Virgin Australia will introduce two new direct services ahead of the September school holidays as the airline pivots its network schedule to reconnect Australia in new ways.
The new services, focussed on markets with open borders, include the resumption of flights between Adelaide – Darwin from 6 September and the introduction of a brand-new direct service, never before operated in the airline’s 21-year history, between Adelaide – Launceston, commencing on 7 September.
To kickstart the launch of the services, Virgin Australia is offering the following one-way Economy sale fares from today until midnight this Friday 13 August or until sold-out:
Adelaide – Launceston from $59
Adelaide – Darwin from $119
And for customers looking to travel at the pointy end, Virgin Australia will continue to sell their great value Business Class fares on these services:
Adelaide – Launceston from $299
Adelaide – Darwin from $529
Along with checked baggage and seat selection included in all airfares, Virgin Australia is also offering double Velocity Frequent Flyer Status Credits on all new eligible bookings (excluding Getaway fares) made by midnight tomorrow (Tuesday 10 August).
Virgin Australia customers who hold travel credits or Future Flight credits are also encouraged to take advantage of the great value fares which are expected to sell-out quickly.
Queenslanders will have more travel options to the world-famous Whitsundays with QantasLink launching direct flights from Brisbane to the Whitsunday Coast (Proserpine) for the first time in seven years.
From 17 September 2021, QantasLink will operate up to seven weekly return flights between Proserpine and Brisbane with its 74-seat Q400 turboprop aircraft, adding more than 1000 seats on the route each week.
It follows the new routes QantasLink commenced from Brisbane to Albury and Cooma earlier this week. Between Qantas, QantasLink and Jetstar, the Group has now launched more than 45 new routes since international borders closed, around half of which are into Queensland.
QantasLink CEO John Gissing said the new route would create stronger connections to the popular tourism destination.
Special fares on the new route are available from $109 one-way at qantas.com or through Travel Agents, until 10 July 2021, unless sold out prior.
The new Brisbane-Proserpine service will complement Jetstar flights to the Whitsunday Coast from Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.
Qantas has recently extended its Fly Flexible policy, offering customers who book flights before 30 September 2021 with unlimited ‘fee free’ date changes when travelling before 28 February 2022. (A fare difference may apply).
Qantas customers can now book seven new domestic routes and travel on more widebody aircraft between major capital cities to help meet strong demand for domestic travel across Australia.
The new routes – Townsville to Adelaide/Melbourne/Sydney, Adelaide to Cairns/Hobart, Sydney-Uluru and Perth-Gold Coast – provide direct connections and reduce travel time for customers. They bring the total number of routes Qantas and Jetstar have added since the start of the pandemic to 45.
Five of the routes will be operated by Embraer E190 regional jets as part of QantasLink’s partnership with Alliance Airlines. The first Qantas flights operated by the 94-seat E190s took off today between Adelaide, Darwin and Alice Springs.
Customers will also see more widebody aircraft with Business Suites on flights between the East Coast capital cities into Perth and Darwin.
Usually used for long haul international flights including Perth-London, the 236-seat Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner will begin operating up to nine Sydney to Perth flights per week.
Widebody Qantas Airbus A330-200 aircraft, which serviced international routes into Asia, will operate on more flights into Darwin from Sydney and Brisbane, and also into Perth from Sydney and Melbourne. These will be added to the A330s already flying on east-west routes.
The additional flying will see Qantas’ capacity exceed 100 per cent of pre-COVID levels in the coming months and the Group’s market share around 70 per cent.
Qantas Domestic and International CEO Andrew David said the new routes would support the growing demand for domestic tourism.
NEW ROUTES
Route
Start Date
Return flights per week
Aircraft
Adelaide – Townsville
August 2021
3 per week
E190
Adelaide – Cairns
August 2021
4 per week
E190
Adelaide – Hobart
September 2021
Up to 7 per week
E190
Sydney – Townsville
September 2021
7 per week
E190
Melbourne – Townsville
September 2021
7 per week
E190
Perth – Gold Coast
September 2021
3 per week
B737
Sydney – Uluru
March 2022
5 per week
B737
Fares are available from today with Qantas offering special fares including $139 on Adelaide-Hobart, $179 on Sydney-Townsville and $229 Perth-Gold Coast. Special fares are available at qantas.com or through Travel Agents, until 11:59pm 27 May, unless sold out prior.
The new flights add to Jetstar’s existing services across six of the routes, providing a range of travel options for Qantas Group customers.
Aeromexico Cargo inaugurated a direct route between the Wuhan-Tianhe International Airport and the Mexico City International Airport for exclusive cargo transportation. This was celebrated at an event held at Wuhan airport, in the presence of the Mexican Ambassador to the People’s Republic of China, airport authorities and airline business partners.
The route will be operated with Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, which has a load capacity of more than 30 tons or 130 m3, depending on the type of cargo.
Wuhan is one of the fastest growing cities in China and has become a hub for air transport in the central region of the country. The growth of e-commerce, medical supplies and high-tech products shipping from this city to the rest of the world, has been exponential during the last year reaching more than a 500% increase. Due to its infrastructure, the Wuhan airport stood out in the first position among 22 other airports in China in the ranking of passenger transport in the country.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Aeromexico Cargo has completed more than 235 exclusive cargo flights from China to Mexico and 16 other countries, transporting more than 4,000 tons of essential medical supplies. All these operations represented more than 8,000 hours of flight and 6 million kilometers traveled, which is equivalent to travel 170 times around the world.
Aeromexico Cargo can operate in more than 40 airports in Mexico and in multiple international destinations in the US, Canada, Central and South America, Asia and Europe. The most common cargo is perishable products, live animals, high-value goods, technology, medicines, and medical supplies, among others.
Hamburg, Germany, 29 April 2021 – U.S.-based JetBlue Airways (Nasdaq: JBLU) has taken delivery of its first of 13 A321LR aircraft featuring Airbus’ new Airspace interior. These new A321LRs support JetBlue’s plan to open its highly anticipated transatlantic services, starting with direct flights to London later this year. In addition to these 13 new A321LRs, the airline also has on order another 57 Airbus aircraft comprising other A321neo variants – which will also feature Airspace cabins. By bringing Airspace to the Single-Aisle Family, JetBlue’s A321 cabins will be the very first to feature Airbus’ new award-winning cabin design-language and passenger-pleasing cabin features – which are consistent with Airbus’ A330neo and A350 Widebody aircraft.
Airspace brings to the A320 Family the following passenger-pleasing cabin enhancements: unique welcome and customisable hero lighting (which helps reduce jet lag); new slimmer sidewall panels for extra personal space at shoulder level; better views through the windows with their redesigned bezels and completely integrated window shades; the latest full LED lighting technologies; the largest overhead bin in class; and new lavatories with hygienic touchless features and antimicrobial surfaces.
In addition to these Airspace elements, the A320 Family’s wide cabin cross-section also enables JetBlue to offer its passengers true long-haul comfort in all classes, with 24 full-flat adaptive-mattress seats in the airline’s Mint premium-class private suites, while 114 economy passengers will appreciate the widest 18.4inch seats with a contoured seat-back for extra knee space. Most of these economy seats will offer a full 32inch pitch, while four rows will be optimised for “Even More Space” seating — offering around an additional five inches for the most legroom in any transatlantic economy class seat.
JetBlue’s passengers in these A321LRs will also be able to stay connected throughout the flight with the airline’s unlimited, free high-speed Wi-Fi. In addition, they will have access to a curated selection of live TV channels focused on news and sports, and an extensive library of seatback entertainment – allowing for a ‘multiple screen’ experience onboard. Seats will also feature easy-to-reach in-seat power, featuring AC and USB-C ports to keep their hand-held devices fully charged. As well as offering the rich portfolio of entertainment and connectivity options for each passenger, the in-seat equipment on these aircraft will also put the customer in control of their food choices, allowing them to customize their own meal right on their seatback screen.
In 2017 at the APEX Expo in Long Beach, JetBlue was unveiled as the launching customer for Airbus’ Airspace cabin for the A320 Family. Following the announcement, Airbus and JetBlue worked together to bring to reality a new level of passenger experience for JetBlue’s passengers in its A321LRs featuring Airspace for the first time.
The longstanding partnership between Airbus and JetBlue began in 1999 when JetBlue was launched and took delivery of its first A320. Two years later the airline placed an order for 48 Airbus planes. Following years of extraordinary growth, JetBlue now operates a fleet of more than 200 A320 and A321 aircraft and has around another 70 on order — including more of these A321LRs, as well as other A321neo variants – all of which will feature Airspace interiors. In addition, the airline has also placed orders for Airbus’ smallest Single-Aisle Family member, the A220 airliner, the first of which will soon enter service.
The A321LR, a member of the A320neo Family, delivers 30 percent fuel savings and nearly 50 percent reduction in noise footprint compared to previous generations of aircraft. With an increased range of up to 4,000nm (7,400km), the A321LR is the unrivalled long-range route opener, featuring true transatlantic capability and premium wide-body comfort in a single-aisle aircraft cabin. With its new fleet the airlines benefit from the lowest operating costs in the respective size categories, as well as the unique commonality between variants of the Airbus Family.
MIRAMAR, Fla., April 27, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Spirit Airlines, Inc. (NYSE: SAVE) (“Spirit”) today announced that it has commenced an underwritten public offering of $440,000,000 aggregate principal amount of convertible senior notes due 2026 (the “Convertible Notes” and such offering, the “Convertible Notes Offering”). Spirit intends to grant the underwriters of the Convertible Notes Offering a 30-day option to purchase up to $60,000,000 aggregate principal amount of additional Convertible Notes, solely to cover over-allotments, in the Convertible Notes Offering.
Spirit is also separately conducting a registered direct offering of shares of its common stock (the “Common Stock Offering”) to certain holders of its outstanding 4.75% Convertible Senior Notes due 2025 (the “2025 Convertible Notes”).
Spirit expects to use a portion of the net proceeds from the Convertible Notes Offering to repurchase a portion of its outstanding 4.75% Convertible Senior Notes due 2025 (the “2025 Convertible Notes”) for cash pursuant to privately negotiated agreements with a limited number of current holders of such 2025 Convertible Notes, which agreements are conditioned upon the consummation of the Convertible Notes Offering. Spirit expects to use any remaining net proceeds from the Convertible Notes Offering for general corporate purposes. Spirit expects to use the net proceeds from the Common Stock Offering to redeem up to 40% of the original outstanding principal amount, or up to $340 million, of its 8.00% Senior Secured Notes due 2025 at a redemption price equal to 108.0%, plus accrued and unpaid interest on the principal amount being redeemed up to, but excluding, the redemption date.
The closing of neither the Common Stock Offering nor the Convertible Notes Offering is conditioned upon the closing of the other offering.
Click the link below to view the full press release!
QantasLink is today adding Griffith to its map, operating direct flights from Sydney for the first time to meet increased demand for travel within Australia. The inaugural flight QF2121 arrived in Griffith from Sydney at midday with local business and community leaders at the Airport to welcome the aircraft’s arrival. The service will operate daily with the airline’s turboprop 50-seat Q300 aircraft, adding more than 700 seats on the route each week.
Speaking from Griffith to mark the inaugural flight, QantasLink CEO John Gissing said the new route reinforced the national carrier’s commitment to supporting regional Australia. “As the national carrier, we have an important role to play in driving tourism and supporting the industry in its recovery from COVID-19. We know Australians want to travel so we’ve been looking for opportunities to support new routes where there is demand and help deliver a boost for local businesses. We’re working with tourism partners to promote the world-class wineries and fresh produce of the beautiful Riverina region to millions of our frequent flyers around the country”.
Qantas (QAN.AX) is also today launching a new regional route from Melbourne to Merimbula. Since the start of COVID-19, the Qantas Group has announced or commenced flying on 26 new routes across Australia, reflecting new travel demand patterns.
The route launch follows a new suite of initiatives introduced for customers, including a boost to flexibility allowing unlimited flight changes until at least February 2022.
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Qantas has introduced a number of initiatives improve safety and peace-of-mind when travelling domestically through its Fly Well program, including masks on board, hand sanitising stations and enhanced aircraft cleaning.
DENVER – Jan. 25, 2021 – Frontier Airlines and ATP Flight School have formed a “Frontier Direct Program” targeting ATP graduates and CFIs for employment as Frontier Airlines First Officers.
In the Frontier Direct Program, ATP graduates and instructors progress from ATP straight to the flight deck at Frontier after enhanced ATP CTP training that includes additional Airbus A320 full-motion flight simulator experience. The new partnership offers pilots an accelerated path to a rewarding career with Frontier while providing Frontier access to a high-quality pool of qualified pilot applicants, dedicated future employees, and advocates of the Frontier brand.
After completing flight training in ATP’s Airline Career Pilot Program, graduates gain flight experience with ATP as paid flight instructors. Between 1250-1500 hours total flight time, recommended instructors interview with Frontier Airlines. After the candidate selection and interview process with Frontier, applicants receive a Conditional Offer of Employment and continue working towards 1,500 hours of flight experience with ATP. Once ready to transition to Frontier, pilots attend the enhanced ATP CTP course. This tailored course with ATP utilizes full-motion Airbus A320 simulator training to prepare pilots for success at Frontier.
“We appreciate Frontier Airlines collaborating with ATP,” said Justin Dennis, President of ATP. “This program is a tremendous career opportunity for ATP graduates, while helping Frontier access a pool of highly qualified, professional pilots who appreciate the opportunity to fly for Frontier.”
Added Brad Lambert, Vice President of Flight Operations for Frontier Airlines, “Frontier is proud to partner with premier flight schools such as ATP to ensure the quality of our future pilot supply. We have been impressed with the caliber of candidates we have seen. Coordinating with ATP to enhance their jet transition program helps to evaluate and improve on the skill set required to be a safe and successful airline pilot.”
Four ATP graduates have already completed the program in a proof of concept started in 2020. All four pilots have been flying the line with Frontier after successfully completing new-hire training and IOE.
First Officer Walter Copeland III was one of the first participants in the Frontier Direct Program, transitioning from ATP to Frontier in Feb 2020. Walter began flying as a first officer in Jun 2020 – just 29 months after starting training with ATP.
– You and your family can travel safely and with flexibility with Aer Lingus
– Free Unlimited changes on all routes and all fare types
– Guaranteed Voucher and Cash Refund option on certain fare types
Aer Lingus today launched its summer 2021 schedule offering a range of fare options so customers can book that long-anticipated summer holiday with confidence. Aer Lingus is ensuring families can look forward to traveling safely and with flexibility in summer 2021, and today it introduced new ways to keep bookings flexible should travel plans change with its ‘Book with Confidence’ proposition. With direct flights to Europe starting at €25.99 and US and Canada at €159, now is the time to start planning summer 2021.
Chief Commercial Officer, Dave Shepherd said: “We are offering customers a range of choices. There are free unlimited changes on all routes and all fare types*. There is the option of a full cash refund** on our Advantage/Flex fares. And from today, our Smart / Plus fares includes a new feature so that customers can avail of a voucher up to 14 days before travel to any destination or within 14 days if a country’s travel guidance changes*** from just €25.99. Aer Lingus is giving our customers the confidence to dream, so you can start to plan next summer’s adventure today with confidence.
“With flights up to August 2021 available for sale, you can start planning a reunion with friends in the Algarve, a sunny beach break with family in Malaga, or a romantic adventure in a European city and have something great to look forward to next year with Aer Lingus. For those looking to travel across the Atlantic in 2021, we have 12 direct North American routes to choose from including New York, Florida, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, and Toronto, ”
With Aer Lingus, customers can book with the confidence that the airline prioritises the safety and wellbeing of our customers and our people at all times. Earlier this year Aer Lingus introduced a range of safety measures in line with the guidance provided by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and the ECDC (European Centre for Disease Prevention & Control). These measures include the mandatory wearing of face masks at all times by all customers and crew. Social distancing is practiced at check in, boarding gate, boarding and disembarking the aircraft. These measures, along with an enhanced cleaning system and our state-of-the-art air filtration technology as standard on our Airbus aircraft, ensure customers have a safe and comfortable flight.
For more information on the Aer Lingus summer 2021 sale, please visit www.aerlingus.com.
Notes to Editor:
*A fare difference may apply. Unlimited changes can be made on all bookings until 31st May
** Requests for vouchers and refunds can be made up until 14 days pre-departure
***Should a country move to red on the imminent EU Travel Framework
Terms & Conditions
Vouchers are valid for 5 years and can be used on the entire Aer Lingus network.
Change Fee Rules apply and fare difference may apply.
Change or Voucher requests must be made in advance of travel or these options will not apply.
The first of the 12000-horsepower, Prima T8 electric locomotives has been put into commercial service by Indian Railways. Built by Alstom and certified by the Ministry of Railways and Commissioner of Railway Safety/RDSO, the electric locomotives – known locally by the designation WAG-12 – are the most powerful locomotives to run on Indian rails. The 2015 contract will see a total of 800 locomotives built for Indian Railways.
Set to revolutionise freight logistics in the country, the e-locos will allow faster and safer movement of heavy freight trains, capable of hauling 6000 tonnes at a top speed of 120 km/h. Planned for deployment on Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFCs), they will increase the average speed of freight trains in India by approximately 25 km/h. Equipped with Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBT) propulsion technology, the e-locos will also allow considerable savings in energy consumption thanks to the use of regenerative braking.
“Alstom is very pleased to be delivering these electric locomotives to Indian Railways. The introduction of the Prima locomotives into the IR fleet demonstrates our commitment to the country. This revolutionary product which will be faster, safer and more environmentally friendly, and it will help write a new chapter for India’s sustainable mobility journey. We are immensely proud to be a partner in this,” said Ling Fang, Senior Vice President of Alstom Asia-Pacific.
In line with the Make-in-India mandate, all the 800 Prima locomotives are being manufactured locally. Designed at Alstom’s Engineering Centre in Bengaluru, the Prima T8 WAG-12 are being built in one of India’s largest integrated greenfield manufacturing facilities at Madhepura in Bihar. Spread across 250 acres, with a production capacity of 120 locomotives per year, the Madhepura site is built to international standards of safety and quality. Two ultra-modern maintenance depots in Saharanpur and Nagpur will ensure the high service availability of the locomotives. The Saharanpur depot is already operational and the one in Nagpur is under construction. Equipped with the latest features, these depots will play a critical role in maintaining India’s most advanced freight locomotives at significantly lower costs.
As part of the largest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) project of Indian Railways, in 2015 the Ministry of Railways and Alstom signed a contract worth €3.5 billion (INR 25,000 crore) and created a joint venture for the project. The contract allowed for the manufacture of 800 double-section, 12000-horsepower electric locomotives for freight service and associated maintenance for a period of 11 years. The scope also included the set-up of a manufacturing plant at Madhepura (Bihar) for building the e-locos and two maintenance depots at Saharanpur (Uttar Pradesh) and Nagpur (Maharashtra). A true embodiment of India’s vision, the project will create more than 10,000 direct and indirect jobs in the country (primarily in the states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra).
