Tag Archives: Boeing 737-300

A new color scheme is also coming for Southwest Airlines

Southwest Airlines (Dallas) is also planning to make an announcement tomorrow (September 6). It is believed the company is planning to introduce a new livery too.

A Boeing 737-800 is expected to be rolled out tomorrow at Dallas’ Love Field showing a new blue, yellow and red color scheme.

Like Frontier, Southwest issued this short teaser comment:

We’ve been working on something special. And Monday, we’ll get to the heart of the matter.

DFWTower.com has published photos of a Southwest 737-800 in a hangar with the new design. It does not appear to be a special livery. The main changes, an apparent deeper shade of blue and white fuselage titles: CLICK HERE

This will be third basic livery for Southwest:

Top Image: Southwest Airlines. Southwest recently had a “Plane Palooza” voting contest for its special liveries on Facebook. The finalists were Florida One and Lone Star One. Naturally for the Texas-based airline, Lone Star One won.

Copyright Photo: Bruce Drum/AirlinersGallery.com. Reflecting an American Southwest look, Southwest started operations with this orange, red and mustard color scheme. When Southwest launched intrastate operations in Texas on June 18, 1971 this was the color scheme on its three Boeing 737-200s. Boeing 737-2H4 N21SW (msn 20345) (+ the other two) are seen at the Love Field base. The full titles ran up the rear fuselage and the tail. Later the titles were shortened to just “Southwest” and were placed alone on the tail.

Copyright Photo: Bruce Drum/AirlinersGallery.com. The current “Canyon Blue” fuselage top livery was introduced in 2001. Boeing 737-3H4 N608SW (msn 27928) departs from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

Southwest Airlines Aircraft Slide Show:

In other news, Southwest is recycling its old leather seats. According to CNN, “Southwest Airlines after a large-scale redesign of many of its 737 aircraft, the carrier found itself with an excess of 80,000 leather seat covers — enough to fill the Empire State Building.

Southwest dubbed the initiative “Luv Seat: Repurpose with Purpose,” and reached out to potential partners to take the used leather, but found that there were few takers.

Following the advice of Bill Tiffany, a Southwest VP who grew up in Kenya, the airline started looking towards Africa for recipients of the used leather. Rather than just donating the goods and leaving it there, the airline decided to take a more holistic approach, giving the materials to NGOs that will use them to provide job training and health education.

The main partner is SOS Children’s Villages Kenya, which is providing paid apprenticeships and training to orphaned youth, who in turn make shoes and soccer balls from the leather. The shoes are given to Maasai Treads, who distributes them as part of a campaign to fight debilitating foot parasites. The soccer balls are donated to Alive & Kicking, a charity that uses sport to educate young people on HIV/AIDS and malaria prevention.”

Great idea Southwest. Read the full article: CLICK HERE

Photo courtesy of Southwest Airlines.

Jet2 to add four new routes from Leeds/Bradford for the summer of 2015

Jet2 (Leeds/Bradford) has announced four new destinations for the summer of 2015 for Leeds/Bradford: Antalya, Kefalonia, Malta and Enfidha Airport in Tunisia starting on May 27, 2015..

The company is also adding new services from its key Northern airports; East Midlands, Glasgow, Manchester and Newcastle.

In other news, Jet2.com and Jet2holidays have announced further expansion plans at Glasgow Airport, including new routes, an additional aircraft (the sixth at GLA) plus even more seats for summer 2015. The new routes include Prague – a brand new route for Glasgow airport – plus Antalya, Larnaca and Malta.

Jet2:

Flyvista launches operations from Tbilisi, Georgia to Tehran, Iran

Flyvista (Tbilisi) started scheduled passenger operations on August 4 with the pictured Boeing 737-33R 4L-AJC (msn 28873). The first route was twice-weekly service from Tbilisi, Georgia to Tehran, Iran.

Top Copyright Photo: Flyvista.

Bottom Copyright Photo: Flyvista. Flyvista celebrated its official launch together with TAV Georgia.

FAA proposes a $12 million civil penalty against Southwest Airlines, Southwest has 30 days to respond

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) (Washington) has issued this statement concerning Boeing 737 maintenance issues by Southwest Airlines (Dallas) and a contractor:

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is proposing a $12 million civil penalty against Southwest Airlines for failing to comply with Federal Aviation Regulations in three separate enforcement cases related to repairs on Boeing 737 jetliners operated by the Dallas-based airline.

The FAA alleges that beginning in 2006, Southwest conducted so-called “extreme makeover” alterations to eliminate potential cracking of the aluminum skin on 44 jetliners. The FAA conducted an investigation that included both the airline and its contractor, Aviation Technical Services, Inc., (ATS) of Everett, Wash. Investigators determined that ATS failed to follow proper procedures for replacing the fuselage skins on these aircraft. FAA investigators also determined that ATS failed to follow required procedures for placing the airplanes on jacks and stabilizing them. All of the work was done under the supervision of Southwest Airlines, which was responsible for ensuring that procedures were properly followed.

Southwest returned the jetliners to service and operated them when they were not in compliance with Federal Aviation Regulations, the FAA alleges. The regulatory violations charged involve numerous flights that occurred in 2009 after the FAA put the airline on notice that these aircraft were not in compliance with either FAA Airworthiness Directives or alternate, FAA-approved methods of complying with the directives. The FAA later approved the repairs after the airline provided proper documentation that the repairs met safety standards

“Safety is our top priority, and that means holding airlines responsible for the repairs their contractors undertake,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “Everyone has a role to play and a responsibility to ensure the safety of our transportation system.”

During its investigation, the FAA found that ATS workers applied sealant beneath the new skin panels but did not install fasteners in all of the rivet holes during the timeframe for the sealant to be effective. This could have resulted in gaps between the skin and the surface to which it was being mounted. Such gaps could allow moisture to penetrate the skin and lead to corrosion. As a result of the improper repairs, these airplanes did not comply with Federal Aviation Regulations.

The FAA also alleges that ATS personnel failed to follow requirements to properly place these airplanes on jacks and shore them up while the work was being performed. If a plane is shored improperly during skin replacement, the airframe could shift and lead to subsequent problems with the new skin.

In the third case, the FAA alleges that Southwest Airlines failed to properly install a ground wire on water drain masts on two of its Boeing 737s in response to an FAA Airworthiness Directive addressing lightning strikes on these components. As a result, the aircraft were not in compliance with Federal Aviation Regulations. The airplanes were each operated on more than 20 passenger flights after Southwest Airlines became aware of the discrepancies but before the airline corrected the problem.

“The FAA views maintenance very seriously, and it will not hesitate to take action against companies that fail to follow regulations,” said FAA Administrator Michael Huerta.

Southwest Airlines has 30 days from the receipt of the FAA’s Civil Penalty letter to respond to the allegations.

Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-3H4 N363SW (msn 26574) prepares to land at Baltimore/Washington (BWI).

Southwest Airlines:

Flyvista receives its first Boeing 737, plans to start operations in August

Flyvista (Tbilisi) is a new airline in the Republic of Georgia. The airline received its first aircraft, the pictured Boeing 737-33R registered as 4L-AJC (msn 28873), on July 10. It is being leased from GECAS.

The new airline is planning to launch operations in August.

The company describes its plans on its website:

Flyvista, the new Georgian low-cost carrier plans to launch operations in the coming months.

Utilizing a moderately sized fleet of Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 aircraft, the airline intends to offer affordable flights to neighboring countries from its base in the country’s capital, Tbilisi.

Definitive network plans haven’t been disclosed, but several destinations have been highlighted as likely, such as Almaty (Kazakhstan); Baku (Azerbaijan); Istanbul (Turkey); Kiev, (Ukraine); Minsk, (Belarus); Moscow, (Russia); Prague (Czech Republic) and Tehran, (Iran).

Flyvista is a partner of Aerovista, an aircraft leasing, charter and management solutions provider.

Our Airline to become Nauru Airlines on August 1

Our Airline (Nauru Air Corporation) (formerly Air Nauru) (Nauru and Brisbane) has decided to rebrand again. The flag carrier of the Republic of Nauru has decided to rename itself as Nauru Airlines effective August 1, 2014.

Read the full story from the Solomon Star: CLICK HERE

The airline is also adding a Boeing 737-300 freighter (VH-VLI, msn 27125) per ch-aviation.

Our Airline:

Route Map:

Aloha Air Cargo adds two Boeing 737-300 freighters

Aloha Air Cargo (Honolulu) has announced the initiation of its fleet replacement plan with the purchase of two former Lufthansa Boeing 737-300SF all cargo converted aircraft. The first 737-300 (737-330 N301KH, msn 27904) was delivered on June 2, 2014 and recently entered operations with the second plane (737-330 N302KH, msn 27905) currently in its initial maintenance check, and scheduled to be delivered to Honolulu during the third quarter of this year – enhancing the carrier’s fleet mix to two Boeing 737-300s, two Boeing 737-200s, and three SAAB 340A turboprops.

The Boeing 737-300 boasts nine full cargo positions totaling upwards of 39,000 lbs of payload capacity; that is two positions and nearly 10,000 lbs more than its sister aircraft, the Boeing 737-200 that Aloha currently flies. With ETOPS (Extended Range Twin Operations) capability, more fuel efficient and quieter engines, and a greatly reduced environmental footprint, the airframe is superior in every way.

“Our current fleet of four Boeing 737-200 aircraft has served Aloha and our predecessor very well over the last several decades, but timing is key to begin transitioning to a newer airframe,” said Pat Rosa, Chief Operating Officer for Aloha Air Cargo. “We are excited to invest in the future of our company and its employees by adding the 737-300s to our fleet. With this addition, Aloha Air Cargo will continue to build upon its 30 year history for providing safe and reliable cargo services to our communities in Hawaii and beyond.”

Aloha Air Cargo delivers fast, economical and reliable transport of goods between the Hawaiian Islands of Oahu, Maui, Kauai and the Island of Hawaii. It became an independent cargo operator after the closure of Aloha Airlines passenger services in May 2008. Aloha Tech Ops is a division of Aloha Air Cargo and provides maintenance and engineering services to airlines in the State of Hawaii.

Aloha Air Cargo is owned by Seattle-based Saltchuk, which has been doing business in Hawaii since 2000 when it acquired Young Brothers/Hawaiian Tug & Barge. Committed to the welfare of Hawaii and strengthening the local economy, the company also acquired Hawaii Fuel Network, Maui Petroleum and Minit Stop Stores in 2006.

Copyright Photos: Aloha Air Cargo. Kahu Kordell Kekoa blessing the plane’s name: Kū Ha’aheo (meaning “to stand tall with unselfish pride”).

Aloha Air Cargo:

Current Route Map:

PIA retires it last two Boeing 737-300s

PIA-Pakistan International Airlines (Karachi) retired its last two Boeing 737-300s (AP-BCD and AP-BCF) on June 17 according to The History of PIA.

PIA was the first Asian operator of Boeing 737-300. Initially a total of six Boeing 737-300s were delivered to PIA between May, 1985 and 1986. These Boeing 737s replaced its older Boeing 720Bs on PIA’s domestic and regional flights.

PIA-Pakistan International Airlines:

Southwest is trying to improve its on-time average with better aircraft scheduling

Southwest Airlines (Dallas) used to be always near the top for on-time performance. Not any more. As the airline grew to become the largest domestic carrier in the United States that has all changed.

According to this article by Bloomberg Businessweek, “Southwest has ranked near the bottom of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s monthly tally of airline on-time performance for much of the past year, with only 72.9 percent of its flights arriving on schedule during the 12 months through April 30.”

For the August and beyond schedule period, Southwest is tweaking its schedule to improve its performance.

In the past, Southwest purposely avoided congested major airports but that too has changed as it has now entered most of the top markets in the United States and soon will fly to more overseas destinations.

Read the full article: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough/AirlinersGallery.com. Southwest in the past celebrated its high scores in the top three indexes of passenger satisfaction (best on-time performance, best baggage handling and fewest customer complaints) with it special “Triple Crown” livery on Boeing 737-3H4 N647SW (msn 27717).

Southwest Airlines:

PAL Airlines gets its AOC back, resumes operations

PAL Airlines (Santiago) has overcome all the issues raised by Chile’s DGAC (Civil Aviation Directorate) during the inspection of its facilities at Santiago’s Arturo Merino Benítez Airport. On June 11 the airline got its AOC back. PAL Airlines has begun operations again with Boeing 737-300 CC-AIT. A second aircraft is being prepared to fly football fans to the FIFA 2014 World Cup in Brazil.

Copyright Photo: Alvaro Romero/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-3G7 CC-ADZ (msn 23404) taxies at Santiago in a special football livery.

PAL Airlines:

Special thanks to Alvaro Romero, reporting from Chile.