Tag Archives: GVA

Jet2 celebrates the first flight to Reus, Spain from Belfast

Jet2 (Jet2.com) (Leeds/Bradford) yesterday (May 27) launched a new route from Belfast to Reus, Spain (near Barcelona). The airline issued this statement and publicity photo:

Latino beauty Juliana Cunha is celebrating leading leisure airline Jet2.com’s inaugural flight to Reus. Flights to this Spanish hot-spot, which is close to Salou and only an hour from Barcelona, started on Monday, May 27 and will continue every Monday until September 16 from Belfast International Airport.

In this new era of social media, an airline that survives understands the importance of being noticed with innovative “attention getters”. Jet2 bills itself as a holiday destination airline with “package holidays you can trust” and “friendly low fares” inscribed on the aircraft and also on their website and the social media sites. The latest promotion is the “Party Plane” TV commercial (please see the video below).

Top Copyright Photo: Paul Denton. Boeing 737-377 G-CELA (msn 23663) arrives in brilliant sun at Geneva.

Jet2:

“Party Plane” Video:

Monarch Airlines to launch East Midlands-Ibiza flights tomorrow, explains how to paint an airliner

Monarch Airlines (London-Luton) is launching two new routes from East Midlands. On May 7 the airline launched its first ever scheduled flight to Malta from East Midlands Airport. The flights will operate twice a week on a Tuesday and Saturday.

Malta is the first of two new routes to launch this summer from East Midlands Airport with Ibiza also launching on May 23.

Video: Monarch makes flying fun for 600 kids:

Monarch Airlines:

What does it take to repaint an airliner? Monarch Airlines explains the process that takes nine days on their excellent Monarch blog:

First step, checks and scaffolding

The first task was to fly Airbus A321 G-OZBZ down to a specialist aircraft painting company in Bournemouth called Airbourne Colours. The A321 would spend about 9 days being stripped down and repainted by a team of 10 to 12 highly experienced specialist painters each with 10 to 20 years experience. The team in Bournemouth would be in constant communication with Monarch operations teams and engineers during this time.

When G-OZBZ first arrived at the painter’s hangar, a Monarch engineer carried out an acceptance check on the aircraft. This check included removal of window wipers and a series of other tasks such as disconnecting batteries.

Next, the painting specialist’s hangar supervisor and a Monarch engineer worked together to check on the condition of the current paintwork and assessed any damage. While this check was carried out, a team put scaffolding into place around the aircraft. There had to be enough scaffolding to give access to every point of the aircraft during the painting process.

Second step, masking and stripping

There are two kinds of paint job that you can give an aircraft – a strip or an abrade (otherwise known as a ‘rub’). A strip involves the use of chemical washes to remove the paint back to bare metal. During a ‘rub’ the aircraft fuselage (the body of the plane) is sanded back to a smooth finish ready to accept paint.

Generally the fuselage and fin are stripped as these are made of metal but the engines and wings and rubbed as they are made of composite materials.

G-OZBZ needed a fuselage strip and repaint, so the next step was to cover or ‘mask’ all the areas which needed to be protected from sanding dust and paint overspray, for example the cockpit and cabin windows. As the wings weren’t being painted (just the ends were to be painted yellow), these were also masked. Masking was also applied to sensitive items such as ports, antennae, aerials and engine intakes.

The metallic areas were then chemically stripped back to bare metal, a process which includes a power wash and alkaline shampoo. The tail fin and engine cowlings (covers) are made of composite materials, so these were abraded, followed by a solvent wash. Once all the paint was removed and sealants checked and repaired or replaced, Monarch engineers carried out a bare metal inspection to check the state of the aircraft before painting commenced.

Then, it’s time to paint

After masking, a team of 10 to 12 people hand-sprayed primer to the fuselage.

Once the primer was dry, a layer of white paint was applied to the fuselage.

Next, yellow paint was sprayed on to the tail and once dry, the indigo was applied to the underneath of the fuselage and Monarch’s famous spotty M logo was added to the tail.

There are a number of mandatory markings and Monarch titles that need to be put on the aircraft. These are a combination of decals (industrial stickers) and paint. The Monarch title for instance was applied by placing a massive spray mask (or stencil) over the fuselage and spraying the mask with paint.

Aircraft paints are designed to be tough in order to withstand extreme environmental conditions as well as corrosion, chemicals, and rain erosion. However, unlike paint you might use to protect your home, aircraft paints also need to be incredibly lightweight and the completed paint job was allowed to be no more than 250 microns thick (0.25mm or about 0.01 inches).

Taking all the primer, white, yellow, purple basecoat and the clear coat together, the total amount of paint used was about 360 litres.

Finally, it’s very important to the safe and efficient operation of commercial aircraft that we know how much everything weighs. When the painting was complete, G-OZBZ was given a ‘calculated reweigh’, which compared the thickness of the new paint to the original paint. These figures were sent to a loadmaster company to produce accurate trim data for the aircraft, which will be used eventually by the pilots and other people in operations.

Thank you Monarch for explaining the process.

Kuwait Airways to order 10 Airbus A350-900s and 15 A320neos

Kuwait Airways (Kuwait City) is planning to order 10 Airbus A350-900s and 15 A320neo aircraft according to this report by Reuters.

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Paul Denton. The new Airbus aircraft will replace the older Airbus aircraft. Aging Airbus A300B4-605R 9K-AME (msn 721) taxies at Geneva.

Kuwait Airways:

United Airlines extends its Newark airport lease for 20 years, will invest $150 million

United Airlines (Chicago) and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey have signed a 20-year lease extension through which United will maintain its significant presence at Newark Liberty International Airport and make further investments to ensure the airport remains one of the country’s premier global gateways.

United and the United Express carriers will continue their exclusive use of Terminal C and will continue to operate flights at Terminals A and B. Additionally, the airline will invest $150 million in ongoing improvements throughout the term of the lease. While Terminal C is already one of the nation’s most modern international terminals, United will further develop its concourse areas and improve baggage handling.

From Newark Liberty, United offers more than 400 flights daily to more than 150 destinations in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Its location and rail links make Newark Liberty the most convenient major airport for travelers originating in north and central New Jersey, parts of New York City and southern New York State. With more than 13,000 Newark-based employees, United connects the region to more of the world than any other airline.

United Investments at Newark Hub

Since 1981, United and its predecessor carriers with Newark hubs – Continental and Peoplexpress – have built on a commitment nearly three decades old to expand and modernize Newark Liberty and establish a hub operation that would attract passenger revenue and economic growth to the region. That commitment was the first of any major airline at the New York-area airports.

In 1985, Peoplexpress joined with the Port Authority to complete the construction of Terminal C, a project which Continental acquired following its 1987 merger with Peoplexpress.

In 2001, Continental’s Global Gateway initiative, a $3.8 billion public-private partnership, brought new AirTrain rail connections – the New York area’s only on-airport rail connection with direct access to New York’s Penn Station and the northeast corridor – along with new roadways, parking garages, expanded electronic ticketing facilities, new terminal designs to facilitate more efficient security screening and an automated baggage handling system.

Since 2010, United has invested in its facilities at Liberty to improve customer service and co-worker experience.

The airline broke ground in January 2013 on a new widebody maintenance hangar at Liberty, a $35 million investment that economic development officials say will create 200 jobs and generate $12 million in wages and $52 million in economic activity before its completion, scheduled for year-end.

United continues to work in conjunction with the Transportation Security Administration on a $100 million “in-line” baggage-screening system that, upon completion by year-end, will speed the movement of checked bags between the check-in counter and United aircraft.

The airline also is designing a new $65 million catering facility at Liberty.

United’s Airport Facility Improvements

United and its airport partners are investing more than $1 billion in improvements to United’s airport facilities worldwide.

In addition to the widebody maintenance hangar under construction at Liberty, United broke ground in October 2012 on a $45 million widebody maintenance facility at Washington Dulles International Airport, a major United hub and gateway to Europe and the Middle East.

At Terminal B at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston, where later this month United will open the first phase of an extensive terminal renovation project, the airline is redesigning the seat layout in the gate areas, offering electric power at nearly two-thirds of the seats and space for carry-on baggage. The airline is similarly retrofitting its gate areas in Terminal 2 at Chicago O’Hare International Airport later in 2013. Approximately one-third of United and United Express flights operate to and from Houston Bush and Chicago O’Hare.

United Club Lounges

On December 21, 2012, United unveiled its new airport lounge concept with the grand reopening of the airline’s United Club lounge in Terminal 2 at Chicago O’Hare Airport. The 13,300 square foot United Club features a completely redesigned interior that reflects elements of flight and travel. United has outfitted the club with an expansive bar and lounge area, dynamic lighting, redesigned furniture and additional workstations and power outlets.

United is spending more than $50 million in 2013 to renovate several of the airline’s 51 United Club locations.

Co-worker Breakrooms

United is also investing in facilities for co-workers to offer them more comfort during breaks and enable them to deliver better service to customers. The airline anticipates completing in May an extensive renovation of breakrooms at Washington Dulles for co-workers in customer service, ramp operations and technical operations. The renovations include new furniture, appliances and durable flooring and wall coverings. United plans to begin similar renovations this year at Chicago O’Hare and later at its other U.S. hub airports.

Copyright Photo: Paul Denton. Boeing 767-322 ER N652UA (msn 25390) prepares to depart from Geneva bound for the Newark Liberty hub.

United Airlines:

Aeroflot’s net profit for 2012 slips to $158.6 million

Aeroflot Russian Airlines (Moscow) reported net income for 12 months ending on December 31, 2012 totaled 4.939 billion rubles ($158.6 million), which is 5.544 billion rubles ($178 million) (-52.9 per cent) less compared to its results for 2011. The lower net income in 2012 was justified by the carrier mainly due to the consolidation of its subsidiaries.

Aeroflot:

Augsburg Airways is likely to be liquidated in late October

Augsburg Airways (Munich) is due to lose its Lufthansa Regional flying contract on October 26, 2013 as we previously reported. According to this report by Augsburger Allgemeine, the chances the airline can survive the contract flying closure are becoming bleaker all of the time. The company is now likely to be shut down and liquidated in late October unless it can champion a new future with a new partner.

The company started scheduled airline service in September 1986 as Interot Airways. It became the current Augsburg Airways on November 6, 1995.

Read the full report (in German): CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Paul Denton. “We have white planes, we are willing to paint”. Augsburg is searching for a new mission or partner since Lufthansa dropped the carrier. Embraer ERJ 190-100LR D-AEMF (msn 19000310) taxies at Geneva.

Augsburg Airways:

EasyJet to hire 200 pilots for 2014

EasyJet (UK) (easyJet.com) (London-Luton) has announced today it will start this week in its search to fill 200 new, additional pilot positions in 2014. For successful applicants the new roles will provide the first step towards a long term career with EasyJet and will also enable the airline to continue its profitable expansion which recently included launching new routes to Russia and Norway.

EasyJet expects to fill the new positions from several sources including – pilots starting their career, pilots currently flying for the military who wish to join the civilian aviation sector and those who currently fly for other airlines who wish to build a career at EasyJet.

The new positions will be offered across all 11 of EasyJet’s UK bases – Gatwick, Southend, Luton, Stansted, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Manchester, Liverpool, Bristol and Belfast – and across easyJet’s European network of bases.

Those interested can apply through careers.easyJet.com and if successful will start flying with EasyJet from summer 2014.

EasyJet (UK):

EasyJet to fly to Norway

EasyJet (UK) (easyJet.com) (London-Luton) has announced the launch of its first ever services from London Gatwick to Bergen – also known as the “Gateway to the Fjords” in Norway. The new route will commence on May 20, 2013.

Norway will be the 33rd country easyJet flies to with the airline expecting to carry more than 100,000 passengers between Norway and the UK annually.

easyJet’s timetable of flights between London Gatwick and Bergen is as follows:

From London Gatwick

	Departure Time	Arrive Bergen
Mon-Fri	14:10	17:05
Sat	07:50	10:45
Sun	14:55	17:50

From Bergen

	Departure Time	Arrive Gatwick
Mon-Fri	17:35	18:35
Sat	11:15	12:15
Sun	18:20	19:20

Copyright Photo: Paul Denton. Airbus A319-111 G-EJAR (msn 2412) in the Supporting UNICEF special livery taxies to the runway at Geneva.

EasyJet (UK):

Royal Air Maroc to restart Casablanca-Zurich on April 19

Royal Air Maroc (Casablanca) is expected to restore the Casablanca-Zurich route (three times a week) with Boeing 737-700 aircraft on April 19 per Airline Route.

Royal Air Maroc:

WestJet and Air France expand their relationship

WestJet Airlines (Calgary) and Air France (Paris) today announced they have entered into a code-share agreement enabling Air France to offer its customers 10 new Canadian destinations operated by WestJet.

The “AF” code is now on select WestJet flights connecting from Toronto to Vancouver, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Regina, Thunder Bay, Ottawa, Quebec City, Saint-John’s, Moncton and Halifax. Winnipeg and Calgary flights also bear the French carrier’s code for both Toronto and Montreal connections to Air France’s direct flights to Paris.

This is the ninth code-share agreement for WestJet which, additionally, has twenty-one interline relationships.

Top Copyright Photo: Bruce Drum. Boeing 737-76N WL C-GWSH (msn 29886) climbs away from runway 27R at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

WestJet: