Singapore Airlines (Singapore) flight SIA 836 with an Airbus A330-300 carryingย 182 passengers and 12 crew members suffered a dual engine failure while traveling from Singapore to Shanghai resulting in a plunge of 13,000 feet before power was restored. The airliner had entered severe weather.
Read the full story: CLICK HERE
Skymark Airlines‘ (Tokyo) two biggest creditors, Intrepid Aviation and Airbus, have informed the bankruptcy court that they will reject a rescue plan involving ANA-All Nippon Airways (Tokyo) according to ZipanguFlyer.
Read the full story: CLICK HERE
Copyright Photo below: Akira Uekawa/AirlinersGallery.com. Skylark was an Airbus A330-300 operator and was planning to add the larger A380. The pictured A330-343 JA330B (msn 1491) climbs away from Haneda Airport.
Skymark aircraft slide show:ย 
Airbus (Toulouse) has issued this statement today:
The latest variant of the highly successful A330 โ the new 242 metric ton A330-300 โ has achieved certification from the European airworthiness authorities (EASA) following a 100 hour flight-test campaign. Certification from the US authorities (FAA) is also expected soon. Furthermore, and in the near future, the smaller A330-200 model will follow the -300 by benefiting from the 242 ton take-off weight capability. To date 11 customers have already selected their new A330s to have a 242 ton capability.
Eric Zanin, Airbusโ Head of the A330 Program said: โThe latest A330โs maximum take-off weight capability of 242 metric tonnes, combined with various aerodynamic refinements and increased fuel capacity means that soon operators will benefit from an extended range of up to 500 nautical miles or carry greater payload. Moreover, they will do so with a fuel consumption reduction of up two percent โ yet another concrete example of Airbusโ incremental innovation strategy.โ
The initial certified A330-300 242 ton aircraft is powered by CF6-80E1 engines and certification with the other engine types โ the PW4000 and Trent 700 โ will follow.
The flight-test campaign of approximately 100 hours was shared between two aircraft: an Airbus test aircraft (msn 871) which was used to validate some aerodynamic refinements, and a new production aircraft (msn 1628) whose tasks included the validation of the *center tank activation and overall performance effect on the larger A330-300 platform. Notably, the 242 ton A330โs structure is also the basis for development of the forthcoming A330neo.
The combination of the increased take-off weight, aerodynamic improvements and the optional fuel capacity boost โ compared with the previous 235 ton version โ means that the new 242 ton A330-300 is capable of flying missions of up to 15 hours, or carry more payload over existing routes. In practice this means that it will allow operators to fly directly between Europe and south-East Asia and could be used for more than 90 percent of typical routes from London airports.
Photo: Airbus. Delta Air Lines is the launch customer.
Delta Air Lines (Atlanta) and Virgin Atlantic Airways (London) are celebrating a significant expansion of their trans-Atlantic partnership with the introduction of six new daily services.
The two airlines begin their summer schedule this weekend and will offer up to 39 return trans-Atlantic flights a day between the U.K. and 15 destinations across North America. The joint schedule now includes 10 daily flights between New York and London Heathrow, with eight daily departures from New York-JFK and two departures from Newark. Customers travelling between JFK and London Heathrow will benefit from a memory schedule* of regular evening departures from New York.
Virgin Atlantic is launching a second daily service between Los Angeles and Heathrow, complemented by significant investment on the ground with the first-ever Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse in Los Angeles due to open next month. Combined with the Delta service launched in October 2014, the partnership will offer three daily flights from Los Angeles to London and expects to carry close to 400,000 annual passengers on the route.
Also launching this weekend is a seasonal second-daily Virgin Atlantic service between Atlanta and London Heathrow and a second service between San Francisco and London Heathrow that will operate five days a week over the summer.
The two airlines are maximizing the benefits of their joint-venture partnership and increasing passenger choice by aligning schedules to best meet customer demand. This will see a transfer of operations that begins this weekend with Delta flying one of the Newark-to-London Heathrow services previously operated by Virgin Atlantic. Meanwhile, Virgin Atlantic will take over Delta’s Atlanta-to-Manchester service.
Further joint-venture services will be introduced later in the summer. These include:
A new daily Delta service between Philadelphia and London Heathrow starting April 26
A new daily Delta service between New York-JFK and Manchester starting May 21
A new daily Virgin Atlantic service between London Heathrow and Detroit starting June 1
Virgin Atlantic is also offering a series of special seasonal services this year from Orlando to Belfast, Northern Ireland (June and July), and Las Vegas to Glasgow, Scotland (September and October).
Virgin Atlantic is resuming flights from London Gatwick to the Caribbean island of Tobago on Sunday and will be offering a weekly service during the summer and a twice-weekly service in the winter.
This summer, Delta flights between London Heathrow and Boston, Los Angeles and New York will operate from Heathrow’s Terminal 3 alongside all Virgin Atlantic services. Delta flights between Heathrow and Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis-St Paul, Philadelphia and Seattle/Tacoma will operate from Terminal 4. Delta One and Upper Class passengers departing from London Heathrow Terminal 3 will be able to enjoy a seamless transfer from car to lounge via the Virgin Atlantic Upper Class Wing. Business class passengers travelling from Heathrow Terminal 4 will enjoy complimentary access to the SkyTeam lounge.
Since the start of the joint venture, more than five million people have travelled on its services with 10,000 people per month connecting between the two airlines last year. The new schedule offers connecting itineraries to 215 destinations.
Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A330-323 N813NW (msn 799) taxies at Amsterdam.
Delta aircraft slide show (current livery):ย
Virgin Atlantic aircraft slide show:ย
Cebu Pacific Air (Manila) will launch twice weekly nonstop flights between Manila and Doha, Qatar, starting on June 4, 2015.
CEB will be the only Philippine carrier flying between these two cities, serving more Global Filipinos in the Middle East.
The nonstop service departs Manila every Monday and Thursday, at 9:35 pm (2135). It arrives in Doha at 2:45 am (0245) the next day. The return flight departs Doha every Tuesday and Friday, at 4:15 am (0415), arriving in Manila at 6:35 pm (1835).
This new route will utilize CEBโs brand-new Airbus A330-300 aircraft, with a configuration of 436 all-economy class seats. Hot meals, seats with extra legroom and Wi-Fi onboard, among others, are options that can be added to the fare.
The route will serve over 260,000 Filipinos in Qatar, based on Philippine Overseas Employment Administration 2009 stock estimates.
Qatar has the third-largest Filipino community in the Middle East. CEB already serves the other two key markets for Global Filipinos: United Arab Emirates via direct flights to Dubai, and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia via Riyadh. CEB is also the only airline flying direct between Manila and Kuwait.
CEBโs 55-strong fleet is comprised of 10 Airbus A319, 31 Airbus A320, 6 Airbus A330 and 8 ATR-72 500 aircraft.
Between 2015 and 2021, Cebu Pacific will take delivery of 7 more brand-new Airbus A320 and 30 Airbus A321neo aircraft.
Copyright Photo: Kok Chwee K.C. Sim/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A330-343 RP-C3341 (msn 1420) arrives in Singapore (SIN).
Cebu Pacific Air aircraft slide show:ย
Delta Air Lines (Atlanta) will take delivery this year of the first 242-ton Airbus A330-300 as a launch customer. Airbus has issued this statement and photos:
Just four months after entering the Final Assembly Line, and less than two months after its maiden flight, the first 242 ton Maximum Take-Off Weight (MTOW) variant of the A330 rolled out of the paintshop in Toulouse, France in Delta Air Lines livery.
This first, new higher weight variant of the A330-300 is powered by two GE CF6-80E1 engines and will be delivered this year to the new variantโs launch customer Delta Air Lines.
Delta Air Lines is a major Airbus widebody customer, with 32 A330 Family aircraft (11 A330-200s and 21 A330-300s) in service today and 35 more on order (25 A330-900neo and 10 A330-300). In addition, Delta has equally 25 A350-900s on order. Delta also operates 126 A320 Family aircraft (57 A319ceo, 69 A320ceo) and has 45 A321ceo on order.
The A330 242 ton MTOW is the platform for the future A330neo and offers more capability at lower operating cost with a range extended by up to 500 nautical miles and up to two percent reduced fuel consumption while also benefiting from todayโs A330 operational reliability of 99.4 percent. The 242 ton MTOW is capable of flying missions up to 15 hours.
Photos: Airbus. Right now this A330-300 airframe is carrying the test registration of F-WWYX (msn 1627) and is also carrying a future fleet number of 3322.
Delta Air Lines aircraft slide show (current livery):ย
Air Europa (stylized as AirEuropa) (Palma de Mallorca and Madrid) continues its expansion throughout the Caribbean by connecting its daily flight between Spain and the Dominican Republic with its neighbor, Puerto Rico. The Globalia Group Airline and Seaborne Airlines (San Juan), a Puerto Rican airline, have reached a codeshare agreement to cover the route Santo Domingo โ San Juan, Puerto Rico, which will allow for daily flights to and from the islands and, as a result, the connection of both capitals with the Adolfo Suarez Airport in Madrid (Barajas).
This will permit Air Europa passengers to fly to Puerto Rico every day, by making a short stop in Las Americas Airport in Santo Domingo. This route will be added to the two direct flights that Air Europa has been operating between Spain and Puerto Rico since June 2014.
Seaborne is a company with over 20 years of experience in the Caribbean and an excellent security and operational performance history. For the Santo Domingo โ San Juan route, it has an available fleet of 8 SAAB 340Bs, Swedish-made aircraft that can carry 34 passengers.
The codeshare agreement between Air Europa and Seaborne will take effect March 29.
Copyright Photo: Javier Rodriguez/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A330-343 EC-LXR (msn 1097) arrives at Palma de Mallorca.
AirEuropa aircraft slide show:ย
Seaborne Airlines aircraft slide show:ย
Turkish Airlines (Istanbul) flight TK 726 from Istanbul skidded off a foggy runway today (March 4) while landing at Kathmandu, Nepal. The Airbus A330-303 TC-JOC (msn 1522) had already aborted a previous approach and was circling the airport before attempting to land again. The aircraft skidded off the runway and the nose gear collapsed. The passengers used the emergency chutes to evacuate the airliner.
According to this report by NBC, only one passenger out of the 224 passengers and crew members on board was injured.
Turkish Airlines issued this short statement:
Our flight number TK726 from ฤฐstanbul to Kathmandu overshot the runway after landing at Napal / Kathmandu.
All of our passengers and flight crew evacuated safely.
Necessary precautions are taken; after the technical investigation, this unfortunate incident will be determined and announced to public.
Read the full report from NBC: CLICK HERE
Read the full report from The Independent: CLICK HERE
Twitter photo by Mallika Aryal.
Video:
Skymark Airlines (Tokyo-Haneda) yesterday (January 31) operated its last Airbus A330-300 revenue flight. According to ZipanguFlyer, the last revenue flight from Tokyo (Haneda) was flight BC 727 to Sapporo (New Chitose) operated with Airbus A330-343 JA330D. The final flight was the return leg, flight BC 730 back to Tokyo (Haneda), arriving back at 2236 local time.
Read the full report: CLICK HERE
Copyright Photo: Akira Uekawa/AirlinersGallery.com. A spectacular takeoff view of Airbus A330-343 JA330B (msn 1491) from Haneda Airport from Tokyo Bay.
Skymark aircraft slide show:
http://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Airlines-Asia-3/Airlines-Asia3-QZ/Skymark-Airlines
Skymark Airlines (Tokyo-Haneda) announced today (January 29) it was filing for bankruptcy protection with the district court in Tokyo. The reorganizing airline announced it would eliminate 15 percent of its flights and ground its Airbus A330-300s on January 31 according to ZipanguFlyer.
Read the full story: CLICK HERE
Copyright Photo: Rob Finlayson/AirlinersGallery.com. The Airbus A330-300s only entered revenue service on June 14, 2014. Airbus A330-343 JA330E (msn 1554) lands in Fukuoka.
Skymark Airlines aircraft slide show:
http://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Airlines-Asia-3/Airlines-Asia3-QZ/Skymark-Airlines
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