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.
On the domestic front the carrier will introduce twice daily flights to San Antonio from October 2, 2014 and a daily link to Tampa from November 6, 2014, while a daily international service to Edmonton and twice daily offering to Vancouver, both in Canada, will also start on October 2, 2014.
The first European operator of the new Boeing 787-9, Virgin Atlantic will deploy its aircraft on routes from London Heathrow to Boston from October 28, 2014; Washington from December 17, 2014 and New York from February 28, 2015.
The launch of the route has been supported by aviation consultancy ASM, part of UBM Live, which highlighted the opportunity to serve the Guyana – New York market to the US operator and brokered the deal on behalf of Cheddi Jagan International Airport.
The airline plans to introduce a three times weekly link between Lima and the historical city of Ayacucho from October 1, 2014 and a daily link between Lima and the northern beach destination of Talara from November 1, 2014. Both routes will be served with Airbus A319 equipment.
In 2004, airlines offered 7.7 million seats from Lisbon Airport but this rose to just under ten million seats last year, a 27.7 per cent rise. This year, based on existing published schedules, the airport will surpass the ten million figure for the first time with capacity set to rise 7.8 per cent.
The company, which made a formal licence application to the US Department of Transportation (DOT) in April 2014, will follow in the footsteps of L’Avion and Open Skies in offering a product tailored to the premium market from the Parisian capital using Boeing 757-200 equipment.
This month Air China has added its latest US destination to its network after inaugurating flights between Beijing and Washington, its seventh destination in North America. The airline already offers flights from the Chinese capital to Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco in the US and Vancouver in Canada.
The airline, like many other low-cost carriers, has been actively studying the launch of long-haul services across the Atlantic and this route is seen as WestJet testing the water before expanding its activities further.
The Boeing 777-300ER will offer 88 additional Economy Class seats, representing a 40 per cent increase in capacity versus the 777-200LR. This is in addition to offering customers a choice of eight First Class Suites and 42 Business Class seats on every rotation.
The Star Alliance member will offer a three times weekly service on the route during the winter 2014/2015 schedule serving Heathrow Airport's new Terminal 2, also known as The Queen's Terminal, where it will take up residency from June 18, 2014.
United Airlines operates 34 flight arrivals and departures from new Terminal 2 at Heathrow Airport on opening day (june 4, 2014) linking the London gateway with six destinations in the United States: Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco and Washington Dulles.
The famous PEOPLExpress brand will return to the US domestic market from June 30, 2014 after an agreement was reached to launch seven routes from Newport News Williamsburg International Airport using three 150-seat Boeing 737-400s contracted from Vision Airlines.
