New Caledonia’s Aircalin has taken delivery of its first A320neo. The aircraft joins two A330neo already delivered under the carrier’s fleet modernisation plan.
With its new fleet the airline benefits from the lowest operating costs in the respective size categories, as well as the unique commonality between variants of the Airbus Family.
Aircalin’s A320neo is powered by Pratt & Whitney PW1000 engines and configured in a single class layout with 168 seats.
With the A320neo, Aircalin will be able to increase capacity on its flights and open new routes across the Pacific region.
The A320neo Family offers the widest single-aisle cabin in the sky and incorporates the latest technologies, including new generation engines and Sharklets, delivering a 20 per cent reduction in fuel consumption, as well as 50 per cent less noise compared to previous generation aircraft.
At the end of November 2020, the A320neo Family had received 7,455 firm orders from over 120 customers worldwide.
Boeing [NYSE: BA] and Atlas Air Worldwide announced an agreement to purchase four 747-8 Freighters. The order enables Atlas Air to leverage the operational advantages of the 747-8 Freighter to meet growing cargo demand around the globe.
“The 747-8F is the best and most versatile widebody freighter in the market, and we are excited to bolster our fleet with the acquisition of these four aircraft,” said John W. Dietrich, Atlas Air Worldwide President and Chief Executive Officer. “This significant growth opportunity will enable us to capitalize on strong demand and deliver value for our existing and prospective customers. The efficiency and capability of the 747-8F further complements our longstanding focus on leading edge technology. Dedicated freighters – like those operated by our Atlas, Polar and Southern subsidiaries – will continue to be in demand as the global airfreight market, particularly the e-commerce and express sectors, continues to grow.”
With a maximum payload capacity of 137.7 metric tonnes (137,750 kg), the 747-8 Freighter allows customers to access 20% more payload capacity while using 16% less fuel compared to previous-generation 747s. The jet also features 30% quieter engines. The 747-8 airplanes in this agreement will be the final four aircraft to roll off the production line in Everett, Washington.
“The 747 will forever hold a special place in aviation history and we are honored by Atlas Air’s longstanding commitment to the airplane. Atlas Air began operations 28 years ago with a single 747 and it is fitting that they should receive the last 747 production airplanes, ensuring that the ‘Queen of the Skies’ plays a significant role in the global air cargo market for decades to come,” said Stan Deal, president and chief executive officer of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. “With the global air cargo fleet expected to grow by more than 60% over the next 20 years, we look forward to delivering these airplanes and supporting Atlas Air’s Boeing fleet well into the future.”
Atlas Air has 53 747s in its current fleet, making it the largest 747 operator in the world. Its world-class fleet also includes 737s, 767s and 777s. The 747 and 777 models, in particular, are capable of carrying tall and outsized cargo loads on 3-meter-high (10-foot-tall) pallets. This common main-deck pallet height supports interchangeable pallets, adding to the versatility of both models.
Boeing, the market leader in air cargo aircraft, provides more than 90% of the dedicated freighter capacity around the world, including new production and converted freighters. The 747 program has produced 1,560 aircraft since launching the jumbo jet more than 50 years ago. In July 2020, Boeing announced its decision to complete production of the 747-8 in 2022.
As part of ongoing efforts to reduce the COVID-19 risk to aircrew, Air New Zealand will re-route its North America flights to allow aircrew to overnight in Honolulu rather than Los Angeles or San Francisco.
From Monday 11 January, aircrew on all cargo flights between New Zealand and the United States will overnight in Honolulu. North America passenger services will be routed via Honolulu from 2 February.
The changes mean flights from New Zealand will make a brief stop in Honolulu to change crew before continuing onto Los Angeles or San Francisco. Aircrew operating into those ports will then remain airside and operate the return flight to Honolulu where there will be a further crew change to operate back to New Zealand.
Re-routing North American flights through Honolulu means aircrew can overnight in a lower risk destination while still maintaining vital connections into North America.
Air New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Greg Foran says operating in a pandemic means the airline is constantly assessing the risks to its people and operation.
“While it’s important to keep trade routes open and passenger services operating for our customers, looking after our people is our first priority.
“I’d like to thank everyone who has helped us to move so quickly in re-routing our flights, from officials in New Zealand and the United States, to our ground partners and our teams who have worked through the holiday break to make this happen.”
Air New Zealand has worked closely with the unions representing aircrew to progress these operational changes rapidly for the safety and wellbeing of those aircrew operating into high risk destinations.
The airline also continues to work closely with the Government and Ministry of Health officials on safe travel protocols to protect employees, customers and the community.
Air New Zealand currently operates eight cargo and two passenger and cargo services per week between New Zealand and Los Angeles in addition to four cargo services between New Zealand and San Francisco and one cargo service from Australia to North America. Customers will not be able to end their journey in Honolulu. The airline will be contacting cargo customers and passengers affected by the changes in flights directly.
Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) launched a four-day WOW Sale today through Jan. 7, 2021, 11:59 p.m., Central Time, with fares starting as low as $29 one-way. Customers can ring in the New Year with this huge sale and book their spring getaway for travel in March and April.
From the mountains to the beach, there is a perfect getaway for everyone. Hit the slopes at one of our new destinations in Colorado—Steamboat Springs, Montrose (Telluride), or Colorado Springs (starting March 11, 2021). Looking for something warmer? Feel the warmth of the sand by booking a trip to one of our beach destinations— Fort Lauderdale, Kahului (Maui), Long Beach, Calif. or Miami. Looking for something new? Customers can fly to one of these hidden gems— Palm Springs, New Orleans, or Raleigh/Durham.
“Southwest is ready to take Customers to their favorite spring travel destinations,” said Bill Tierney, Southwest Vice President of Marketing. “Whether it is hitting the slopes or soaking up the sun on the beach, Southwest is your ticket to the perfect getaway. With our legendary Hospitality, flexible policies, and low fares across our expanding network, we look forward to having our Customers onboard again when they are ready to get away.”
Hurry and book! Seats, days, and markets are limited. Blackout dates and 21-day advance purchase requirements apply. See a full list of fares, fare rules, and terms and conditions below and at Southwest.com. Examples of one-way low fares include:
As low as $29 one-way nonstop between Atlanta and Raleigh/Durham,
As low as $29 one-way nonstop between Denver and Salt Lake City,
As low as $29 one-way nonstop between Phoenix and Palm Springs,
As low as $39 one-way nonstop between Dallas and New Orleans,
As low as $89 one-way nonstop between Nashville and Sarasota,
As low as $99 one-way nonstop between San Diego and Hawaii.
These flights, as well as the Carrier’s published schedule through August 16, 2021, can be purchased at Southwest.com.
Emirates has announced that it will deploy its latest flagship A380 aircraft featuring new premium economy seats and luxurious enhancements across all cabins to London Heathrow.
Starting from 4 January, passengers flying between Dubai and London Heathrow can experience Emirates’ latest A380. Operating as EK003/004, the aircraft is scheduled to depart Dubai daily at 14:30hrs, arriving at 18:20hrs in London Heathrow. The return flight departs London at 20:20hrs and arrives in Dubai the next day at 07:20hrs. All timings local.
Emirates last week unveiled its latest A380 with brand new premium economy seats that offer a generous seat pitch of up to 40 inches, in addition to new economy class seats similar to those installed on its latest Boeing 777-300ER gamechanger aircraft, enhancements to its popular A380 First and Business Class including its signature Shower Spa and Onboard Lounge, and refreshed colours and fittings across all cabins.
Until more Premium Economy seats enter its inventory, the airline intends to offer these as spot upgrades for its valued customers on a discretionary basis. All other signature Emirates A380 First, Business and Economy cabins are available for reservation on emirates.com or via travel agents.
The airline has safely and gradually restored its network over the past months, bringing back signature experiences onboard and on the ground with comprehensive measures in place for the health and safety of its customers and employees.
Emirates currently serves London Heathrow with 5 daily flights of which 4 are operated with an A380. The airline also operates 10 flights a week to Manchester, and daily flights to both Birmingham and Glasgow.
Emirates serves 99 cities across the world, offering travellers convenient access to Dubai and onwards to popular destinations in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.
Qantas and Japan Airlines (JAL) today announced plans to form a new joint business, designed to better serve customers travelling between Australia, New Zealand and Japan and support the tourism industry’s recovery when international flying resumes.
The airlines have submitted an application for authorisation to regulators in Australia and New Zealand, with a decision expected within six months. Subject to this regulatory approval, it is anticipated that the joint business would commence operations around July 2021, when Qantas has said it expects its international network to gradually restart.
The coordination made possible through a joint business would enable Qantas and JAL to ramp up flights between Australia and Japan sooner than would otherwise be possible. The airlines have flagged an intention to launch a new route between Australia and Japan and expect to announce details once regulatory approval is received, borders open and demand returns.
Under the proposed five-year agreement, the airlines would deliver substantial benefits for customers and help accelerate the recovery of the tourism, trade and corporate travel links between Australia and Japan, including:
An expanded codeshare relationship and optimised schedules on flights between Australia and New Zealand and Japan, opening up more connections to more destinations beyond the major city gateways. Qantas customers would have access to 14 new codeshare destinations in Japan and JAL customers would have access to 15 new codeshare destinations in Australia and New Zealand.
Enhanced frequent flyer benefits for Qantas and JAL customers, including improved earn of Qantas points or JAL miles on routes under the joint business beyond what is possible today, as well as the ability to upgrade using points or miles on each other’s services.
Improvements in the customer experience, including streamlined processes for disruption management and investments in product and service inflight and on the ground, designed to better serve the carriers’ joint customers.
More premium travel opportunities, with Qantas able to offer customers a greater number of Business and Premium Economy seats on flights operated by JAL.
Coordination of pricing, schedules, sales and tourism marketing to develop new and improved travel products, delivering more choice for customers.
Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said the joint business would play a vital role in reviving trade links with the world’s third largest economy and deliver significant benefits for customers travelling between Australia and Japan.
“Around half a million people visited Australia from Japan in 2019. We want to see that tourism resume and grow even further by making it easier for Japanese travellers to visit,” said Mr Joyce.
“The joint business means we’ll be able to build on our existing relationship with JAL through oneworld to offer more routes, better flight connections and more benefits to frequent flyers. It also helps us diversify our portfolio of joint businesses amongst Australia’s key trading partners.
“It will be a win for our customers, a win for trade and a win for the one million people who work in tourism across Australia.”
Japan Airlines President Yuji Akasaka added: “For over 50 years, JAL and Qantas have operated flights between Japan and Australia, demonstrating our mutual commitment to support and strengthen the diplomatic relationship built by the two countries.
“We believe that a joint business with Qantas will make for a quicker recovery between both countries with the ability to expand connectivity within each carrier’s respective domestic network, providing more customer choice and travel growth opportunities.”
A crowd that included Air Force leadership, congressional representatives and senators, executives and plant personnel from the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Corporation attended a ceremony dedicating the delivery of the final F-22 Raptor in Marietta, Ga., May 2. (U.S. Air Force photo/Don Peek)
From Reuters News – Reporting by Mike Stone in Washington, D.C., Editing by Greg Roumeliotis
Dec 20 (Reuters) – Lockheed Martin Corp (NYSE: LMT) said on Sunday that it has agreed acquire U.S. rocket engine manufacturer Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc (NYSE: AJRD) for $4.4 billion, including debt and net cash.
The deal is Lockheed’s biggest acquisition since Jim Taiclet took over as chief executive in June. He is seeking to beef up the company’s propulsion capabilities amid competition from new entrants such as SpaceX and Blue Origin, for space contracts with the U.S. government.
“Acquiring Aerojet Rocketdyne will preserve and strengthen an essential component of the domestic defense industrial base and reduce costs for our customers and the American taxpayer,” Taiclet said in a statement.
Lockheed said it will pay $56 per share for Aerojet Rocketdyne, a 33 percent premium to Friday’s closing price. The purchase price will be reduced to $51 per share after the payment of a pre-closing special dividend, Lockheed added.
The Bethesda, Maryland-based company already uses Aerojet Rocketdyne’s propulsion systems in its aeronautics, missiles and fire control offerings.
Lockheed said the transaction, which is set to be scrutinized by regulators given the company’s leading position in the defense sector, is expected to close in the second half of 2021.
A crowd that included Air Force leadership, congressional representatives and senators, executives and plant personnel from the Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Corporation attended a ceremony dedicating the delivery of the final F-22 Raptor in Marietta, Ga., May 2. (U.S. Air Force photo/Don Peek)
Qantas has today announced a major expansion to its regional network, adding seven new routes across New South Wales, South Australia and Victoria, in response to customer demand.
The announcement means Qantas will be flying to five more destinations across Australia than it was pre-COVID (up from 57 to 62). The airline also today begins flying direct from Sydney to Merimbula on the New South Wales Sapphire Coast for the first time.
NEW ROUTES
Route
Start date
Frequency (return flights per week)
Sydney – Griffith
1 Feb 2021
Daily
Melbourne – Newcastle
1 Feb 2021
Twelve
Melbourne – Merimbula
1 Feb 2021
Four
Melbourne – Mount Gambier
28 March 2021
Five
Melbourne – Wagga Wagga
28 March 2021
Four
Melbourne – Albury
28 March 2021
Four
Adelaide – Mount Gambier
28 March 2021
Five
Qantas is offering special fares for flights on the new routes from $125 one-way, available at qantas.com or through Travel Agents, until 20 December 2020, unless sold out prior.
The flights will largely be operated by the airline’s 50-seat Q300 turboprop aircraft, with upgraded cabin interiors, adding more than 320,000 seats to these regional destinations each year.
Qantas has already introduced a number of initiatives to encourage customers to book with greater flexibility, as well as to improve safety and peace-of-mind when travelling domestically through its Fly Well program.
ADDITIONAL FLIGHTS
– Melbourne-Gold Coast weekly flights will double – from daily to twice daily – from April 2021 with the new schedule to cater for both corporate and leisure travellers.
– Sydney-Orange flights will increase from three days per week to daily from February 2021.
– Melbourne-Launceston flights will be upgraded from a Q400 aircraft to a larger Boeing 717, adding more than 400 seats on the route each week.
– A number of seasonal routes originally scheduled for the summer have been extended to operate year-round, including Perth-Hobart, Canberra-Hobart, Sydney-Merimbula and Brisbane-Port Macquarie.
QantasLink CEO John Gissing said these new routes were a great opportunity for travellers to explore the best of regional Australia.
“As the national carrier, we have an important role to play in driving tourism and supporting the industry’s recovery,” said Mr Gissing.
“Before COVID, more than 11 million Australians travelled overseas each year, so these flights will help convert some of these international trips into domestic holidays instead.
“We know there is significant pent up demand for travel. These new flights will help more Australians explore some of the incredible places in their own backyard and drive tourism, which is so vital to the local economies of regional areas.
“We’ll be promoting these new flights to millions of our frequent flyers across the country in the lead up to the flights commencing next year.
“We’re also pleased to be able to offer locals more choice and competitive fares on these routes, most of which have been monopolies for years.”
Since domestic border restrictions started to ease in July, Qantas has announced or commenced flying on 13 new routes across Australia. Today’s announcement brings that number to 20.
Qantas has been progressively “waking up” its domestic and regional aircraft to support this new flying, with the vast majority of the airline’s regional fleet expected to be operational by early 2021.
“All our aircraft carry fixed costs, regardless of whether they’re grounded or not. We’d rather get as many aircraft back in the air as we can because it’s better for our business, our customers and gets more of our people back to work,” added Mr Gissing.
Qantas flights continue to have complimentary baggage and food and drink included with every seat. The airline has now opened 30 of its 35 domestic and regional lounges across its network.
Today is the last day to register for Qantas’ Status Fast Track initiative that has seen thousands of members from other airlines switching to Qantas Frequent Flyer to take advantage of the national carrier’s extensive lounge and flying network.
Qantas is also offering customers the opportunity to join its Frequent Flyer program for free until 31 January 2021 via qantas.com/freejoin. Travellers will be able to earn Qantas Points and Status Credits on the new routes as well as using their points to book flights.
Southwest Airlines Company (NYSE: LUV) today shared its intention to bring service to Santa Barbara Airport and Fresno Yosemite International Airport in the second quarter of 2021.
“Our arrival in the Heart of California, both on the Central Coast and in the Central Valley, will round out nearly four decades of investment in our California Customers and communities,” Southwest Airlines Chief Commercial Officer & Executive Vice President Andrew Watterson said. “While other airlines seem to fall in and out of love with the state, we’re focused on increasing the reach of our low fares and flexible policies in places where we expect them to make a difference.”
“For years residents and businesses throughout Central California have expressed a desire for Southwest service and connectivity to their vast network of destinations and renowned customer service,” said Kevin Meikle, Director of Aviation for Fresno Yosemite International Airport. “Southwest will expand the Central Valley’s air transportation gateway to Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks, and we look forward to our new partnership with Southwest and their arrival in the spring.”
“We salute Southwest’s bold decision to enter one of the most vibrant and beautiful regions in California, bringing visitors to our sweeping coastline to experience our mild Mediterranean climate and distinctive Spanish-influenced architecture,” said Mayor Cathy Murillo of Santa Barbara. “For our residents, our partnership with Southwest will energize the economic rebound to come in 2021.”
Along with Palm Springs, which received its first Southwest flight on Nov. 19, 2020, the addition of Fresno and Santa Barbara will position Southwest Airlines as an option in 13 California airports before summer 2021, further deepening the carrier’s commitment to the Golden State. Southwest long has carried more air travelers to, from, and within California than any other carrier, a legacy sustained in the most recent reporting of U.S. Department of Transportation data on airline passengers traveling nonstop.
JetBlue (NASDAQ: JBLU) today announced it has launched service between New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Georgetown, Guyana’s Cheddi Jagan International Airport (GEO), with the first roundtrip flight arriving back in New York this morning. The new service launches with four times weekly service on JetBlue’s Airbus A321neo aircraft.
“JetBlue’s arrival in Guyana introduces our low fares and award-winning service to another new market in the Caribbean and Latin America where customers have long faced high prices and little competition,” said Andrea Lusso, vice president network planning, JetBlue. “We remain committed to this important region of our network and continue to connect more travelers with the people and places they want to see.”
JetBlue’s newest route connects New York’s Guyanese American community – the largest in the U.S. – with the capital city, making the connections between friends and family easier and closer than ever. Guyana becomes the fourth country in South America JetBlue serves and grows the airline’s presence in the broader Caribbean and Latin American region to nearly 40 destinations.
“We are pleased to welcome JetBlue to our beautiful country, Guyana,” said Minister of Public Works, Bishop Juan Edghill. “We are confident that their entry into the local market will help to advance the aviation sector, especially at a time when the sector is looking to rebuild, in the midst of this global pandemic. This latest investment by JetBlue – even in the current environment – also speaks to the level of confidence the airlines has placed on our country as a lucrative destination of choice.”
JetBlue’s A321neo aircraft feature the Collins Meridian seat – which is the widest seat available for the single aisle Airbus family of aircraft – with enhanced cushion comfort, adjustable headrests, power connections at every seat and the most legroom in coach. Inflight entertainment is powered by Thales AVANT and ViaSat-2 connectivity. With this system – featuring 10.1 inch, 1080P high definition screens, more than 100 channels of live television with DVR-like pause and rewind functionality, picture-in-picture function and more – JetBlue offers customers expanded entertainment choices in nearly every region the airline flies.
