly gross salary and an additional 3% as of 2020 should there be no growth, had been refused by the pilots.
Today, in order to give a new chance to the negotiations, the management of Brussels Airlines had made a new proposal for its pilots. Indeed, following latest discussions among Brussels Airlines management, union representatives and pilots, all parties involved came to the conclusion that the past weeks and months the focus in the negotiations was too much on salary increase rather than on the improvement of work-life balance, which seems to be the predominant concern of the pilot community.
The purpose was now to reinforce the already established working group on flight-time/duty-time (workload) in order to come with concrete proposals. With the feedback received, the management has decided to put extra resources into this working group and re-allocate part of the foreseen funds to the improvement of rosters and holiday planning.
The management of Brussels Airlines proposed to finalize a concrete planning listing all the initiatives, to speed up the process. To cover the implementation period of a new to be agreed proposal, intermediate compensation measures are being worked on, which can be implemented in the short run.
“We deeply regret the refusal of our new offer that focuses on the main concern of our pilots – an improved work-life balance. We know that this is the most important to them”, explains Christina Foerster, CEO of Brussels Airlines. “We are also worried about the process as our social partners announced a strike even before the new conciliation process has started. It goes without saying that we remain open for transparent and constructive dialogue as we continue aiming at a solution that on the one hand responds to the concerns of our pilots and on the other hand doesn’t put the future of our company at stake. The union delegation continues to propose the same 12 points, which represent a total increase in cost of 25% for the company. It would be irresponsible for the future of our company and its 3900 employees to accept this.”
Top Copyright Photo: Brussels Airlines Airbus A330-223 OO-SFY (msn 229) YYZ (TMK Photography). Image: 941517.
