BOC Aviation (Singapore, the aircraft leasing subsidiary of Bank of China, has announced during the 15th Aviation Expo China 2013 in Beijing an additional firm order for the purchase of 25 A320 Family aircraft comprising 13 A320ceo and 12 A320neo family aircraft. The order comprises A320 and A321 variants.ย BOC Aviation will make its engine selection at a later date.
The order from BOC Aviation for 25 more A320 Family aircraft comes less than a year after their previous order for 50 A320 Family aircraft, confirming the fast pace at which the market requires Airbusโ fuel efficient single-aisle planes.
Including this latest purchase agreement, BOC Aviationโs cumulative orders for new Airbus aircraft reach a total of 212 (206 A320 Family and six A330 Family aircraft).
Spring Airlines (Shanghai-Pudong) has taken delivery of its first A320 aircraft equipped with Sharklet fuel saving wing-tip devices. Airbus A320-214 B-9965 (msn 5778, ex D-AXAD) was handed over on September 23.
The A320, powered by CFM56 engines,ย features a single class economy cabin, seating 180 passengers. The A320 will make its first commercial flight from Shanghai to domestic destinations on September 27.
Sharklets are made from light-weight composites and are 2.4 meters tall. They are an option on new-build A320 Family aircraft and standard on all members of the new A320neo family. They offer operators up to four per cent fuel burn reduction on longer range sectors and provide the flexibility of either adding an additional 100 nautical miles range or increased payload capability of up to 450 kilograms.
Established in 2004, Spring Airlines is one of China’s first private airline companies. It operates more than 50 domestic routes and several regional and international routes. Its fleet comprised 37 Airbus A320 jetliners by end of August 2013.
Copyright Photo: Gerd Beilfuss/AirlinersGallery.com. D-AXAD became B-9965 when it was handed over on September 23.
Zhejiang Loong Airlines, an airline based in Hongzhou, capital city of Zhejiang Province in Eastern China, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Airbus for 20 Airbus A320 Family aircraft, including 11 A320ceo and nine A320neo. The airline has recently been approved by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) for passenger flight operation.
The MOU was signed by Liu Yi, President of Zhejiang Loong Airlines and Fabrice Bregier, Airbus President and CEO, at the 15thย Aviation Expo China 2013 in Beijing.
Zhejiang Loong plans to start operating later in 2013. Itโs passenger operation will start with domestic routes from Hangzhou to first tier airports like Chengdu, Chongqing, Shenzhen and Xiโan. The airline has the ambition to start regional and international routesย in three to five years.
Copyright Photo: Airbus.ย Zhejiang Loong Airlines, an airline based in Hongzhou, capital city of Zhejiang Province in Eastern China, signs a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for 20 Airbus A320 Family aircraft, including 11 A320ceo and nine A320neo aircraft.
Air France (Paris) and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (Amsterdam) stated yesterday after a board meeting that it will defer its decision on what to do with its 25 percent share in Alitalia (2nd) (Rome). The Air France-KLM Group board is seeking more information from Alitalia which continues to lose money. Meanwhile AF-KL is constrained in what it can do because the group has posted financial losses for the past two years.
Read the full analysis from the Wall Street Journal: CLICK HERE
Copyright Photo: Karl Cornil/AirlinersGallery.com. Alitalia’s 1960 retrojet in the form of Airbus A321-112 EI-IXI (msn 494) prepares to land at Amsterdam.
Delta Air Lines (Atlanta) is expanding its charter program flying professional and college teams to and from their games. Delta and Syracuse University announced today that Delta will serve as the official airline of Syracuse University Athletics. The Syracuse football team will also use Delta as their charter carrier for the 2013 season.
As the official airline of the Orange, Delta will be featured on game day signage at the Carrier Dome and sponsor in-game promotions during football, basketball and lacrosse games.
Delta has marketing relationships with eight NCAA athletic programs in addition to Syracuse โ Boston College, Brigham Young, Duke, Georgia Tech, University of Georgia, University of Michigan, University of Minnesota and University of North Carolina. Delta serves as the charter carrier for 41 NCAA Football programs.
Beginning in March 2012, Delta added new all-jet service from LaGuardia to key Upstate New York markets, including Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse. It continues to maintain its commitment to the Upstate community through its support of local civic arts and community organizations, including the Syracuse YMCA and the Taste of Syracuse.
Delta offers 15-peak day departures from Syracuse Hancock International Airport to five destinations, including Atlanta, Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York-LaGuardia and New York-JFK. A portion of travel for some itineraries may be on the Delta Connection carriers: Chautauqua, Compass, Endeavor Air (formerly Pinnacle Airlines), ExpressJet or GoJet.
Copyright Photo: Bruce Drum/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A319-114 N363NB (msn 1990) arrives at the Minneapolis/St. Paul hub.
British Airways (London) is premiering its “Red Carpet Route” between Los Angeles and London today, the inaugural flight for the airline’s first Airbus A380. The City of Angels is the first of the airline’s more than 150 destinations to receive the super jumbo, offering a premium experience to customers who want to travel in style to the U.K. and beyond.
Scheduled to touch down at Los Angeles International Airport this evening, the new British Airways aircraft offers customers a superior travel experience, including:
Spacious interiors, featuring 469 seats across four cabins, 14 First, 97 Club World (business class), 55 World Traveler Plus (premium economy) and 303 World Traveler (economy)
First ‘suites’ with 30 percent more space, turndown service, a la carte dining and champagne supper
Full-flat beds in business class with new 2:3:2 configurations on the upper deck, designed for maximum personal space and comfort
State-of-the-art in-flight entertainment with 1,600 hours of programming, including more than 130 of the latest Hollywood blockbusters and classic movies and 650 TV shows from around the world
Complimentary bar, three course meals, amenity kits and blankets for all customers
Cleaner air, as a result of advanced filters and a system that allows 15 different temperature control zones with cabin air refreshed every three minutes.
The British Airways A380 also features a new menu designed by The Langham, London, for customers travelling in First and Club World. This includes an elegant five-course tasting menu and afternoon tea, inspired by the range of indulgent treats offered at The Langham, London โ famed as the birthplace of Afternoon Tea over 140 years ago.
New aircraft are part of British Airways ยฃ5 billion investment in products and services to benefit customers. The airline has ordered 12 A380s and 24 Boeing 787s.
Red Carpet Route Premiere, Hollywood Style
Celebrating the connection between two entertainment capitals of the world, British Airways has partnered withย Varietyย magazine to present “10 Brits to Watch”. The best emerging U.K. talent in Hollywood will be recognized at a red carpet event on September 25.
At the premiere party, guests will experience signature elements of the A380 while honoring the magazine’s “10 Brits to Watch.”ย These up-and-coming actors, writers, directors and musicians include Sam Claflin, Tuppence Middleton, Harry Treadaway, Sally El Housani, Gugu Mbatha Raw, Georgia King, Ed Whitworth, George Blagden, Alexandra McGuiness and Lauren Harris.
“London and Hollywood have been productively-linked entertainment business hubs for all of Variety’s 108 years as the pre-eminent source of industry news, so the chance to partner on the Brits to Watch project with an esteemed global brand like the U.K’s British Airways was irresistible,” said Steve Gaydos, Executive Editor, Variety. “Business travelers and business readers both have high expectations due to their fast-paced careers and sophisticated lifestyles, so this is a partnership born out of our mutual strengths of experience and dedication to delivering on those daily demands, 24/7.”
Tweetliner Race
To further celebrate the launch of the A380, British Airways is staging the world’s first-ever social race between a virtual plane and real plane.ย The competition invites British Airways fans and followers to ‘tweet’ a message using #racetheplane @British Airways.ย Each tweet will fuel the ‘tweetliner” and move it nearer to its destination โ LA. Three lucky winners will receive a pair of tickets to fly to London.
The 5,454-mile race begins when BA 269 takes off from London Heathrow at 4:15pm BST and will culminate when the inaugural flight touches down at LAX at approximately 7:15pm PST. Visitย http://racetheplane.ba.com/ย for additional information, including terms and conditions.
Copyright Photo: SM Fitzwilliams Collection/AirlinersGallery.com. A beautiful landing photo of the first British Airways Airbus A380-841 G-XLEA (msn 095) arriving at Shannon on a training and photo flight.
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Videos: British Airways is using social media to promote this inaugural flight:
Delta Air Lines (Atlanta) and Virgin Atlantic Airways (London) welcomed the decision by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to approve the carriers’ joint venture by granting antitrust immunity on routes between North America and the United Kingdom.
In their filing to the DOT, Delta and Virgin Atlantic noted that nearly 60 percent of the slots at London Heathrow Airport are controlled by British Airways and its joint venture partners. As a result, the carriers dominate air travel between the U.S. and the U.K, including the New York-London market, the most important business market in the world. By combining Virgin Atlantic’s Heathrow slots and U.K. brand strength with Delta’s powerful U.S. network, the joint venture will offer significant competition in the market and benefit consumers on both sides of the Atlantic.
New schedule between New York-JFK and London Heathrow
With the customer at the forefront of their partnership, the airlines unveiled a new schedule for the competitive New York to London travel market designed with business travelers in mind and offering a total of nine daily nonstop flights. Effective March 30, 2014, Delta and Virgin Atlantic will operate a harmonized schedule between New York-JFK and London Heathrow featuring seven daily nonstop services at convenient time slots. The new schedule will include departures every 30 minutes during the early evening peak and then hourly until 22:30 from New York-JFK to London Heathrow and a spread of seven daily flights from London Heathrow to New York-JFK, including two late afternoon and early evening departures. These services will be complemented by two daily nonstop flights between Newark Liberty International Airport and London Heathrow.
Delta and Virgin Atlantic will operate the following New York-JFK-London Heathrow schedule beginning March 30, 2014:
New Yorkย (JFK) โ London (LHR)
Londonย (LHR) โ New York (JFK)
DepartAirport
Depart
Airport
Arrival
Depart
Airport
Depart
Airport
Arrival
JFK
07:40
LHR
19:40
LHR
09:05
JFK
11:50
JFK
18:30
LHR
06:50*
LHR
10:15
JFK
13:15
JFK
19:00
LHR
07:20*
LHR
11:30
JFK
14:25
JFK
19:30
LHR
08:00*
LHR
14:00
JFK
16:40
JFK
20:30
LHR
08:45*
LHR
16:15
JFK
19:05
JFK
21:30
LHR
09:25*
LHR
17:35
JFK
20:30
JFK
22:30
LHR
10:40*
LHR
20:05
JFK
23:00
*arrives the following day
The two airlines will work together to coordinate other schedule and network opportunities. Combined, the airlines will operate a total of 32 peak daily nonstop flights between North America and the U.K. of which 24 flights will operate between London Heathrow and popular U.S. destinations such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta and Washington. Business customers will also benefit from a high-quality product: Delta and Virgin Atlantic’s business class uniquely includes forward-facing full flat-bed seats with direct aisle access on every flight. In addition, both airlines will offer a premium economy product on its trans-Atlantic services.
Customers are already seeing improved travel options from the partnership as they are benefiting from codesharing across 104 routes offering seamless connections to 63 destinations across North America and the UK. The partnership also means that members of frequent flyer SkyMiles and Flying Club loyalty programs have more opportunity to earn and use miles/points, while Premium customers have reciprocal access to Delta Sky Club and Virgin Atlantic Clubhouse lounges. In addition, business class passengers receive priority check-in, boarding, baggage handling and additional baggage allowance on all Delta and Virgin Atlantic operated flights worldwide, including those outside of the codeshare agreement.
Delta and Virgin Atlantic will unveil further product enhancements later in the year, appealing to the business customer and improving the travel experience of customers across the trans-Atlantic.
Top Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Ex-Northwest Airlines Airbus A330-323X N813NW (msn 799) of Delta approaches the Tokyo (Narita) hub for landing.
Delta Air Lines:ย
Virgin Atlantic Airways:ย
Bottom Copyright Photo: Olivier Gregoire/AirlinersGallery.com. Brand new Airbus A330-343X F-WWCG (msn 1341) became G-VWAG on delivery to Virgin Atlantic.
Air Canada (Montreal) today announced that it will undertake a Request for Proposal (RFP) process to select a new regional airline to operate certain existing U.S. regional trans-border routes, starting in mid-2014.ย Select Canadian and U.S. regional carriers will be invited to participate in the RFP process and submit their respective pricing and other terms and conditions of carriage.
“The launch of a request for proposals is an important next step in our regional airline diversification strategy and ongoing cost transformation program,” said Kevin Howlett , Senior Vice President, Regional Markets. “Over the past two years, Air Canada has made significant changes to its strategy and relationship with its regional partners, now all operating under the Air Canada Express banner.ย Most recently, we transferred the operation of our Embraer 175 aircraft to a regional carrier whose cost structure is more in line with the U.S. regional carriers, and as low cost operators continue to grow in the rapidly evolving North American regional markets, it is critical for Air Canada to take the necessary steps to ensure its cost structure in these markets is also competitive.”
Air Canada currently has capacity purchase agreements with four regional airline partners: Jazz, Sky Regional, Air Georgian and EVAS.
AMR Corporation (Dallas/Fort Worth), the parent company of American Airlines, Inc., (Dallas/Fort Worth) and US Airways Group, Inc. (Phoenix), the parent of US Airways (Phoenix), have each agreed to extend the outside date at which either party may terminate the previously announced Agreement and Plan of Merger (the Merger Agreement), in light of the trial schedule surrounding litigation with U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ).
In a joint statement, Tom Horton, chairman, president and CEO of AMR, and Doug Parker, chairman and CEO of US Airways, said, “The Boards and management teams of AMR and US Airways remain committed to completing this combination to create the new American, and the extension of this outside date is a reflection of this commitment. Our focus is on mounting a vigorous defense and winning our court case so the new American can enhance competition, provide better service to our customers and create more opportunities for our employees.”
The amended Merger Agreement extends the date on which either AMR or US Airways may terminate the Merger Agreement from December 17, 2013 to the later of January 18, 2014, or, if the Court enters an order on or before January 17, 2014 in favor of American and US Airways, on the 15th day following the entry of such order.ย In the event of an unfavorable ruling by the Court, AMR or US Airways may terminate the merger agreement five days after the Court enters a final, but appealable, order permanently enjoining the merger.
Top Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough/AirlinersGallery.com. American’s Boeing 737-823 N925NN (msn 31169) prepares to touch down at Washington’s Reagan National Airport.
American Airlines:ย
US Airways:ย
Bottom Copyright Photo: Jay Selman/AirlinersGallery.com. US Airways’ Embraer ERJ 190-100 IGW N961UW (msn 19000183) taxies to the runway at the Charlotte hub.
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