Air France has announced it will deploy an Airbus A380 on its Paris Charles de Gaulle – Miami International route this winter. The flag carrier confirms the Super Jumbo will replace a Boeing 777 on its daily flight on the route from December 1, 2014 through to the end of the winter schedule on March 28, 2015.
The total traffic for the four days is an increase of 36 per cent over the same period at the end of Eid Al Fitr in 2013, when 133,007 passengers took an Etihad Airways flight.
As with the smaller 787-8, the US major will be the first North American operator of the larger 787-9 and is expected to receive its first aircraft next month.
American Airlines will offer a three times weekly link between New York and Viracopos from December 1, 2014 and a daily link between Miami and Viracopos from December 2, 2014, subject to government approval, complementing its existing flights from both US destinations to Sao Paulo Guarulhos International Airport.
IATA cautioned that that failure to release the airline monies puts at risk a major contributor to the well-being of the Venezuelan economy. According to its data, international capacity to and from Venezuela is down 49 per cent from peak service levels offered last year and 36 per cent lower year-on-year as flights are cancelled or frequencies reduced.
As Airbus and Boeing go head-to-head in negotiations for Emirates Airline’s outstanding order of 70 extra-widebodied aircraft, aviation intelligence expert OAG has revealed the critical importance of Emirates’ choice and how it could impact up to 88 per cent of the carrier’s flights.
Despite limited current connectivity to and from Curaçao, the US actually overtook the Netherlands and Venezuela as the largest source/destination market for the country in 2013 with around 265,000 bi-directional passengers; an 18.3 per cent demand share, up from just 9.1 per cent in 2008.
Cap Haïtien is viewed as a developing leisure destination for foreign visitors with the calm water of the bay, picturesque Caribbean beaches, wealth of French colonial architecture and many historic monuments making it a popular resort and holiday destination for Haïti's upper classes.
Delta introduced Salt Lake City’s first regular transatlantic connection to Europe in June 2008 when it inaugurated flights to Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) and has seen traffic on the route grow over the subsequent years through a mix of point-to-point demand and transfer passengers connecting across Europe and further afield via the Air France network.
The new service will expand the KLM network in Latin America to eleven destinations but does not actually mark its debut in Colombia as the Dutch flag carrier previously served the Colombian capital, Bogota, from October 1992 until March 1995.
The expanded Brisbane schedule will boost capacity on the route by 2,166 seats a week and will support the growing demand for connectivity to North America from Queensland. North America is actually Queensland’s third largest tourism market and the increase in services support the 4.2 per cent increase in passenger numbers experienced in 2013.
This is the first start-up aid scheme that the European Commission has assessed under its new guidelines on state aid to airports and airlines which came into force on April 4, 2014. The guidelines have simplified the rules on public support granted by Member States for the start-up of new air transport routes.
AZAL plans to launch a twice weekly service between Baku’s Heydar Aliyev International Airport and New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport using a 237-seat Airbus A340-500 but will likely deploy its Boeing 787 Dreamliners on the route; the first of two is due for delivery towards the end of this year.
WestJet Encore's move eastward is part of a strategic plan to “continue to liberate Canadians in smaller communities from the high cost of air travel,” continuing WestJet’s own pioneering developments in the larger Canadian markets through its 18-year history. The first step of this Eastern Encore expansion saw the introduction of flights to Ontario from June 27, 2014.
Latest data from The International Air Transport Association (IATA) for global air freight markets shows air cargo growth accelerated in May 2014, with 4.7 per cent growth compared to a year ago. This is up from the 3.8 per cent year-on-year growth recorded in April.
The airline will offer four return flights in June and July 2015 through its joint venture with transatlantic partner Delta Air Lines, operated on Thursdays from June 25, 2015 using a Boeing 747-400 configured with 14 Upper Class seats, 66 Premium Economy seats and 375 seats in Economy.
LAN Airlines welcomed its first 787 in August 2012 and has a total of 22 787-8s on order and a further four larger 787-9s. It currently operates a fleet of six examples all configured in a two-class arrangement with 217 seats in Economy and 30 in Premium Business.
Initially, WestJet expects to operate four widebody aircraft with the first deployments on routes between Alberta and Hawaii during the winter season beginning in late 2015.
During the past couple of days we have been in conversation with many delegates during Routes Silk Road in Tbilisi, Georgia and here are some of the snippets of information we picked up from our discussions.
