Tag Archives: Boeing 737

Southwest Airlines reports a record third quarter net profit

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):

WestJet introduces a new Disney Frozen logo jet

WestJet (Calgary) today (October 18) unveiled its new Disney Frozen-theme logo jet on the pictured Boeing 737-8CT C-GWSV (msn 37158). The airline issued this statement:

A plane so cool, it’s frozen. Second custom-painted WestJet aircraft inspired by Disney’s Frozen.

WestJet, WestJet Vacations and The Walt Disney Company (Canada) Ltd., Parks and Resorts, have made magic again, unveiling a second custom-painted, Disney-themed aircraft featuring Anna, Elsa and Olaf from Frozen, the highest-grossing animated film of all time.

Like the #MagicPlane featuring Sorcerer Mickey, the images on the #DisneyFrozenThemedPlane tell an enchanting story. The tail of the aircraft features Anna and Elsa celebrating sisterhood and the magic of snow. Moving along the aircraft from back to front, the magic travels to warmer climes where Olaf can be found enjoying a summer day on the beach. The theme carries through to the interior of the aircraft with images on the overhead bins, bulkheads, lavatory mirrors and headrests.

“This aircraft takes the relationship between WestJet and Disney to a completely new level of cool,” said Bob Cummings, WestJet Executive Vice-President, Commercial. “Two years ago, we launched the #MagicPlane, our first Disney-themed aircraft, and no matter where it flies throughout our network, it is the most-anticipated and most-photographed aircraft in WestJet history. Today, we are proud to team up with our great friends at Disney to create a sequel like no other.”

“To see our vision come to life is so exciting, as we collaborated on this project for over a year. Only a very small group of us (WestJetters and Disney Artists and Cast Members) knew and we had to keep our secret under wraps… or should I say, on ice,” said Marlie Morrison, Managing Director, The Walt Disney Company (Canada) Ltd., Parks & Resorts. “It’s a truly unique and unforgettable design that Disney Fans and WestJet guests alike will enjoy for years to come.”

Fun facts about the #DisneyFrozenThemedPlane:

The aircraft was painted in Fort Worth, Texas.
The paint team included team members from Canada, the United States and Germany. They watched Frozen to get them into the spirit before work began.
The job took 21 days of 12-hour rotations involving a constant crew of six painters working 24/7.
The crew used 643.5 litres of paint consisting of 23 colours — five for the umbrella alone.
Sparkles were added to the paint in sections to add shimmer and shine as the aircraft moves.
An airbrush artist was brought in to work on details around the sun, water and castle.
The inside of the aircraft has decals and headrest covers that mimic the cold-to-warm (back-to-front) theme on the outside of the aircraft.
There are 54 separate overhead bin doors on the aircraft and each has a unique Frozen decal.
Several dozen bagels were consumed during the painting of this aircraft (there weren’t any doughnut stores nearby). The crew drank more than 100 litres of sweet tea.

All photos by WestJet.

WestJet aircraft slide show:

Video:

Southwest begins daily international service to six destinations from Houston Hobby

Southwest Airlines (Dallas) is celebrating the launch of international flights from the new international terminal at William P. Hobby Airport yesterday (October 15). The airline issued this statement:

Employees of Southwest Airlines (LUV) launched a new international chapter on October 15 in a 45-year history of serving Houston by joining with Houston Airport System and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, to open a new five-gate concourse, Federal Inspection Station for Customs and Border Protection, new concessions for travelers, and begin daily international service for travelers using Houston’s William P. Hobby Airport. Southwest’s new nonstop daily service to a total eight international destinations by November charts a new horizon for Houstonians who value world-renowned Customer Service.

At a news conference that began just as Southwest Flight 305 to Cancun departed from one of five gates in the airport’s new west concourse, Southwest’s local Employees and Company Leadership joined many Houstonians who played a role in bringing international service back to William P. Hobby Airport.

In 2012, the Houston City Council overwhelmingly approved Southwest Airlines’ proposal to expand service across borders from William P. Hobby Airport by building the new international concourse and Federal Inspection Station, thus “freeing Hobby” from domestic-only capability and a historically monopolized market long-burdened by high international airfares. Southwest broke ground on the new facility on Sept. 30, 2013, and two years later has completed the $156 million project both on time and under budget. Southwest worked diligently throughout the construction to give opportunity to Small Business Enterprise and Minority and Women-owned Business Enterprise (SBE / MWBE), and has exceeded City of Houston SBE / MWBE requirements.

International-themed festivities at the airport throughout the day included a chance for travelers in the terminal to win prizes provided by Southwest Vacations. Ceremony surrounded departures to the new destinations, including Belize City, Belize, Southwest’s 96th and newest city served.

Through William P. Hobby Airport, Southwest Airlines began operating twice daily nonstop service to and from Cancun as well as once daily nonstop options between Houston and Mexico City, Puerto Vallarta, and San Jose del Cabo/Los Cabos, a total of four cities in Mexico. Nonstop service linking Costa Rica to Houston also began on October 15 with a daily flight to and from the nation’s capital, San Jose, with additional new service to Liberia in Costa Rica’s Guanacaste province, Southwest’s 97th city served, scheduled to begin daily operation November 1, 2015, subject to foreign government approval. That same day, Southwest is scheduled to begin daily nonstop service between Montego Bay, Jamaica, and Houston Hobby.

In addition, seasonal service on Saturdays connects Houston nonstop with San Juan, Puerto Rico, and Oranjestad, Aruba, making a total of ten nonstop routes across Latin America and the Caribbean available to Southwest Customers using Hobby Airport.

Copyright Photo: Steve Bailey/Airlinersgallery.com. Boeing 737-8H4 N8643A (msn 42524) departs from Boeing Field in Seattle.

Southwest Airlines aircraft slide show (current livery):

Ryanair to establish its 75th base at Corfu, Greece

Ryanair (Dublin) has announced it will open a new base at Corfu (number 75), from April 2016, with one based aircraft, 11 new routes to Birmingham, Bratislava, Budapest, Cologne, Rome, Katowice, Poznan, Pisa, Rzeszow, Venice and Warsaw and more flights to Charleroi (near Brussels), East Midlands, London (Stansted) and Bergamo (near Milan).

The first additional route will be to Rome (Fiumicino) starting on March 29, 2016. The others will be added in late April, early May and June 3, 2016 to Pisa.

Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-8AS EI-FIO (msn 61579) taxies at Brussels. The new aircraft was delivered on June 12, 2015.

Ryanair aircraft slide show:

SAS to launch eight new routes next summer

Scandinavian Airlines-SAS (Stockholm) is planning to launch eight new routes next summer. The airline made this announcement:

SAS continues to open new direct routes, providing nearly 600,000 more seats from Scandinavian airports in its 2016 summer timetable. More departures are also being added on a number of popular routes.

As the summer timetable gradually comes into effect from the end of March, SAS customers will be able to look forward to new direct year-round routes from Copenhagen to Reykjavik, Vienna, and Krakow, and from Stockholm to Gdansk. Krakow and Vienna are particularly popular holiday destinations, while Reykjavik and Gdansk both attract business and leisure travelers.

The new additions next summer also serve in-demand holiday routes during the peak season. During the summer, SAS will fly from Stockholm to the Greek island of Mykonos, from Copenhagen to Faro in Portugal, from Aarhus to Palma de Mallorca, and from Stavanger to Paris.

SAS is during the summer high season providing over 100,000 more seats to and from vacation destinations compared with last year.

More frequencies from Oslo

As well as the new routes, SAS is also enhancing its offering to and from Oslo with an additional daily departure on five key business routes. From April 2016, there will be flights to Aberdeen and Düsseldorf twice a day, to Brussels and Billund three times a day, and to Bodø eight times a day.

In addition to the new direct routes from Scandinavia to popular European destinations, SAS recently launched new direct year-round routes to the US in 2016: from Stockholm to Los Angeles, from Oslo to Miami, and from Copenhagen to Miami and Boston.

With the new routes to the US, SAS is opening a total of 12 new routes from Scandinavian airports in 2016. The new routes and additional departures mean that during the summer season SAS will be providing 579,000 extra seats compared with last year.

New routes

Copenhagen-Vienna
Departures from Copenhagen on SK695, on Monday, Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday. During the summer peak season, departures on Monday and Thursday. First departure: March 24, 2016.

Copenhagen-Krakow
Departures from Copenhagen on SK1735, on Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. First departure: March 25, 2016.

Copenhagen-Reykjavik (Keflavik airport)
Daily departures from Copenhagen on SK595. First departure: March 27, 2016.

Copenhagen-Faro:
Departure from Copenhagen on SK2823 on Saturday. First departure: April 2, 2016.

Aarhus-Palma de Mallorca:
Departure from Aarhus on SK1513 on Monday. First departure: June 27, 2016.

Stockholm-Gdansk:
Departures from Stockholm on SK2759 on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday. During the summer peak season, departures on Friday and Sunday. First departure: March 25, 2016.

Stockholm-Mykonos:
Departure from Stockholm on SK2739 on Saturday. First departure: May 21, 2016.

Stavanger-Paris (CDG)
Departures from Stavanger on SK831 on Monday and Friday. During the summer peak season, departures on Monday and Friday. First departure: April 8, 2016.

SAS aircraft slide show:

450 Southwest Airlines flights impacted yesterday due to computer systems, may persist today

Southwest Airlines (Dallas) yesterday (October 11) experienced computer problems that delayed approximately 450 flights (out of 3,600 scheduled flights). The airline is warning the problems could persist today. The airline has issued this statement:

We’re continuing to use back-up systems around the country to check-in Customers arriving at our airports without printed or mobile boarding passes. Intermittent performance issues continue impacting our in-airport Customer Service technology systems and across our online platforms (Southwest.com, Southwest Mobile App and site).

We have teams working around the country to support getting our Customers and their checked luggage to their destinations tonight; other groups are troubleshooting multiple applications to determine the cause of some technical challenges experienced Sunday which, as of 6:30pm CDT, have delayed approximately 450 flights (out of 3600 scheduled on Sunday); other groups are making operational decisions to minimize impacts for those who are checking in for travel tomorrow.

We urge Customers traveling Monday to visit Southwest.com to check-in and print boarding passes before coming to the airport. We also encourage Customers to arrive at least two hours prior to their scheduled departures to help minimize delays. Finally, if checking luggage, visit a self-service kiosk adjacent a ticket counter to print bag tags where applicable and present your luggage and identification to Southwest Employees.

We thank our Employees for their tireless efforts to take care of our Customers, and we appreciate our Customers’ patience as we work towards a solution.

Copyright Photo: Tony Storck/AirlinersGallery.com. The former Sea World “Shamu” logo jet, now Boeing 737-7H4 WL N715SW (msn 27849) in the new 2014 livery, arrives at Baltimore/Washington (BWI).

Southwest Airlines aircraft slide show (current livery):

Alaska Airlines starts Orange County – Los Cabos flights

Alaska Airlines (Seattle/Tacoma) today (October 8) begins nonstop Boeing 737 service from Orange County, California, to Los Cabos, Mexico. The flights are year-round and will operate four-times a week.

Alaska Airlines began flying to Los Cabos more than 25 years ago. Today, the carrier operates 50 weekly peak-season flights to Los Cabos—more than any other carrier from California.

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Alaska Airlines Boeing 737-890 WL N568AS (msn 35183) in the special Employee powered livery arrives in Los Angeles.

Alaska Airlines aircraft slide show:

SAS is coming to Boston from Copenhagen with a PrivatAir Boeing 737-700

Scandinavian Airlines-SAS (Stockholm) is launching yet another year round service between the US and Scandinavia. From March 29, 2016, SAS will operate daily nonstop flights between Copenhagen and Boston. As such, SAS will be the first carrier to fly directly to Boston from Scandinavia.

SAS is now launching a year round nonstop daily service from Copenhagen to Boston. In 2016, SAS will offer approx 500 flights between Boston and Copenhagen and 6,600 flights between Scandinavia and the US – a total of 1.6 million seats between USA and Scandinavia.

The route will be operated by an 86 seat Boeing 737-700 BBJ (Boeing Business Jet).

The route opens on March 29, 2016 and will be operated by PrivatAir with a Boeing 737 configured with 20 Business and 66 Go seats. Departure and arrival times are scheduled to connect with flights to and from Copenhagen to major airports in Scandinavia and Northern Europe.

SAS currently offers long haul flights from Scandinavian to New York, Washington DC, Chicago and San Francisco and recently launched new direct routes to the US in 2016: From Stockholm to Los Angeles, from Oslo to Miami and from Copenhagen to Miami.

Timetables Copenhagen-Boston

From Copenhagen: SK927 will depart daily at 12:50 arriving in Boston at 15:20.
From Boston: SK928 will depart daily at 17:30 arriving at 07.00 the following day.

Copyright Photo: AirlinersGallery.com. SAS Boeing 737-76N WL SE-REZ (msn 32738) taxies to the gate at London’s Heathrow Airport.

SAS aircraft slide show:

Sunset for the last British Airways Boeing 737 revenue flight

British Airways (London) as planned, operated the last Boeing 737 revenue flight on September 30 between Turin and London (Gatwick) with Boeing 737-436 G-DOCX (msn 25858).

Copyright Photo: Marco Finelli. G-DOCX sits on the gate at London (Gatwick) after it operated the last Boeing 737 revenue flight from Turin as flight BA 2579.

British Airways aircraft slide show:

Airline Aircraft Type “Endangered Species List”:

Malaysia Airlines to rebrand with a possible name change

Malaysia Airlines (Malaysia Airlines Berhad-MAB) (Kuala Lumpur) will undergo a rebrand process, including a possible name change, in the first quarter of 2016 according to a report by stuff.co.nz. A rebranding strategy will be announced in December.