Tag Archives: Houston

United to start nonstop Houston-Boise service starting on August 19

United Airlines (Chicago) will introduced a new daily Bombardier CRJ700 route from the Houston (Bush Intercontinental) hub and Boise, Idaho starting on August 19 per Airline Route.

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/Airlinersgallery.com. Bombardier CRJ700 (CL-600-2C10) N765SK (msn 10231) of SkyWest Airlines climbs away from Los Angeles International Airport.

United Airlines (current):

United Express-SkyWest:

Buzz Airways to replace Southwest Airlines at Branson, Missouri

Branson Airport (Branson, Missouri) has released this statement:

Branson Airport (BKG) is pleased to announce the arrival of Buzz Airways service to both Chicago (Midway) and Houston (Hobby) beginning June 12, 2014. Fares begin at $99.00 each way including taxes. Flights will operate in each market six days per week.

The new flights by Buzz will replace the service currently offered on Southwest Airlines (Dallas) that is slated to end June 8. The flight schedule has been designed to allow customers to book separate tickets on Southwest in order to connect to and from other popular gateways.

Corporate Flight Management, Inc. d/b/a Buzz Airways (CFM) is a diverse aviation services company that includes Part 135 and 91 charter and management services, three Fixed Base Operations, a FAR Part 145 certified repair facility, an aircraft sales division, and FAR 141 pilot and maintenance training.

Buzz Airways will reportedly operate Jetstream 41 aircraft on the two routes.

SAS to connect the oil region of Norway with Houston, Texas

Scandinavian Airlines-SAS (Stockholm) is launching services between Stavanger, Norway and Houston (Bush Intercontinental) on August 20. This fulfils the wishes of leading players in the oil industry for better connections between Norway, and the rest of Scandinavia, and Houston, Texas.

The route will be operated by a business version of the Boeing 737-700 and will have an SAS Long Haul Business Class concept on board, with just 44 comfortable business seats, along with a modern inflight entertainment system and full-service meals and service.

SAS has entered into a wet lease agreement with PrivatAir (Geneva) , which has this special version of the Boeing 737-700. The aircraft will carry SAS’s distinctive colors and logo.

The route will launch on August 20, just ahead of the major oil exhibition in Stavanger, Offshore Northern Seas (ONS). Tickets for route, which will operate daily except Saturdays, go on sale on April 29.

Read the article by Bloomberg Businessweek: CLICK HERE

Top Copyright Photo: Ariel Shocron/AirlinersGallery.com. SAS’ Boeing 737-783 LN-RRB (msn 32276) approaches the runway at Madrid (Barajas).

Scandinavian Airlines-SAS:

PrivatAir:

Bottom Copyright Photo: Keith Burton/AirlinersGallery.com. PrivatAir’s Boeing 737-7AK HB-JJA (34303) arrives in Amsterdam.

EVA Air plans to fly to Chicago and Houston

EVA Air (Taipei) wants to expand its route map with more flights to North America. The airline is planning to add new routes to both Chicago (O’Hare) and Houston (Bush Intercontinental) according to the Taipei Times.

Read the full article: CLICK HERE

Earlier this year EVA Air put out this statement on its North American expansion:

Starting in June 2014, EVA Air will increase North American service from 45 flights per week to 55, boosting frequency to Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Toronto and Vancouver. By adding 22 percent more flights, EVA will also expand capacity, offer passengers greater convenience and provide more flights between North America and Taiwan than any other airline.

Since joining Star Alliance in June 2013, EVA has experienced growing demand for its services among business travelers. There has been a substantial increase in the numbers of business passengers flying the airline from North America to Southeast Asia via its hub in Taipei, Taiwan. Bookings for EVA’s Royal Laurel Class business cabin have also climbed. The luxurious service was launched on the New York – Taipei route in June 2012.

The average load on EVA’s North America flights surpassed 80 percent in 2013 and company officials expect bookings to keep climbing in 2014. It will accommodate this growth and the added frequency by taking delivery of three Boeing 777-300 ERs in the second quarter of 2014 and deploying the new aircraft on long-haul flights between North America and Taiwan. EVA will add the service in two phases. It will increase:

Phase 1

Vancouver from three to four flights per week on 2 June, 2014.
Los Angeles from 17 to 20 flights per week, New York from five to daily flights and Toronto from three to four flights per week on 4 June, 2014.

Phase 2

San Francisco from 12 to 14 flights per week and Los Angeles from 20 to 21 flights per week on 3 July, 2014.

North America is a major market for EVA. In addition to Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Toronto and Vancouver, it operates five flights a week to Seattle/Tacoma. The airline has seen stable market-share growth in all six cities it serves, lifted by not only Chinese and Asian passengers but also American business travelers.

※EVA Frequency Increase in North America

City	Current Frequency	Added from	New Frequency
Vancouver	3 per week	2 June	4 per week
Toronto	3 per week	4 June	4 per week
New York	5 per week	4 June	7 per week
Los Angeles	17 per week	4 June/3 July	20 per week/21 per week
San Francisco	12 per week	3 July	14 per week

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. EVA Air is proud to be in the Star Alliance and is benefitting from the membership. Boeing 777-35E ER B-16701 (msn 32639) now displays the Star Alliance colors and is seen arriving at the popular destination of Los Angeles.

EVA Air:

United Airlines is the first to operate a revenue flight with the new Split Scimitar Winglets

United Airlines (Chicago) yesterday operated a Boeing 737-800 aircraft freshly retrofitted with new Aviation Partners Boeing Split Scimitar Winglets. The pictured Boeing 737-824 N37277 (man 31595) took to the skies yesterday (February 18), marking the first commercial flight worldwide to operate with the advanced winglet technology. United flight 1273 on Tuesday, February 18 took off from the airline’s Houston (Bush Intercontinental) hub and flew to Los Angeles. The airline installed the innovative winglets on the Boeing 737-800 after the FAA approved the technology made by Aviation Partners Boeing (APB) earlier this month.

This new winglet design demonstrates significant aircraft drag reduction over the basic Blended Winglet configuration United uses on its current fleet. Using a newly patented design, the program retrofits United’s Boeing Next Generation 737 Blended Winglets by replacing the aluminum winglet tip cap with a new aerodynamically shaped “Scimitar”™ winglet tip cap and by adding a new Scimitar-tipped ventral strake. The new design will reduce fuel consumption by up to 2 percent per aircraft.

Last year, United served as the launch customer for the Split Scimitar winglet when it made a firm commitment with APB to retrofit its 737-800 and 737-900 ER aircraft.

United currently has more than 350 aircraft fitted with advanced blended winglet technology. Once the Split Scimitar Winglets installation is complete, the combined winglet technology on United’s 737, 757 and 767 fleet is expected to save the airline more than 65 million gallons of fuel a year, equivalent to more than 645,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide and$200 million per year in jet fuel costs. The savings from the Split Scimitar Winglets will contribute to United’s overall fuel-savings initiative to reduce its fuel costs by $1 billion by 2017.

Copyright Photos: United Airlines. United technicians at Orlando International Airport install the new Split Scimitar Winglet on a Boeing 737-800 on February 16, 2014. United is the first airline in the world to operate commercial service with the innovative winglet technology.

United Airlines (current):

Southwest Airlines breaks ground on a new international terminal at Houston’s Hobby Airport

Southwest Airlines (Dallas) today (September 30) broke ground on a new international terminal at William P. Hobby Airport (HOU), marking the official start of construction on the $156 million project.

Once completed, the five-gate facility will accommodate regional international flights for Southwest Airlines, with service reaching destinations in the Caribbean, Mexico, and the northern cities of South America.

Houston Mayor Annise Parker, as well as local and state dignitaries, joined Southwest Airlines Employees in the brief ceremony before work immediately began.

A 2012 study commissioned by the Houston Airport System indicates that the new terminal will generate more than 10,000 jobs across the Greater Houston metropolitan area and will provide an economic impact of $1.6 billion. The study estimates that the terminal will bring in an additional 1 million passengers a year to Hobby Airport.

The terminal project, fully funded by Southwest Airlines, includes a new five-gate international terminal, expansion of the existing security checkpoint, and upgrades to the Southwest Airlines ticketing counter area.

In support of the project, and in anticipation of the expected increase in passenger traffic, the Houston Airport System will be making significant investments of its own, constructing a new multi-level parking garage and making improvements to the existing roadway system.

Southwest Airlines anticipates its first international flights out of Houston Hobby’s new international terminal will begin in late 2015 to destinations in the Caribbean, Mexico, and the northern cities of South America.

Copyright Photo: Fernandez Imaging/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-7H4 N279WN (msn 32532) with the special “Summer of Love – Cirque du Soleil” emblem taxies at the Houston (Hobby) hub.

Southwest Airlines:

Historic Photo of the Day – May 26, 2013

Continental’s Houston Proud Bird Express (Emerald Air) Douglas DC-9-14 N38641 (msn 47060) HOU (Keith Armes). Image: 912258.

Continental Airlines:

Frameable Color Prints and Posters:

Southwest to revamp its Atlanta schedules to better compete for business traffic against Delta

Southwest Airlines (Dallas) is changing its Atlanta operation in order to better compete against Delta Air Lines (Atlanta) for business customers. The airline, according to this Bloomberg report, will have no more than 20 aircraft on the ground at any time at ATL instead of current 30 (including the shrinking AirTran Airways). This will allow the 175 daily flights to be spread more evenly throughout the day according to the airline. The new strategy and schedule will become effective in November.

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

Southwest Airlines:

AirTran Airways:

ExpressJet Airlines joins with Cape Air in the JetBlue University Gateway Program

ExpressJet Airlines (Atlanta) has joined the JetBlue University Gateway Program to give pilots a career path. The following statement was released:

The highly-successful University Gateway Program, a four-way collaboration with JetBlue Airways (New York), Cape Air (Hyannis), the University of North Dakota (UND) and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU), has added another airline. ExpressJet Airlines, the largest regional airline in the world, will partner with Cape Air to provide a parallel path for aspiring pilots to join JetBlue. The Gateway Program has been designed to facilitate the early-entry of highly-qualified pilots from Aviation Accreditation Board International (AABI) programs, who have appropriate flight instructor experience, into Cape Air, where they further hone their skills. After gaining their Captain’s credentials at Cape Air, pilots can choose to interview with ExpressJet. If accepted, they will be slotted for a training class providing valuable time as pilots in command. They then will be eligible for a final interview with JetBlue after gaining their necessary hours.

There are now 140 pilots in the Gateway Program. To date, four pilots have successfully completed the necessary steps and have been hired by JetBlue, with more qualifying for a final interview every month. Cape Air expects as many as 50 pilots per year will eventually join JetBlue via the program.

Copyright Photo: Mark Durbin. ExpressJet’s Embraer ERJ 145XR (EMB-145XR) N16147 (msn 145749) is pictured at the Houston (Bush Intercontinental) hub operating as an United Express carrier.

United Express-ExpressJet:

Routes flown for United Airlines:

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Pinnacle Airlines Corporation prepares to exit Chapter 11 with new agreements, will phase out its 140 CRJ200s in the next 2-3 years

Pinnacle Airline Corporation (Pinnacle Airlines) (Memphis) today issued the following statement:

Pinnacle Airlines Corporation announced today that it and its wholly owned subsidiaries have entered into comprehensive agreements that, among other things, provide a path forward for the Company to emerge from bankruptcy with a competitive cost structure and a viable long-term business plan. Under Pinnacle’s new business plan, the Company will transition its fleet to operate a fleet of 81 fuel-efficient, two-class regional jets for Delta Air Lines Inc.

The comprehensive agreements among Pinnacle, Delta, the Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA) and the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors (Creditors’ Committee) in Pinnacle’s Chapter 11 cases include:

An amendment to the Company’s existing debtor-in-possession credit facility, to provide Pinnacle with $30 million of additional liquidity to support its continued operation through emergence from Chapter 11 and an additional $22 million to fund certain required payments to Pinnacle’s pilots under a Bridge Agreement and related employer taxes. The amendment would also extend the maturity date for the credit facility from April 1 to May 15, 2013.
Amendments to the existing operating agreements with Delta that form the basis of the new business plan. Pinnacle will receive Delta Connection’s next 40 Bombardier CRJ900 aircraft awarded, setting Pinnacle’s long-term fleet plan at 81 CRJ900 aircraft. The 40 additional CRJ900 aircraft deliveries are planned to begin in the fall of 2013 and are expected to be completed by year-end 2014. Pinnacle’s 140 Bombardier CRJ200 aircraft will be removed from operation over the next two to three years.
A Bridge Agreement that provides transitional payments, furlough benefits and specified career opportunities at Delta to Pinnacle’s pilots in conjunction with the recently negotiated letter of agreement between Pinnacle and ALPA.
A letter of agreement to amend Pinnacle’s collective bargaining agreement with the ALPA pilots. This letter of agreement and the Bridge Agreement are subject to ratification by the ALPA membership by Jan. 15, 2013.
A restructuring support agreement among Pinnacle, Delta and the Creditors’ Committee setting forth certain principal terms for a plan of reorganization to emerge from Chapter 11. The reorganization plan will provide for Delta or an affiliate to acquire the equity in the reorganized Pinnacle Airlines Corp. after it emerges from bankruptcy. Pinnacle must file a plan of reorganization acceptable to Delta and the Creditors’ Committee by February 15, 2013.

Pinnacle filed motions with the Bankruptcy Court seeking approval of the various components of the comprehensive agreements. All of the components of the comprehensive agreements are interdependent and are subject, among other things, to Court approval.

Copyright Photo: Fernandez Imaging. With the CRJ200s being retired, Pinnacle Airlines will concentrate on the larger CRJ900 in the future with its Delta Connection contract. Bombardier CRJ900 (CL-600-2D24) N176PQ (msn 15176) lands at Houston (Hobby).

Delta Connection-Pinnacle Airlines: