Tag Archives: Bombardier DHC-8-402

Ethiopian, ASKY sign agreement for strategic partnership with Guinea Airlines

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Ethiopian Airlines has announced that it has signed an agreement with Guinea Airlines, for strategic partnership in management, maintenance and training, on January 30, 2018 at Ethiopian headquarters.

This is a trilateral partnership with Guinea, ASKY Airlines and Ethiopian Airlines with a view to fill the air connectivity vacuum in domestic Guinea market and between the Mano River countries.

Copyright Photo: ASky Airlines under the agreement is likely to operate Bombardier Q400s for Guinea Airlines. ASky Airlines (Togo) (Ethiopian Airlines) Bombardier DHC-8-402 (Q400) ET-AQD (msn 4427) STN (Antony J. Best). Image: 910083.

ASky Airlines aircraft slide show:

Eastern Australia Airlines to start Jetstar services in New Zealand on December 1, routes announced

Jetstar Airways (Melbourne) has unveiled its new regional network in New Zealand, launching low fares on five routes between Nelson, Napier, New Plymouth, Palmerston North, Auckland and Wellington.

Nelson-Auckland and Napier-Auckland flights will take off on December 1, in time for the busy tourism season in both popular holiday destinations.

New Plymouth-Auckland, Palmerston North-Auckland and Nelson-Wellington flights will follow early next year, with services scheduled to begin on February 1, 2016.

 

Jetstar first announced plans for a regional network in June and has been considering proposals from locations across the country for its initial expansion.

 

 

Jetstar’s regional network will add more than 670,000 new seats a year to the domestic market, a significant increase on the airline’s current domestic jet seat capacity of over 2.6 million seats annually.

First flights each day will take off from regional ports, with crew and aircraft positioned overnight in each of the new destinations. Recruiting has commenced for the 100 new jobs the regional expansion will create, with positions available for pilots, cabin crew, and ground crew.

Jetstar logo (large)

The Jetstar-branded regional services, which will be marketed and managed by Jetstar, will be operated by QantasLink. Under this arrangement, Qantas-owned Eastern Australia Airlines (Sydney), which has operated Bombardier Q300 aircraft in Australia for QantasLink for over 15 years, will manage the aircraft operations.

Eastern Australia logo

Jetstar launched trans-Tasman flights in 2005 and established domestic operations in New Zealand in June 2009. The low cost carrier’s fleet of nine Airbus A320 aircraft operate up to up to 250 domestic and 100 international flights a week. Jetstar has over 400 team members in New Zealand.

Copyright Photo: Rob Finlayson/AirlinersGallery.com. Jetstar-branded, operated by Eastern Australia Airlines, Bombardier DHC-8-315 (Q300) VH-TQM (msn 604) at Brisbane was the first of five Q300s to be repainted.

Jetstar Airways aircraft slide show: AG Airline Slide Show

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airBaltic adds more routes for the summer

airBaltic (Riga) has announced it is expanding its European network next summer with these new routes:

The company will start the Riga-Pisa route on June 13 with one weekly Boeing 737 flight.

The Tallinn-Vienna route will be added on May 7 with Bombardier Q400 aircraft with four weekly flights.

The Tallinn-Berlin route will also be added on May 6 with four weekly Bombardier Q400 flights.

The carrier is also launching summer weekly flights to Usedom Island (Heringsdorf) on May 9 with Bombardier Q400 aircraft.

Copyright Photo: Andi Hiltl/AirlinersGallery.com. Bombardier DHC-8-402 (marketed as the Q400) YL-BAX (msn 4324) prepares to land in Zurich.

airBaltic aircraft slide show:

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Engine fire forces a Flybe Bombardier Q400 to make an emergency landing at Belfast

Flybe DHC-8-400 engine fire (Ivan)(LR)

Flybe (Exeter) Bombardier DHC-8-402 (Q400) (G-FLBC, msn 4257), flying from Glasgow to Belfast, was forced to make an emergency landing yesterday (December 17) after an engine fire broke out on board. Flight BE 130, which was travelling to Belfast City Airport, was diverted to Belfast International Airport after the fire was detected.

The airline confirmed the plane was met by emergency services “as a routine and precautionary measure”.

There were no injuries among the 76 passengers, two pilots and two cabin crew. Passengers were brought off the plane and taken by road to Belfast City Airport.

One passenger tweeted: “Lucky to be alive tonight. Plane engine caught fire over the sea. Serious credit to the pilots and crew, great job. Plane had to do an emergency landing. Had basically accepted that my time on earth was done. Pilots I love you.”

In a statement Flybe said: “Flybe can confirm that flight BE 130 from Glasgow to Belfast City diverted to Belfast International Airport due a small engine fire, which was extinguished before landing.”

They added: “At no time was the safety and wellbeing of passengers compromised. Flybe operates its fleet of aircraft in strict compliance with all manufacturers guidelines.”

The cause of the fire is being investigated.

Read the full report from the BBC (with videos): CLICK HERE

Report by Assistant Editor Oliver Wilcock from Manchester.

Top Photo: Twitter photo by Ivan.

Flybe aircraft slide show:

Airberlin celebrates 25 years of the fall of the Berlin Wall with special flights over Berlin on November 8, will cut another 200 jobs

Airberlin (airberlin.com) (Berlin-Tegel) is planning to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall with three Bombarider Q400 special flights over the city of Berlin on November 8:

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Airberlin is offering three sightseeing flights over Berlin during the evening of November 8, tracing the course of the former Wall. The flights are being conducted using a Bombardier DHC-8-402 (Q400) with a seating capacity of 76 and will operate between 5.30 p.m. and 8.30 p.m. from Berlin-Tegel Airport. They are accorded flight numbers AB 1989, AB 1990 and AB 1991, thus evoking the year of the fall of the Wall, the year of reunification, and the year of the relaunch of Airberlin as a German airline following the watershed events. From the particularly low flying altitude of approximately 1,000 meters (3,000 feet), the special flight passengers will be able to view the 15-kilometer-long ‘illuminated border’ made up of 8,000 luminous balloons stretching from Bornholmer Strasse to the Oberbaum Bridge. The light installation will illuminate a section of the former course of the Wall from  November 7-9. An experienced city guide will accompany the special flights and narrate the history of the divided city of Berlin.

On the ground, too, Airberlin is represented within a section of the ‘illuminated border’ at the East Side Gallery. In keeping with the airline’s anniversary, 35 balloon sponsorships were raffled via its social media channels, on its website, via international media and among staff. The sponsors will be present in person along this stretch during the evening of November 9 to release their helium-filled balloon from its mooring and, thus, to gradually give wings to the ‘illuminated border’.

A further highlight on the afternoon of November 9 is to be the painting of two original sections of the Wall for Airberlin by the well-known French artist Thierry Noir. As early as in 1990, the artist designed sections of the East Side Gallery, nowadays considered protected monuments. Thierry Noir will complete work on the 3.6-meter-tall T-shaped sections live on the spot. The sections of the Wall will then be exhibited at the Berlin-Tegel Airport for a period of six months.

The fall of the Wall is synonymous with a specific milestone in the 35-year history of Airberlin: while Germany was divided, only airlines of Allied nations were permitted to fly to West Berlin. Thus Airberlin, founded as an American charter airline named Air Berlin USA, was able to offer flights from West Berlin from 1979. Upon German reunification, the situation changed radically and Airberlin lost its air traffic rights. Only upon relaunch as a German airline in 1991 were the foundations laid for continued development to the status of the second largest German airline.

Tickets for the special flights are available online at airberlin.com/fallofthewall at a price of 99 euros per person and can also be reserved around the clock via the company’s Service Center by calling +49 (0)30/3434 3434 (local rates apply).

In other news, on October 26 Airberlin started flying to Milan’s downtown Linate Airport as previously reported. Airberlin issued this statement:

Since Sunday, October 26, 2014 all Airberlin Group flights have been taking off and landing at Milan Linate airport. The crew of flight AB 8406 from Dusseldorf, Alitalia employees and Airberlin ground crew greeted the first flights with an official “Benvenuto Linate”. The codeshare agreement between the Airberlin Group and Alitalia allows the airlines to offer their passengers a total of all the 412 nonstop flights of Airberlin, Niki and Alitalia between Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Italy under a joint flight number.

Additionally Airberlin increased service on the Berlin-Abu Dhabi route:

Airberlin now operates two flights a day between the German capital and Abu Dhabi. On Sunday, October 26, Captain Christoph Runge and his crew manned the first of these doubled-frequency flights. At 11:30 o’clock, the Airbus A330-200 took off from Berlin-Tegel Airport with 226 passengers and 10 crew members on board with destination of Abu Dhabi.

Finally in other news, Airberlin plans to cut another 200 administrative and ground staff in 2015. As previously mentioned Airberlin will continue to phase out its Boeing 737s and go to an All Airbus fleet.

Copyright Photo: Paul Bannwarth/AirlinersGallery.com. Operated by LGW, Bombardier DHC-8-402 (Q400) D-ABQH (msn 4256) arrives at Zurich.

Airberlin (Germany) Aircraft Slide Show: AG Slide Show

Air Berlin USA Slide Show:

QANTAS Link to help open the new Brisbane West Wellcamp Airport

Brisbane West Wellcamp Airport, the country’s newest airport, and QANTAS Link have announced they have signed a deal to start passenger flights to the airport when it opens later this year.

The landmark deal will secure 11 return flights a week to and from Sydney from November 17 and provide a Toowoomba centric schedule of double daily services Monday to Friday and daily services on the weekend.

BWWA is Australia’s first privately-funded public airport and the first public airport to be built in 50 years. The 300 ha airport, featuring a 2.87 km runway capable of landing a Boeing 747 aircraft, is the anchor tenant of the 800 ha Wellcamp Business Park.

Copyright Photo: John Adlard/AirlinersGallery.com. Sunstate Airlines Bombardier DHC-8-402 (Q400) VH-QOH (msn 4132) in the special NBCF livery approaches the runway at Sydney.

QANTAS Link-Sunstate Aircraft Slide Show: CLICK HERE

 

WestJet reports a record 2Q net profit of $51.8 million, will operate Boeing 767-300 ERs, Encore orders 5 more Q400s

WestJet (Calgary) today announced its second quarter results for 2014, with net earnings of $51.8 million (all amounts in Canadian dollars), or $0.40 per fully diluted share, as compared with the net earnings of $44.7 million, or $0.34 per fully diluted share reported in the second quarter of 2013. Based on the trailing twelve months, the airline achieved a return on invested capital of 13.7 per cent, consistent with the 13.7 per cent reported in the previous quarter.

“We had a great second quarter, reporting record earnings, exceeding our ROIC target for the eighth consecutive quarter, and achieving an on-time performance rate of 84.5 per cent, a year over year improvement of 3.5 percentage points,” said WestJet President and CEO Gregg Saretsky. “We continue to execute on our growth plans, including new service to Dublin, Ireland, success with our fare bundles initiative, and the expansion of WestJet Encore. Encore celebrated its first birthday in June, recently welcomed its one-millionth guest, and exercised five additional purchase options for Q400 aircraft. I want to thank all of our 10,000 WestJetters for their commitment to providing our award winning brand of friendly caring service, which is the foundation of our success.”

On July 7, WestJet announced that it was in the advanced stages of sourcing aircraft for its entry into wide-body service. A natural, next-step evolution for the airline, WestJet has recently selected four Boeing 767-300 ER aircraft (below) which will initially operate on routes between Alberta and Hawaii during the winter season beginning in late 2015. The airline’s current winter service between Alberta and Hawaii, via two Boeing 757-200s operated by Thomas Cook, is ending in the spring of 2015. WestJet expects to expand its operation into overseas markets starting in the summer of 2016. Further announcements regarding WestJet’s wide-body schedule will be released at a later date.

WestJet 767-300 WL (95)(Flt)(WestJet)(LRW)

Image: WestJet.

On July 28, 2014, WestJet’s Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $0.12 per common voting share and variable voting share for the third quarter of 2014, to be paid on September 30, 2014, to shareholders of record on September 17, 2014. All dividends paid by WestJet are, pursuant to subsection 89(14) of the Income Tax Act, designated as eligible dividends, unless indicated otherwise. An eligible dividend paid to a Canadian resident is entitled to the enhanced dividend tax credit.

In other news, WestJet Encore Ltd. has signed a firm purchase agreement for five Bombardier Q400 NextGen airliners. This transaction is a conversion of a batch of five options booked by the carrier’s parent company WestJet and follows the first conversion of five option aircraft announced on March 27, 2014, bringing the number of option aircraft exercised to 10. The initial total of 25 option aircraft was part of the original contract announced on August 1, 2012 that included WestJet’s firm order for 20 Q400 NextGen airliners.

WestJet Encore launched in June 2013 operating 10 departures daily to two destinations with two Bombardier Q400 NextGen aircraft and 131 employees. Today, it operates 90 departures daily from hubs in Calgary, Alberta and Toronto, Ontario to 19 destinations with 13 Bombardier Q400 NextGen aircraft and approximately 500 employees. The airline has announced plans to introduce service to Québec City, Québec; Fredericton, New Brunswick and Penticton, British Columbia in 2015.

Copyright Photo: Matt Dueck/AirlinersGallery.com. WestJet will become a new Boeing 767-300 operator. The airline will trade in its wet leased Boeing 757-200s (currently operated by Thomas Cook Airlines) for larger wide-body Boeing 767-300 ERs in 2015. The pictured Boeing 757-28A N750NA (msn 26277) was previously operated by North American Airlines in the WestJet brand.

WestJet:

Flybe to fly the Aberdeen-London City route, replacing British Airways

Flybe (Exeter) is saving the Aberdeen to London City route, with twice daily flights starting on Monday, October 27, 2014. The route be flown with the pictured Bombardier DHC-8-402 (marketed as the Q400).

The news follows British Airway’s recent announcement that it would be withdrawing from the route at the end of the summer season, and after serious concern around the future of the service that is considered crucial given passenger demand that reflects the strength of the economy in the north of Scotland.

The airline has also announced five more routes to its 2014-15 Winter Schedule including two that are brand new, namely between Birmingham and Berlin (Tegel) with Embraer 175 aircraft and from East Midlands to Aberdeen (weekdays) also with Embraer 175 aircraft. The airline’s daily service between Exeter and Newcastle also returns from October 26, together with two winter ski routes to Geneva from Cardiff and Inverness that start on 20th December 20.

In total, Flybe’s 2014-15 Winter program now features 105 routes offering customers a choice of up to 2,809 flights a week: 16 routes being brand new, with a further 11 that include seasonal routes returning or being extended for the first time through winter.

Copyright Photo: Nik French/AirlinersGallery.com. Once painted in the special “Low cost, but not at any cost” color scheme, Bombardier DHC-8-402 (Q400) G-JEDP (msn 4085) is now painted in the 2014 purple livery.

Flybe: AG Slide Show

Current Flybe routes from London (City):

Flybe LCY 7.2014 Route Map

 

Frontier Airlines to end Aspen service on September 30 as Lynx Aviation is phased out

Frontier Airlines (2nd) (Denver) will end service to the mountain ski resort destination of Aspen on September 30, 2010. This is also the last day of operations for Lynx Aviation and the Bombardier DHC-8-402s (Q400s). Frontier has elected to not use Republic Airlines’ (2nd) Embraer ERJ 170s or ERJ 190s into ASE.

Delta Air Lines will also not return to Aspen this coming winter season, leaving only United with the United Express service.

For a Denver Business Journal article on the subject:

CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Bruce Drum. Bombardier DHC-8-402 (Q400) N501LX (msn 4165) taxies from the gate at the DEN hub.