Tag Archives: Dublin

Lanmei Airlines to add new international routes

Lanmei Airlines is expanding. The new carrier will add the Phnom Penh – Hanoi, Siem Reap – Ho Chi Ming City and Shihananoukville – Hong Kong routes on December 20, 2017 according to Airline Route.

Lanmei Airlines (Cambodia) Co., Ltd. was founded on March 7, 2016, and commenced its first flight on September 29, 2017. The AOC was granted on August 15, 2017.

The maiden flight of Lanmei Airlines by an Airbus A320 was from Sihanoukville to Macau and onward to Palau (above). The flight from Macau to Palau boarded 144 passengers and 177 ones from Macau to Sihanoukville.

To commemorate this special day, Lanmei Airlines prepared carefully for its maiden flight celebration. Lanmei Airlines’ staff presented customized postcard, scarf, free SIM card etc. to each passenger at three terminals. Its cabin crew continued surprises in the sky: free flight tickets, stewardess scarves, aircraft models, customized blankets and USB flash discs were lucky draws. Each time a lucky passenger won, the whole cabin turned into a sea of joy.

According to the airline:

Named after Lancang-Mekong River, Lanmei Airlines’ logo looks like a peacock spreading its tails. Lanmei Airlines chooses peacock as logo because it symbolizes propitious totem in both oriental and western culture. The six feather of the wings-like logo represents the six Greater Mekong River countries who are the community of shared destiny & shared river. The logo also looks like a rotating aircraft engine, implying to supply new and steady thrust to these six nations.

Copyright Photo: Michael Kelly (all others by Lanmei Airlines). This ex-Monarch Airlines Airbus A321-232, now painted for Cambodian LCC Lanmei Airlines as XU-919 (msn 3522, ex G-ZBAL) departed Dublin on delivery to Cambodia on the evening of December 8, 2017.

Ryanair to open its 77th base at Belfast International, starts “honoring” some of its passengers

Ryanair (Dublin) on January 7 announced it will open a new base at Belfast International Airport, starting in March, with one based aircraft and a four daily flights to London (Gatwick). The base will grow to three aircraft and five more new routes from October 2016. Belfast is the 77th base for the ultra low-fare carrier.

Copyright Photo: Michael Kelly/AirlinersGallery.com. Ryanair has initiated a campaign “honoring” some of their passengers by displaying their image on some aircraft. In this image, passenger ” Nelly Langedijk ” from the Netherlands is featured on the nose of Boeing 737-8AS EI-DAH (msn 33546) pictured at the Dublin base.

Ryanair issued this statement on the “30 Names 30 Planes” program:

“On July 8, 2015 to celebrate its new Facebook account and 30th birthday, Ryanair launched a ’30 Names 30 Planes’ competition, offering 30 fans the chance to have their name and face pictured on one of 30 Ryanair aircraft. Entry was through the Ryanair Facebook page, where fans uploaded their photo and downloaded a CGI video of their own Ryanair aircraft bearing their name and face. After over 80,000 entries the 30 lucky winners were announced in October 2015.”

According to Ryanair, the first decals were fitted in the first week of December 2015 and the decals will be fitted for up to six months.

Video:

Ryanair aircraft slide show:

Air Canada rouge to operate seasonal Vancouver – Dublin flights next summer

Air Canada (Montreal) has announced a further, strategic expansion of its Vancouver hub with the addition of the only nonstop flights to Dublin, Ireland next summer. This new seasonal route follows the recent announcement of several enhancements at the airline’s Vancouver hub for 2016, including new transborder services to Chicago, San Jose and San Diego, double daily flights to London Heathrow, and the only flights linking Canada to Brisbane, Australia. The Vancouver-Dublin flights will be operated three times weekly by Air Canada’s leisure airline, Air Canada rouge, with Boeing 767-300 ER aircraft beginning June 10, 2016.

This year to date, Air Canada has launched new international services from Montreal-Venice, Montreal-Mexico City, Toronto-Amsterdam, Toronto-Dubai, Toronto-Delhi and Vancouver-Osaka.

Next summer, Air Canada will be launching new international services from Montreal-Casablanca, Montreal-Lyon, Toronto-Prague, Toronto-Budapest, Toronto-Glasgow, Toronto-London Gatwick, Toronto-Warsaw, Toronto-Seoul, Vancouver-Brisbane and Vancouver-Dublin.

Copyright Photo: Chris Sands/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 767-333 ER C-FMWV (msn 25586) lands at Vancouver International Airport.

Air Canada rouge aircraft slide show:

Air Canada announces new rouge European destinations + Casablanca

Air Canada (Montreal) has announced one of its most far-reaching summer schedule expansions ever with its first route to Africa and the addition of four major European cities to its global network. The new Air Canada rouge service to Casablanca, Morocco , means Air Canada will be one of only a dozen airlines in the world that serve six continents.

“Air Canada is solidifying its position among leading global carriers by becoming one of only a dozen airlines flying to six continents with today’s announcement of non-stop service to Casablanca, our first destination in Africa. Our Montreal – Casablanca flight will also be the only service to North Africa by a North American carrier and our aim is to transform this new route into a year-round operation. Our new, nonstop Air Canada rouge routes to Budapest, Prague, Warsaw, and Glasgow from Toronto Pearson are equally important as we continue to build out our network from our global gateway hub with more international destinations. The European services will be complemented by our Star Alliance partners, giving customers an even wider choice of travel options,” said Benjamin Smith , President, Passenger Airlines at Air Canada.

All the new services will be operated by Air Canada rouge (Toronto), Air Canada’s leisure carrier. All flights will be flown using a 280-seat Boeing 767-300 ER aircraft offering a choice of premium and economy cabins. Customers will have the ability to collect and redeem Aeroplan miles. Seats are now available for purchase. To promote these new nonstop routes, Air Canada is offering a special introductory fare starting as low as CAD$869 roundtrip, all-in for travel before July 2016 .

Route Details:

Toronto – Prague : service begins May 29, 2016 with flight AC1922 and operates three times weekly. Departs Toronto at 16:55 on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, arriving in Prague at 7:20 the next day. Return flight AC1923 departs Prague at 9:30 and arrives in Toronto 12:40 on Monday, Thursday and Saturday. Service ends for the season on September 29, 2016.

Montreal – Casablanca : service begins June 3, 2016 with flight AC1936 and operates four times weekly, subject to obtaining the necessary government approvals. Departs Montreal at 21:40 on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, arriving in Casablanca at 10:00 the next day. Return flight AC1937 departs Casablanca at 11:55 and arrives in Montreal at 14:45 on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Service ends for the season on October 17, 2016 .

Toronto – Budapest : service begins June 10, 2016 with flight AC1910 and operates three times weekly. Departs Toronto at 22:35 on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, arriving in Budapest 13:35 the next day. Return flight AC1911 departs Budapest at 15:05 and arrives in Toronto at 18:45 on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Service ends for the season on October 15, 2016 .

Toronto – Glasgow : service begins June 13, 2016 with flight AC1938 and operates three times weekly. Departs Toronto at 18:55 on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday, arriving in Glasgow at 6:40 the next day. Return flight AC1939 departs Glasgow at 8:25 and arrives in Toronto 10:50 on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Service ends for the season on September 25, 2016 .

Toronto – Warsaw : service begins June 16, 2016 with flight AC1926 and operates three times weekly. Departs Toronto at 18:30 on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, arriving in Warsaw at 9:30 the next day. Return flight AC1927 departs Warsaw at 11:00 and arrives Toronto 14:50 on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Service ends for the season on September 30, 2016 .

Since 2009, Air Canada has increased its system-wide international capacity, measured by seats, by approximately 50 percent. This year, Air Canada launched new international services from Montreal to Venice and Mexico , Vancouver to Osaka, and Toronto to Amsterdam . In November, the airline will launch nonstop service to Dubai and Delhi from Toronto and it has also announced new service beginning in 2016 to Brisbane from Vancouver, to Lyon from Montreal, and to London – Gatwick from Toronto.

Air Canada aircraft slide show:

Air Canada rouge aircraft slide show:

CityJet introduces a new brand, new aircraft coming

CityJet (Dublin) on September 4 introduced a new look for the airline on the pictured BAe (Avro) RJ85 EI-RJT (msn E2366). The company is also looking at replacement aircraft that would be capable of flying into London’s City Airport (LCY). Competition is probably between Embraer and Bombardier. Bombardier is working on the certification for its new CS100 at LCY. The company issued this statement:

CityJet, the Irish European regional airline, on September 4 unveiled its new brand and earmarked plans for future expansion, investment and job creation.

The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Paschal Donohoe TD, officially unveiled the airline’s new brand at an event in CityJet’s Dublin Airport hangar.

Since becoming independent of Air France ownership in 2014, CityJet has developed significantly in the market and now employs almost 500 staff, with over 300 based at its headquarters in Swords, Co. Dublin, and additional crew bases in London and Paris. The new branding represents a further step forward as an independent airline and comes at an exciting time of change for CityJet.

CityJet Executive Chairman Pat Byrne announced that the airline will open a new call center in Dublin with effect from March next year, initially creating 15 jobs, while in the past three months it has hired almost 60 additional staff, including 24 new pilots and 30 cabin crew and four executive officers.

Mr Byrne said: “This is a new look for a new era as we continue to grow our passenger numbers and invest in our staff and fleet. Today is a special day as we bring CityJet forward with a new dynamic branding, which I would refer to as inside-out branding as it based hugely on what our staff across the airline determined it should be.”

“We are also at an advanced stage in investment in our fleet and hope to be in a position to make an announcement in the coming weeks. We expect to create further employment opportunities in the air and on the ground across our network. The opening of our new call centre in Swords will provide our customers with an enhanced service offering. We are also concurrently investing in developing our technology and customer loyalty services to ensure CityJet continues to provide excellent facilities to all customers.

The Executive Chairman said: “We will carry over two million passengers this year on our own scheduled services network, on our wet lease program for Air France and on our charter services. We are seeing continual growth across our network as awareness of CityJet increases. CityJet is a pan-European airline, with over 70% of our passengers travelling between London and mainland Europe. Our flagship Dublin to London City route has seen a 40% growth in the last six months whilst advance bookings for our new Cork to London City service, which commences on October 1, are strong. We look forward to introducing CityJet – and the ease of travel through London City Airport – to business and leisure passengers in Munster in a few weeks time.”

Top Copyright Photo: Michael Kelly/AirlinersGallery.com. RJ85 EI-RJT (msn E2366) sits outside the Dublin hangar after the unveiling ceremony.

CityJet aircraft slide show:

Below Photo: CityJet.

Aer Lingus reports a first half loss after a second quarter profit as it moves towards acceptance of the IAG takeover

Aer Lingus (Dublin) reported a first half loss of €13.9 million ($15.2 million), an increase from a loss of €9.9 million ($10.8) in the same period a year ago.

However the flag carrier produced a profit of €34.5 million ($37.8 million) for the second quarter of this year as the takeover by Willie Walsh’s IAG nears.

The airline issued this financial report for the first half in which it discussed the upcoming IAG takeover:

Aer Lingus Group plc announces its results for the three and six month periods ended June 30, 2015:

Second Quarter 2015 highlights:

Operating profit (before net exceptional items) of €34.5 million; estimated adverse currency movement of €21 million
Strong revenue growth of 7.1% with increases in passenger, retail and cargo revenues
Long haul revenue increase of 24.4% with capacity up 9.7% and revenue per seat up 14.4%
Successful Washington route launch, frequency additions and new business cabin introduction
Short haul load factor improvement delivered by a volume active strategy
Solid short haul forward booking profile achieved, facilitating 5.8% retail growth in Q2 and increased H2 short haul capacity expansion
Network growth, positive forward booking profile and lower unit fuel costs will support H2 2015 performance
Stephen Kavanagh Aer Lingus’ CEO commented:

“I am pleased to report a profitable second quarter with Aer Lingus well positioned to deliver an improved operating performance in the key Q3 trading period and for the full year. I would like to thank my colleagues for their contribution to the delivery of this performance and for their on-going endeavours.

Passenger, retail and cargo revenues all grew strongly in the quarter. The continued investment in our transatlantic business was rewarded with strong growth in unit revenues. The volume active strategy employed in our short haul business delivered stable unit revenue performance in an intensely competitive marketplace.

The adverse effects of unfavourable FX movements on performance which were evident in this quarter will moderate in the second half of the year as a result of a higher proportion of US$ denominated revenues. Both short and long haul capacity are set to expand into the peak season and we are very satisfied with forward yield and load factor profiles at this time.

Finally, I would like to reiterate the view of the independent directors of Aer Lingus that the combination with IAG will strengthen Aer Lingus and will grow our airline and contribute to growth in the tourism sector and wider Irish economy.”

Full year 2015 outlook

Aer Lingus is currently in an offer period as defined by the Irish Takeover Rules. The Group is therefore not issuing specific guidance with regard to 2015 operating profit performance while it remains in this offer period.

Update on Offer from International Consolidated Airline Group S.A (“IAG”)

On June 19, 2015 IAG issued the Offer Document containing the full terms and conditions of the recommended cash offer (the “Offer”) by AERL Holding Limited (“AERL Holding”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of IAG, for the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of Aer Lingus. The Offer values each Aer Lingus share at €2.55, of which €0.05 was paid as a dividend on May 29, 2015 (“the Offer”). The Offer conditions include, amongst other things, approval from the European Commission (“EC”) under the EU Merger Regulation, acceptance of the Offer by Ryanair Limited and the Minister for Finance of Ireland, shareholders approving the connectivity resolutions and a 90% acceptance condition. Full details of the Offer conditions are set out in Appendix I of the Offer Document posted to Aer Lingus shareholders. The following conditions have been fulfilled to date:

On July 14, 2015 the proposed merger received competition approval from the EC under the EU Merger Regulation, following the EC’s initial Phase I review period. IAG offered the following remedies to the EC as part of the regulatory process:

Five daily slot pairs to be made available to other airlines at London Gatwick for flights between the airport and Dublin or Belfast.
Specifically, two of the five daily frequencies must be operated between Gatwick and Dublin.
One daily frequency must be operated between Gatwick and Belfast.

The other two frequencies can be operated between Gatwick and either Dublin or Belfast.
Other airlines can apply for seats on Aer Lingus’ short haul network for their transfer passengers, on normal commercial terms July 2015 Aer Lingus held an Extraordinary General Meeting (“EGM”) and successfully passed the resolutions in relation to the

2. On July 16, 2015 Aer Lingus held an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) and successfully passed the resolutions in relation to the connectivity commitments and received Rule 16 approval from the independent shareholders.

3. On this date IAG also confirmed the extension of the Offer until 1 pm (Irish time) on July 30, 2015.

4. On July 17, 2015 IAG confirmed the receipt of the valid acceptance of its Offer by the Minister for Finance of Ireland. The Minister for Finance’s acceptance was a condition of the Offer. At this date, IAG also announced that on July 16, 2015, AERL Holding had received valid acceptances of the Offer for 269,902,009 Aer Lingus shares, representing 50.53 per cent of the existing issued share capital of Aer Lingus, which AERL Holding may count towards the satisfaction of the acceptance condition to the Offer.

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: SM Fitzwilliams Collection/AirlinersGallery.com. Aer Lingus, under an IAG takeover, is confident it can compete against an aggressive Ryanair. Airbus A320-214 EI-EDS (msn 3755) departs from the Dublin hub.

Aer Lingus aircraft slide show:

Congo Airways to start operations with two Airbus A320s

Congo Airways (Kinshasa) is a new airline in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The new airline is planning to commence scheduled passenger operations next month with two Airbus A320s. The company plans to operate from Kinshasa to eight domestic destinations.

The first A320 has been painted at Dublin.

Copyright Photo: Greenwing/AirlinersGallery.com. Formerly operated by Alitalia as EI-DSM in the special “Calabria” promotional livery, the pictured A320-216 is being prepared in Dublin as 9Q-CLU (msn 3362) in this bright new look.