Tag Archives: Baltimore/Washington

Southwest Airlines increases its Florida flights with the new early 2016 schedule

Southwest Airlines (Dallas) is giving its customers a first look at its early 2016 flight schedule by extending it from January 6 through March 8, 2016.

The schedule extension brings new seasonal nonstop service, including once-daily flights connecting Phoenix with Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood, and Grand Rapids with Tampa.

For the first time, the carrier will offer new daily seasonal service between Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) in Fort Myers and Nashville, as well as new Saturday-only seasonal service between RSW and four cities: Buffalo, Dallas Love Field, Providence, and Washington (Reagan National). Daily seasonal nonstop service between Grand Rapids and Fort Myers also returns with this schedule release.

Southwest is offering seasonal Saturday-only nonstop service connecting Orlando with Omaha, Detroit and Orlando, as well as Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood with Minneapolis/St. Paul.

Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough/AirlinersGallery.com. Southwest Airlines Boeing 737-7H4 N905WN (msn 36617) with the special “Kidd’s Kids – Kidd Kraddick in the Morning” emblem arrives at Baltimore/Washington.

Southwest aircraft slide show (current livery only):

United Airlines purchases a stake in Fulcrum BioEnergy for $30 million

United Airlines (Chicago) today announced an historic $30 million equity investment in U.S.-based alternative fuels developer Fulcrum BioEnergy, Inc., a pioneer in the development and commercialization of converting municipal solid waste into low-cost sustainable aviation biofuel. It is also the single largest investment by a U.S. airline in alternative fuels and sets United apart in the aviation industry in the advancement of aviation biofuels and carbon emissions reductions. In addition to the equity investment, United and Fulcrum have entered into an agreement that contemplates the joint development of up to five projects located near United’s hubs expected to have the potential to produce up to 180 million gallons of fuel per year.

Fulcrum Video:

United has also negotiated a long-term supply agreement with Fulcrum and, subject to availability, will have the opportunity to purchase at least 90 million gallons of sustainable aviation fuel a year for a minimum of 10 years at a cost that is competitive with conventional jet fuel. This alternative fuel will be a drop-in fuel that meets all of the airline’s technical requirements and specifications, and will power the aircraft in the same way as conventional jet fuel. Fulcrum expects its first alternative fuels plant to begin commercial operation in 2017.

Fulcrum’s Waste-to-Biofuel Technology

Fulcrum’s technology converts household trash, known as municipal solid waste (MSW), into renewable jet fuel. Fulcrum’s renewable jet fuel is expected to provide a greater than 80 percent reduction in lifecycle carbon emissions when compared to conventional jet fuel. Fulcrum
has successfully developed and proven its technology to convert MSW into low-cost, low-carbon transportation fuels in an innovative, clean and efficient thermochemical process. MSW is an attractive biofuel feedstock as it is low cost, has limited volatility and a virtually unlimited supply. United’s agreement with Fulcrum is expected to decrease the airline’s carbon footprint through the use of sustainable aviation biofuel, while also diverting waste from landfills and creating new jobs in those communities where new Fulcrum facilities are sited. Fulcrum’s projects have also received support and participation from the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy for the future production of fuel that meets military specifications.

United’s Track Record in Aviation Biofuels

United is the first U.S. airline to invest in a biofuel company. It is another in a series of firsts for the airline which, since 2009, has made significant investments in the advancement of sustainable aviation biofuels.

In 2009, United made history as the first North American carrier to perform a two-engine aircraft demonstration flight using sustainable biofuels.

In 2011, United operated the first U.S. passenger flight powered by advanced biofuels made from algae.

In 2012, United spearheaded the Midwest Aviation Sustainable Biofuel Initiative (MASBI), a public/private partnership of experts from across the Midwest Region, to accelerate the commercialization of advanced biofuels for aviation.

In 2013, United announced an agreement with AltAir Fuels for advanced aviation biofuels to be used on flights out of the airline’s Los Angeles hub, making it the first U.S. carrier to execute a commercial scale agreement for aviation biofuels. United expects to begin regularly scheduled flights using AltAir’s fuel later this year.

In 2015, United received the World Bio Markets (WBM) Award for Excellence in Advanced Biofuels.

Top Copyright Photo: Tony Storck/AirlinersGallery.com. United’s Boeing 737-924 ER N75432 (msn 32835) is painted in this special Eco-Skies livery (inherited from Continental Airlines). N75432 lands at Baltimore/Washington (BWI).

United Airlines aircraft slide show (current livery):

Norwegian to fly from Boston, Baltimore/Washington and New York to Guadeloupe and Martinique this winter

Norwegian Air Shuttle (Norwegian.com) (Oslo) continues its expansion, this time from an un expected area for next winter.

During the upcoming winter season Norwegian will fly from Boston, Baltimore/Washington and New York (JFK) to the Caribbean islands of Guadeloupe and Martinique. Norwegian will offer 31 nonstop routes from the US.

Norwegian already offer nonstop flights from the Scandinavian capitals and London (Gatwick) to the Caribbean.

Norwegian will operate its Boeing 737-800 aircraft on the routes. According to the airline, “Norwegian thereby becomes the only airline that offers free WiFi between the US and the Caribbean”.

According to the airline; “Norwegian pilots and cabin staff in Europe will now have the opportunity to work on the company’s temporary bases in Guadeloupe and Martinique in the winter months. Recruitment of pilots and cabin crew to bases in the Caribbean begin immediately. Captains, first officers and cabin crew from Norwegian’s European operations (the Nordic countries, the UK and Spain) with the ability to break abroad for four months are encouraged to apply.”

Norwegian’s new routes between the US and the Caribbean starts in early December, with three flights a week from New York (JFK) to both Guadeloupe Pointe-a-Pitre Airport (PTP) and Martinique Aimé Césaire International Airport (FDF).

Norwegian will fly twice a week from both the Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) and Boston Logan International Airport (BOS) to Guadeloupe and Martinique.

Martinique and Guadeloupe are both part of France. Both islands are French territory and therefore is considered part of the EU.

Copyright Photo: Paul Bannwarth/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-8JP LN-DYF (msn 39004) of Norwegian arrives on the island of Las Palmas in the Canary Islands.

Norwegian aircraft slide show:

JetBlue to launch new service to Orlando and Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood from Baltimore/Washington and Philadelphia, will also expand to Mexico City

JetBlue Airways (New York) has announced plans for two new routes that will grow its presence in the Baltimore-Washington and Philadelphia metropolitan areas and continue its expansion in its focus cities in Orlando and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood.

Beginning November 12, JetBlue will operate new once daily service between Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) and Orlando International Airport (MCO) — the same day JetBlue launches previously announced service between Baltimore/Washington and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood. Within the National Capital Region, JetBlue also operates flights out of Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) and Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD).

Beginning November 19, JetBlue will operate twice daily service between Philadelphia (PHL) and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood (FLL). Philadelphia is one of the largest markets JetBlue currently does not serve from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood and will play a part in its growth towards 100 daily flights to meet increasing customer demand in South Florida.

JetBlue will serve both routes with its Airbus A320 aircraft.

JetBlue’s Daily Schedule between Baltimore-Washington and Orlando as of November 12, 2015:

BWI – MCO MCO – BWI

11.20 a.m. – 1.56 p.m. 2.42 p.m. – 5.15 p.m.

JetBlue’s Daily Schedule between Philadelphia and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood as of November 19, 2015:

PHL – FLL FLL – PHL

7.30 a.m. – 10.09 a.m. 9.45 a.m. – 12.21 p.m.

1.05 p.m. – 3.50 p.m. 6.30 p.m. – 9.13 p.m.

JetBlue also announced plans to begin flying to Mexico City’s Benito Juarez International Airport, one of the largest markets in the Americas. Mexico City will be JetBlue’s second destination in Mexico and its 35th in the Latin America and Caribbean region, where JetBlue continues to expand its presence as a leading U.S. airline.

Daily service to Mexico City International Airport (MEX) will launch on October 1 from JetBlue’s two focus cities in Florida, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) and Orlando International Airport (MCO).

Service from Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood and Orlando to Mexico City will operate in the evening, with flights back to the U.S. from Mexico City offered in the early morning.

JetBlue will serve both routes with its Airbus A320 aircraft.

JetBlue continues to grow its footprint in Latin America and the Caribbean. The airline recently announced plans to serve Quito, Antigua, and Grenada, and to offer its successful Mint experience from New York to Aruba and Barbados on Saturdays between November 7, 2015 and April 30, 2016, and daily between December 19, 2015 and January 4, 2016.

Copyright Photo below: Brian McDonough/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A320-232 N746JB (msn 3622) in the special New York Jets motif arrives at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL).

JetBlue Airways aircraft slide show:

The growing route map from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport:

Southwest Airlines to grow the Boeing 737-800 fleet to 135 aircraft

Southwest Airlines (Dallas) has decided to grow the Boeing 737-800 fleet to 135 aircraft by the end of 2016. The airline announced it was converting all 31 pending Boeing 737-700s orders for 2016 to the larger version according to The Seattle Times and Bloomberg News quoting a company statement. The airline will decide later on its pending 2017 and 2018 Boeing 737 orders.

Read the full article: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo below: Tony Storck/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-8H4 N8642E (msn 42525) named “Heart One” was the first -800 painted in the new 2014 livery.

Southwest Airlines aircraft slide show (current livery):

Southwest Airlines’ pilots union begins possible strike preparations

Southwest Airlines‘ (Dallas) pilots, represented by the Southwest Airlines Pilots’ Association (SWAPA), have issued this statement about strike preparations:

The Southwest Airlines Pilots’ Association (SWAPA) have announced staffing and funding for a Strike Preparedness Committee. The committee will work closely with professional outside consultants, staff, other committees and resources of the union to prepare the pilots of Southwest and the flying public for all contingencies available under the Railway Labor Act (RLA) if SWAPA and Southwest Airlines cannot come to an agreement on a new contract in the coming months. The pilots and company have been engaged in federally-mediated talks through the National Mediation Board (NMB) since November in hopes of closing out remaining open items including pay, retirement, scheduling, and job scope.

“While a strike is certainly not in either side’s best interest, the Railway Labor Act clearly defines the procedure for protracted negotiations which can lead to a lock out by management or a suspension of service by our pilots. SWAPA is doing our due diligence to prepare our pilots and passengers for the next steps in this federal mediation process should we not be able to reach a deal,” said SWAPA President Capt. Paul Jackson. “We have been in negotiations for more than three years and are seeking a market rate contract for pilots that is in line, economically, with our peers at other major airlines.”

SWAPA’s Strike Preparedness Committee is structured to and tasked with educating SWAPA members and the general public on future steps of the negotiating process, formulating contingency plans for potential job action situations, and maintaining relationships with other airline groups who have self-help experience. They will work in conjunction with the Outreach Committee, which will host events nationwide to talk to pilots and their families about the status of negotiations and the preparations needed should negotiations not come to a conclusion and SWAPA is released by the NMB to proceed to self-help.

“Despite astronomical profits and record-setting forecasts for the coming years, Southwest Airlines management has not come forward with an economic offer that can bring both sides to an agreement,” continued Jackson. “Our offer is very affordable and would not impact the company’s competitive low-cost advantage. It is time for a deal.”

Copyright Photo below: Tony Storck/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-7H4 N918WN (msn 29843) in the updated “Illinois One” special livery taxies at Baltimore-Washington Thurgood Marshall International Airport (BWI).

Southwest Airlines aircraft slide show (current livery only):

United Airlines previews the new United.com website

United Airlines (Chicago) has unveiled the beta version of the company’s new homepage and flight booking features for united.com.

According to the carrier:

“The redesigned website encompasses everything from searching and sorting flight options to reserving and buying tickets. The site offers a sleek, modern and touch-friendly design, along with all-new personalized features and tools to help customers select the best flights and travel options to meet their needs.

Customers can browse and book on the preview site by visiting beta.united.com. The airline will officially launch the new united.com this summer after additional customer feedback and further refinements.”

The new flyer-friendly functionality includes:

1. Search, sort and filter your perfect flight: Customers can choose what’s most important to them when booking a flight. Whether it’s Wi-Fi availability, preferred connection cities, aircraft type, in-seat power or the inclusion of nearby cities, customers can sort, filter, include and exclude a variety of preferences to narrow or expand search results.

2. Quicker view of fare and date combinations: Search results automatically display pricing for a 15-day window (7 +/-) to show customers more options, and fares are displayed in “each way” increments to give customers added flexibility and clarity when building their travel itineraries.

3. Upgrade insight: Knowing if upgrades are available for purchase on a particular flight helps customers make more informed booking decisions. Customers can now view upgrade availability and redeem any MileagePlus upgrade prior to purchase on all eligible flights.

4. Widgets working for you: The new homepage features widgets customized to MileagePlus members’ travel histories including a quick-view of upcoming trips, saved searches and alerts, to name a few. (Bonus:Users can select travel and aviation-themed photography for their homepage backgrounds.)

5. Touch-friendly: No matter the device style or device brand, customers will have a seamless, touch-friendly user experience.

“We reimagined the flight booking experience from the ground up,” said Scott Wilson, United’s vice president of merchandising and eCommerce. “Much more than a facelift – we kept our customers’ needs and preferences for personalized travel at the center of the design to offer an entirely new and improved experience altogether.”

In redesigning the site, United also used feedback from customers to improve the features they valued most, making those tools cleaner and easier to use.

United.com by the Numbers:

2,000 visitors per minute
More than $1 million in revenue every hour
Offers flights on more than 100 airlines – the most of any U.S. carrier website
More than 1,400 destinations available

United’s new homepage features customized and personalized options.

Customers can sort, filter, include and exclude a variety of preferences to narrow or expand search results.

After fully launching the new homepage and booking path this summer, United will continue to phase-in additional updated pages and functionality to all of united.com. In the process, customers may be directed to existing pages that reflect the current design.

Bottom Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough/AirlinersGallery.com. (all others images by United Airlines). Boeing 737-924 ER N69826 (msn 42180) with APB Split Scimitar Winglets arrives at Baltimore/Washington (BWI).

United Airlines aircraft slide show:

Wow Air is welcomed at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI)

Wow Air (Keflavik) as planned, started its low-fare service from Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) to Keflavik (KEF) (near Reykjavik) yesterday (May 8). Initially the new route will operate four days a week with the new Airbus A321s. On June 11 this will expand to five days a week. The carrier also started service to Boston on March 27.

All Copyright Photos: Tony Storck/AirlinersGallery.com. The inaugural flight was assigned to “MOM”. Airbus A321-211 TF-MOM (msn 6210) was treated to the traditional water cannon salute on the inaugural flight arrival at BWI.

Wow Air aircraft slide show:

Alaska Airlines to fly south to Costa Rica from Los Angeles, will also add LAX – BWI service

Alaska Airlines (Seattle/Tacoma) will chart new territory this fall when it adds new service between Los Angeles and Costa Rica’s two major international airports, further strengthening its southern California focus city. The eight weekly flights from Los Angeles to San Jose (SJO) and Liberia/Guanacaste (LIR), Costa Rica, are scheduled to begin October 31 and November 1 respectively, and are in addition to new daily service the carrier will add on September 9 between Los Angeles and Baltimore.

Summary of new Los Angeles (LAX) service:

Copyright Photo: Tony Storck/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-990 ER N435AS (msn 43292) with APB Split Scimitar Winglets lands at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI).

Frontier Airlines aircraft slide show:

Alaska Airlines continues to build up the SeaTac hub with new routes to Charleston, Nashville and Raleigh/Durham

Alaska Airlines (Seattle/Tacoma) is growing again its SeaTac hub with new nonstop service from its Seattle/Tacoma hub to Charleston, South Carolina (connecting the two Boeing 787 assembly areas), Nashville, Tennessee and Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina beginning in the fall of 2015.

By this fall, Seattle’s largest airline will serve 83 destinations from Seattle/Tacoma with 290 peak daily flights—two-and-a half times that of Alaska’s nearest competitor.

Flights will be operated by fuel-efficient Next Generation 737 aircraft.

Copyright Photo: Tony Storck/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-890 N548AS (msn 30020) with special markings promoting the Snowbird Ski Resort in Utah arrives at Baltimore/Washington (BWI).

Alaska Airlines aircraft slide show: