Tag Archives: XFW

Hawaiian Airlines introduces a new meal program, designer uniforms, will introduce the Airbus A321 now on December 21

Hawaiian Airlines, the only U.S. carrier to offer travelers complimentary meals on all transpacific flights for over three decades, is cooking up something new. Hawai‘i’s hometown carrier will introduce new elements in both food and fashion tomorrow by launching a new meal program for its North American routes while debuting uniforms by local designer Sig Zane across its network.

Guests in the main cabin on Hawaiian flights between Hawaii and Western U.S. gateway cities will be treated to complimentary meal service exclusively created for the airline’s new Pau Hāna Café brand. The new service, based on guest feedback, is being launched in preparation for the roll-out of Hawaiian’s new fleet of Airbus A321neo aircraft early next year.

“Our complimentary in-flight meals have been a hallmark of the authentic and warm hospitality our guests have enjoyed for decades,” said Avi Mannis, Hawaiian Airlines’ senior vice president of marketing. “In adapting our meal program for the narrow-body A321neos, we found that our guests highly value opportunities to interact with our in-flight crew, so we added more service touch-points during their travel.”

Hawaiian’s Mahalo Service includes a Koloa Breeze cocktail and its signature Pau Hana snack mix

The Pau Hāna Café, branded meals made exclusively for the airline, consists of a continental breakfast box for brunch and hot sandwich and side for lunch. Pau Hāna, a Hawaiian term for “finished work,” is a time to relax and unwind after a long workday.

The meal service will be followed by coffee and a sweet treat for dessert. A parting Mahalo service features the carrier’s popular Koloa Breeze cocktail, featuring Koloa Rum from the Island of Kauaʻi, and our signature Pau Hāna snack mix (above).

As Main Cabin guests enjoy The Pau Hāna Café, the airline’s extremely well-received Featured Chef Series overseen by Hawaiian Airlines Executive Chef Chai Chaowasaree will remain in place for First Class guests traveling from Hawaii to North America.

Hawaiian also welcomed its newest Featured Chef, Wade Ueoka of MW Restaurant. Chef Wade’s meal cycle runs through June 2018 and includes island-inspired dishes such as a cold tofu salad with kimchee, watercress, kaiware sprouts, yuzu kosho vinaigrette appetizer and a ground beef and Portuguese sausage meatloaf with home-style gravy, sautéed mushrooms, potatoes and kale entree.

The updated meal program coincides with the debut of new uniforms for over 5,000 of Hawaiian’s front-line staff globally. The pieces by Hilo-based designer Sig Zane were unveiled during last year’s HONOLULU Fashion Week as employees from Airport Customer Service, Cabin Service, Cargo, In-Flight, Line Service, Maintenance, Ramp, and Supply walked the runway. The print’s theme, Kū Mākou, or Together We Stand, is represented by the lehua blossom and ‘ohe kapala (bamboo stamps) through every piece of each work group’s uniform, as applied in different scales and tonalities to prints, linings and woven elements.

In related news, Hawaiian Airlines will now introduce the new Airbus A321neo into revenue service on December 19, 2017 between Honolulu and Kona as flight HA118 per Airline Route.

In January the airline will introduce the new type to the Mainland with Kahului – Oakland (January 8, 2018) and Kahului – Portland, OR (January 18, 2018).

Top Copyright Photo (all others by Hawaiian): Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A321-271N WL D-AYAF (N202HA) (msn 7917) XFW (Gerd Beilfuss). Image: 939629.

flyadeal celebrates its 100,000th customer after two months of flying

flyadeal issued this statement:

Since its launch, flyadeal, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s new low fares airline, has been growing its flights and network rapidly. It achieved a major milestone flying its 100,000th Customer on November 30, 2017 barely two months after starting operations on September 23, 2017 Saudi Arabia’s National Day.

The 100,000th Customer took advantage of flyadeal’s attractive low fares and travelled with his family from Riyadh to Jeddah to perform Umrah. In recognition of this special moment, members of the flyadeal team surprised Bader Alnofaie and his family with a voucher for the value of his tickets and an aircraft model as a gesture of gratitude and appreciation.

“Today, with the support of our Customers, we continue to add more flights on high-demand routes, and we look forward to announcing new routes in the coming months – in addition to the arrival of more new aircraft to serve these operations.”

Bader Alnofaie, a military employee, shared his enthusiasm at being the 100,000th Customer and said: “I feel blessed to be standing here and celebrating this milestone in flyadeal’s history with my family. We chose flyadeal because my family has flown with your airline previously and recommended it. Currently, we feel flyadeal is the most attractive airline on the market. Not only are the prices very low, the service offers greater value than the price. We recommend flyadeal to anyone wishing to fly for less, and I look forward to being the 200,000th Customer as well.”

Top Copyright Photo (all others by flyadeal): Flyadeal (Saudia) Airbus A320-214 WL D-AXAC (HZ-FAA) (msn 7829) XFW (Gerd Beilfuss). Image: 939003.

Video:

Jazeera Airways expands into India

Jazeera Airways (Kuwait City) has announced plans for further expansion into India. Following a successful launch in Hyderabad in November, Jazeera Airways will now fly to Ahmedabad and Kochi starting on January 17 and 18, 2018 respectively.

Hawaiian takes delivery of its first Airbus A321neo

Hawaiian Airlines on October 27, 2017 took delivery in Hamburg of its first Airbus A321neo. The pictured A321-271N D-AYAF (msn 7917) became N202HA on the hand over.

This is the first of 18 Airbus A321s on order through 2020.

The A321s will help the carrier replace the eight remaining Boeing 767-300s.

The first A321 daily route will be between Kahului, Maui and Portland, Oregon starting on January 18, 2018.

The second route will be between Kona, Hawaii and Los Angeles starting on March 11, 2018.

The third route will connect Lihue, Kauai with Oakland commencing on April 11, 2018.

The airline previously issued this statement:

Hawaiian Airlines will expand its U.S. West Coast presence with the arrival of an A321neo fleet by adding three new nonstop daily routes early next year: Portland-Maui; Oakland-Kaua‘i; and Los Angeles-Kona.

The new A321neo service between Portland (PDX) and Maui (OGG) will launch on January 18. Hawaiian’s seasonal widebody service currently offered between Oakland (OAK) and Kaua‘i (LIH) through September 4 will resume April 11 as a daily A321neo flight. Daily service between Los Angeles (LAX) and Kona (KOA) on the Island of Hawai‘i launches March 11 with widebody aircraft before the A321neo is introduced in the summer of 2018.

Hawaiian’s inaugural A321neo flight between the U.S. West Coast and Hawai‘i is planned for January 8 on its existing OAK-OGG service. Additional routes will be announced as Hawaiian welcomes 18 new A321neo aircraft between the fourth quarter of 2017 and 2020.

Hawaiian’s signature style flows throughout the A321neo’s three cabins, including 16 luxurious leather recliners in the Premium Cabin, 45 Extra Comfort premium economy seats, and 128 Economy class seats. All seats are equipped with complimentary high-power USB outlets for device charging, while guests in the Premium Cabin and Extra Comfort seats will enjoy access to an additional AC power outlet. Pivoting overhead bins maximize the space for carry-on luggage.

Hawaiian carefully designed its A321neo cabin interiors with textiles and materials that reflect traditional island crafts, from bark cloth (kapa) to fishing nets, and even LED lighting mirroring Hawai‘i’s idyllic sunrises and sunsets.

New to Hawaiian’s guest experience, the A321neo will feature wireless streaming in-flight entertainment. Guests will be able to simply download an application on their personal electronic devices to enjoy a wide selection of complimentary and premium content, including movies, TV shows, music and other exclusive programming. Holders for personal hand-held devices and tablets will be integrated into the tray tables of the Premium Cabin as well as the first row of Extra Comfort, and built into the backrest of all other seats.

The A321neo boasts the quietest and most fuel-efficient engines for this aircraft type, along with aerodynamic wingtips called Sharklets that significantly reduce carbon emissions.

Hawaiian reports 3Q net income of $74.6 million

Hawaiian Holdings, Inc., the parent company of Hawaiian Airlines, Inc., reported its financial results for the third quarter of 2017.

Third Quarter 2017 – Key Financial Metrics
	GAAP	YoY Change	Adjusted	YoY Change
Net Income	$74.6M	($27.9M)	$102.6M	$(0.5)M
Diluted EPS	$1.39	($0.52)	$1.92	$—
Pre-tax Margin	16.6%	(7.8) pts.	22.8%	(1.8) pts.

“The third quarter’s excellent results add to the great year we are having,” said Mark Dunkerley, Hawaiian Airlines president and CEO. “Apart from the helpful environment characterized by low fuel prices, manageable industry capacity and strong demand for the Hawaii vacation, our team is doing a terrific job improving the company and widening the gap between us and our competitors.”

Statistical information, as well as a reconciliation of the non-GAAP financial measures, can be found in the accompanying tables.

Liquidity and Capital Resources

On October 12, 2017, the Company announced the initiation of a quarterly cash dividend of 12 cents per share to be paid on November 30, 2017 to all stockholders of record as of November 17, 2017.

In addition, the Company repurchased approximately 1.1 million shares of common stock for approximately $46.2 million in the third quarter, which leaves $49.5 million remaining under its share repurchase program.

As of September 30, 2017, the Company had:

Unrestricted cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $619 million
Outstanding debt and capital lease obligations of $506 million

Third Quarter 2017 Highlights

People

Contributed $134.6 million during the quarter to employee benefit plans, comprised of a one-time payment of $18.5 million to fully fund and terminate the Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. Salaried & IAM Merged Pension Plan, a one-time payment of $101.9 million to settle a portion of the post-65 medical plan obligation in connection with the ratification of a contract amendment with the Air Line Pilots Association, representing its pilots, and a contribution of approximately $14.2 million, $12.7 million above the minimum required, to further reduce pension obligations.

Operational

Ranked #1 nationally for on-time performance for the months of June, July, and August 2017 as reported in the U.S. Department of Transportation Air Travel Consumer Report.

Partnerships

Announced a new partnership with Japan Airlines (JAL) that provides for extensive code sharing, lounge access and frequent flyer program reciprocity, taking effect on March 25, 2018 (subject to government approval). Also announced the intention to establish a joint venture with JAL designed to provide even more choices, convenience and enhancements to the traveling public to/from Japan and beyond to multiple Asian markets.

Increased frequencies

Announced the expansion of non-stop service between Honolulu’s Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) and New Zealand’s Auckland Airport (AKL) with up to five non-stop flights weekly beginning March 2018.

Product and loyalty

Continued remodeling the A330 fleet with the addition of lie flat premium seats and increased Extra Comfort capacity. Also announced the introduction of remodeled A330 aircraft to its non-stop service between Honolulu’s Daniel K. Inouye International Airport (HNL) and Sapporo’s New Chitose Airport (CTS) starting February 2018.

Fleet and financing

Took delivery of its 24^th A330-200 in September.
Took delivery of its first ATR 72 turboprop aircraft in an all-cargo configuration in September.

Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2017 Outlook

The table below summarizes the Company’s expectations for the fourth quarter and full year ending December 31, 2017, expressed as an expected percentage change compared to the results for the quarter and full year ended December 31, 2016, as applicable.

The Company has revised its guidance range for economic fuel cost per gallon for the full year ending December 31, 2017 due to higher than expected year-to-date fuel costs and the forward fuel price curve as of October 9, 2017. The Company is also providing a guidance range for operating revenue per ASM and has adjusted its guidance ranges for cost per ASM excluding fuel and special Items, ASMs, and gallons of jet fuel consumed for the full year ending December 31, 2017.

	Fourth Quarter		GAAP Fourth Quarter
Item	2017 Guidance	GAAP Equivalent	2017 Guidance
Cost per ASM excluding fuel and special items (a)	Up 3.5% to up 6.5%	Cost per ASM (a)	Down 10.3% to down 13.5%
Operating revenue per ASM	Down 1.0% to up 2.0%
ASMs	Up 4.0% to up 6.0%
Gallons of jet fuel consumed	Up 5.0% to up 8.0%
Economic fuel cost per gallon (b)(c)	$1.75 to $1.85	Fuel cost per gallon (b)	$1.72 to $1.82

	Full Year		GAAP Full Year
Item	2017 Guidance	GAAP Equivalent	2017 Guidance
Cost per ASM excluding fuel and special items (a)	Up 6.0% to up 7.0%	Cost per ASM (a)	Up 3.6% to up 5.5%
Operating revenue per ASM	Up 5.0% to up 6.0%
ASMs	Up 3.0% to up 4.0%
Gallons of jet fuel consumed	Up 5.5% to up 6.5%
Economic fuel cost per gallon (b)(c)	$1.65 to $1.75	Fuel cost per gallon (b)	$1.64 to $1.74

Top Copyright Photo: The first Hawaiian Airbus A321neo is seen at the Airbus plant in Hamburg, Germany. Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A321-271N WL D-AYAF (N202HA) (msn 7917) XFW (Gerd Beilfuss). Image: 939629.

Hawaiian Airlines:


(a)	See Table 4 for a reconciliation of GAAP operating expenses to operating expenses excluding aircraft fuel and special items.
(b)	Fuel cost per gallon estimates are based on the October 9, 2017 fuel forward curve.
(c)	See Table 3 for a reconciliation of GAAP fuel costs to economic fuel costs.

Saudia’s Flyadeal is getting ready to launch operations

Saudia Airlines announced on April 17, 2016 the launching of its new low-cost airline subsidiary.

This announcement was made at a ceremony held under the patronage of H.E. Sulaiman Al-Hamdan, President of the General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) and Chairman of Saudia Airlines’ Board of Directors, and in the presence of Saudi Airlines Director General along with a number of chief executives of the strategic units of Saudi Arabian Airlines Company, specialized experts and journalists.

Flyadeal is owned by Saudi Arabian Airlines Company and will be working independently from Saudia Airlines by having its own management and strategic plans.

Flyadeal will be a low-cost carrier that is committed to providing high-level services while maintaining the highest safety standards.

The Director General of Saudia highlighted that the trademark for the new company has been registered and its operating license is undergoing with GACA. He added that the airlines will be funded by Saudi Arabian Airlines Company and noted that the launching of the new airline comes after conducting deep studies, internally and externally with the help of consulting experts. He added that Flyadeal will simply travel options and provide high services at affordable prices. Moreover, he highlighted that Flyadeal will not replace Saudia Airlines and its hub will be located in Jeddah.

Flyadeal is expected to launch domestic operations on Saudi Arabia’s National Day (September 23, 2017).

Top Copyright Photo: Flyadeal (Saudia) Airbus A320-214 WL D-AXAC (HZ-FAA) (msn 7829) XFW (Gerd Beilfuss). Image: 939003. The first Airbus A320 will be delivered as HZ-FAA.

Below Image: Flyadeal.

“Flo, the Flamingo”, Frontier’s second Airbus A320neo

Copyright Photo: Frontier Airlines (2nd) Airbus A320-251N WL F-WWBT (N302FR) (msn 7181) (Flo, the Flamingo) XFW (Gerd Beilfuss). Image: 935120.

LATAM Airlines takes delivery of the first Airbus A320neo in South America

https://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Airlines-CSAmerica-2/Airlines-Latin-America2-GZ/LATAM-Airlines-Brazil/i-65Zmbwk/A

Airbus issued this statement:

LATAM Airlines Group took delivery of its first Airbus A320neo – showcasing its white, indigo and coral livery and powered by Pratt & Whitney Pure Power PW1100-JM engines – on Monday, August 29, 2016 at Airbus headquarters in Toulouse.

LATAM Airlines Brasil will become the first airline in North and South America, and the fifth operator in the world, to operate the ultra-fuel efficient aircraft type.

Executives from LATAM and Airbus attended a delivery ceremony, which also marked the delivery of LATAM’s fourth A350 XWB — the first with the airline group’s new brand livery. LATAM was also the Americas’ first A350 XWB operator.

The A320 is configured in a 174-seat layout with 18” wide seats and equipped with the innovative Space-Flex cabin configuration. LATAM was the first in Latin America to order the A320neo in 2011, shortly after the program was launched. The airline group has a total of 67 A320neo Family aircraft on order.

Initially, LATAM plans to fly its first A320neo on Brazilian domestic routes to Brasília, Belo Horizonte, Campo Grande, Curitiba, Florianópolis, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro (Galeão) and São Paulo (Guarulhos).

In November, LATAM will begin to fly regional routes throughout South America. The second LATAM A320neo, to be delivered later this year, is also expected to operate regional flights. The airline group has more than 250 Airbus aircraft in operation.

Copyright Photo: LATAM Airlines (Brazil) Airbus A320-271N WL F-WWBV (PT-TMN) (msn 7126) (first A320neo) XFW (Gerd Beilfuss). Image: 934622.

Frontier Airlines takes delivery of its first Airbus A321

Frontier Airlines (2nd) (Denver) yesterday (October 9) took delivery of its first Airbus A321. The pictured A321-211 D-AZAA (msn 6793), named “Otto, the Owl” became N701FR on the handover.

As a result Airbus issued this statement:

Frontier Airlines, headquartered in Denver, Colorado, USA has taken delivery of the first Airbus A321 to join its fleet. In the last year, the airline has placed firm orders for 19 A321s, reflecting its market strength and the need for the largest Airbus A320 Family member. All 19 A321s are the current engine option (ceo) and will be equipped with Sharklets. Each will seat 230 people in a single class, and be powered by CFM56-5B engines from CFM International. Frontier’s current in-service fleet consists of 57 A320 Family aircraft (35 A319s and 22 A320s). In addition to the remaining 18 A321s on backlog, the airline has 18 A319neo (new engine option), 62 A320neo, and two A320 ceo aircraft on order, for a total backlog of 100 Airbus single-aisles.

All of Frontiers A321s will feature lightweight composite Sharklets, 2.4-meter/94-inch tall wing-tip devices that provide a fuel consumption reduction of up to 4 percent, plus either a range extension of 100 nautical miles or increased payload of up to 450 kilograms/992 pounds.

Frontier’s new A321s will initially be used on their routes from Orlando to Philadelphia, Denver, Cleveland and Detroit. The airline just this fall opened up a new crew base in Orlando to support the A321.

Top Copyright Photo: Gerd Beilfuss/AirlinersGallery.com (all others by Airbus). A321-211 D-AZAA (msn 6793) is pictured at the Airbus facility at Hamburg (Finkenwerder).

Frontier Airlines aircraft slide show:

Will the Transaero Airlines brand be retired and merged into Aeroflot?

Aeroflot Russian Airlines (Moscow) has agreed to acquire 75 percent of the shares of failing Transaero Airlines (Moscow). Aeroflot is buying out its main competitor (and its $1.6 billion debt) for the symbolic price of one ruble. Transaero Airlines is the second largest airline in Russia and has lately been failing and building up a large debt.

According to Reuters, “Transaero will be completely overhauled and integrated into the Aeroflot group,” an Aeroflot spokesman was quoted as saying by RIA news agency.

For now, the Transaero Airlines name will be kept alive as a significant but shrinking part of the Aeroflot Group. However for the long term, will Transaero be merged into Aeroflot and the brand retired?

Above Copyright Photo: Gerd Beilfuss/AirlinersGallery.com. Transaero has been introducing this new brand with its new deliveries. Will this new look be retained?

51 percent of the Aeroflot stock is owned by the government of Russia. The government is backing its major industries.

Transaero Airlines (and many other Russian airlines) have been struggling since the ruble collapsed in 2014. In short, Russian citizens are traveling less overseas with their devalued currency.

As we previously reported, even Aeroflot reported a loss in the first half of this year.

On September 1, Transaero Airlines issued this short statement:

The Government of the Russian Federation held the meeting of the Intergovernmental commission chaired by Igor Shuvalov, First Deputy Prime Minister, on the issues of air transport industry.

In the interests of the development of the commercial aviation and creating one of the largest in the world group of airlines, the commission has approved the acquisition of JSC Transaero Airlines by Aeroflot group.

The shareholders of Transaero Airlines believe this measure will serve the interests of passengers, personnel and partners of the airline.

The Chairman of the meeting has highly appreciated the role of the founders, managers and all the personnel of Transaero Airlines in the modern history of the commercial aviation of the country.

Top Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Ex-United Airlines and Air India Boeing 777-222 ER EI-UNV (msn 28714, ex N205UA/VT-AIK) arrives at Los Angeles International Airport.

Aeroflot aircraft slide show:

Transaero Airlines aircraft photo gallery: