Tag Archives: Airbus A330-343

Finnair starts codeshare cooperation with Fiji Airways

"COP23 Fiji - UN Climate Change Conference Bonn 2017" markings

Finnair and Fiji Airways have agreed on a new codeshare partnership between Helsinki (HEL) andย Nadiย (NAN) in Fiji via three gateways served by Finnair.

Finnairโ€™s AY code will be added to Fiji Airwaysโ€™ flights between Hong Kong (HKG), Singapore (SIN), Narita (NRT) andย Nadi, offering an exotic new destination for Finnair customers in the South Pacific. Finnairโ€™s flight numbers will later be added to Fijiโ€™s flights between San Francisco (SFO), Los Angeles (LAX) andย Nadi,ย subject to applicable government approvals. With this addition, it will now be possible for Finnair customers to complete an around-the-worldย tripย with Finnair flight numbers.

Fiji Airwaysโ€™ FJ code willย alsoย be added to Finnairโ€™s flights to Helsinki via Singapore, openingย access forย Fiji Airwaysโ€™ย customers to Finland and points beyond in Europe.

Top Copyright Photo: Fiji Airways (2nd) Airbus A330-343 DQ-FJW (msn 1692) (COP23 Fiji) LAX (Michael B. Ing). Image: 940139.

Fiji Airways aircraft slide show:

Air China’s Airbus A330-300 B-5958 is destroyed by fire at Peking

Destroyed by fire at Peking on August 27, 2019

Air China’s pictured Airbus A330-343 B-5958 (msn 1587) was consumed and damaged beyond repair by fire that broke out reportedly in the cargo hold while parked at the Terminal 3 gate at Beijing on August 27, 2019.

The aircraft was assigned to departing flight CA 183 bound for Tokyo (Haneda).

Passengers and crew members that were boarding the aircraft when the fire erupted were able to safely evacuate the aircraft.

Report by Jacdec on Twitter:

Top Copyright Photo: Air China Airbus A330-343 B-5958 (msn 1587) PEK (Michael B. Ing). Image: 947418.

Air China aircraft photo gallery:

TAP Portugal retires its last Airbus A330-300

Type Retired: July 13, 2019 (flight TP22 Salvador - Lisbon with CS-TOX)

TAP Portugal – Air Portugal has operated its last Airbus A330-300 revenue flight. The type has been replaced with newer Airbus aircraft.

The pictured Airbus A330-300 CS-TOX operated flight TP22 from Salvador, Brazil to the Lisbon hub on July 12, 2019, arriving the next day in Lisbon.

The fleet is being sold to Air Canada.

Copyright Photo: TAP Portugal – Air Portugal Airbus A330-343 CS-TOX (msn 1015) MIA (Bruce Drum). Image: 104943.

TAP aircraft slide show:

Lufthansa Group reverses course, Brussels Airlines will not now be integrated into Eurowings

"BIZ class on board" - Best Seller

Lufthansa Group is announcing major changes, especially those concerning the Eurowings brand. The plan to integrate Brussels Airlines into Eurowings has been a failure (several Brussels Airlines aircraft have been repainted into Eurowings colors and were operating under the Eurowings brand). Brussels Airlines will now stand alone under it own brand and will now be aligned with the other network airlines (Lufthansa, Swiss and Austrian).

Here is the full announcement:

  • Eurowings to focus on short-haul services in future
  • Commercial responsibility for Eurowings long-haul services to be transferred to the Network Organization in future
  • Re-orientation of Brussels Airlines: closer alignment with Network Airlines; integration into Eurowings will not be further pursued
  • Change in dividend policy to enable shareholders to participate more in the Groupโ€™s success

The Executive Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG is informing investors and analysts about the further development of its airline strategy. The planned actions should sustainably enhance Lufthansa Groupโ€™s value creation. A key element is a comprehensive set of measures to turn around Eurowings, which should be returned to profit as swiftly as possible and sustainably generate value for shareholders.

To enable shareholders to participate more substantially in the Groupโ€™s results, the current dividend policy shall be changed. In future, 20 to 40% of the Groupโ€™s net income should be regularly distributed to shareholders. In the medium term, the Group aims to raise its free cash flow to at least EUR 1 billion a year.

Various planned actions will be presented to analysts and investors today. These include:

  • Eurowings turnaround: a clear focus on short-haul point-to-point operations
  • Eurowings long-haul: transfer of commercial responsibility to the Network Organization
  • Eurowings flight operations: less complexity and higher productivity through a reduction to one AOC in Germany
  • Eurowings fleet: standardization on the Airbus A320 family
  • Eurowings costs: a 15% reduction in unit costs (CASK) by 2022
  • Brussels Airlines: no integration into Eurowings and closer alignment to the Network Airlines (further details in the third quarter of 2019)
  • Brussels Airlines: turnaround plan in the third quarter of 2019
  • Network Airlines: innovations in sales and distribution to make a structural growth contribution to raising unit revenues by 3% by 2022
  • Network Airlines: continuous 1 to 2% annual reduction of unit costs.

โ€œWith the airlines in our Group we are excellently positioned in our home markets, which are among the strongest in the world,โ€ says Carsten Spohr, Chairman of the Executive Board & CEO of Deutsche Lufthansa AG. โ€œOur Groupโ€™s service companies are also world leaders in their fields. We want to translate this market strength even more consistently into sustainable profitability and value creation. And it is to this end that we are presenting concrete actions today which will enhance our efficiency and generate value for our shareholders. Because we donโ€™t just want to be Number One for our customers and our employees: we want to be the first choice for our shareholders, too.โ€

Top Copyright Photo: Eurowings (Brussels Airlines) Airbus A330-343 OO-SFL (msn 579) (BIZ class on board) BRU (Ton Jochems). Image: 946745.

Eurowings (Brussels Airlines) aircraft slide show:

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Aeroflot expands route network for summer 2019

Aeroflot Russian Airlines Airbus A330-343 VQ-BCU (msn 1065) LHR (SPA). Image: 946727.

Aeroflot Russian Airlines has made this announcement:

This summer Aeroflot has launched new flights to more destinations in Russia and abroad.

From June 1, Aeroflot is operating five weekly flights from Moscow to Marseille, France’s second largest city and a renowned cultural and historical centre. Another destination in the Mediterranean that was added to Aeroflot’s route network is Palma de Mallorca โ€“ Aeroflot is now operating four weekly flights to the largest city of the Balearic Islands.

In addition, to support the further development of services in Asia, Aeroflot increased flight frequencies between Moscow and Seoul โ€“ from June 1, Aeroflot doubled the number of flights to the capital of South Korea. Aeroflot’s offering in the Asian market is further supported by a codesharing agreement that has been signed with Vietnam Airlines. The codesharing on both domestic and international routes began last week and aims to offer customers enhanced connectivity and seamless connections between destinations in Russia and Vietnam.

Boosting Russian citizens’ mobility remains one of Aeroflot’s key priorities. In accordance with the plan to increase the number of interregional flights that bypass Moscow, this summer Aeroflot has launched new direct flights between major cities in the south of Russia โ€“ Volgograd and Sochi, Krasnodar and Simferopol. Flights between these cities will operate on a daily basis.

Aeroflot is continuously expanding its route network and increasing flight frequencies to popular destinations. This summer Aeroflot will fly to 159 destinations in 54 countries, including 58 destinations in Russia.

Trivia by Aeroflot: Aero Gangplank, the original jet bridge, was first used at Chicago airport in 1958. Just like gangways allow people to board ships, jet bridges connect planes to airport terminals enabling passengers to comfortably embark/disembark.

Top Copyright Photo (all other photos by Aeroflot): Aeroflot Russian Airlines Airbus A330-343 VQ-BCU (msn 1065) LHR (SPA). Image: 946727.

Aeroflot aircraft slide show:

SAS reaches agreement with its pilots unions

Scandinavian Airlines-SAS Airbus A330-343 LN-RKT (msn 1697) LAX (Michael B. Ing). Image: 946391.

Scandinavian Airlines-SAS has made this announcement:

Negotiations between SAS and SPF (Svensk Pilotfรถrening), NSF/NF (Norsk Flygerforbund*), SNF (SAS Norge Pilotforening*) and DPF (Dansk Pilotforening*) are now concluded. The parties have agreed on new collective bargaining agreements and all flights in Denmark, Norway and Sweden will be resumed as soon as possible.

Following the pilot strike, that started on Friday April 26, 2019 the parties in all countries have now reached three-year agreements and the strike has been called off. The pilots will resume their work and traffic is expected to normalize over the next few days.

The agreements between SAS and the pilotsโ€™ unions concern predictability of scheduling, job security and salaries. In addition, the previously canceled agreements concerning collaboration and career paths have been reintroduced.

Copyright Photo: Gunter Mayer.

It is too early to provide an estimate of the financial effects, but after six days of pilot strike approximately 360,000 passengers have been affected by 4,015 canceled flights, while SASโ€™ other employees have worked around the clock to help our customers.

“I want to express my sincere gratitude to all those SAS employees who have worked day and night to help our customers in this difficult situation”, Rickard Gustafson concludes.

Traffic disruptions will continue during the following days while normal traffic is resumed.

*) Formal approval subject to member vote.

Top Copyright Photo: Scandinavian Airlines-SAS Airbus A330-343 LN-RKT (msn 1697) LAX (Michael B. Ing). Image: 946391.

SAS aircraft slide show:

Hong Kong Airlines offers its pilots transfers to other associated carriers as it downsizes

Hong Kong Airlines Airbus A330-343 B-LHD (msn 1146) DPS (Pascal Simon). Image: 946298.

Hong Kong Airlines is offering its pilots transfers to other HNA Group airlines as it attempts to downsize according to the South China Morning Post.

In other news, the management of the airline is coming under further scrutiny.

The airline issued this statement on April 23:

Hong Kong Airlines confirms that its Directors and the current management of the Company have received court orders in relation to its management. The orders are temporary, pending further confirmation by the court and are subject to change. In any event, they do not affect the day-to-day operations of the airline. We continue to operate as normal and there are no changes to our management.

Hong Kong Airlines appreciates that our shareholders are aware that their recent activities may have resulted in a heightened level of interest amongst members of the public. As a responsible carrier, Hong Kong Airlines has always put the interests of our customers first. In spite of last weekโ€™s development, every staff member has upheld the highest level of professionalism and we remain committed to delivering a safe and smooth service to all our passengers.

Our operations remain normal. Over the Easter holidays, Hong Kong Airlines operated 417 flights and carried over 85,000 passengers between April 19 and 22, 2019, representing a 3% increase over the same period last year. As the Labour Day holidays approach, Hong Kong Airlines is getting ready to serve more than 102,000 passengers who have chosen to fly with us for their holidays.

Hong Kong Airlines and its staff remain united and will continue to focus on delivering our best service to all our customers. We trust that our stakeholders will remain professional and solve the issue in an impartial manner.

Top Copyright Photo (all others by the airline): Hong Kong Airlines Airbus A330-343 B-LHD (msn 1146) DPS (Pascal Simon). Image: 946298.)

Hong Kong Airlines aircraft slide show:

Route Map:

Hainan Airlines to launch Beijing-Oslo nonstop service on May 15

(PRNewsFoto/Hainan Airlines Co., LTD)

Hainan Airlines plans to formally launchย nonstop service between Beijing and Osloย on May 15.

This will be the first direct route between mainland China and Norway as well as the airline’s first nonstopย Nordic service.

The Beijing-Osloย route, with three round trip flights weekly on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, will be serviced by an Airbus A330-300 aircraft with 32 seats in business class and 262 seats in economy class.

Hainan's 2016 "Ha! MANchester" promotional livery

Above Copyright Photo: Hainan Airlines Airbus A330-343 B-8287 (msn 1703) (Ha! MANchester) SEA (Michael B. Ing). Image: 937031.

Hainan Airlines aircraft slide show:

The airline now operates 21ย routes with destinations in Europeย includingย Berlin, London, Paris, Rome, Brussels, Edinburgh, Zurich, Vienna, Manchester, Madrid and Moscow.

Hainan Airlines’ย Beijing-Oslo Flight Schedule (All times are local):

Aeroflot to launch its summer schedule with two new destinations

Aeroflot Russian Airlines Airbus A330-343 VQ-BPI (msn 1323) AMS (Ton Jochems). Image: 946099.

Aeroflot Russian Airlines has made this announcement:

On March 31 Aeroflot will launch its summer timetable, which runs throughย October 26, 2019.

This coming season, Aeroflot will fly toย 159 destinations, including 58 destinations in Russia and 101ย destinations in 54ย other countries around the world.

As the leading airline for Europe-Asia transit routes, offering some of the quickest and most affordable options between the two continents, Aeroflot is continuing to develop strategically important destinations in Asia. From June 1, the number of flights to Seoul will double in comparison with the winter season (from 7 to 14 per week). As usual, Aeroflot will also increase the frequency of its flights to Beijing from 14 to 21 flights per week for the summer season.

In the European market,ย this summer Aeroflot willย furtherย expand its presenceย withย flights toย two new destinationsย fromย June 1:

  • Marseille;
  • Palma de Mallorca.

There will be five flights a week between Moscow and Marseille. Flights to Palma de Mallorca will operate four times a week. Aeroflot will operate new flights on the Airbus A320 family aircraft.

Aeroflot willย alsoย increase flight frequenciesย to manyย international destinations, withย more flights to European capitals than inย the winter season:

  • Athens (from 14 to 21 per week);
  • Budapest (from 21 to 28 per week);
  • London (from 32 to 35 per week);
  • Madrid (from 14 to 21 per week);
  • Tbilisi (from 11 to 14 per week).

Aeroflot will also offer more flights toย European resorts. Flight frequencies will increase on routes to:

  • Antalya (from 14 to 21 per week);
  • Burgas (from 3 to 7 per week);
  • Larnaca (from 14 to 21 per week);
  • Malaga (10 to 14 per week);
  • Nice (from 9 to 16 per week);
  • Thessaloniki (from 4 to 7 per week);
  • Tivat (from 7 to 14 per week)

The airline will also resume flights to other popular European summer destinations:

  • Heraklion (14 flights per week)
  • Split (7 flights per week).

Flight frequencies to the following cities inย Middle East and Asia will also increase:

  • Beirut (from 3 to 4 per week);
  • Tehran (from 5 to 7 per week);
  • Ulaanbaatar (from 3 to 7 per week).

Aeroflot’s summer schedule will be seeing its usual increase in the number of flights to the followingย US cities:

  • Washington (from 1 to 3 per week);
  • New York (from 14 to 21 per week).

Aeroflot also plans to increase its flights toย citiesย inย other CIS countries:

  • Aktobe (from 4 to 7 per week);
  • Chisinau (from 2 to 7 per week).

On the domestic market the main news is the launch of two new flights:

  • Krasnodar – Simferopol;
  • Volgograd – Sochi.

Flights to these destinations are scheduled from June 1 to October 1. Aeroflot will operate one flight per day on each of these routes on Boeing 737-800 aircraft. In addition, the new timetable will continue to operate daily flights between Sochi and Simferopol. The Company is helping toย make air travel more accessibleย to all Russians by launching direct flightsย between regions, bypassing Moscow.

On a number of routesย flight frequency will significantly increase. To meetย seasonal demand, Aeroflot has developed an extensive flight programme toย Black Sea resorts.ย Compared to the 2018/19 winter timetable, Aeroflot will increase flight frequencies to the following destinations:

  • Anapa (from 21 to 35 per week)
  • Simferopol (from 28 to 84 per week)
  • Sochi (from 70 to 77 per week)

In the coming season Aeroflot will resume flights to another Black Sea resort – Gelendzhik (21 flights per week).

The number of flights will also increase on routes to otherย Russian cities:

  • Abakan (from 5 to 7 per week)
  • Izhevsk (from 14 to 21 per week)
  • Kazan (from 54 to 56 per week)
  • Kaliningrad (from 35 go 42 per week)
  • Mineralnye Vody (from 28 to 35 per week)
  • Nizhny Novgorod (from 35 to 42 per week)
  • Saratov (from 28 to 42 per week)
  • Ulyanovsk (from 14 to 21 per week)
  • Yakutsk (from 5 to 6 per week)

Aeroflotโ€™s route network will be complemented by the extensive geography of its subsidiary airlines.

This summer,ย Rossiya Airlinesย under the commercial management of PJSC Aeroflotย will operate flights toย 59 different destinationsย under Aeroflot’s commercial management.ย They includeย over 40 domestic and international flights from St. Petersburg, including flights to Simferopol, Sochi, Tel Aviv, Rome, Milan, Nice, Paris, London, Berlin, Prague and more. Rossiya Airlines will operate another half a dozen flights from Moscow Sheremetyevo to various destinations in Russia (including cities in theย countryโ€™s Farย East), Paris-Orly, Nice, Denpasarย (Bali)ย and Colombo.

Under Aeroflot’s commercial management regional carrierย Auroraย will also offer passengersย 20 destinationsย in the Far East.

Low-cost airlineย Pobedaย develops its own flight network.ย For the summer season, the networkย will be expanded to includeย 120 destinationsin Russia and abroad.

In total,ย Aeroflot Groupย will operate regular flights toย 358 routesย (296 of which are unique) inย 57 countries throughout summer 2019.

The Group’s route network will be supplemented byย 162ย destinations operated by partner airlines underย code-sharing agreements.ย Thanks to this, a further 19 countries will appear in Aeroflotโ€™s route network: Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Ghana, Iceland, Kenya, Laos, Luxembourg, Malta, Macedonia, Mexico, Morocco, Myanmar, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia.

In total,ย including cooperationย with partners,ย Aeroflot Groupย will operate flights toย 520 destinationsย (458ย ofย which are unique) inย 76 countriesย in the summer 2019 season.

Top Copyright Photo: Aeroflot Russian Airlines Airbus A330-343 VQ-BPI (msn 1323) AMS (Ton Jochems). Image: 946099.

Aeroflot aircraft slide show:

Etihad Airways to deploy the Boeing 787 on all routes to China, reduces aircraft on order, will retire the last Airbus A330-300

Etihad Airways will introduce the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner on its daily service from Abu Dhabi to Chengdu, effective July 1, 2019, replacing the Airbus A330-200 currently operating the route. Also from July 1, the airlinesโ€™ daily service from Abu Dhabi to Shanghai will be upgraded from the 787-9 to the larger 787-10 Dreamliner.

  • Chengdu to be served daily with Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner from July 1, 2019
  • Shanghai to be upgraded to larger 787-10 Dreamliner from July 1, 2019

Once the changes take effect, the airline will fly all 28 weekly services to Chinaโ€™s four main gateways โ€“ Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai and Hong Kong โ€“ with the next generation Dreamliner aircraft.

Etihad Airways Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner A6-BLU (msn 39675) AMS (Ton Jochems). Image: 945709.

Above Copyright Photo:ย Etihad Airways Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner A6-BLU (msn 39675) AMS (Ton Jochems). Image: 945709.

The 787-9 service to Chengdu will feature Etihad Airwaysโ€™ next-generation Business and Economy cabins, configured with 299 seats – 28 Business Studios and 271 Economy Smart Seats. The upgrade of aircraft will also see an increase in belly-hold cargo capacity of four tonnes.

The 787-10 service to Shanghai will be configured with 336 seats – 32 Business Studios and 304 Economy Smart. Belly-hold cargo capacity will be increased by two and a half tonnes.

Etihad Airways recently celebrated 10 years of direct flights between Abu Dhabi and China, the capital-capital airlink was launched in 2008. Since 2008, the airline has carried over four and a half million passengers between Abu Dhabi and China.

Timetables: Abu Dhabi โ€“ China schedules

Flight

Origin

Departs

Desti

Arrives

Freq

Aircraft

EY 818

Abu Dhabi

08:15

Cheng
du

19:40

Daily*

Boeing 787-9

EY 811

Cheng
du

21:00

Abu Dhabi

00:25

Daily*

Boeing 787-9

Note: All departures and arrivals are listed in local time. *Daily operation during summer timetable, three weekly flights during winter timetable.

Flight

Origin

Departs

Desti

Arrives

Freq

Aircraft

EY 862

Abu Dhabi

21:45

Shang
hai

10:35

Daily

Boeing 787-10

EY 867

Shang
hai

00:45

Abu Dhabi

05:55

Daily

Boeing 787-10

Note: All departures and arrivals are listed in local time. Shanghai to be upgraded to 787-10 from July 1, 2019. Departure of 1st 787-10 from Shanghai will be on July 3, 2019.

Flight

Origin

Departs

Desti

Arrives

Freq

Aircraft

EY 888

Abu Dhabi

21:30

Beijing

08:50

Daily

Boeing 787-10

EY 889

Beijing

01:25

Abu Dhabi

06:10

Daily

Boeing 787-10

Note: All departures and arrivals are listed in local time. Beijing upgraded to 787-10 Dreamliner on Jan 1, 2019.

Flight

Origin

Departs

Desti

Arrives

Freq

Aircraft

EY 834

Abu Dhabi

22:05

Hong Kong

10:05

Daily

Boeing 787-9

EY 833

Hong Kong

19:45

Abu Dhabi

00:05

Daily

Boeing 787-9

Note: All departures and arrivals are listed in local time. Hong Kong to be served by 787-9 Dreamliner from March 31, 2019. Departure of 1st 787-9 from Hong Kong will be on April 1, 2019.

In other news, the airline is also reducing its aircraft on order. In a statement, the airline stated it willย take delivery of five Airbus A350-1000s and 26 A321neos plus six Boeing 777-9s โ€œover the coming yearsโ€ (no specific delivery dates).

The carrier statedย it will also continue to take delivery of new Boeing 787 Dreamliners, but did specify the number.ย Etihad has so far received 28 of 71 Dreamliners it has on order.

With these fleet changes, Etihad Airways will also retire its last three remaining Airbus A330-300s in March 2019.

Below Copyright Photo:ย Etihad Airways Airbus A330-343 A6-AFF (msn 1245) (Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2014) ZRH (Rolf Wallner). Image: 927297.

Last A330-300 flight is scheduled for August 31, 2019 (Milan Malpensa - Abu Dhabi)

Etihad Airways aircraft slide show:

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