Tag Archives: Boeing

LOT Polish Airlines takes delivery of its first Boeing 787, becomes the first European carrier to fly the Dreamliner

LOT Polish Airlines (Warsaw) and Boeing yesterday (November 14) celebrated the delivery of the airline’s first Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The Polish carrier is the first European airline to take delivery of the 787.

Senior LOT and Boeing executives, as well as Polish and US government officials, celebrated the historic delivery at an event at the Future of Flight Aviation Center in Mukilteo, Washington, near Boeing’s 787 final assembly plant in Everett.

LOT will operate the 787 on short-haul flights across Europe in December, and will introduce the Dreamliner on its long-haul passenger service from Warsaw to Chicago in January 2013. LOT will also use the 787 to operate routes from Warsaw to New York (JFK), Toronto (Pearson) and Beijing.

The 787 Dreamliner is composed of light-weight composites and features numerous systems, engine and aerodynamic advancements, making it more efficient to operate compared with its competition. It is the first mid-sized airplane capable of flying long-range routes, providing airlines with unprecedented fuel economy and low operating costs and enabling airlines to open new, non-stop routes preferred by passengers.

This delivery is the first of eight Dreamliners that LOT has on order. The cabin is configured with 18 Elite Club seats (Business Class), 21 Premium Club seats (Premium Economy) and 213 seats in Economy Class. Customers will experience unparalleled levels of comfort with the 787’s improved lighting, bigger windows, larger overhead bins, lower cabin altitude and enhanced ventilation systems, among other features.

LOT’s first Dreamliner, the pictured 787-8 SP-LRA (msn 35938, ex N1026G) has landed in Warsaw this morning, Thursday, November 15, where LOT is celebrating the 787’s arrival into its fleet with a reception led by the airline and Poland’s prime minister Donald Tusk.

LOT Polish Airlines:

Video:

Turkish Airlines reaches two milestones – the most countries served by any airline and its 200th aircraft

Turkish Airlines (Istanbul) today is celebrating two important milestones. The company issued this statement today:

Turkish Airlines has secured the number one spot according to the Official Airline Guide (OAG) in terms of the number of countries it services. The airline now flies to 90 countries around the globe, more than any other airline in the world. More than thirty new routes have been added this year alone and with 205 destinations to date, the airline continues its expansion plans into Europe, Russia, Central Asia, the Far East, the Middle East, Africa and the Americas.

In addition to this recent announcement, Turkish Airlines today reached another milestone after adding its 200th aircraft. The Boeing 737-900 – the airlines’ ninth – is the newest addition to its continuously expanding fleet.

The new 737 – adorned with a special “200th Aircraft” sticker – recently debuted at Turkish Airlines’ main hub at Atatürk Airport in Istanbul, Turkey. Turkish Airlines executives, employees, and members of the media celebrated the plane’s unveiling at a ceremony which took place at the new Turkish Technic hangar before the aircraft took flight.

“As a company, we continue to achieve our goals one at a time,” stated Hamdi Topcu, Turkish Airlines chairman, during the event. “We first celebrated the arrival of our 100^th aircraft and now we have reached our next goal of 200 aircraft in our fleet. Our next goal, as we continue to expand, is 300.”

In October, Turkish Airlines ordered 15 Airbus A330-300s. Those planes are scheduled to be delivered between 2014 and 2016.

“I am more than optimistic that we will reach our goal to become the world’s largest airline network by 2023,” furthered Temel Kotil, Ph.D., Turkish Airlines President and CEO. “We intend to become a five-star airline and the leading carrier in our region, home to 1.5 billion people.

Copyright Photo: Turkish Airlines. Boeing 737-9F2 ER TC-JYI (msn 40985) “Mugla” was accepted on November 8, 2012 and now wears this special sticker.

Turkish Airlines:

Qatar Airways takes delivery of its first Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner

Boeing (Chicago) and Qatar Airways (Doha) yesterday (November 12) celebrated the delivery of the airline’s first Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The airplane (A7-BCB), the first of 30 787s ordered by the airline, is also the first to be delivered to an airline in the Middle East.

Made from composite materials, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner is the first mid-size airplane capable of flying long-range routes and will allow airlines such as Qatar Airways to open new, non-stop routes preferred by the traveling public. The airline has announced that it will deploy the Dreamliner on services to Dubai, London Heathrow, Delhi and Zurich, with others planned as additional 787s join the fleet.

According to the manufacturer, “In addition to providing airlines with unprecedented fuel economy and low operating costs, the 787 features a host of new technologies that greatly enhance the passenger experience. Qatar Airways’ customers will also experience cabin environment improvements such as improved lighting, bigger windows, larger overhead bins, lower cabin altitude and enhanced ventilation systems, among other features. The airline’s 787 cabins are configured with 22 seats in Business Class and 232 in Economy.”

Qatar Airways’ first Boeing 787 is also the airline’s 32^nd Boeing airplane and will join a fleet of 31 Boeing 777 passenger and cargo aircraft. The Doha-based airline currently flies to a global network of 120 destinations across Europe, Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, North America and South America.

Qatar Airways:

United and Continental pilots have a tentative agreement, subject to an approval vote

United Airlines‘ (Chicago) and Continental Airlines‘ (Houston) pilots may finally have an integration contract agreement that will allow the two groups to be merged. ALPA has issued the following statement:

The Master Executive Councils of the Continental and United pilots, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association International, have voted to accept a tentative agreement on a joint collective bargaining agreement reached with United Continental Holdings, Inc. The agreement now goes before the pilots for a ratification vote.

Captain Jay Heppner, Chairman of the United Master Executive Council and Captain Jay Pierce, Chairman of the Continental Master Executive Council, said the following in a joint statement:

“With this step, we are closer to a new contract that will provide gains in compensation, work rules, job protections, and retirement and benefits for our pilots and their families. We will finally begin to see the benefits of the merger that were promised to us, and an end to the concessionary and bankruptcy-era contracts we have lived and worked under for more than a decade.

“This agreement represents years of determination and unity demonstrated by the pilots of both airlines during the two-and-a-half years of negotiations for a new contract following the merger announcement. Pilots from both United and Continental Airlines will now determine whether this agreement addresses their contributions to the success of the airline.

“This step is also good news for our passengers and United employees. Once there is pilot approval of a contract, the operations of the two airlines can finally begin to be integrated. We can begin to deliver on the promise of the world’s best airline.”

Integration of seniority lists for the two pilots groups will occur after ratification of the tentative agreement. The process is independent of airline management and involves negotiations between the two pilot groups. Absent an agreement, binding arbitration will be used to settle any remaining differences. The process follows a predefined timeline following contract ratification that was agreed upon by the two pilot groups shortly after the merger was announced.

Copyright Photo: Fred Seggie. Boeing 777-222 ER N784UA (msn 26951) climbs away from London (Heathrow). N784UA is painted in the 2004 livery of United. The United fleet is adopting the older 1991 color scheme of Continental Airlines.

United Airlines:

Continental Airlines:

EZjet Air Services suspends operations, strands passengers

EZjet Air Services (Georgetown, Guyana) has suspended operations. The charter company was operating flights from Georgetown to New York (JFK), Toronto (Pearson) and Port of Spain, Trinidad since December 2011. Lately a wet leased Boeing 767-238 ER N250MY (msn 23306) operated by Swift Air (USA) (Phoenix) has been flying for EZjet with titles. Swift Air specializes in operating charters, especially sports charters. Swift Air stopped flying for the Guyanese company due to the non payment of the lease charges and the U.S. Department of Transport (DOT) suspended the license for the company to operate in the United States. According to this report by the Stabroek News, the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) cancelled the AOC of the company on Friday (November 9). EZjet claims it has not suspended operations but the website is now closed down and the airline issued the following statement:

“The story behind the suspension”

By now rumors are spreading all over the media and social networks about EZjet’s current state of operations. EZjet wishes to present the relevant facts. First and foremost, EZjet has NOT shut down. We were forced to cancel all flights because Swift Air – who owns and operates the aircraft – took off without any notification and left EZjet without a carrier. In response to instructions received from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA), EZjet suspended its operations.

Several factors led to the suspension of services. On October 23, 2012 Swift delivered to EZjet a notice of cancellation. EZjet responded to Swift Air disputing the notice of cancellation. The notice of cancellation indicated that EZjet owed Swift Air money, when in fact Swift Air owed EZjet over US$630,000 in open invoices as well as another US$200,000 for amenities provided to passengers such as hotel, meals, and other charges relating to delays that were attributed to Swift Air. EZjet has consistently asked Swift Air to pay these invoices as the funds were needed to pay for EZjet’s continued operations. As of today Swift Air has not paid ANY of EZjet’s invoices nor has it received a response to the dispute relating to the notice of cancellation.

Swift Abandoned Passengers

On Friday November 2 and Saturday November 3, Swift Air abandoned EZjet’s passengers at the JFK airport and then in Georgetown to take another job of flying the Boston Celtics basketball team within the United States using EZjet’s fuel and airport services. No advance notification was provided to EZjet and we could do very little to avoid this action of Swift Air. Swift felt there was no need to inform EZjet and its passengers of its actions. They did not want the DOT to learn of this cancellation and now EZjet is paying the price for Swift Air’s action.

On Wednesday, November 7, Swift Air put out already onboard passengers at Port-of-Spain, and then stranded JKF-bound passengers in Georgetown, in order fly their empty aircraft to Buffalo, New York, again utilizing EZjet’s fuel and airport services to do so. After the aircraft took off, Swift Air contacted the US DOT and TICO (in Canada) and notified that they intend to stop flying. No advance notification was provided to EZjet.

On Thursday November 8, the DOT delivered to EZjet an email indicating that “EZJet Air has failed to act consistently with the requirements of 14 CFR Part 380. In the circumstances presented, we are requiring that EZJet Air Service Express must immediately cease advertising and operating flights filed under PC 12 119.” The DOT issued this after receiving false and misleading information from Swift Air. Swift lied to the DOT in order to protect themselves from the liability of having to return all U.S. passengers that they took to Guyana.

According to the DOT, in accordance with CFR 14 Part 380.12 and 34, they should have also been notified by both parties regarding this cancellation. Consequently, they were consulting with the US DOT General Counsel’s office as to whether this notice will be accepted after the fact.

EZjet has written to the DOT stating the facts and challenging Swift Air and is currently awaiting a reply.

Payment and Financial Differences

The media carried allegations of Swift Air, without any foundation or facts, that EZjet did not pay them. While Swift Air claims it has not been paid, EZjet believes Swift Air owes EZjet over US$800,000+ relating to various charges that remain unpaid. EZjet paid US$89,000 to Swift Air within the past week as the carrier requested, and EZjet offered to pay US$205,000 more to Swift Air on Wednesday of last week, providing only that Swift Air would state whether it planned to continue or stop flying. There was no answer. While Swift Air’s executives, on one hand, were advising EZjet about flying the next flights, on the other hand, Swift Air’s crew quietly deplaned and stranded EZjet’s passengers then flew their empty aircraft to the US on Wednesday. Their action was unknown to EZjet’s management.

Executives’ Bonus

In a similar situation to EZjet, on April 6, 2012, Saipan Air entered into an Aircraft ACMI Charter Agreement with Swift Air relating to the charter of two Boeing 757-200 aircraft and one Boeing 737-400 aircraft. The aircraft were to be delivered to Saipan Air on or before July 1, 2012, to transport tourists from China to various locations in Japan and China to and from the CNMI.

On June 24, 2012, Saipan Air received a letter from a Swift executive – the same who wrote EZjet’s termination letter – dated June 21, 2012, stating that “Swift hereby provides notice to Saipan Air that the agreement is hereby terminated and canceled without further notice or effect.” On June 27, 2012, Swift Air filed for bankruptcy petition. This is the same stunt Swift pulled on EZjet.

It needs to be known that four executives of Swift Air, the supposed partner of Saipan Air Inc., received large bonuses and other payments from Swift Air prior to the company’s filing of bankruptcy protection. Two of these executives were directly overseeing EZjet’s flights. The amended $50-million racketeering lawsuit still named the four executives as defendants along with 10 unnamed co-defendants for allegedly conspiring to obtain money and other property from Saipan Air Inc. The lawyer exposed the alleged large bonuses in the Saipan Air Inc.’s filing in federal court of its first amended complaint against the four executives.

Swift and EZjet show-down at Piarco

There was a show-down in Port-of-Spain on Wednesday November 7. Whist Swift was attempting to fly off with all their crew onboard, EZjet’s management advised the handling company at Piarco not to pushback the aircraft as Swift Air was escaping and leaving our passengers stranded. EZjet’s management gave order to block the aircraft from flying off and told Swift Air that they will not be pushed back until they fly all of our passengers back to Georgetown and complete other obligations to our passengers. Swift managed to utilized another service provider in Trinidad to push back the aircraft and flew off to the US, stealing fuel paid for by EZjet, stranding our passengers and jeopardizing all of our other flights. It was that day that EZjet learnt that Swift Air informed the DOT that that was their last flight. EZjet knew nothing of this. And the DOT took action against EZjet without as much affording us the courtesy to reply to Swift Air’s letters and actions.

Swift Air replaced Dynamic Airways after Dynamic suspended its operations owing EZjet over $1.5 million dollars which includes an $800,000 cash security deposit. EZjet is in the process of seeking legal action against Dynamic Airways for recovery of the sums owing.

The second reason that led us into this situation is poor collection of ticket sales. Currently, over US$2.5 million are held among several travel agencies. These monies were collected from passengers but not yet handed over to the airline. This put a financial strain on the airline that is requested to pre-pay for its flights and fuel.

We want to make it very clear to all of Guyana and our passengers in the US, Canada and Trinidad, that it was not EZjet but Swift Air that led us down this road.

To our passengers, EZjet cares deeply about all of you. We changed the entire landscape just to bring you the best prices and benefits which before you did not enjoy. We are the reason many people flew for the first time and why many of you can fly as many times as you want. We bore all the high prices without any financial assistance from anyone just to make flying affordable to everyone. We never meant for this to happen. We tried our best to avoid it. And we are hurt about the way the situation has turned out.

In order to better serve you and avoid the mistakes of the past, we need time to make changes internally. Regrettably, those changes cannot be made under these present circumstances. We need time to do this. For this reason, we have, most regrettably, suspended the operations. All passengers will be given full refund for the unused portions of their tickets. We know this is an undesirable outcome and we humbly apologise for it. We are asking the passengers to be patient with our staff and bear with us as we process the refunds. To get their refunds, passengers need to contact our Headoffice at 23 Brickdam, Georgetown or call us on 225-7597, 225-9791, 225-7585 or 225-7599 or email us at ezjetairlines@gmail.com

We will take time to regroup and come better. And by this we mean that plans are being explored to recommence operations soon. This is in light of the fact that carriers have already hiked up their airfare prices by some 30% to 50% since EZjet’s suspension. We value you our passengers. We thank you for your loyalty to us and for staying with us even in trying times over the year. Because we value you, we want to continue serving you. We are going to make those changes necessary to serve you better. We are going to come again.

Thank you for choosing EZjet as your preferred carrier. We will see you again and look forward to your continued support.

Read the full report from Stabroek News: CLICK HERE

AMR and the Allied Pilot Association (APA) agree on a new contract

AMR Corporation (Dallas/Fort Worth) (American Airlines) and the Allied Pilots Association (APA) (Dallas/Fort Worth) have agreed on a new contract, still subject to the approval of the members.

Read the full report from Reuters: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough. Members of the Oneworld alliance a sighing in relief with this agreement, if approved, it will allow AA to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. Boeing 767-323 ER N395AN (msn 29432) approaches the runway for landing at Miami.

American Airlines:

Alaska Airlines puts its first Boeing 737-900 ER with new Recaro seats into revenue service today

Alaska Airlines (Seattle/Tacoma) today (November 8) introduced its first Boeing 737-900 ER, which carries more passengers, flies farther and is the most fuel-efficient aircraft the carrier operates. Passengers traveling on Alaska’s new 737-900 ER will enjoy more comfortable seating and Boeing’s Sky Interior, which features larger sculpted overhead bins and mood lighting designed to provide a more spacious cabin experience.

Alaska Airlines flew its first 737-900 ER today between Seattle/Tacoma and San Diego and is scheduled to take delivery of 38 of the aircraft through 2017.

Among the most significant features of Alaska’s newest airplane is the innovative, custom-designed seat that provides passengers with more space, a six-way adjustable headrest and the carrier’s standard three inches of recline in the main cabin (see photo above). Made by Recaro Aircraft Seating, the seat includes a comfortable yet slimmer seatback and bottom and a literature pocket located above the tray table.

Alaska’s first class cabin on its 737-900 ER features a different premium Recaro seat with five inches of recline, an articulating seat bottom and a six-way adjustable headrest.

Configured with 165 seats in the main cabin and 16 seats in first class, Alaska’s new 737-900ERs will fly transcontinental routes between the west and east coasts and to the Hawaiian Islands.

Alaska Airlines 737-900 ER trivia

Alaska’s new lighter seats will save an estimated 8,000 gallons of fuel annually per aircraft.
Alaska’s 737-900 ER has nine more seats than a standard 737-900. The extra seats are made possible by the airplane’s flat rather than curved rear bulkhead and by reducing the size of a main cabin closet.
The 737-900 ER is an “extended range” version of the 737-900 and is capable of flying 3,280 statute miles in a single flight.
The 138-foot-long Boeing 737-900 ER has a wingspan of 112 feet and a cruising speed of 530 mph.
Alaska is scheduled to add three more 737-900 ERs to its fleet by the end of 2012 and nine more -900 ERs in 2013.

Alaska’s first 737-900 ER also features a decal near the passenger boarding door honoring veterans and the military. In anticipation of Veteran’s Day, the decal was unveiled at an event yesterday on the 737-900 ER and on a Bombardier Q400 operated by Alaska’s sister carrier, Horizon Air. The airlines also recognized the efforts of Hire America’s Heroes, a Washington-based nonprofit seeking to connect major corporations with military service members looking for work. Alaska Airlines has partnered with the organization since 2011 and is expanding its relationship to help expand the program into California next year. Learn more about Hire America’s Heroes at http://hireamericasheroes.org/.

Alaska Airlines:

Air Canada reports third quarter earnings of C$554 million

Air Canada (Montreal) today reported earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, amortization and impairment, and aircraft rent (EBITDAR), before the impact of certain benefit plan amendments, of $554 million in the third quarter of 2012 compared to EBITDAR of $535 million in the third quarter of 2011, an increase of $19 million. Including the favourable impact of benefit plan amendments, EBITDAR was $678 million for the third quarter of 2012. Adjusted net income ⁽¹⁾ of $230 million increased $37 million from the third quarter of 2011. Adjusted net income per diluted share ⁽¹⁾ was $0.82 in the third quarter of 2012 compared to adjusted net income per diluted share of $0.68 in the same quarter in 2011. On a GAAP basis, Air Canada reported net income of $429 million or $1.54 per diluted share for the third quarter of 2012 compared to a net loss of $124 million or $0.45 per diluted share for the same period last year. This improvement in net income was driven in large part by favorable foreign exchange gains quarter-over-quarter.

Air Canada has entered into discussions with the federal government with respect to an extension of pension deficit funding relief given that the Air Canada special funding regulations expire in January 2014. Air Canada’s Canadian-based unions support the extension request. This is in addition to various changes to Air Canada’s pension plans that were made during the last round of labour negotiations, which remain subject to regulatory approval.

Income Statement Highlights

System passenger revenues increased $92 million or 3.1 per cent, on a 1.6 per cent improvement in yield and a 0.8 per cent growth in traffic. Passenger revenue per available seat mile (RASM) increased 2.2 per cent from the third quarter of 2011 due to the yield increase and a 0.5 percentage point improvement in passenger load factor.

Excluding the impact of certain benefit plan amendments described below, fuel expense and the cost of ground packages at Air Canada Vacations, CASM increased 1.6 per cent from the third quarter of 2011. This 1.6 per cent CASM increase was in line with the 1.0 per cent to 2.0 per cent third quarter increase projected in Air Canada’s news release dated August 8, 2012.

In the third quarter of 2012, operating expenses decreased $65 million or 2 per cent from the corresponding quarter in 2011. Included in operating expenses in the third quarter of 2012 was an expense reduction of $124 million related to changes made to the terms of the new collective agreement with pilots pertaining to retirement age. This reduction is reflected under “Benefit plan amendments” on Air Canada’s consolidated statement of operations.

In the quarter, operating income of $421 million, which included the favourable impact of the benefit plan amendments, increased $151 million from the third quarter of 2011.

Liquidity Highlights

At September 30, 2012, Air Canada’s cash and short-term investments amounted to $2,196 million, $17 million higher than Air Canada’s cash and short-term investments balance at September 30, 2011, and represented 18 per cent of 12-month trailing operating revenues

At September 30, 2012, adjusted net debt of $4,268 million decreased $308 million from December 31, 2011, reflecting the impact of net debt repayments, as well as the favourable impact of a stronger Canadian dollar.

Current Outlook

In the fourth quarter of 2012, Air Canada expects its system ASM capacity, as measured by available seat miles (ASMs), to increase in the range of 0 to 1.0 per cent when compared to the fourth quarter of 2011.

Taking into account reported ASM capacity for the first nine months of 2012, Air Canada now expects its full year 2012 system capacity to increase in the range of 0.75 to 1.25 per cent when compared to the full year 2011 (as opposed to the 0.5 to 1.5 per cent ASM increase projected in Air Canada’s news release dated August 8, 2012) and expects its full year 2012 domestic capacity to increase in the range of 0.5 to 1.0 per cent from the full year 2011 (as opposed to the 0.5 to 1.5 per cent ASM increase projected in Air Canada’s news release dated August 8, 2012).

For the fourth quarter of 2012, Air Canada expects adjusted CASM ⁽¹⁾ to decrease by 2.0 to 3.0 per cent as compared to the fourth quarter of 2011. Taking into account reported operating expense results for the first nine months of 2012, Air Canada now expects adjusted CASM for the full year 2012 to increase by 0.75 to 1.25 per cent from the full year 2011 level (as opposed to the 0.5 to 1.5 per cent increase projected in Air Canada’s news release dated August 8, 2012).

In addition, Air Canada plans to increase its full year 2013 system capacity by 1.5 to 3.0 per cent when compared to the full year 2012. This projection includes all carriers operating under the Air Canada Express banner and the expected impacts of the new leisure group and the two Boeing 777 aircraft scheduled for delivery in June and August 2013.

Air Canada’s above-mentioned outlook assumes Canadian GDP growth of between 1.5 to 2.0 per cent for 2012 and 2013. In addition, Air Canada expects that the Canadian dollar will trade, on average, at C$0.99 per U.S. dollar in the fourth quarter of 2012 and C$1.00 per U.S. dollar for the full year 2012 and that the price of jet fuel will average 88 cents per litre in the fourth quarter of 2012 and 89 cents per litre for the full year 2012.

(1)	Adjusted net income (loss) and adjusted net income (loss) per share – diluted are non-GAAP financial measures. Refer to section 16 “Non-GAAP Financial Measures” of Air Canada’s Third Quarter 2012 MD&A dated November 8, 2012 for additional information.

Air Canada:

Norwegian announces its new long-haul Boeing 787 Dreamliner routes and schedules

Norwegian Air Shuttle (Norwegian.com) (Oslo) today announced its new long-haul Boeing 787 Dreamliner routes and schedules. The company will launch a new service to New York (JFK) and Bangkok from Stockholm and Oslo. The company’s first long-haul flight from Stockholm to New York departs on May 31, 2013 and the first flight to Bangkok departs on June 20, 2013.

Norwegian has eight Dreamliners on order. Norwegian’s first Dreamliner will be delivered in April 2013 while the second and the third to be delivered in June and November 2013. Four aircraft follow in 2014 and the 2015.

Stockholm (ARN) – New York (JFK) three times a week

During the period of May 31 to June 25, 2013, Norwegian will fly from Stockholm to New York twice a week, every Monday and Friday. Departure from Arlanda (ARN) is at 17:05 local time with the arrival at JFK at 19:30 local time. Departure from JFK is at 21:00 with the arrival at ARN at 10:45 a.m. the next day. From June 26, the number of departures goes to three times a week, every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

Stockholm (ARN) – Bangkok (BKK) three times a week

Starting on June 20, 2013 Norwegian will fly from Stockholm to Bangkok three times a week, every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Departure from ARN is at 14.50 with the arrival at BKK at 6:00 the next day. Departure time from BKK is at 07:30 with the arrival at ARN at 13.45.

Oslo (OSL) – New York (JFK) three times a week

During the period of May 30 to June 24, 2013 Norwegian will fly from Oslo Gardermoen (OSL) to New York twice a week, every Thursday and Sunday. From June 25, the number of departures goes to three, every Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Departure from OSL is at 17:30, arriving into JFK at 19:30 local time. Departure from JFK is at 21:00, with arrival at OSL at 10.20 the next day.

Oslo (OSL) – Bangkok (BKK) three times a week.

During the period from June 1 to June 23, 2013 Norwegian will fly twice a week to Bangkok, every Wednesday and Saturday. Departure from OSL is at 09:00 on Wednesdays with the arrival at BKK at 00:30 local time the next day. On Saturdays departure time is at 14:30, arriving at BKK at 06:00 local time the next day. From June 24, the number of departures goes to three; every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. Departure time is at 14:30 from OSL, with the arrival at BKK at 6:00 the next day.

For more information on Norwegian’s long-range effort and the 787 Dreamliner, see the company’s new long-haul portal here .

Norwegian Air Shuttle:

WestJet reports third quarter net profit of C$70.6 million

WestJet Airlines (Calgary) today announced third quarter net earnings of $70.6 million, or $0.52 per diluted share; up from the net earnings of $39.3 million, or $0.28 per diluted share, reported in the third quarter of 2011. These financial results mark WestJet’s 30th consecutive quarter of profitability. Based on the trailing twelve months, the airline achieved a return on invested capital of 12.7 per cent, up from the 11.4 per cent reported last quarter.

“It was another great quarter for WestJet with significant earnings growth and continued margin expansion. We are also pleased to report a 12.7 per cent return on invested capital which surpasses our 12 per cent target,” said WestJet President and CEO Gregg Saretsky. “This quarter, we achieved our highest ever quarterly load factor and I thank WestJetters for taking care of this record number of guests and contributing to these strong financial results.”

Operating highlights (stated in Canadian dollars)

	Q3 2012	Q3 2011	Change	Year-to- date 2012	Year-to- date 2011	Change
Net earnings (millions)	$70.6	$39.3	79.9%	$181.4	$113.1	60.4%
Diluted earnings per share	$0.52	$0.28	85.7%	$1.33	$0.80	66.3%
Total revenues (millions)	$866.5	$775.3	11.8%	$2,566.8	$2,290.0	12.1%
Operating margin	12.5%	8.5%	4.0 pts.	11.1%	8.6%	2.5 pts.
ASMs (available seat miles) (billions)	5.498	5.389	2.0%	16.576	15.857	4.5%
RPMs (revenue passenger miles) (billions)	4.654	4.315	7.8%	13.770	12.697	8.4%
Load factor	84.6%	80.1%	4.5 pts.	83.1%	80.1%	3.0 pts.
Segment guests	4,611,315	4,203,372	9.7%	13,109,328	12,044,089	8.8%
Yield (revenue per revenue passenger mile) (cents)	18.62	17.97	3.6%	18.64	18.04	3.3%
RASM (revenue per available seat mile) (cents)	15.76	14.39	9.5%	15.48	14.44	7.2%
CASM (cost per available seat mile) (cents)	13.80	13.16	4.9%	13.77	13.20	4.3%
CASM, excluding fuel and employee profit share (cents)*	9.10	8.77	3.8%	9.06	8.79	3.1%

*Refer to reconciliations in the accompanying tables for further information regarding calculations.

WestJet expects that RASM growth will continue in the fourth quarter at a slightly moderated pace compared to the 2012 year-to-date growth. “Our forward bookings indicate that demand for air travel remains healthy as we head into the winter season. We expect operating margin expansion in the fourth quarter and continued profitable growth into 2013,” commented Gregg Saretsky.

The airline anticipates that fuel costs per litre will range between $0.91 and $0.93 in the fourth quarter of 2012. WestJet expects the increase in the fourth quarter CASM, excluding fuel and profit share, will be in line with the year-over-year increase reported in the third quarter of 2012. The projected full-year 2012 CASM, excluding fuel and profit share, remains unchanged from the previous estimate of an increase between three to 3.5 per cent.

WestJet recently announced that the name of its low-cost regional airline will be WestJet Encore and Calgary has been selected as the head office location for the new airline. The launch of WestJet Encore remains on track for the second half of 2013. The initial flight schedule is expected to be released in early 2013 which will include the first group of new communities the new airline plans to serve.

WestJet: