Tag Archives: JFK

Aerolineas Argentinas takes delivery of the first direct delivery Airbus A330-200

Aerolineas Argentinas (Buenos Aires) has taken delivery of their first new, directly purchased Airbus A330-200 aircraft as a part of the carrier’s fleet renewal strategy.

The aircraft, A330-202 LV-FVH (msn 1605), is equipped with GE engines and joins the airline’s existing fleet of 11 Airbus widebody aircraft, comprising four A330-200s and seven A340s.

Aerolineas Argentinas will deploy its new A330 on long haul routes from their Buenos Aires hub to Miami and New York City, and then Madrid in July 2015.

Aerolíneas Argentinas has been an Airbus operator since 1994 when the airline began flying the A310-300. In February 2013, Argentina’s national airline announced their order for four Airbus A330-200s to renew and consolidate its widebody fleet.

With more than 850 aircraft sold and a backlog of nearly 400, more than 550 Airbus aircraft are in operation throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. In the last 10 years, Airbus has tripled its in-service fleet, while delivering more than 60 percent of all aircraft operating in the region.

Copyright Photo: Jay Selman/AirlinersGallery.com. Sister aircraft, Airbus A330-223 LV-FNL (msn 364) arrives in New York at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Aerolineas Argentinas aircraft slide show:

JetBlue Airways’ pilots request open contract negotiations under the Railway Labor Act

Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA), representing the pilots of JetBlue Airways (New York) today issued this statement:

The pilots of JetBlue Airways, represented by the Air Line Pilots Association, Int’l (ALPA), today sent official notice to company management requesting to open contract negotiations under the federal Railway Labor Act. The notice marks the first labor negotiations in the history of JetBlue from any segment of its workforce. Currently, JetBlue pilots are the only unionized workforce at the airline.

“Our negotiators have worked hard to prepare for this day and look forward to successful negotiations for a first contract,” said Capt. Jim Bigham, chairman of the JetBlue pilots’ Master Executive Council. “While we see the bargaining process as an opportunity to make positive changes for our pilots, we hold no illusions that this will be an easy process. However, while attaining our first labor agreement will require intense focus and commitment, we also will continue to work with management to ensure we contribute positively to JetBlue’s success.

“I’m optimistic about the group’s opportunities for success. We will work hard and efficiently, but we will also be careful and take the time necessary to assure that the final product is done right. All pilots have a right to expect this approach, and it will govern everything we do moving forward.”

The Association’s request to begin negotiations pursuant to the Railway Labor Act was sent by ALPA President Tim Canoll. Negotiations are scheduled to begin on March 31, 2015, in New York. Future negotiations will alternate between New York and Washington.

“We hope the attitude and atmosphere of cooperation and professionalism will prevail as we work to secure long overdue improvements to our existing working conditions,” said Bigham.

In April 2014, an overwhelming majority of JetBlue pilots voted to join ALPA in hopes of gaining a meaningful voice in their future and the certainty of a collective bargaining agreement. Contract negotiations in the airline industry are governed by the Railway Labor Act—the federal statute that sets the rules for collective bargaining, representation, and grievance processing in the airline and railroad industries.

Copyright Photo: Fred Freketic/AirlinersGallery.com. Embraer ERJ 190-100 IGW N238JB (msn 19000039) arrives at New York’s JFK International Airport (JFK).

Turkish Airlines looking at the Airbus A380, profit nearly triples for 2014

Turkish Airlines (Turk Hava Yollari dba) (Istanbul) is looking at larger Airbus (including the A380) and Boeing aircraft as its traffic continues to expand according to this public disclosure. No decision has been made. Here is the airline statement:

“Our Incorporation has the talent to include any type of aircraft to its fleet and there are ongoing negotiations for all types of aircraft. As of today, there is no Board decision regarding the purchase or lease of an A380 aircraft. Turkish Airlines will not be operating an A380 aircraft in 2015.”

The airline continues;

“7 additional aircraft to enter the fleet in 2015 and the leasing of these aircraft are at the agreement stage. With the addition of these aircraft the 2015 year-end fleet will reach 300 and our traffic and financial guidance will be revised accordingly.”

Meanwhile on the financial side, net profit for 2014 increased to 1.82 billion lira ($723 million) from 683 million lira ($271.3 million) from the previous year.

Read the full financial report for 2014: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Jay Selman/AirlinersGallery.com. Given the pictured Boeing 777-300 ER is the current main long-range aircraft for Turkish, the commonalty with the larger Boeing 747-800 could intrigue the Turkish decision makers. Given Boeing needs to keep open the 747-800 production line, pricing for the Jumbo could be very competitive versus Airbus for its A380. Boeing 777-35R ER TC-JJA (msn 35160) arrives at New York (JFK).

Turkish Airlines aircraft slide show:

Delta to restart flights from New York JFK to Rome and Venice

Delta Air Lines (Atlanta) will restart flights from New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport next month to Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino and Venice’s Marco Polo airports.

The nonstop flight from Rome to New York-JFK, complementing the airline’s existing service to Atlanta, will re-start on March 1 (the New York JFK – Rome FCO portion restarts on February 28). Delta will resume its seasonal nonstop flight between Venice and New York-JFK, effective March 29. Both flights are operated in conjunction with joint venture partner, Alitalia.

Schedule:

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Ex-TWA/American Boeing 757-231 N705TW (msn 28479) in the SkyTeam livery departs from Los Angeles.

Delta Air Lines aircraft slide show (current livery only):

Royal Air Maroc to introduce the new Boeing 787 on the New York route on Sunday

Royal Air Maroc (Casablanca), the national airline of Morocco, marks a milestone with the launch of its first Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner.

The airline continues:

The new, super efficient 274-seat aircraft will depart on its inaugural 6.5-hour flight from Mohammed V International Airport in Casablanca (CMN) to New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) on February 22.

This launch marks the first of two 787-8s that will be dedicated to trans-Atlantic flights between the U.S. and Morocco. Royal Air Maroc’s new planes feature 18 Business Class seats in a 2-2 layout, and 256 Economy Class seats in a 3-3-3 layout.

Copyright Photo: Jacques Guillem/AirlinersGallery.com. The first Boeing 787-8, the pictured CN-RGB (msn 43817) was handed over to the carrier on December 31, 2014 and had been operating to Paris (Orly).

Royal Air Maroc aircraft slide show:

JetBlue Airways is coming to Daytona Beach

JetBlue Airways (New York) will launch a new route to Florida’s Daytona Beach International Airport (DAB) in February 2016. The airline will offer daily service from its home at John F. Kennedy International Airport’s (JFK) Terminal 5 — providing the Daytona Beach area with its only nonstop service to New York City. Daytona Beach will be JetBlue’s eighth in the Sunshine State.

The new service to Daytona Beach will create a direct link between JetBlue’s main base of operations in New York and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, the world’s largest, fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace. In 2007, JetBlue partnered with Embry-Riddle to launch the University Gateway Program, a unique opportunity that creates a path to a career with the airline for aspiring aviators.

JetBlue’s flights to Daytona Beach will be operated on a 150-seat Airbus A320.

Copyright Photo: Jay Selman/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A320-232 N706JB (msn 3451) in the Bubbles design arrives back at the New York (JFK) hub.

JetBlue Airways aircraft slide show:

South African Airways to resume nonstop Johannesburg-New York JFK flights

South African Airways-SAA (Johannesburg) will resume its daily nonstop flights between Johannesburg, South Africa, and New York-JFK International Airport, on March 7. The resumption of the nonstop service on the northbound flight from Johannesburg to New York-JFK will reduce the overall travel time on the route by nearly 90 minutes.

While SAA’s flight from New York-JFK to Johannesburg is operating daily on a nonstop year-round basis, the northbound flight has been temporarily making a one-hour refuelling stop in Dakar, Senegal, due in part to lower travel demand during the winter months. The nonstop flights in each direction are timed conveniently to connect in Johannesburg with SAA’s extensive route network in Southern Africa of over 55 destinations and in New York with flights to over 35 cities in the U.S. and Canada through our code share partners JetBlue Airways, United Airlines and Air Canada.

SAA’s flights between New York-JFK and Johannesburg are operated on Airbus A340-600 aircraft, featuring 42 full-flat 180-degree beds in Premium Business Class and 275 seats in Economy Class, ergonomically designed with adjustable headrests and industry-leading legroom of up to 34″ for long-haul travel. Customers traveling in both Premium Business Class and Economy Class enjoy an extensive menu of on-demand audio and visual entertainment options, freshly prepared meals and complimentary bar service featuring award-winning South African wines.

In other news, is the flag carrier technically bankrupt? According to the AFK Insider:

“The country’s state carrier, South African Airways (SAA), has been struggling to keep its fleet in the skies with a crippling debt of $1.5 billion and has had to receive a couple of state sponsored bailouts, including a recent 6.5 billion rands ($560 million) guarantee to keep liquidators off its back. This adds to a 5 billion rands guarantee already in place for the Treasury.”

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Paul Denton/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A340-642 ZS-SNF (msn 547) approaches the runway at the Johannesburg hub.

South African aircraft slide show:

JetBlue Airways to add more Cuban charters for tour operator ABC Charters

JetBlue Airways (New York) today announced an agreement with its partner, ABC Charters, to add a new charter flight to Cuba beginning this summer.

The weekly flight, which begins on June 5, will operate on Fridays from Tampa (TPA) to Havana (HAV). JetBlue will have the most flights to Cuba from Tampa.

The addition marks one of the first expansions in charter service by a major U.S. airline since restrictions on travel to Cuba were eased in January.

JetBlue will now have four weekly round trips to Cuba. In addition to the new Friday flight, JetBlue and ABC Charters operate weekly flights from Tampa to Havana on Tuesdays and from Tampa to Santa Clara (SNU) on Wednesdays. JetBlue also operates flights between Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood (FLL) and Havana through Xael Charters on Fridays. JetBlue is currently evaluating opportunities to add additional charter flights.

JetBlue serves all charter flights to Cuba on its Airbus A320s.

JetBlue began flying to Cuba for charter companies in 2011.

Copyright Photo: Jay Selman/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A320-232 N768JB (msn 3760) in the Mosaic tail design arrives at the New York (JFK) hub.

JetBlue aircraft slide show:

JetBlue Airways to accept Apple Pay, will deploy iPad minis for its inflight crewmembers

JetBlue Airways (New York) today announced plans to be the first major domestic carrier in the U.S. to accept Apple Pay™ in the sky, making mobile payments at cruising altitude simple and speedy.

The airline continued:

Above Photo: JetBlue Airways.

Apple Pay gives customers an easy and secure way to pay for onboard purchases of premium offerings. Customers often already have their mobile phone in hand or nearby when the time comes to buy a snack or amenity. Those with an iPhone® 6, iPhone 6 Plus and soon Apple Watch™ can use Apple Pay to purchase premium offerings such as EatUp snack boxes and à la carte food options from the EatUp Café, premium beverages, onboard amenities and Even More Space seating.

An iPad mini for Every Inflight Crewmember

To enable Apple Pay in the air, JetBlue will deploy iPad minis and NFC-enabled cases to more than 3,500 inflight crewmembers. In addition to the cases with Apple Pay compatibility, each iPad mini will be loaded with a custom-designed iOS app — The Inflight Service Assistant — which will give inflight crewmembers access to customer manifest and flight data to provide the best experience possible to JetBlue customers.

The Inflight Service Assistant app offers crewmembers the ability to easily identify TrueBlue and Mosaic loyalty members by name for those special touches like wishing a customer a happy birthday. The iOS app will also offer timely flight information, aircraft configuration and safety information, along with the cases that offer with the payment processing capability for Apple Pay and traditional credit card purchases.

In addition to onboard purchases, JetBlue customers will be able use Apple Pay to complete purchases in JetBlue’s mobile iOS app later this year.

Copyright Photo: Ken Petersen/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A321-231 N937JB (msn 6245) in the Prism tail design taxies at New York (JFK).

JetBlue Airways aircraft slide show:

Lufthansa’s new basic 1968 Boeing 747-830 retro jet

Lufthansa (Frankfurt) will soon take delivery of this brand new Boeing 747-830 D-ABYT (msn 37844) (above). The new Jumbo was rolled out of the paint shop on February 8 at Paine Field sporting a basic 1968 livery, albeit minus the traditional metal finish on the bottom of the fuselage for that period. The aircraft will soon be flying test flights and we will have more photos soon.

The retro color scheme is part of modern day Lufthansa’s 60th Anniversary celebrations. Post-war Lufthansa restarted operations on April 1, 1955.

Top Photo: Lufthansa. D-ABYT in the Boeing paint shop after the work was finished.

Bottom Copyright Photo: Bruce Drum/AirlinersGallery.com. The first LH 747, Boeing 747-130 D-ABYA (msn 19746), is pictured taxiing to the gate at New York (JFK) on April 8, 1971 in the original 1968 livery for the Boeing Jumbo. The first 747 was handed over to the airline on March 10, 1970.