Tag Archives: ARN

SAS expands the number of flights to the USA and Asia

Scandinavian Airlines-SAS (Stockholm) is increasing the number of departures to seven flights a week from Stockholm (Arlanda) to Chicago (Oo’Hare) and seven a week from Copenhagen to Shanghai.

The new departures are part of the SAS plan to expand its long haul fleet network that also includes opening all-new routes.

Earlier this year, SAS announced additional departures from Oslo and Stockholm to New York (JFK) and from Copenhagen to San Francisco.

SAS now announces three additional weekly departures – two extra flights to Shanghai and one more to Chicago. This means a daily service is now available on both routes. The improved services will coincide with the opening of the winter traffic program in late October and means that in winter 2015/16, SAS will offer 108 weekly departures between Scandinavia and the USA and 50 weekly departures between Scandinavia and Asia.

The new departures from Copenhagen to Shanghai will be on Mondays and Wednesdays. The new departures from Shanghai to Copenhagen will be Tuesdays and Thursdays. The new departure from Stockholm to Chicago and return will be on Sunday.

As of the start of the winter traffic program on October 26, 2015, the below five routes will all be upgraded to daily year-round service:

Copenhagen – Shanghai
Copenhagen – San Francisco
Stockholm – Chicago
Stockholm – New York
Oslo – New York

SAS offers long haul flights from Scandinavia to New York, Washington, Chicago, San Francisco, Houston, Beijing, Shanghai and Tokyo. In September 2015, SAS will open a new route from Stockholm to Hong Kong.

Copyright Photo: Stefan Sjogren/AirlinersGallery.com. SAS Airbus A330-343 LN-RKH (msn 497) departs from the Stockholm (Arlanda) hub.

SAS aircraft slide show:

Estonian Air starts flying for Austrian Airlines

Estonian Air (Talinn) has started operating an Embraer ERJ 170 for Austrian Airlines (Vienna) for the summer season. The airline has issued this statement:

Estonian Air has started cooperation with Austrian Airlines under the wet lease agreement. According to the agreement Estonian Air offers one of its Embraer 170 along with pilots and cabin crew to serve primarily Eastern European route network of Austrian Airlines from June to October 2015.

Being a cost-effective organization and operating with regional aircraft Estonian Air has been acting as a capacity provider to several major airlines. “We are happy to start cooperation with Austrian Airlines and looking forward to have a fruitful partnership for both sides also in the future. Thanks to our dedicated and flexible organisation we are able to provide high quality services at short notice,” said Indrek Randveer, CCO of Estonian Air.

Copyright Photo: Stefan Sjogren/AirlinersGallery.com. Embraer ERJ 170-100LR ES-AED (msn 17000112) approaches the runway at Stockholm (Arlanda).

Estonian Air aircraft slide show:

Ethiopian Airlines spreads it wings to Manila

Ethiopian Airlines (Addis Ababa) will extend its current route to Bangkok to Manila in the Philippines on July 9 with 235-seat Boeing 767-300 aircraft. Manila will bring the airline’s list of international destinations to 88.

Copyright Photo: Stefan Sjogren/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 767-360 ER ET-ALP (msn 33769) approaches the runway at Stockholm (Arlanda).

Ethiopian Airlines aircraft slide show:

airBaltic to replace Air Lituanica at Vilnius

airBaltic (Riga) has announced it will be filling the void left by the closure of Air Lituanica (Vilnius) with six new routes starting on September 3. The airline issued this statement:

airBaltic will replace Air Lituanica flights and rescue the stranded passengers, affected by today’s suspension of operations of the Lithuanian carrier.

Martin Gauss, Chief Executive Officer: “Our home market for airBaltic is Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. We will consolidate and strengthen our service in our home market by offering more direct flights. We announce the first direct routes out of Vilnius to Western and Northern Europe and will evaluate additional ones gradually. We will rescue the stranded passengers in the first days following the suspension of flights, and will offer special rescue fares for customers booked for flights later in the summer.”

The routes to be operated:

airBaltic serves over 60 destinations from its home base in Riga, Latvia.

Copyright Photo below: Stefan Sjogren/AirlinersGallery.com. airBaltic currently uses the pictured Bombardier DHC-8-402 (Q400) for the current routes from Vilnius to both Amsterdam and Riga. YL-BAE (msn 4289) departs from Stockholm (Arlanda).

airBaltic aircraft slide show:

Thomas Cook announces new U.S. routes from Manchester, cancels London Gatwick-Reno plans

Thomas Cook Airlines (UK) (Manchester) has announced that it is expanding its services to the United States from its Manchester hub. From May 2016, the carrier will fly to Los Angeles and Boston. Thomas Cook’s fleet of Airbus A330-200s will most likely serve the routes, which, as previously reported, already serve routes to New York (JFK) and Miami as well as seasonal services to Las Vegas and Orlando.

Unfortunately, if you are one of the people eagerly waiting for Thomas Cook to open its seasonal service from London Gatwick to Reno, Nevada beginning on December 19, your luck may be out. The Reno Gazette is reporting that the carrier has abandoned its plans for the route, citing U.S. Customs’ inability to process London arrivals at Reno-Tahoe International Airport in a timely manner.

Assistant Editor Oliver Wilcock reporting from Manchester.

Copyright Photo: Stefan Sjogren/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A330-243 G-OMYT (msn 301) in the old 2002 livery with the Sunny Heart tail logo prepares to land at Stockholm (Arlanda).

Thomas Cook Airlines aircraft slide show:

Air China to open a Beijing – Minsk – Budapest route

Air China (Beijing) plans to start Beijing – Minsk – Budapest services from May 1, 2015. The will be the only direct route from China to Belarus and Hungary.

The four-time weekly Beijing – Minsk – Budapest services CA721/722 will be operated on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sunday. The outbound flight departs from Beijing at 13:00 Beijing time and arrives in Minsk at 16:50 local time and in Budapest at 18:20 local time. The return flight departs from Budapest at 19:00 and arrives in Beijing at 11:50 Beijing time on the second day. The route is to be operated with Airbus A330-200

By December 2014, Air China had a fleet of 523 passenger aircraft and freighters of mainly Boeing and Airbus families (including those of the carriers which Air China has a majority stake in). It operates 322 routes, including 82 international routes, 15 regional routes and 225 domestic routes. It serves 159 cities in 32 countries and regions, including 53 international cities, 3 regional cities and 103 domestic cities. Every week, Air China offers over 1.3 million seats on over 7000 flights per week.

Utilizing its extensive route network and its hub in Beijing, especially after its admission to the Star Alliance, Air China can fly passengers to 1,328 airports in 195 countries.

Copyright Photo: Stefan Sjogren/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A330-243 B-06073 (msn 780) prepares to land in Stockholm (Arlanda).

Air China aircraft slide show:

Bmi Regional announces summer expansion from Bristol

Bmi Regional (East Midlands) announced in a press release on Wednesday February 18, an expansion of services from Bristol Airport for the Summer 2015 season, which sees the launch of Dusseldorf and Paris (CDG) service from April 27. Seasonal services to Nantes will also be offered from July to September 2015. These additional services bring the number of routes flown by the airline from Bristol to eight, alongside Aberdeen, Hamburg, Munich, Frankfurt and Milan.

The new routes will be run as follows:

Bristol – Dusseldorf: 6 times weekly

Bristol – Paris CDG: 11 times weekly

Bristol – Nantes: Twice weekly from July 4 to September 12

The new destinations will be operated by a 49-seat Embraer ERJ 145s, with a Tuesday flight to Nantes operated by a 37-seat Embraer ERJ 135.

Assistant Editor Oliver Wilcock reporting from Manchester.

Copyright Photo: Stefan Sjogren/AirlinersGallery.com. Is a new livery coming for this regional or will it cling to the now retired bmi 2001 livery? All white Embraer ERJ 145EU (EMB-145EU) G-EMBI (msn 145126) arrives in Stockholm (Arlanda).

Bmi Regional aircraft slide show:

Emirates to other airlines: “improve your offering and they’ll come back”

Bloomberg: “Emirates Chairman Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum has a simple message for airlines accusing his Dubai-based carrier of taking away their passengers: improve your offering and they’ll come back.”

Watch the interview video and read the full article: CLICK HERE

Top Copyright Photo: Stefan Sjogren/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 777-31H ER A6-EGC (msn 35596) prepares to touch down in Stockholm (Arlanda).

Emirates aircraft slide show:

Aegean Airlines announces a major expansion in Cyprus

Aegean Airlines (Athens), in the wake of the demise of Cyprus Airways (Larnaca), has announced it is filling the void with a major Cyprus expansion. The airline issued this statement:

Aegean Airlines presented its plan for the dynamic growth of its presence in Cyprus and a more effective support of passengers’ needs.

After its 10 years operation in Cyprus and four years after creating its aircraft base in Larnaca, Aegean is taking a new step forward. As of March 30, 2015 – the beginning of the summer schedule – Aegean will base four Airbus A320 aircraft in Cyprus, while the number of destinations connected directly with Cyprus will increase to 14. The total yearly capacity will exceed 1.5 million seats. The company aims to support this venture with additional human resources from Cyprus at the earliest opportunity.

More specifically, with the company’s summer schedule as of April 2015, the connection between Greece and Cyprus is boosted with more frequent flights to Athens and Thessaloniki, and the introduction of a direct flight between Athens and Paphos. The new summer schedule also includes direct connections with Heraklion and Rhodes, while direct connections with Myconos and Santorini will be added in July and August. Eight to nine direct flights with destinations in Greece will depart daily.

The company’s planning focuses on the direct connection of Cyprus with Western Europe and therefore five important destinations are added: London – Heathrow, Paris, Munich, Rome and Milan.

Additionally, when the traffic rights procedures are completed, Aegean will offer flights to Israel, Kiev and Beirut.

Copyright Photo: Stefan Sjogren/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A320-232 SX-DVL (msn 3423) approaches the runway at Stockholm (Arlanda).

Aegean Airlines aircraft slide show:

http://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Airlines-Europe-1/Airlines-Europe-1/Aegean-Airlines

Delta announces the return of seasonal service to Dublin, Malaga and Stockholm

Delta Air Lines (Atlanta) will offer nonstop daily flights between between Dublin Airport and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport for the 2015 summer season.

Flights will begin five times a week from March 29, 2015, increasing to a daily service from June 1, 2015. The U.S. airline has scheduled a Boeing 767-300 aircraft with 225 seats on the route, which is operated in conjunction with Delta’s joint venture partners Air France and KLM.

Next summer, the airline is also offering daily flights from Shannon to New York-JFK, bringing the total number of seats between Ireland and the U.S. to 8,700 per week.

Delta Air Lines also announced it will once again be offering nonstop daily flights between between Malaga’s Costa del Sol Airport and New York John F. Kennedy International Airport for the 2015 summer season.

Flights will begin five times a week from June 4, 2015, increasing to daily from June 29, 2015. The U.S. airline has scheduled a Boeing 757-200 aircraft with 164 seats on the route, which is operated in conjunction with Delta’s joint venture partners Air France and KLM.

In addition to these flights, the airline also offers year-round service from Madrid to Atlanta and New York-JFK, plus summer services between Barcelona and Atlanta.

Finally Delta will once again be offering nonstop flights between between Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport and New York John F. Kennedy International Airport for the 2015 summer season.

Flights will begin four times a week from June 5, 2015, increasing to five times a week from June 15, 2015. The U.S. airline has scheduled a Boeing 757-200 aircraft with 164 seats on the route, which is operated in conjunction with Delta’s joint venture partners Air France and KLM.

Copyright Photo: Stefan Sjogren/AirlinersGallery.com. Formerly with Northwest Airlines, Boeing 757-251 N538US (msn 26485) prepares to land at Stockholm (Arlanda).

Delta aircraft slide show (current livery):