Tag Archives: msn 049

Surinam Airways only Airbus A340-300 is in long-term maintenance

Surinam Airways only Airbus A340-300 (PZ-TCR), assigned to the Paramaribo – Amsterdam route, is currently in long-term maintenance at Hahn, Germany.

According to Luchtvaart Nieuws, the aircraft has been grounded since early January due to landing gear issues which will have to be replaced. The aircraft is not expected to be back in service until late March due to a full C check.

As a consequence, the flag carrier has been forced to hire other airlines to fly the route. Wamos Air and Privilege Style have been sub-contracting on the route, which is an expensive proposition for Surinam.

How long will Surinam continue to operate this very expensive route and aging aircraft type? Can it compete with KLM?

Top Copyright Photo (all others by the airline): Ex-Air France PZ-TCP was the original A340 and was replaced by PZ-TZR. Surinam Airways Airbus A340-311 PZ-TCP (msn 049) AMS (Wim Callaert). Image: 904443.

Surinam Airways aircraft slide show:

China Airlines starts nonstop Taipei – London Gatwick flights

China Airlines began operating Taipei-London (Gatwick) service on December 1, 2017 with the new A350-900 aircraft with four flights a week. This route makes China Airlines the only airline in Taiwan to offer nonstop flights to London. The introduction of nonstop flights to London represents a major boost to China Airlines’ European network. With London, China Airlines now flies nonstop flights to Amsterdam (Netherlands), Frankfurt (Germany), Vienna (Austria) and Rome (Italy) and now London. China Airlines will operate 22 weekly flights to five European destinations and is the only Taiwan-based airline that currently operates so many nonstop flights between Taiwan and Europe.

The China Airlines CI069/CI070 Taipei-London service departs every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday on the latest A350-900 aircraft, which are equipped with 32 Premium Business Class, 31 Premium Economy Class and 243 Economy Class seats. Passengers who opt to fly nonstop with China Airlines will reach their destination in just 13 hours, saving between 3 to 7 hours of transit and stopover time.

China Airlines is also strengthening its Oceania network as well to complement the launch of its UK service. From December 1, the Taipei-Sydney route will be increased to two daily services and Taipei-Brisbane-Auckland will be upgraded to one service daily.

The first Airbus A350-900 for China Airlines completes its first flight

china-airlines-a350-900-f-wzgv-b-1890195tko-tls-airbuslrw

The first Airbus A350-900 XWB for China Airlines (CAL) has completed its maiden flight over the skies of Toulouse in South West France.

This first A350-900 for China Airlines is scheduled for delivery in the coming weeks.
China Airlines has 14 A350-900s on order. The aircraft is expected to be deployed on the carrier’s long-haul routes to Europe and on selected regional routes. The A350-900 will join China Airlines’ Airbus fleet including A330s and A340s on its regional and long haul services.

Photo: Airbus. Airbus A350-941 F-WZGV (msn 049) will become B-18901 on delivery.