Tag Archives: Boeing 737-800

Ryanair to open its 65th base, this time in Lisbon, Portugal

Ryanair (Dublin) has announced it will open its third Portuguese base (65 in total) at Lisbon in April 2014 with one based aircraft and four new routes (nine in total). The new routes will be Dole, Manchester, Marseille and Pisa. The company will operate 124 weekly flights with the new additions.

In other news, the ultra low-fare airline announced its flights are now available for booking through Google Flight Search.

Copyright Photo: SM Fitzwilliams Collection/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-8AS EI-DAZ (msn 33559) lands at the Dublin base.

Ryanair:

TUI to cut costs and services at TUIfly, TUIfly to drop its yellow airplanes

TUIfly‘s (Hannover) parent, TUI AG (TUI Group) wants to cut costs at the German airline subsidiary by 65 million euros ($88.9 million) each year by cutting back on free services for passengers and lowering staff costs according to the daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung and this report by Reuters.

The new cost savings program is called “Max Thrust”. TUIfly will expand the fleet by four new aircraft for medium-haul flights and two planes for long-haul operations according to the report.

Tuifly plans to divide its cabin into three classes from May and stop offering free newspapers, inflight entertainment and blankets according to the report.

Read the full report from Reuters: CLICK HERE

In another report by Romania-Insider.com, TUIfly is also considering moving 350 maintenance jobs to Romania in order to reduce costs.

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Paul Bannwarth/AirlinersGallery.com. TUIfly will reportedly drop its trademark yellow canary fuselages for the new TUI Group blue brand. Boeing 737-8K5 WL D-AHFY (msn 30417) lands at EuroAirport serving the Basel/Mulhouse/Freiburg area.

TUIfly:

Copa Airlines is coming to Fort Lauderdale, Georgetown and Montreal

Copa Airlines (Panama City) has announced growth plans for the first half of 2014, which include the launch of new nonstop flights from Panama to Montreal (Trudeau); Canada, Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood, Florida, and Georgetown, Guyana. In addition, Copa will add aircraft to its fleet, for a 10 percent growth in capacity.

The airline will add eight new Boeing Next Generation 737-800 aircraft in 2014, bringing its total fleet to 98 state-of-the-art aircraft, and increasing capacity by 10 percent.

New Destinations:

Montreal, Canada: As part of its effort to increase its route network in the northern part of the continent, Copa will offer four-times-weekly flights to the city of Montreal, a major world cultural center and a well-known tourism destination. The new flight, which will begin June 3 of this year, is Copa’s second Canadian destination.
Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood, Florida: Copa will offer flights four times a week between Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and the Hub of the Americas, beginning July 11, 2014. The coastal region, with its booming tourism industry and growing Latin American population, will be Copa’s fourth destination in the state of Florida and its 10^th in the United States.
Georgetown, Guyana: Beginning July 11, 2014, Copa will offer twice-weekly flights to Georgetown, the capital and principal city of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana. The new route, Copa Airlines’ first to this South American country, connects the area with Panama and the region.

The new cities served will bring Copa Airlines’ total number of destinations to 69 in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean served from its Hub of the Americas at Tocumen International Airport in Panama City, Panama – the hub with the most destinations and international flights on the continent.

Copa Airlines major accomplishments for 2013 include:

Transported 11,316,678 million passengers
Increased capacity by 14 percent
Received Skytrax awards for “Best Airline and “Best Cabin and Airport Crew” in Central Americaand the Caribbean
Added two destinations to its route network: Boston, Massachusetts, and Tampa, Florida.
Added 13 flight frequencies to key destinations already served.
Achieved an on-time performance of nearly 90 percent, on par with the best airlines in the world
Received seven new Boeing 737-800 Next Generation aircraft, ending 2013 with a fleet of 90 aircraft
Ended the year with 8,644 employees throughout the Americas, of which 5,783 are in Panama.

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-8V3 HP-1825CMP (msn 40780) in the colorful “Biomuseo” livery climbs briskly from the runway at Los Angeles International Airport.

Copa Airlines:

GECAS orders 20 737 MAX 8s and 20 Next-Generation 737-800s

GE Capital Aviation Services (GECAS), the commercial aircraft leasing and financing arm of General Electric, announced today an order for 40 737s. The order, with a list-price value of approximately $3.9 billion, consists of 20 737 MAX 8s and 20 Next-Generation 737-800s.

The follow-on order increases the GECAS order book for the 737 MAX to 95 airplanes and the 737NG to 387 airplanes, the most for both models by any company in the leasing industry.

Virgin Australia welcomes its first Adelaide-based cabin crews and also talks about the “Flying Maiden”

Virgin Australia Airlines (Brisbane) today welcomed its first locally recruited and trained cabin crew members. The new crews will graduated today at Virgin Australia’s newly established Adelaide base.

The 24 participants have spent the past seven weeks being trained and tested in safety and emergency procedures, aviation regulations and medicine and the very best in customer service.

Adelaide plays an important role in Virgin Australia’s expanding domestic network, with more than 40 flights arriving and departing from the airport daily.

By opening a cabin crew base in Adelaide the airline was able to bring approximately 80 new jobs to South Australia.

The new Adelaide based cabin crew can look forward to flying on board Virgin Australia’s Boeing 737 and Embraer 190 aircraft travelling to all mainland state capitals as well as popular tourist destinations including the Gold Coast and Denpasar, Indonesia.

Additionally Virgin Australia in its blog talks about the “Flying Maiden”:

The Flying Maiden was originally developed in the style of Alberto Vargas, a pinup artist of the 1940s whose work was famously emulated on the nose of many WWII aircraft.

She was then contemporised by brand design firm Hulsbosch for Virgin Australia.

She is the stylish guardian of your Virgin Australia experience whether flying between capital cities or between countries.

The Flying Maiden is seen on the side of Virgin Australia aircraft, at our airport terminals and lounges around the country. Our partner airline, Virgin Atlantic also features its own version of the Flying Maiden, the Scarlet Lady, on its aircraft.

Top Copyright Photo: John Adlard/AirlinersGallery.com (all others by Virgin Australia). Boeing 737-8FE VH-YVA (msn 40995) arrives at Sydney.

Virgin Australia:

WestJet to expand operations with new summer routes and frequencies, will bring Encore to Toronto and fly to Europe

WestJet (Calgary) today announced its most comprehensive schedule release since the airline took to the skies in 1996. As part of the 2014 summer schedule, the airline is adding five new routes, increasing frequency on 20 existing routes across the network, while five seasonal routes move to year-round service.

Following its successful launch in Western Canada, WestJet Encore moves east to start service in Toronto with flights between Toronto (Pearson) and Thunder Bay. WestJet Encore will also offer service between Thunder Bay and Winnipeg.

WestJet Encore will also launch new routes between Fort McMurray and Kelowna, British Columbia and Fort McMurray and Vancouver as part of the largest single increase of flights to Fort McMurray since WestJet first began service to the area. The Fort McMurray expansion also includes new WestJet nonstop flights to Las Vegas, conversion of daily Toronto nonstop flights to year-round service, and frequency increases to both Calgary and Edmonton.

The summer of 2014 will see WestJet’s first foray into the European, trans-Atlantic market with direct flights between Toronto and Dublin beginning on June 15, 2014. Other summer highlights include new daily nonstop flights between Calgary and Prince George, British Columbia and from Calgary to New York’s JFK International Airport, as well as service increases to 15 popular southern destinations including Palm Springs, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood and Phoenix in addition to well-travelled Caribbean and Mexican spots.

Details of WestJet and WestJet Encore’s new routes for the summer 2014 schedule:

Route	Flights/Week	Departing	Arriving	Effective
Calgary-New York JFK	7	10:35 a.m.	5:00 p.m.	April 27, 2014
New York JFK-Calgary	7	5:55 p.m.	9:10 p.m.	April 27, 2014
Calgary-Prince George	7	10:00 p.m.	10:27 p.m.	April 27, 2014
Prince George-Calgary	7	6:00 a.m.	8:27 a.m.	April 27, 2014
Fort McMurray-Vancouver	7	11:00 a.m.	12:30 p.m.	May 12, 2014
Vancouver-Fort McMurray	7	1:30 p.m.	4:53 p.m.	May 12, 2014
Fort McMurray-Kelowna	7	10:25 p.m.	11:27 p.m.	May 12, 2014
Kelowna-Fort McMurray	7	7:30 a.m.	10:23 a.m.	May 12, 2014
Fort McMurray-Las Vegas	2	8:50 p.m.	11:21 p.m.	June 24, 2014
Las Vegas-Fort McMurray	2	3:23 p.m.	7:55 p.m.	June 24, 2014

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-8CT C-GWSZ (msn 37092) in the Walt Disney World “Magic Plane” climbs away from Los Angeles International Airport.

WestJet:

American and US Airways announce the routes it will drop from Washington Reagan National and New York LaGuardia

American Airlines Group Inc. (American Airlines and US Airways) (Dallas/Fort Worth) has announced the planned network adjustments resulting from the required divestiture of slots and related assets at Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA) and New York LaGuardia Airport (LGA). The divestitures, which enabled American Airlines and US Airways to complete their merger, were mandated by the previously announced settlements with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the States ofArizona, Florida, Michigan, Tennessee, the Commonwealths of Pennsylvania and Virginia, and the District of Columbia.

Washington Reagan National Airport (DCA)

As a result of the 52 slot pair divestitures at DCA required by the DOJ, American will no longer operate year-round, daily nonstop service to 17 destinations from DCA. Customers in these communities will still have access to DCA, which remains a key hub for American, through connecting flights from one or more of the airline’s other eight hubs.

Communities no longer receiving year-round, daily service include:

Augusta, Ga.Detroit, Mich.Fayetteville, N.C.Fort Walton Beach, Fla.Islip, N.Y.

Jacksonville, N.C.

Little Rock, Ark.Minneapolis, Minn.MontrealMyrtle Beach, S.C.Nassau, Bahamas

Omaha, Neb.

Pensacola, Fla.San Diego, Calif.Savannah, Ga.Tallahassee, Fla.Wilmington, N.C.

Effective dates for the changes at DCA will be announced after the sale of slots and related assets is finalized in the coming weeks. American is currently working through the DOJ-approved divestiture process which includes transition agreements with acquiring airlines to minimize the disruption to customers.

Customers in Washington, D.C., and on the West Coast will benefit from other schedule changes, as American will soon add a second daily nonstop frequency between DCA and Los Angeles by shifting US Airways’ current San Diego flight to Los Angeles.

In addition, American will adjust its service to Fort Myers, Florida, moving from year-round service to a seasonal schedule.

New York LaGuardia (LGA)

As a result of the DOJ-required 17 slot pair divestitures at LGA, American will no longer operate nonstop service to Atlanta, Cleveland and Minneapolis/St. Paul. However, changes to the schedule made possible by the combined network of American and US Airways will provide opportunities for new service to 10 communities. New service from LGA includes:

Charlottesville, Va.	Little Rock, Ark.	Roanoke, Va.
Dayton, Ohio	Louisville, Ky.	Wilmington, N.C.
Greensboro, N.C.	Norfolk, Va.
Knoxville, Tenn.	Richmond, Va.

Customers can begin booking tickets for these new routes Sunday, January 26 for travel beginning April 1.

In December 2013, American and US Airways finalized the DOJ-approved sale of slots and related assets at LGA with agreements that allow the appropriate time for American and the acquiring airlines to transition their operations and minimize the disruption to customers.

Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-823 N936NN (msn 31176) approaches the runway at Washington’s Reagan National Airport (DCA).

American Airlines (current):

American Airlines (historic):

US Airways:

Ryanair to add four new routes from Manchester in March

Ryanair (Dublin) in March will add four new routes from Manchester to Barcelona, Bologna, Fuerteventura and Gran Canaria. This will bring the total of MAN routes to 36.

Copyright Photo: SM Fitzwilliams Collection/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-8AS EI-DCH (msn 33559) touches down in Dublin.

Ryanair:

Ryanair to open two new bases in Greece

Ryanair (Dublin) today (January 14) announced that as part of a $280 million investment in Greece it would open its secondand third Greek bases (64 in total) at Athens and Thessaloniki in April 2014 with a total of three based aircraft and nine new routes.

Ryanair’s new Athens base from April 2014 will deliver:

·2 based aircraft

·6 new routes to Chania, London, Milan, Paphos, Rhodes & Thessaloniki

·154 weekly flights

·Over 1.2m new passengers p.a. at Athens

·Over 1,200* jobs sustained at Athens

Ryanair will grow at Thessaloniki as follows:

·1 based aircraft

·3 new routes: Athens, Pisa & Warsaw (16 in total)

·212 weekly flights

·Over 1.6m pax p.a

·Over 1,600* “on site” jobs

Copyright Photo: Paul Bannwarth/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-8AS WL EI-DYX (msn 37517) with Comunitat Valenciana promotional markings climbs away from Nantes.

Ryanair:

Flydubai finalizes its order for 75 Boeing 737 MAX 8s and 11 Next-Generation 737-800s

Flydubai (Dubai) and Boeing (Chicago) announced an order for 75 737 MAX 8s and 11 Next-Generation 737-800s, valued at $8.8 billion at list prices. In addition, the airline retains purchase rights for 25 more 737 MAXs.

The order was first announced as a commitment at the 2013 Dubai Airshow, making it Boeing’s largest single-aisle airplane order in the Middle East.

The 737 MAX incorporates the latest technology CFM International LEAP-1B engines to deliver the highest efficiency, reliability and passenger comfort in the single-aisle market. Airlines operating the 737 MAX will see a 14 percent fuel-use improvement over today’s most fuel-efficient single-aisle airplanes.

Development of the 737 MAX is on schedule with firm configuration of the airplane achieved in July 2013. First flight is scheduled in 2016 with deliveries to customers beginning in 2017. Already a market success, the 737 MAX has accumulated more than 1,700 orders to date and will have 8 percent per-seat lower operating costs than the future competition.

Flydubai placed its first order for 50 Next-Generation 737-800s at the 2008 Farnborough Air Show and took delivery of its first airplane in 2009. The airline was the first in the world to debut the Boeing Sky Interior, an enhanced onboard experience. To date, flydubai has grown its fleet to 34 Next-Generation 737-800s.

Copyright Photo: Paul Denton/AirlinersGallery.com. Flydubai currently operates 35 Boeing 737-800s. Boeing 737-8KN A6-FEA (msn 40254) arrives back at the Dubai hub.

Flydubai: