Tag Archives: Heathrow

Delta to offer two new seasonal routes next summer across the Atlantic

Delta Air Lines (Atlanta) and Virgin Atlantic Airways (London) will offer customers two new routes across the Atlantic with the introduction of Delta’s nonstop service from Salt Lake City to London (Heathrow) and New York (JFK) to Edinburgh, Scotland, beginning in May 2016.

Starting May 1, 2016, Salt Lake City will be Delta’s eighth U.S. destination from Heathrow and the only nonstop service between London and the Mountain West.

Daily nonstop service between New York-JFK and Edinburgh will begin on May 26, 2016. Delta’s new service from Scotland’s capital city joins Virgin Atlantic’s three times weekly summer seasonal service from Glasgow to Orlando.

Delta Air Lines aircraft slide show (current livery):

British Airways to add seasonal Glasgow – Salzburg flights

British Airways (London) will add weekly winter ski seasonal Airbus A319 service from Glasgow to Salzburg starting on December 12 per Airline Route.

BA is also adding Airbus A319 service from London (Gatwick) to Valencia starting on November 6 and to Porto on February 11, 2016.

In other news, British Airways on May 4, 2016 will resume the London (Gatwick) – Lima route with Boeing 777-200 ER aircraft. The restored route will operate three days a week.

British Airways aircraft slide show:

Air China announces a new code share agreement with South African Airways

Air China (Beijing) has announced a code share agreement with South African Airways (Johannesburg) that will enable SA to put its code on CA’s newly inaugurated nonstop service between Beijing and Johannesburg as well as points beyond Beijing to Chengdu, Shanghai, Hangzhou and Chongqing.

Air China will in turn put its code on SA’s services between Johannesburg to Cape Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth. The code share arrangement will open for sale from August 25, for travel effective October 29, 2015.

Both airlines are Star Alliance members, an alliance offering a network unlike any other; with 28 member airlines providing over 18,500 flights a day to over 1,330 destinations in more than 192 countries around the world.

The flights, CA867/8 Beijing – Johannesburg are to be operated on Tuesday/Thursday/Sunday (outbound) and on Monday/Wednesday/Friday (inbound). The outbound flight departs from Beijing at 23:15 Beijing time, and arrives in Johannesburg at 7:35 local time on the following day. The inbound flight departs from Johannesburg at 11:50 local time and arrives in Beijing at 7:30 Beijing time. The flights are to be operated with Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft.

Copyright Photo: AirlinersGallery.com. Air China’s Boeing 777-39L ER B-2006 (msn 44931) in the special “Love China” livery taxies at London (Heathrow).

Air China aircraft slide show:

South African aircraft slide show:

United Airlines’ flight attendants file for federal mediation

United Airlines‘ (Chicago) flight attendants, represented by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA (AFA), have filed for federal mediation under the jurisdiction of the National Mediation Board (NMB).

According to AFA, the filing was done “in order to bring three years of negotiations to a close and allow United to complete its merger with Continental/Continental Micronesia.”

AFA continued:

“A clear dispute exists and it is time for federal mediation. We are calling on management to negotiate a fair contract within the reality of record profits. Three years after the talks for a joint contract began, management doesn’t seemed focused on negotiating a contract Flight Attendants can ratify,” said AFA International President Sara Nelson. “The longterm success of United Airlines depends upon current executives finishing this merger, which includes negotiating a joint Flight Attendant contract, and making good on promises to employees, Capitol Hill and the traveling public.”

Mediation under the Railway Labor Act is a formal, statutorily prescribed process. The mediator directs the negotiations with statutory authority including time and place of meetings, subjects to be discussed in a given week and the general approach to negotiations. NMB mediation is not binding arbitration. The contract would only become effective by agreement of both parties and it would be subject to membership ratification. If mediation does not result in an agreement, the union may petition for a release, which would lead to a strike deadline. AFA is focused on reaching an agreement that Flight Attendants can ratify and which contributes to completing the operational integration of United Airlines.

Without a joint contract, Flight Attendants continue to work separately and on airplanes that are designated as pre-merger United, Continental or Continental Micronesia. This leads to inefficiencies for the airline and Flight Attendants, and these inefficiencies are often experienced by passengers as well. Negotiations updates are posted on OurContract.org and further explanation of mediation and the positions of the Union and Company may be found on this website.

“Management’s failure to participate in realistic merged contract negotiations seems to be a symptom of a larger problem for our airline. We are concerned that management is not focused on completing this merger or running United Airlines for longterm success. A three billion dollar share buy back and investment in a foreign airline without any attempt to invest in United’s frontline is troubling. Management needs to position United to compete with any airline in the world. That starts with negotiating fairly with the women and men who breathe life into the Friendly Skies,” Nelson stated.

Copyright Photo: Keith Burton/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 777-222 ER N793UA (msn 26946) approaches the runway at London (Heathrow).

United Airlines aircraft slide show:

American Airlines to drop the Philadelphia – Tel Aviv route

American Airlines (Dallas/Fort Worth) has announced it will stop service on the nonstop route between Philadelphia and Tel Aviv effective on January 4 (January 5 on the westbound flight). The Airbus A330-200s assigned to the unprofitable route will be reassigned.

Copyright Photo: Keith Burton/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A330-243 N290AY (msn 1480) approaches the runway at London (Heathrow).

American Airlines aircraft slide show:

Icelandair is coming to Montreal

Icelandair (Keflavik) has announced it will continue its expansion of their global network with new seasonal service from Montreal beginning May 19, 2016 . Flights from Pierre Trudeau International Airport will mark the arrival of the airline’s first gateway in the province of Quebec and the 16th destination in North America.

The airline will offer four flights a week through November 8, 2016 with departures on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The five-hour, nonstop flight to Icelandair’s hub at Keflavik International Airport also provides connections to more than 20 destinations in Europe , including Paris, London, Copenhagen, Stockholm and Oslo.

Following the commencement of Halifax in 1998, new gateways were launched including Toronto in 2008, Edmonton and Vancouver in 2014, and with this announcement, Montreal beginning in 2016.

Icelandair aircraft slide show:

Finnair to open 12 new routes for the summer of 2016 including Svalbard

Finnair (Helsinki) has announced its expansion for next summer:

Finnair is opening four new routes to Edinburgh, Billund, Pula and Svalbard for summer 2016.

Finnair will start flying to Edinburgh from April 18 to October 27, 2016.

Flights to Billund in Jutland, Denmark, will become a year round destination from April 4, 2016.

Finnair will continue to increase its Croatia service with two weekly flights between Helsinki and Pula, from June 20 to August 12, 2016.

Finnair will be the first airline to offer scheduled international services to Svalbard, the Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean. From June 1 to August 27, 2016 there will be three weekly flights from Helsinki to the northernmost airport in the world. Svalbard – located between Norway and the North Pole, is a land of untouched arctic wilderness.

In summer 2016, new scheduled flights will replace previously chartered flights to the Greek islands of Zakynthos, Skiathos, Santorini, Mytilene and Preveza. The same will apply to Rimini and Verona in Italy and to Varna in Bulgaria.

Finnair will also increase the number of flights to the popular summer destinations of Malta, Tel Aviv in Israel and to Biarritz and Nice in France. Malta was a new destination this summer and there has been a high demand from Finland and Asia, so an extra weekly flight will be added for summer 2016.

Copyright Photo: AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A320-214 OH-LXI (msn 1989) taxies to the gate at London’s Heathrow Airport.

Finnair aircraft slide show:

Air China to start nonstop Beijing – Johannesburg service

Air China (Beijing) has announced it will start Beijing – Johannesburg nonstop service on October 29, 2015 , which will be the first air link offered by a Chinese carrier between Mainland China and South Africa and also Air China’s first route to Africa.

The flights, CA867/8, Beijing – Johannesburg are to be operated on Tuesday/Thursday/Sunday (outbound) and on Monday/Wednesday/Friday (inbound). The outbound flight departs from Beijing at 23:15 Beijing time, and arrives in Johannesburg at 7:35 local time on the following day. The inbound flight departs from Johannesburg at 11:50 local time and arrives in Beijing at 7:30 Beijing time. The flights are to be operated with Boeing 777-300 ER, an aircraft type quite popular with the world’s business travelers.

This year, Air China will also start Beijing – Addis Ababa service.

Copyright Photo: AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 777-39L ER B-2035 (msn 38674) in the special “Smiling China” color scheme taxies at London (Heathrow).

Air China slide show:

Ethiopian Airlines upgrades the cabins of its Boeing 777 fleet

Ethiopian Airlines (Addis Ababa) today issued this statement:

Ethiopian Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) has achieved another milestone with the successful completion of retro-fitting all Ethiopian Boeing 777 passenger aircraft with 180° business class full flat bed. The retro-fitting was completed and the aircraft have started operations with the new 180° business class full flat bed.

The retro-fitted Boeing 777-200 and 300 with new 180° flat business class seats are expected to enhance passenger comfort and improve the Ethiopian product. These new 180° business class seats impact the overall Business class service to a higher level of customer satisfaction.

Top Copyright Photo: AirlinersGallery.com (all others by Ethiopian Airlines). Boeing 777-260 LR ET-ANR (msn 40774) taxies at London (Heathrow).

Ethiopian Airlines aircraft slide show:

Virgin Atlantic moves the last Boeing 747-400 flight at London Heathrow to February

Virgin Atlantic Airways (London), as previously reported, is phasing out its venerable Boeing 747-400 at London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR). According to an update by Airline Route, the last Boeing 747-400 arrival at LHR is now scheduled for February 21, 2016 instead of April 17, 2016.

The last flight is expected to be flight VS006 from Miami to LHR arriving on the morning of February 21.

The type will continue to be operated from London’s Gatwick Airport.

Virgin Atlantic aircraft slide show: