Buffalo Airways, featured on NWT Ice Pilots, has added its first jet aircraft.
The famous prop airline flying in the Arctic, has added an ex-Swiftair Boeing 737-300F freighter that will operate out of Yellowknife and Edmonton this summer.
The aircraft is a Boeing 737-301 (F) currently registered as 2-ESKA (msn 23512, ex EC-LJI).
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Jambojet (Nairobi) has returned its two Boeing 737-300s (5Y-KQA and 5Y-KQB) (above) to Kenya Airways. The airline will concentrate on the Bombardier Q400 turboprop for its fleet.
The airline issued this statement:
Budget airline Jambojet has yet again increased their flight frequencies across all their routes countrywide.The no frills airline has increased its flights from Nairobi to Mombasa from 22 flights to 39 flights per week, while the Kisumu route will now have twenty flights per week up from the previous 14 flights per week.
The new development comes barely a week after Jambojet phased out the Boeing 737-300 which had been leased from Kenya Airways (below). The airline will now operate its three newly acquired Bombardier Q400 propeller aircrafts which makes the fleet arguably the youngest fleet globally.
Above Photo: bandabarn.
The budget airline will have 29 additional flights per week from the current 73 flights on across its six destinations, providing passenger’s added flexibility to manage their travel. The fast growing Eldoret and Kisumu routes will now have an afternoon flight on all weekdays.. Ukunda will get four additional flights respectively. In total, the coastal route will be having 62 flights per week.
The latest expansion increases the number of Jambojet flights from JKIA to 408 per month – only last month the airline embarked on plans to begin operating regional flights to Entebbe , in Uganda.
All other photos by Jambojet.
As previously reported, on October 31, 2016 Lufthansa issued this statement:
On October 31, 2016 Lufthansa said goodbye to its Boeing 737 fleet after 48 years. This marks the end of an era for Lufthansa, spanning almost 50 years.
A Boeing 737-300, with registration D-ABEC (named “Karlsruhe”) (above), flew from Frankfurt to Hamburg on the morning on October 31, 2016 on special flight LH9922, where Lufthansa’s Boeing 737 fleet is to be officially bid farewell during a joint event with Lufthansa Technik. After a special ceremony, Captain and Fleet Commander Ulrich Pade and his crew flew back to Frankfurt, with a group of media representatives as well as a number of employees on board; the flight was scheduled to land at 5.10 pm local time.
Over the decades, Lufthansa has had a total of 148 Boeing 737 of almost all generations. At the beginning of the 1960s, the then Chief Executive Officer of Lufthansa Technik, Professor Gerhard Höltje, pushed the project forward and supported the joint development of a short and medium-haul jet with Boeing. The cabin design and the positioning of the engines under the aircraft’s wings were based on the long-haul aircraft of the time.
As an update, the last Lufthansa Boeing 737-300, the pictured 737-330 D-ABEC (msn 25149), made its long journey across the Atlantic Ocean from Frankfurt to Sanford, Florida via Keflavik and Bangor. D-ABEC arrived at Sanford on January 11, 2017.
THere is the transatlantic journey as flight LH9924 according the Flightradar 24:
Copyright Photo: Lufthansa Boeing 737-330 D-ABEC (msn 25149) NUE (Gunter Mayer). Image: 936542.
NewLeaf Travel Company, Inc. (Winnipeg) has announced it will launch ultra low-fare scheduled airline operations (using Flair Airlines Boeing 737-400s) (Kelowna) on February 12 from Abbotsford, Kelowna, Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Hamilton and Halifax. The company will serve smaller and secondary airports in Canada.
Schedule: CLICK HERE
NewLeaf Travel Company Inc. is a privately held Canadian company headquartered at the James Armstrong Richardson International Airport in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Route Map:
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Southwest Airlines (Dallas) has announced a new tentative agreement with Transport Workers Union (TWU) Local 555, the union that represents more than 12,000 Southwest Ground Operations, Provisioning, and Cargo Agents. The Union’s Executive Board reviewed an Agreement in Principle that negotiators reached on December 23 and decided to conduct a ratification vote that could end more than four years of negotiations.
The Company said that the new contract not only improves wages and benefits, but it also enhances Southwest’s competitive standing within the industry.
Over the next few weeks, the Union will share the terms of the agreement with its members and conduct a ratification vote. If approved, the contract will become amendable in 2021.
Southwest operates a network of 97 destinations across the United States and seven additional countries with more than 3,900 departures a day during peak travel season.
Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-3H4 N654SW (msn 28399) arrives at Los Angeles International Airport.
Southwest Airlines aircraft slide show: 
AirBaltic (airBaltic.com) (Riga) will launch a new route between Riga and Keflavik serving Reykjavik, Iceland on May 28, 2016. AirBaltic will fly from Riga to Keflavik (Reykjavik) twice weekly. Passengers will board a Boeing 737-300 for a flight that will last 4 hours and 5 minutes.
AirBaltic is expanding operations at both Tallinn (Estonia) and Vilnius (Lithuania) following the failure of Estonian Air (Tallinn). airBaltic expects by 2021 to be operating 11 nonstop routes from both cities.
AirBaltic will also increase the Vilnius – Tallinn and Tallinn – Vilnius routes to 10 flights a week (Monday through Friday) with Bombardier Q400 NextGen aircraft for a flight that will last 1 hours and 20 minutes.
In other news, AirBaltic will sign a new agreement with investor Ralf Dieter Montag-Girmes of Germany for a 20 percent share in the airline.
Additionally the carrier is expected to finalize its order for 17 Bombardier CS300s it has on tentative order.
Copyright Photo: Paul Bannwarth/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-31S YL-BBR (msn 29266) arrives in Zurich.
AirBaltic aircraft slide show:
Norwegian Air Shuttle (Norwegian.com) (Oslo) retired its Boeing 737-300 Classic fleet last month. Yesterday (December 9) the carrier retired and donated Boeing 737-3K9 LN-KKW (msn 24213). A final non-revenue ferry flight was conducted to Bodø.
According to the carrier, “Yesterday morning (December 9) landed one of Norwegian’s 737-300s with the registration of LN-KKW at Bodø Airport in Norway (above) and thus made its last flight. Norwegian donated the aircraft to the Norwegian Aviation Museum in Bodø.
Above Photo: Norwegian. Captain Johnny Silberg and First Officer Olav Hynne sit in the cockpit of LN-KKW on its final flight.
Behind the controls of the historic flight sat Captain Johnny Silberg who has worked at the airline since 2006.
This aircraft operated 40,106 flights and spent 64,656 hours flying. The plane was part of Norwegian in 2006 when the company had 14 aircraft, 54 routes and 560 employees. Today the company has 102 aircraft, 439 routes and over 5500 employees.”
The remaining four Boeing 737-300 aircraft are parked in Budapest in anticipation of a decision on where they will end up. Norwegian has over 250 aircraft on order including 100 of the new Boeing 737 MAX and 30 of the slightly larger Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.
Norwegian has one of the youngest fleets in the sky with an average of 3.6 years for its fleet.
Norwegian aircraft slide show:
LN-KKW has had a colorful career with Norwegian carrying these two special liveries in 2007 and 2009 including Norwegian’s UNICEF special livery:
Above Copyright Photo: Antony J. Best/AirlinersGallery.com.
Above Copyright Photo: Stefan Sjogren/AirlinersGallery.com.
Southwest Airlines Company (Dallas) today reported its third quarter 2015 results:
Record third quarter net income, excluding special items, of $623 million, or $.94 per diluted share. This represented a $241 million increase from third quarter 2014 and exceeded the Thomson Reuters First Call mean estimate of $.92 per diluted share.
Record third quarter GAAP net income of $584 million, or $.88 per diluted share, compared with third quarter 2014 GAAP net income of $329 million.
Gary C. Kelly, Chairman of the Board, President, and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “We are very pleased to report outstanding third quarter 2015 results marked by a 63.1 percent year-over-year increase in net income, excluding special items. Our record third quarter operating income, excluding special items, of $1.0 billion produced a strong 20.3 percent operating margin, which is a 680 basis point improvement from the year-ago period. The significant margin expansion was driven largely by lower fuel prices. Our results also benefited from a continued focus on cost control and solid overall revenue performance, including a significant contribution from our Rapid Rewards program. Customer demand for our low fares was evident with an all-time quarterly record load factor of 85.4 percent for third quarter 2015. That’s what low fares without ‘gotcha’s’, which we call TransfarencySM, will do for you. My thanks to our superb Employees for producing our tenth consecutive quarter of record profits and my congratulations to them on their record $484 million profitsharing accrual, thus far this year.
Fleet and Capacity
During third quarter 2015, the Company received three pre-owned Boeing 737-700s to end the quarter with 692 aircraft. The Company continues to manage to approximately 700 aircraft at year-end 2015 and continues to expect to grow its fleet approximately two percent, year-over-year, in 2016. Additional information regarding the Company’s aircraft delivery schedule is included in the accompanying tables. The Company’s capacity plans remain unchanged with expected available seat mile growth of approximately seven percent this year, and an estimated five to six percent in 2016, both year-over-year.
Read the full report: CLICK HERE
Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-3H4 HL N644SW (msn 28329) approaches the runway at Washington’s Reagan National Airport.
Southwest Airlines aircraft slide show (current livery):
Siam Air (Siam Air Transport) (Bangkok-Don Mueang Airport) is becoming a new Boeing 737-800 operator.
Air Lease Corporation (ALC) (Los Angeles) announced lease agreements with Siam Air Transport (Thailand) for two used Boeing 737-800 aircraft. These aircraft will be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2015.
Siam Air was founded in 2013 and commenced low-fare operations in October 2014.
Copyright Photo: Robbie Shaw/AirlinersGallery.com. Siam Air currently operates two Boeing 737-300s to three destinations in Hong Kong and China. The 737-300s will now be replaced with the newer 737s. Boeing 737-3J6 HS-BRU (msn 25893) arrives in Hong Kong.
Comair Limited (British Airways franchise) (Johannesburg) has issued this update on its financial situation and fleet plans. The company has added additional Boeing 737-400s and last month it added the first first of four new Boeing 737-800s. This will allow Comair to phase out the last Boeing 737-300 by December 2015.
Read the full report:
In the absence of revenue growth in the domestic passenger market and despite a challenging financial year, JSE-listed Comair Limited has announced continued profitability for the 12-month period ending June 30, 2015. Revenue remained consistent at R5.89 billion (2014: R5.90 billion), with a 1% saving in operating costs. Profit for the year amounted to R219 million (a net reduction of 17%, mainly as a result of two non-cash flow items). Cash from operations remained healthy at R646 million.
Comair reported a very strong profit in the first half of the financial year, supported by an unprecedented collapse in the oil price. The second half saw two new competitors enter the market with very aggressive, but more than likely unsustainable pricing. As a result, any savings achieved on the price of fuel were returned to customers by way of significantly reduced ticket prices, which led to a reversal of the revenue growth experienced in the first six months.
Comair CEO Erik Venter said despite the new capacity in the market, Comair maintained its passenger volumes, largely due to the strength of the kulula and British Airways brands and the company’s ongoing attention to service. “We continued to focus on our customers through the application of service metrics, feedback surveys, customer journey mapping, and extensive investment in training programmes for front-line staff. Operating performance therefore remained good, with on-time performance exceeding our threshold target of 85% across both the British Airways and kulula.com brands.”
The two non-cash flow items which resulted in decreased profits were the additional depreciation of R79 million provided on the retiring Boeing 737-300 fleet, and the year-end revaluation of R51 million to the dollar-based funding applicable to one Boeing 737-800.
Cash of R147 million was invested in three previously leased Boeing 737-400 aircraft and two pre-owned Boeing 737-400s, all for operation in the British Airways fleet. These aircraft have replaced the 737-300 fleet which will be fully retired by December. The newer aircraft afford improved fuel efficiency and reduced maintenance demands, while at the same time improving passenger comfort. Cash on hand at year-end was R849 million, much in line with the prior year balance of R868 million.
Venter said the black economic empowerment transaction concluded by Comair and the Thelo Consortium in 2007 matured in September 2014, and created realised value of R152 million for the participants. The “A” shares arising from the transaction were converted to ordinary shares, and the weighted effect of the additional shares amounted to a reduction in the 2015 earnings per share of 3 cents. Comair continued to invest in transformation initiatives, and thereby maintained its level 4 B-BBEE score.
Commenting on the year ahead, Venter said Comair remained concerned about weak economic growth and the consequent impact of overcapacity in the domestic aviation market. “Fundamentals dictate that a correction in market capacity is very likely. The new visa regulations applicable to South Africans traveling with children, as well as to foreign tourists, have impacted negatively on our cross-border tourist destinations, and we are actively participating in achieving a more favourable dispensation in this regard.”
“We are nevertheless confident that there is scope for further growth in our profits. Comair is focused on implementing technology solutions to enhance customer satisfaction, operating performance and drive revenue generating opportunities. We are also developing new applications to enhance both the ground and air experience that will facilitate more efficient operating procedures. Furthermore, the ongoing upgrades to the fleet will continue to improve efficiency while at the same time-enhancing the revenue potential per flight.”
In August 2015 we took delivery of the first of the next four new 737-800’s from Boeing, the remaining three of which will be delivered in late 2015 and 2016. The delivery of the eight Boeing 737-8 Max aircraft remains scheduled for 2019 to 2021.
Top Copyright Photo: Felix Gottwald/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-33A ZS-OAI (msn 24030) departs from the Johannesburg hub.
British Airways-Comair aircraft slide show:
