Tag Archives: TLS

IndiGo takes delivery of its first ATR 72-600

IndiGo, India’s largest airline by market share, on November 17, 2017 took delivery of its first ATR 72-600. The airline and ATR announced earlier this year an agreement for the acquisition of 50 ATR 72-600s. This delivery represents a major step in the airline’s ambitious plan to further develop its fleet with the introduction of fuel-efficient and cost-effective ATR 72-600s, thus expanding its regional footprint and bringing air connectivity to smaller Indian airports and communities.

The introduction of the new ATR fleet goes in line with the Indian government’s Regional Connectivity Scheme, which aims to boost economic development, employment and tourism by connecting small and remote cities. Under this scheme 100 new airports are expected to be created in the next three years.

IndiGo_ATR_All India Permit_Landing_Page.png

IndiGo plans to put the new type into revenue service on December 21, 2017 on the following routes:

Our brand-new fleet of ATRs is flying to more of India. Bookings now open for the below sectors:-

Flight Number	Origin	Destination	Departure	Arrival	Starts	Starting Fare*
6E 7107	Bengaluru	Tirupati	9:40	10:35	9-Jan-18	1499	Book Now
6E 7121	Bengaluru	Rajahmundry	10:45	12:30	16-Jan-18	1999	Book Now
6E 7125	Chennai	Rajahmundry	17:55	19:40	16-Jan-18	1499	Book Now
6E 7102	Chennai	Mangalore	11:35	13:30	21-Dec-17	1499	Book Now
6E 7101	Hyderabad	Mangalore	6:40	8:40	21-Dec-17	1999	Book Now
6E 7103	Hyderabad	Nagpur	16:15	18:10	21-Dec-17	1999	Book Now
6E 7105	Hyderabad	Tirupati	6:25	7:50	9-Jan-18	1999	Book Now
6E 7112	Hyderabad	Tirupati	12:40	14:05	9-Jan-18	1999	Book Now
6E 7116	Hyderabad	Tirupati	19:25	20:50	9-Jan-18	1999	Book Now
6E 7118	Hyderabad	Rajahmundry	7:05	8:20	16-Jan-18	1499	Book Now
6E 7123	Hyderabad	Rajahmundry	14:35	15:50	16-Jan-18	1499	Book Now
6E 7101	Mangalore	Chennai	9:05	11:05	21-Dec-17	1499	Book Now
6E 7102	Mangalore	Hyderabad	13:50	15:40	21-Dec-17	1499	Book Now
6E 7104	Nagpur	Hyderabad	18:30	20:25	21-Dec-17	1999	Book Now
6E 7119	Rajahmundry	Bengaluru	8:40	10:25	16-Jan-18	1999	Book Now
6E 7124	Rajahmundry	Chennai	16:10	17:35	16-Jan-18	1499	Book Now
6E 7122	Rajahmundry	Hyderabad	12:50	14:05	16-Jan-18	999	Book Now
6E 7126	Rajahmundry	Hyderabad	20:10	21:25	16-Jan-18	999	Book Now
6E 7106	Tirupati	Bengaluru	8:10	9:15	9-Jan-18	1499	Book Now
6E 7113	Tirupati	Bengaluru	14:45	15:50	9-Jan-18	1499	Book Now
6E 7108	Tirupati	Hyderabad	10:55	12:05	9-Jan-18	1499	Book Now
6E 7115	Tirupati	Hyderabad	17:35	18:50	9-Jan-18	1499	Book Now
6E 7117	Tirupati	Hyderabad	21:10	22:35	9-Jan-18	1499	Book Now

Top Copyright Photo: IndiGo Airlines ATR 72-212A (ATR 72-600) F-WWEF (VT-IYA) (msn 1457) TLS (EuroSpot). Image: 939920.

Volaris to add three new routes to California

Volaris is adding three new routes to California in mid December. From Morelia will add a new twice-weekly route to Fresno (December 16) and San Jose, CA (December 15, 2017).

From Zacatecas the carrier will add a new twice-weekly route to San Jose, CA starting on December 18, 2017 per Airline Route.

During the third quarter 2017, the Company incorporated its second Airbus A320neo (pictured) to its fleet.

As of September 30, 2017, Volaris’ fleet was composed of 67 aircraft (12 A319s, 45 A320s and 10 A321s), with an average age of 4.6 years, the youngest fleet among Mexican carriers. At the end of the third quarter 2017, Volaris’ fleet had an average of 180 seats, 64% of which were in sharklet-equipped aircraft.

Viva Aerobus to add two U.S. routes in December

Viva Aerobus is adding two new routes to the United States in December. The airline will add the Guadalajara – Los Angeles route on December 14 and the Mexico City – Las Vegas route two days later.

Route Map:

Asiana Airlines to introduce the new Airbus A350-900 to the London Heathrow route today

Asiana Airlines is introducing its new Airbus A350-900 to the Seoul (Incheon) – London (Heathrow) route starting on October 29, 2017 with flights OZ521/OZ522. Thye new type will be initially operated three days a week (Wednesday, Fridays and Sundays).

Malaysia Airlines to replace its Airbus A380s with new Airbus A350-900s, including London on March 5, 2018

Malaysia Airlines is planning to gradually replace its Airbus A380 (above) on the Kuala Lumpur – London (Heathrow) route. The last A380 flight from LHR will be on March 5, 2018. The A380s are being replaced with the new 288-seat Airbus A350-900s (below) per Airline Route.

Above Copyright Photo: Malaysia Airlines Airbus A350-941 F-WZFG (9M-MAB) (msn 159) TLS (Eurospot). Image: 939652.

Malaysia will take delivery of its first Airbus A350 very soon and the new type will enter revenue service on December 9, 2017 between Kuala Lumpur and both Bangkok and Penang according to Airline Route.

Malaysia has six Airbus A380 in its fleet. Four are assigned to the London route and the other two are available for pilgrimage charters.

Malaysia is expected to retire the Airbus A380 fleet by June 2018.

Previously on September 12, 2017, Malaysia Airlines signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Boeing for 16 airplanes including eight 787-9 Dreamliners.

Top Copyright Photo: Malaysia Airlines Airbus A380-841 9M-MNA (msn 078) LHR (SPA). Image: 926034.

Malaysia Airlines:

Beijing Capital Airlines to launch London Heathrow – Qingdao service on November 17

Beijing Capital Airlines (Capital Airlines) will launch a nonstop service between London (Heathrow) and Qingdao on November 17, 2017, following the announcement of its Sydney–Qingdao nonstop service commencing on October 30, 2017. The new Airbus A330 twin-aisle wide-body aircraft is scheduled to operate on the route, twice a week on Monday and Friday.

Flight No.	Schedule	Terminal	Dep. Time	Arr. Time	Terminal
JD432	Monday, Friday	London Heathrow	22:00	17:30+1	Qingdao
JD431	Monday, Friday	Qingdao	15:05	19:50	London Heathrow

Often called the Switzerland of the Orient, Qingdao is located at the southern end of the Shandong peninsula. The city is an important transportation hub along China’s eastern coast and a main port of entry for travelers arriving from abroad as well as a key exit point for travel outside of the country. At present, passengers flying from Qingdao to Londonneed to transfer in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou or Hong Kong. Now, with the London–Qingdao service, the first nonstop service between the two cities, passengers can save significant time in transit, eliminating the need to switch aircraft while on route as well as avoid what can often amount to many hours of wait time at the intermediary airport. With only 12 flying hours, the nonstop service provides a convenient air bridge for passengers from Qingdao and surrounding areas to London.

The launch of the London–Qingdao nonstop service is part of Beijing Capital Airlines’ roadmap for ongoing global expansion as well as the accelerating of the establishment of its global network. The new route is Beijing Capital Airlines’ first nonstop service to London, closing a gap that the airline needed to fill in terms of the UK market while growing the network and providing passengers with the convenience of a more diversified set of travel choices.

Delta schedules two new Airbus A350 routes for next summer season

Delta Air Lines, as it takes delivery of new aircraft, is adding new Airbus A350-900 routes.

According to Airline Route, the carrier will add two new Airbus A350-900 routes from the Detroit (Metro) hub; Amsterdam (effective March 31, 2018) and Shanghai (Pudong) (effective April 19, 2018).

Air Mauritius takes delivery of its first Airbus A350-900

Air Mauritius took delivery of its brand new Airbus A350-900 on Friday, October 20, 2017 during a ceremony held at SSR International Airport following the touchdown of the aircraft.

The Chief Guest at the delivery ceremony was the Prime Minister of Mauritius, Honorable Pravind Kumar Jugnauth.

The A350-900 is a latest generation aircraft equipped with state of the art cabin products and marks the start of a fleet modernisation programme that will see 8 new aircraft (6 A350 and 2 A330neo) join the fleet within the next 5 years.

The flight path took the new aircraft over eastern part of the Island where it flew over the Fuel State, the Anjalay Stadium in the North, the Caudan in Port Louis, Cascavelle in the West as well as over Bagatelle before proceeding to Plaisance.

The aircraft will operate its inaugural flight to Singapore and Kuala Lumpur on Monday, October 23, 2017.

Airbus issued this statement:

Air Mauritius has taken delivery of its first Airbus A350-900 aircraft, opening a new chapter for the Indian Ocean carrier. The aircraft, leased from AerCap, was delivered during a ceremony held in Mauritius.

The Mauritian airline based airline has chosen a very comfortable two class layout with a total of 326 seats comprising 28 in Business Class and 298 in Economy Class.

The A350-900 equipped with Air Mauritius’ latest cabin products including new seats, an all-new inflight entertainment system and inflight connectivity will offer passengers unparalleled levels of comfort and convenience.

This A350-900 is the first of six to be delivered to Air Mauritius. Four will be purchased directly from Airbus and two leased from AerCap. The carrier will deploy the aircraft on its expanding route network connecting Mauritius with Asia, Africa and Europe.

Air Mauritius already operates a fleet of 10 Airbus aircraft including six A340-300s, two A330-200s and two A319s on its regional and long haul services.

Videos:

The first Airbus A330neo successfully completes its first flight

The first of three A330neo Family development aircraft to fly – MSN 1795, an A330-900 variant – has landed at Toulouse-Blagnac, France at 14:10 local time on October 19, 2017 after successfully completing its first flight which lasted 4 hours and 13 minutes. The aircraft was powered by the latest technology Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 turbofans.

The crew in the cockpit on board this flight comprised: Experimental Test Pilots Thierry BOURGES, Thomas WILHELM and Test-Flight Engineer Alain POURCHET. Meanwhile, monitoring the aircraft systems and performance in real-time at the flight-test-engineer’s (FTE) station are Jean-Philippe COTTET, Emiliano REQUENA ESTEBAN and Gert WUNDERLICH.

Photo Above: Airbus.

Airbus has developed a fast-paced development program from launch to first A330neo delivery. This will comprise 1,100 flight hours for the A330-900 campaign – to achieve its EASA and FAA Type Certification around the middle of 2018. An additional 300 flight hours is also allocated for the A330-800’s own certification flight-test campaign – which will commence in due course. These respective campaigns will be performed in an ‘airline like’ environment, ensuring maximum aircraft maturity and reliability at entry into service (EIS) with A330-900 launch operator TAP Portugal. This phase will also define the mature aircraft documentation to be available for airline operators at EIS.

Overall, the full flight-test campaigns for both models will be performed by two A330-900s and one A330-800 respectively. To complement these dedicated flight-test aircraft, the first production A330-900 aircraft will also be tasked to validate the full Airspace cabin.

Launched in July 2014, the A330neo is the latest generation in Airbus’ market-leading A330 product line, comprising two versions: the A330-800 and A330-900. Both of these widebody aircraft incorporate new Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines, nacelle, titanium pylon, new wings and an Airspace by Airbus Cabin. The most visible new features of the A330neo are the new wing span extensions to 64m total (up from the CEO’s 60.3m span) and the specially developed curved wingtip Sharklets – which draw on A350 XWB technology. Less visible, but equally important is the implementation of enhanced 3D-optimised aerodynamic refinements along the overall wing profile. Meanwhile, the Trent 7000s deliver double-digit fuel burn improvements and the quietest operation thanks to latest technology components, materials, new ‘zero-splice’ inlet and composite nacelle, ‘fully-faired’ pylon and also the larger (112-inch diameter) slower-rotating front fan with a bypass ratio of 10:1 – compared with the typical 5:1 ratio of previous-generation turbofans.

Both the A330-800 and the A330-900 will accommodate up to 10 more passengers than their respective predecessors, thanks to their new Airspace interiors which introduce various cabin enablers to free-up more usable cabin space – thus ensuring that each passenger can enjoy a significantly better actual comfort level and in-flight experience versus that offered by any competing aircraft in its market sector. The larger A330-900 will accommodate up to 287 seats in a typical three-class layout, while the A330-800 typically will seat 257 passengers in three classes.

To date 12 customers have placed orders for a total of 212 A330neos.

Top Copyright Photo: Airbus A330-941N F-WTTN (msn 1795) TLS (Eurospot). Image: 939623.

Delta plans to expand its flagship Airbus A350-900 service to Europe and China

Delta Air Lines has scheduled its flagship Airbus A350-900 aircraft on one of four daily flights between Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport and Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, effective March 31, 2018. Amsterdam will be the first trans-Atlantic destination for Delta’s A350 aircraft, offering customers an elevated travel experience in every class of service throughout their flight. Delta will also deploy the A350 on Detroit-Shanghai service beginning April 19, 2018.

With the addition of Amsterdam, Delta will fly five international routes from Detroit using the A350. The first aircraft is scheduled to enter service later this month between Detroit and Tokyo-Narita on Oct. 30, with service to Seoul, Beijing and Shanghai starting Nov. 18, Jan. 17 and April 19 respectively.

The aircraft features the award-winning Delta One Suite and an all-new cabin of service in Delta Premium Select, as well as an enhanced Main Cabin. Delta is the North American launch carrier for the A350.

Highlights of Delta’s A350 include:

Delta One Suite

The award-winning Delta One Suites offer up to 32 customers a private, personal experience, with a full-height door at every suite for enhanced privacy and comfort. Each suite features a fully flat-bed seat with direct aisle access, as well as more stowage for personal items, larger in-flight entertainment screens and memory foam enhanced comfort cushions.

Delta Premium Select

Designed with comfort in mind, Delta Premium Select offers more personal space with up to 38 inches of pitch, seat width of 18.5 inches, seven inches of recline and adjustable leg and head rests. Customers will arrive well-rested thanks to upgraded pillows, blankets and amenity kits to give them all the travel essentials they need to settle in.

Main Cabin

Customers benefit from free seatback in-flight entertainment on high definition screens, in-seat power ports at every row and high capacity overhead bins. Meanwhile, the A350 features larger windows and optimized cabin pressure, temperature and humidity to help customers feel more refreshed after a long-haul flight.

The aircraft is equipped with high-speed 2Ku internet connectivity and customers will have access to free mobile messaging while on board through iMessage, WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger.