Tag Archives: LGW

EasyJet supports the decisions of CAA for London’s airports

EasyJet (UK) (easyJet.com) (London-Luton) has issued this statement concerning recent decisions by the CAA concerning the future of London’s airports:

“easyJet welcomes the CAA’s decision that Gatwick Airport has substantial market power and that as a consequence Gatwick needs continued regulation through an airport licence.

“easyJet also welcomes the significant changes the CAA has made to the assumptions on passenger growth and cost of capital which have led to a lowering of its estimate of fair airport charges from RPI +1.6% to RPI – 1.6%.

“easyJet supports the CAA’s endorsement of Gatwick’s Commitments proposal. However, it is now up to Gatwick Airport to show that this more commercial approach can deliver lower charges and improved service for airlines and their passengers.

“easyJet welcomes the inclusion of the costs of the any second runway in the licence so that these can be scrutinised by the regulator.

“easyJet also welcomes CAA’s announcement that robust plans to deliver operational resilience in major disruption will also be under CAA regulatory oversight.

“Finally, easyJet is supportive of the CAA’s approach to Stansted airport which under new ownership has shown itself willing to take a more commercial approach to airlines which will also benefit passengers.”

In other news, the company is planning to drop the new Southend-Edinburgh route on June 15, 2014 according to Airline Route.

Copyright Photo: Antony J. Best/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A319-111 G-EZBR (msn 3088) in the special “Airbus 100” holds short of the runway at London’s Gatwick Airport.

EasyJet (UK):

Flybe to cut six bases and 500 jobs

Flybe (Exeter) will close six bases and eliminate 500 positions despite a recent profit announcement. The bases to be closed are Aberdeen, Guernsey, Inverness, Isle of Man, Jersey and Newcastle.

Read the full report from the BBC: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Keith Burton/AirlinersGallery.com. Bombardier DHC-8-402 (Q400) G-KKEV (msn 4201) completes its final approach into Gatwick Airport near London.

Flybe:

Norwegian to open a new base at Madrid next summer

Norwegian Air Shuttle (Norwegian.com) (Oslo) continues its expansion in Europe and opens new base in Madrid for the summer of 2014. Norwegian will open six new routes from Madrid to Stockholm, Oslo, Helsinki, Hamburg, Warsaw and London.

The base in Madrid is Norwegian’s fifth Spanish base along with Alicante, Malaga, Las Palmas and Tenerife.

Six new routes from Madrid from June 2014:

Norwegian will have two Boeing 737-800 aircraft at the base in Madrid. In addition, 100 employees will be recruited locally and six new routes launched.

Madrid – Stockholm
Four times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, starting June 4, 2014

Madrid – Oslo
Three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, starting June 3, 2014

Madrid – Helsinki
Three times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays starting on June 4, 2014

Madrid – Hamburg
Four times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, starting June 4, 2014

Madrid – Warsaw
Twice a week, on Tuesdays and Saturdays, starting June 3, 2014

Madrid – London
Daily from June 2, 2014

Madrid – Copenhagen
Increases from three to four times a week between April and June 2014. As of July 2014 there are flights daily between Madrid and Copenhagen.

Copyright Photo: Richard Vandervord/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-86N LN-NOQ (msn 32658) departs the runway at London (Gatwick).

Norwegian:

Norwegian establishes a new European airline subsidiary

Norwegian AIr Shuttle’s (Norwegian.com) (Oslo) Board of Directors today approved a new structure that will ensure the company’s international growth and the necessary traffic rights. Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA continues to be overall parent company. The parent company established two new wholly owned subsidiaries with their own operating certificate (AOC), one in Norway and one in Europe. The Company intends to establish hiring pilots at bases outside Scandinavia.

The most important changes:

New Norwegian operating company with its own AOC in Norway based on the current Scandinavian bases

All employees pilots in Scandinavia is transferred to the Norwegian operating company with current pay and working conditions. Other employees of Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA are not affected

Creation of a separate EU operational company that ensures the necessary traffic rights to fly from Europe

In line with the development of law in Europe established wholly owned resource company with roots in the countries where the bases are

Hired pilots are being offered permanent employment locally in the respective resource companies. The first is the base in Finland, where the pilots are being offered permanent employment in the first quarter of 2014. This is followed by the bases in Spain and England.

Norwegian goes from being a Scandinavian company into an international company. The organizational structure needs to be modernized and adapted accordingly.

The new structure provides a greater degree of equality regarding career opportunities, regardless of what country they have that base.

Copyright Photo: Karl Cornil/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-8JP LN-DYU (msn 39008) with the special “Wireless Internet on Board” markings arrives at London (Gatwick).

Norwegian:

Aegean Airlines receives EC approval to acquire Olympic Air

Aegean Airlines (Athens) today won approval from the European Commission to acquire rival Olympic Air (3rd) (Athens). The company issued this statement:

The European Commission announced today its decision to approve the acquisition of Olympic Air by Aegean.

The rationale of the European Commission decision supports the absolute necessity of economies of scale to achieve viability within the Greek aviation market. The acquisition creates the conditions for the establishment of a sustainable Greek carrier, competitive within the Region and capable of supporting a growth momentum which will benefit Greek Tourism and the local economy.

Following EU approval, the acquisition of the shares of Olympic Air and the assumption of management by Aegean is expected to be completed by October 18, 2013. The total consideration for the transaction has been set at €72 m., of which €20 m. have already been paid. Upon the completion of the acquisition, Olympic Air will become a subsidiary of the listed Aegean, while the process of unification of the support functions will begin immediately. The two brands and logos of the companies will remain with each one retaining distinct aircraft and flight activity.

The Chairman of Aegean Mr. Theodore Vassilakis said:

“As of today our obligation and commitment to serve our passengers and our country become even greater. While growing in size we also have to further improve our services to be more effective in the support of all Greek regions and ensure competitive access even to the smallest Greek island. The economies of scale will allow us to offer more competitive fares on our domestic network, especially for the small islands. At the same time, the synergies will allow us to support an improved growth rate for our international network, both from Athens and the periphery, contributing substantially to the development of Tourism and the Economy “.

The company will host a press conference on October 23, 2013, following the share purchase, to present its customer offering and development plan as well as its 2014 network plans.


	AEGEAN	Olympic Air	Total
Fleet (10/2013)	30	15	45
Personnel (10/2013)	1480	610	2090

Passenger traffic ( 2013 estimation in million)	6,50	1,90	8,40
Domestic	2,50	1,65	4,15
International	4,00	0,25	4,25

Turnover (in million € – 2013 estimation)	630	170	800

Top Copyright Photo: Robbie Shaw/AirlinersGallery.com. Aegean’s Airbus A320-232 SX-DVQ (msn 3526) painted in the Star Alliance colors departs from London (Heathrow).

Aegean Airlines:

Olympic Air (3rd):

Bottom Copyright Photo: Antony J. Best/AirlinersGallery.com. Olympic Air has been reduced down to mainly a Bombardier DHC-8/Q400 operator. Operated by Flybe, DHC-8-402 (Q400) G-JECV (msn 4148) prepares to land at London (Heathrow).

British Airways to serve Malta from London’s Gatwick Airport

British Airways (London) will soon start a new direct flight from London Gatwick to Luqa International Airport in Malta.

The daily service starts from March 30, 2014 in advance of the peak summer holiday season. Hand-baggage only tickets in Euro Traveller (economy) will start from just £55 one-way, including all taxes and charges. Seats in Euro Traveller for customers who chose to take a bag including all taxes and charges start at £67 one-way and in Club Europe (business) one-way fares start at £274.

British Airways’ holiday flights will be further boosted by more services from London Gatwick to Salzburg, Naples, Dubrovnik, Marrakech and Catania during summer 2014.

The new Malta route will be served by a combination of Boeing 737 and Airbus A319/A320 aircraft.

Copyright Photo: Terry Wade/AirlinersGallery.com. Boeing 737-436 G-DOCX (msn 25857) with the red nose arrives back at London’s Gatwick Airport.

British Airways:

Titan Airways retires its last BAe RJ100

Titan Airways (London-Stansted) has retired its last BAe RJ100 after a long association with the UK-built 146 series of aircraft. The airline issued this statement:

Titan Airways RJ100, G-POWF, left the fleet to begin a new role with Canadian operator, North Cariboo Air.

G-POWF, which had been with us for two and a half years, had most recently been employed on a government contract in the Gulf region. The RJ100 superseded Titan Airways’ BAe 146 operations in the Gulf which dated back to 2009.

The role previously fulfilled by Titan is now being taken over by the RAF’s own aircraft.

The departure of the RJ100 is a step in Titan’s long term strategy to operate more modern, economical and environmentally friendly aircraft. In addition to the phasing out of older aircraft types, we have begun actively seeking younger, more efficient aircraft. An Airbus A320-233 was introduced in April and we are looking for further opportunities to expand our charter fleet with Airbus.

Copyright Photo: Christian Volpati Collection. Titan Airways has had a long association with the BAe 146 and its various models. The type has also had a number of liveries. BAe 146-200 G-ZAPN (msn E2119) sports one of those unique color schemes.

Titan Airways:

Cubana returns to Sao Paulo, Brazil

Cubana de Aviacion (Havana) has re-started nonstop flights to Sao Paulo, Brazil. The weekly Havana-Sao Paulo (Guarulhos) route was restored on July 10 and was last operated in December 2004. The flight is operated with Ilyushin Il-96-300 aircraft.

Read the full report from Prensa Latina: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Keith Burton/AirlinersGallery.com. Ilyushin Il-96-300 CU-T1250 (msn 74393202015) climbs away from the runway at London (Gatwick).

Cubana:

Flying on Norwegian’s first Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner on a “Dreamtour”

Norwegian Air Shuttle (Norwegian.com) (Oslo) is currently operating the pictured Boeing 787-8 EI-LNA (msn 35304) (above) (Antony J. Best) on European routes before it enters its long-haul service career with Norwegian Long haul. EI-LNA was the first 787 for the rapidly-growing low-fare airline and was handed over to the carrier on June 29, 2013.

The Norwegian is operating a “Dreamtour” for its European customers this summer. From July 4 through August 4 the airline is substituting its new 787 on select European routes from Oslo. This includes flights to London (Gatwick) as well as Alicante, Barcelona, Malaga and Nice on the Mediterranean Sea.

Allan Huse booked and flew one of these “Dreamtour” flights, a round trip from London (Gatwick) and Oslo and return.

Asked about his experience and first impressions of the 787, Allan said; “It was very enjoyable and smooth flight. The crew was friendly and knew all about the aircraft and the on board systems. The fare was good at under £100 return. I would recommend a flight on one!”

Allan has also provided these in-flight and cabin photos of EI-LNA from his “Dreamtour”.

Above: The “front-end office” of EI-LNA with the latest state-of-the-art equipment. The crew loves the new “toy”.

Above: EL-LNA is dedicated to Norwegian figure skater and film star Sonja Henie. Her image appears on the tail and also in the inside of the cabin where Norwegian has placed a photo of Sonja on the bulkhead.

Above Two Photos: Even of these short European routes, Norwegian is showing off the mood lighting on EI-LNA.

Above Photo: For those with the perfect window seat, the beautiful sweeping lines of the wing of EI-LNA is apparent.

Top Copyright Photo: Antony J. Best (all others by Allan Huse). Boeing 787-8 EI-LNA prepares to land at London (Gatwick).

Norwegian:

Video: In Norwegian. Following in the footsteps of Thomson Airways. Norwegian is taking a state-of-the-art aircraft with its lower operating costs and merging it with its low-fare strategy on new leisure routes.

EasyJet’s traffic to more than double at London Stansted over the next five years

EasyJet (easyJet.com) (London-Luton) has reached a new agreement with the new owners of London Stansted Airport (STN) (north of central London). New owner MAG previously acquired STN from Heathrow Airport Holdings for $2.35 billion.

EasyJet, as part of the deal, has promised to raise its Stansted passenger numbers to 6 million passengers per year from the current 2.8 million passengers according to Reuters.

It is unclear if this is a straight built up of traffic with new routes or whether some traffic at other London airports will be moving to STN. The low-fare carrier has recently been adding new routes notably from at Gatwick and Southend. Nearby Luton is the base for the carrier.

Traffic at STN had been declining. This new accord will stem those losses. Rival Ryanair has a major hub at STN.

The airline recently announced it had reached the milestone of more than 60 million passengers who have travelled with the airline in the past 12 months to May 31, 2013.

When easyJet was founded in November 1995 the airline first took to the skies with just two aircraft flying between two domestic UK destinations. Eighteen years later, the airline now operates 212 aircraft flying to 137 airports in 33 countries spanning Europe and North Africa.

More than one hundred of easyJet’s 800 Luton based staff gathered outside the airline’s Hangar 89 head office at London Luton Airport to mark the 60 million milestone and celebrate the airline’s continued success and popularity.

Top Copyright Photo: Terry Wade/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A319-111 G-EZIW (msn 2578) in the Linate-Fiumicino Per Tutti special scheme arrives at London (Gatwick).

EasyJet (UK):