Tag Archives: TLS

Air Mauritius to introduce the new Airbus A350-900 on October 23, 2017

Air Mauritius is getting ready to take delivery of its first Airbus A350-900. The flag carrier is planning to introduce the new type on October 23, 2017 on the Mauritius – Singapore – Kuala Lumpur route according to Airline Route.

A350 service to Johannesburg will be offered on October 27, 2017, London (Heathrow) on November 11, 2017 and Paris (CDG) on December 1, 2017.

Air Mauritius:

Volaris revises its livery

Volaris (Mexico City) has revised its livery with the pending delivery of the pictured Airbus A320-271N (A320neo) N530VL (msn 7553).

The revised color scheme now includes larger titles and new lavender painted engines (replacing black painted engines).

Airbus repaints the first A320, will go to the Aeroscopia Museum

Airbus in August 2017 repainted the first A320 (msn 001) in it’s original 1987 livery. The historic airliner has also been reregistered with its original registration, F-WWAI.

MSN 001 history:

First flight on February 22, 1987 as F-WWAI.

Reregistered as F-WWFT in 1991.

Reregistered as F-WWBA in 2006.

The aircraft will be donated to and displayed by the Aeroscopia Aeronautical Museum in Toulouse.

ORIGINS AND HISTORY OF AEROSCOPIA

A SHORT HISTORY

In the Midi-Pyrénées region, nearly 80,000 people make a living from the aviation industry, the driving force behind the region’s economy:

manufacturers, sub-contractors, suppliers, design offices, service providers…

Between the first powered aircraft designed in secret in the town of Muret by Clément Ader, and the first flight in the skies of Blagnac of the A380, flagship of the European aviation industry, more than a century has passed.

To fly across the seas and the continents, first came the aircraft made by Latécoère and Dewoitine, then the Languedoc and the Armagnac.

At the end of the fifties Caravelle, the first French jetliner, proved to be a resounding success. Then in 1969 it was Concorde’s turn to take to the skies for the first time in Blagnac.

These aircraft were followed by the entire Airbus family, affirming Toulouse’s mission to fly higher, faster and farther.

This is also the story of the great pioneers of aviation.

Here, in the birthplace of global civil and military aviation, the Airbus Group laid the foundations of its head office in January 2014 and the commercial successes of Airbus and ATR boost the economy of the Midi-Pyrénées region.

For more than 30 years, the players and witnesses of this industrial, technical and human saga, as well as those who love aircraft and love to fly, have strived for this history to be forever remembered and shared. For the preservation of this historical heritage.

Aeroscopia, an aviation museum, addresses this expectation.

The foundation stone was laid on June 16, 2011.

Mandarin Airlines orders six ATR 72-600s

ATR and Taiwan’s Mandarin Airlines, a regional subsidiary of Taiwan’s flag carrier China Airlines, has signed a contract for the purchase of six ATR 72-600s, valued at some $160 million (US).

With the acquisition of these brand new ATR -600s, Mandarin Airlines becomes a new member of the ATR family. The aircraft will operate within Taiwan’s domestic network, featuring the highest standards of passenger comfort and the most advanced technologies. With its new fleet of ATR 72-600s, Mandarin Airlines will benefit from the lowest operating costs among all 70-seat regional aircraft, and will be able to compete in a highly challenging market with cutting-edge and affordable air services.

Besides the contract signing, ATR is also willing to provide engineering and technical support to China Airlines and its subsidiaries to set-up in-house capabilities for ATR heavy maintenance, up to C-checks.

Lufthansa takes delivery of its first Airbus A350-900

Lufthansa has taken delivery of its first A350 XWB, the pictured A350-941 D-AIXA (msn 074). The new type is pictured arriving back at Toulouse on December 21, 2016 after a training flight.

The aircraft is the first of 25 A350-900s that Lufthansa has on order. Lufthansa will deploy their first A350s on long-haul routes from Munich to Delhi and Munich to Boston.

Powered by Rolls-Royce engines, Lufthansa’s A350 XWB will feature a comfortable three-class cabin layout with 48 seats in Business, 21 seats in Premium Economy and 224 seats in Economy. The A350 XWB is equipped with Lufthansa’s latest cabin products including new seats, an all-new inflight entertainment experience and, for the first time, inflight connectivity, offering new levels of comfort and convenience to Lufthansa’s passengers in all classes.

Lufthansa made this announcement on December 21, 2016:

It is one of the most important events for the year for the Lufthansa Group: The first Lufthansa Airbus A350-900 landed at its home airport of Munich airport on December 21, 2016. With a total of ten aircraft, Lufthansa stations the world’s most modern long-haul fleet at the Munich hub.

Captain Martin Hoell flew the A350-900 “home”, and is thrilled: “The A350-900 is the most modern plane with the most up-to-date technical features a commercial pilot can fly.”

For the cabin crew who brought the A350-900 to Munich, the event is also “a milestone that makes us very proud”, says flight attendant Annika Wittmann.

Flight LH 9921 from Toulouse landed on the southern runway, and was greeted by the fire brigade spraying arches of water as a welcome. There was a Lufthansa Christmas angel on board, Lufthansa employee Anja Oskoui, who had a special something in her suitcase: She gave a 10,000 euro cheque to a Munich orphanage from help alliance, Lufthansa’s non-profit employee organization.

The help alliance organization has been around for more than 17 years. It is committed to ensuring that more people on our planet can decide for themselves how to live their lives. The result of the 13 Lufthansa-founded associations: More than 140 successfully supported aid projects, more than ten million euros in donations – in addition to emergency aid provided in the event of various natural disasters.

Lufthansa:

Air Caraïbes takes delivery of its first ATR 72-600

Air Caraïbes took delivery of its first ATR 72-600 on December 12, 2016. The aircraft, the pictured F-WWEV became F-OSIX (msn 1384) when it was handed over in Toulouse and sports a new livery for Air Caraïbes Simply.

The aircraft is part of an order for three ATR 72-600s, placed in 2014 and delivery of which will continue until 2019.

The new 74-seater ATR 72-600s have 4 more seats than the current ATR 72-500s in operation, enabling the company to increase its capacity throughout its entire regional network.

To date, Air Caraïbes operates its ATR aircraft on various connections between Pointe-à-Pitre, Fort-de-France, Saint-Martin, and Saint-Lucia, as well as on longer routes to Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic).

Copyright Photo: Air Caraibes Simply ATR 72-212A (ATR 72-600) F-WWEV (F-OSIX) (msn 1384) TLS (Eurospot). Image: 936090. (Eurospot). Image: 936090.

Frontier Airlines takes delivery of its first A320neo

Frontier Airlines, headquarters in Denver, Colorado (U.S.), took delivery on October 19, 2016 of its first Airbus A320neo. Frontier is the first U.S. airline to receive an A320neo with CFM engines, and the aircraft is the first of 80 A320neo Family aircraft the low-cost carrier has ordered. All of Frontier’s A320neo Family aircraft will be powered by CFM International LEAP-1A engines.

Each of the Frontier’s A320neo Family aircraft will feature lightweight composite Sharklets, 2.4-meter/94-inch tall wing-tip devices and new CFM’s LEAP-1A engines providing operators with double-digit improvements in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions – with a 15 percent reduction upon entry into service.

In addition to the A320neo delivered today, Frontier currently operates a fleet of 64 Airbus aircraft, including 30 A319s, 24 A320s and 10 A321s. Their current backlog of Airbus aircraft is comprised of 18 A319neo, 2 A320ceo, 61 A320neo and 6 A321ceo.

Frontier took delivery of its first Airbus aircraft in 2001 and has since transformed into an all-Airbus, all-A320 Family fleet, allowing the airline to optimize efficiency and economy by streamlining crew training and maintenance operations. The A320 Family also offers the most comfortable single-aisle cabin in the sky at a full seven inches wider than competing aircraft allowing for 18”-wide seats in comfort economy as standard.

Photo: Frontier Airlines (2nd) Airbus A320-251N WL F-WWDA (N301FR) (msn 7141) (Wilbur, the Whitetail) TLS (Eurospot). Image: 933681.

Airbus celebrates the “10,000th Airbus Aircraft” delivery with a special logo

Airbus on October 14, 2016 celebrated the delivery of its 10,000th aircraft – an A350-900 for Singapore Airlines. The milestone event was marked by a special ceremony in Toulouse hosted by Airbus Group CEO Tom Enders and attended by Goh Choon Phong, CEO of Singapore Airlines.

The aircraft delivered is the sixth A350-900 for Singapore Airlines, out of a total order for 67. Featuring a special “10,000th Airbus” logo, the aircraft will be used to launch the airline’s new non-stop services between Singapore and San Francisco later this month.

Airbus continued;

The 10,000th Airbus delivery comes as the manufacturer achieves its highest level of production ever and is on track to deliver at least 650 aircraft this year from its extensive product line. These range from 100 to over 600 seats and efficiently meet every airline requirement, from high frequency short haul operations to the world’s longest intercontinental flights.

Singapore Airlines placed its first order with Airbus in 1979 and over the years the carrier and its subsidiaries have ordered every successive model produced by the manufacturer. Today the mainline carrier operates the A330, A350 XWB and A380, while its regional subsidiaries Silkair and Tigerair fly aircraft from the single aisle A320 Family.

Airbus delivered its first aircraft, an A300B2, to Air France on 10 May 1974. Initially working exclusively in the widebody sector with the A300 and A310, the manufacturer moved into the single aisle market in the mid-1980s with the launch of the best-selling A320. Setting new standards in aircraft design, technologies introduced on the A320 were subsequently incorporated on the A330 and A340 in the early 1990s, marking the first time that single aisle and widebody aircraft benefitted from similar operational characteristics.

Also under advanced stage of development is the second version of the all-new A350 XWB, the A350-1000, which is set for first flight before year end and first delivery in the second half of 2017. Together, the members of the A350 XWB Family are redefining long haul travel in the larger twin aisle market, consuming 25 per cent less fuel and bringing new levels of passenger comfort, with more personal space in all classes.

The current Airbus product line comprises a total of 16 models spread across four aircraft Families – the A320, A330, A350 XWB and A380.

Airbus has recorded over 16,700 orders for its various models and its aircraft are flying today with more than 400 airlines worldwide. The company’s backlog of 6,700 aircraft on order for future delivery is the highest ever recorded by any aircraft manufacturer and represents some 10 years of full production at current rates.