A new UK long-haul carrier plans to launch operations late next year and bring a welcome upgrade for Economy passengers with a new business concept. The carrier, Firnas Airways, intends to offer a one-class operation on routes from the UK to Bangladesh, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia serving the strong ethnic travel flows with an enhanced premium economy offering.
Among the early customers for the 747, Air France was one of the largest operators of the type in the world flying four major variants of the aircraft and more than 70 aircraft over five decades of scheduled service. It has now reduced its fleet to just five 747-400s having replaced the type with more efficient 777 and larger A380 equipment.
The arrival of the first A330-200 marks the latest stage of a fleet-renewal programme which will eventually include the arrival of new A350s and Boeing 777-300ERs. In February 2014, Kuwait Airways announced the lease of 12 Airbus aircraft including seven A320ceo (with first deliveries commencing late last year) and five A330-200s in addition to the purchase of 25 aircraft including 10 A350-900 and 15 A320neo Family aircraft.
Flag carrier, Air Canada has further expanded its European network with the addition of new non-stop services to Lyon in France and London's Gatwick airport, due to commence in summer 2016.
Icelandair has opened reservations for the return of the Boeing 767 to its scheduled operations. The airline will use the aircraft on a single flight to London Heathrow on April 1, 2016 and then on daily rotations to the UK capital and New York JFK International from April 15, 2016.
Wizz will start flights to Warsaw and Budapest from the West Midlands-based airport from September, as the airline progresses towards operating from primary airports within the UK.
Now in its sixth year of operations, Air Arabia Maroc has increased the breadth of its operations from Morocco having grown to a fleet of four Airbus A320s. In the past five months the carrier has launched six new destinations between Morocco and Europe.
The airline will offer eight weekly Chambery flights and a once a week Turin service, while a brand new route for the carrier from London Gatwick to Grenoble will see it offer a weekly flight for independent ski tour operator, Skiworld from mid December 2015 to mid April 2016 on one of its three Airbus A320-200 aircraft.
It has been a massive couple of years for LOT as it continues its restructuring to return the Star Alliance member to sustainable profitability. Its future was effectively safeguarded last summer when the European Commission formally approved its restructuring plan and ruled the PLN 804 million (around €200 million) of state aid granted to the carrier lawful in terms of the provisions of EU legislation.
easyJet will open the new base at Venice Marco Polo Airport from April 2016 with four Airbus aircraft stationed at the airport. The Italian city has for some time been a key network point for easyJet, having operated flights into and out of the city since 1998. It will also introduce three more aircraft at Milan Malpensa and a fourth jet at Naples.
Cologne Bonn Airport welcomes a total of 20 new destinations for its 2015 schedule, including ten new long-haul destinations operated by Eurowings, as well as four new airlines and ten new services.
The move is a major expansion for the route, which went year-round for the first time last winter and should bring a further boost to German visitor numbers to Ireland. Germany is now the third largest market for overseas visitors to Ireland, with visitor numbers increasing by 32 per cent to 560,000 between 2011 and 2014.
The airline will launch flights between Łódź and Prague and between Łódź and Rzeszów and Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, in the UK. These will launch from July 14, 2015 and will operate on a twice weekly basis using an all-Economy, 144-seat seat Airbus A319.
Both Boeing and Airbus have released their long term forecasts of passenger and cargo traffic, as well as regional-jet manufacturers, Bombardier and Embraer. Routesonline are taking a look at the long term forecasts to assess the potential outlook for each region over the next 20 years.
According to Andrew Harrison, London Stansted Airport’s managing director, the new route will give the UK and businesses in the eastern region in particular, new direct access to Chinese markets and its launch represents the culmination of several years of working with the airline and their partners to deliver the new service.
The CEOs of Europe’s five largest airline groups hosted a press briefing in Brussels earlier today (June 17) to outline their shared vision for a new EU Aviation Strategy.
In a detailed submission to the Commission, the airline advocates a policy which actively facilitates competition and consumer choice, addresses critical shortfalls in aviation infrastructure and eases restrictions on market access and investments by non-European airlines.
The UK – Moldova market is dominated by Air Moldova which has offered continuous flights between London and Chisinau since March 2007. These were initially operated to Stansted Airport, before switching to Gatwick Airport from May 2009 and then returning back to Stansted from May 2013.
Its new airline business is in the process of acquiring an EASA operating licence and has already sourced a single Boeing 737-400 which it says will go straight into ACMI operations as soon as its Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) is awarded. At least two additional aircraft are expected to be added to its fleet before the end of third quarter of 2015.
The airline is in the process of introducing four second-hand 767-300ERWs into its fleet and will debut the first of these in passenger operation from August 2015 initially on routes within Canada and into the Caribbean from the end of the year. However, over the last 12 months it has been talking to airports, including many in Europe, with view to redeploy these aircraft into new markets from spring 2016, mainly across the Atlantic.
Both Boeing and Airbus have released their long term forecasts of passenger and cargo traffic, amidst the Paris Air Show this week, as well as regional-jet manufacturers, Bombardier and Embraer.
The basic details on the timescale for its C Series network debut were made as SWISS announced the conversion of ten of its 30 firm-ordered CS100 aircraft to the larger CS300 aircraft at the Paris Air Show. The original purchase agreement for 30 CS100 aircraft was signed by its parent company, Lufthansa, on SWISS’ behalf in 2009.
