Tag: sky (Page 5 of 5)

Newest Delta Sky Club Evokes Eclectic Austin

May 20, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

The new Delta Sky Club is the latest investment Delta is making for Austin travelers.

Just in time for summer travel, the newest Delta Sky Club and first at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport will open for business on May 21.

“Building on our unmatched operational excellence, award-winning customer service and the ability to easily connect to cities around the globe, the first Delta Sky Club at Austin will give business and leisure travelers yet another best-in-class offering to enjoy,” said Erik Snell, Delta’s Senior Vice President — Operations & Customer Center, who first shared the news of the new Club during a visit to the Austin Chamber of Commerce last year.

On the mezzanine level of the Barbara Jordan Terminal, this 9,000 sq. ft. Delta Sky Club conveniently located near the Delta gates features:

• Covered Sky Deck, an outdoor patio that can be enjoyed year-round.
• Full-service bar that includes seasonal cocktails and wine,
selected by Delta’s Master Sommelier Andrea Robinson, which
will be stored in a temperature-controlled custom glass tower,
along with the Agave Experience — an extensive selection of tequila
and mezcal that can be sampled in individual pours or tasting
flights — on the premium bar menu.
• Beer to try from around Texas, like Thirsty Planet Thirsty Goat,
Hi Sign Violet the Blueberry Blonde and Saint Arnold Fancy Lawnmower,
and rotating, seasonal food offerings inspired by the region, like
handcrafted tacos and barbecue dishes.
• Unique, eclectic interior style inspired by Austin with warm walnut
surfaces, metal finishes and rich fabrics.
• Select artwork from well-known and up-and-coming artists with
connections to Texas.
• Comfortable seating areas, high-speed Wi-Fi and power outlets at
nearly every seat.

“We’ve put care into every detail — from the curated, local artwork to the Club design to the seasonal food and beverage offerings,” said Claude Roussel, Managing Director — Delta Sky Club. “We look forward to welcoming guests traveling through Austin — they will be wowed by the experience and incredible service.”

The new Delta Sky Club is the latest investment Delta is making for Austin travelers. Delta offers 28 peak-day departures with nonstop service to all of its U.S. hubs, including three daily flights to both Los Angeles and New York City, easily connecting customers to the airline’s global network of more than 300 destinations. Delta also offers nonstop daily service to other key Austin destinations including Boston and Raleigh. In addition, Delta has hosted a “festival shuttle” from Los Angeles to the South by Southwest Conference and Festivals for the past five years, offering a curated travel experience to tech and entertainment leaders traveling to Austin. And, the airline continues to invest in the local workforce, recently insourcing dozens of airport operations jobs.

As a part of a long-term effort to expand the award-winning Delta Sky Club experience across the network, later this year Delta will debut a new Club at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport and several upgrades like more, comfortable seating and a completely redesigned food and bar experience at the John F. Kennedy International Airport Terminal 4 Club. Salt Lake International Airport will also see a new, nearly 28,000-square-foot Club in 2020 and Los Angeles International Airport will see a new Club in 2021 — both of which will feature a Sky Deck and breath-taking views. Over the past several years, Delta also opened a new Club at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and a refreshed Club at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, along with a new award-winning flagship clubs at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Ryanair Co-Founder Plans Third Latin Airline

May 10, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

Low-cost Viva Air plans NYSE listing within two years
Budget carriers are disrupting transport across Latin America

Rendering of an Airbus A320neo Viva Air aircraft Source: Airbus SE

Viva Air, the Latin American group of carriers owned by a founder of Ireland’s Ryanair Holdings Plc, has plans for a third airline in the region plus an initial public offering, to cash in on strong demand for discount air travel.

The company aims to sell shares in New York within two years, Viva’s biggest shareholder, Declan Ryan, said in an interview in Lima. The shares could also be listed on another exchange, such as Colombia’s, he said.

Click the link for the full story from Bloomberg!

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-05-10/ryanair-co-founder-plans-third-latin-airline-followed-by-an-ipo

Virgin Atlantic In, IAG Out in Race for Thomas Cook Airlines

May 10, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

LONDON (Reuters) – The chief executive of British Airways owner IAG ruled out bidding for Thomas Cook’s airline unit on Friday, a day after rival Virgin Atlantic was reported to be interested in part of the business.

Lufthansa and private equity fund Indigo Partners are seen among the front-runners for Thomas Cook’s airlines after the firm put it up for sale in February, to raise cash after a string of profit warnings in 2018.

IAG had previously been linked with the business, but on Friday, Chief Executive Willie Walsh said that his firm had not made a bid.

“In relation to Thomas Cook… we’re not putting in any bid,” Walsh told reporters.

He added in an analyst call later in the day that the firm was not actively pursuing M&A at the moment but was in a strong position to do so if something attractive came up.

Virgin Atlantic has put in a preliminary offer for the tour operator’s UK long-haul business, Sky News reported on Thursday. Thomas Cook and Virgin Atlantic both declined to comment on the report.

Lufthansa is a bidder for Thomas Cook’s German airline Condor with an option to acquire the remaining airlines of the British travel group, Lufthansa’s CEO said on Tuesday.

Indigo Partners is also a likely suitor for Thomas Cook’s airline business, sources said last week, adding that the deadline for initial bids was on Tuesday earlier this week.

An unexpectedly warm summer in northern Europe last year deterred holiday makers from booking lucrative last minute getaways, resulting in two major profit warnings for the world’s oldest travel company.

Worries about the firm’s ability to pay its debts pushed the yield on its euro-denominated bonds that mature in 2022 to a record high last Friday, and Thomas Cook said later in the day that it was in talks with its lenders about bolstering its finances.

Thomas Cook’s half-year earnings release for the six months to March 31 is due next Thursday.

(Reporting by Alistair Smout; Editing by Keith Weir)

Thomas Cook Sets May 7 Deadline for Airline Interest

May 1, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

LONDON (Reuters) – Thomas Cook has set a deadline of May 7 for expressions of interest in its airline business, with Indigo Partners and Lufthansa among the likely bidders, sources said.

The heavily-indebted British travel group put its profitable airline business up for sale in February after profit warnings in 2018 left it needing to raise cash.

Thomas Cook’s airlines business consists of Germany’s Condor, as well as British, Scandinavian and Spanish operations.

A sale of the business, in whole or in part, would enable the world’s oldest tour operator to invest more in its own hotels and improve its online sales.

A source familiar with the discussions said that Indigo and Germany’s Lufthansa appeared most interested in the business.

British Airways owner IAG should not be ruled out and easyJet has engaged in talks but is seen as less interested, the source added.

It is not clear whether Ireland’s Ryanair would bid.

Another source said that private equity groups KKR and Apollo might also look at taking over the whole of Thomas Cook.

The airlines business would provide access to valuable European slots linking Britain to Spain, Greece and Turkey.

Thomas Cook, Indigo, IAG and easyJet declined to comment, while Lufthansa and Ryanair were not immediately available.

Lufthansa executives have said repeatedly that the German airline wants to “play an active role” in consolidation.

Indigo, the private equity firm managed by Bill Franke, the veteran U.S. low-cost airline investor, has previously made investments in several airlines including Hungary’s Wizz.

Thomas Cook has been revamping different parts of its business this year, closing high street stores and reviewing its money division as it focuses on holidays.

The company was hit badly in 2018 when a hot European summer deterred customers from booking holidays through the year.

One banking source said the airline would fetch less than 1 billion euros (£859 million). Thomas Cook has a current market value of just over £400 million.

Sources said that competition issues could influence which parts of the business different suitors go for.

Sky News has said China’s Fosun International, a Thomas Cook shareholder, was interested in its tour business.

(Reporting by Kate Holton and Clara Denina in London; additional reporting by Alistair Smout and Georgina Prodhan in London and Arno Schuetze in Frankfurt; Editing by Alexander Smith)

FILE PHOTO: A Thomas Cook Airbus A321-200 airplane takes off at the airport in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, July 28, 2018. REUTERS/Paul Hanna/File Photo

Safdie To Add Fourth Tower To Marina Bay Sands Singapore

April 11, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

Safdie Architects has revealed its plans to extend its Marina Bay Sands hotel in Singapore by adding a fourth tower.

The new stand-alone tower will contain more hotel rooms and take cues from the existing glass buildings, which were completed by Safdie Architects on Marina Bay in 2011.

Alongside the tower, the studio will also design a new entertainment district with a state of the art 15,000-seat music arena.

“Building on a long-term partnership with Las Vegas Sands corporation, we are delighted to embark upon a design for a major new addition to the iconic Marina Bay Sands in Singapore,” said the architecture studio in an Instagram post revealing the news.

Click the link below for the full story!

https://www.dezeen.com/2019/04/10/safdie-architects-marina-bay-sands-expansion-singapore/?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily%20Dezeen&utm_content=Daily%20Dezeen+CID_362681d98b140a7846653da8bc83495b&utm_source=Dezeen%20Mail&utm_term=Safdie%20Architects%20to%20add%20fourth%20tower%20to%20Marina%20Bay%20Sands%20resort%20in%20Singapore

American Airlines and China Southern Launch Frequent Flyer Partnership

March 21, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

Despite repeated claims from all sides that China Southern has no interest in joining the Oneworld alliance, American Airlines and Asia’s largest carrier are moving forward with a frequent flyer partnership. The new arrangement announced Wednesday will allow American’s AAdvantage and China Southern’s Sky Pearl Club members the ability to earn and redeem miles on each other’s flights.

Mileage earning for passengers will go into effect March 21, and online availability is planned for later this year. In the meantime, phone reservations agents at American are already reporting the ability to book China Southern flights through Sabre, its booking system. An earn chart, which shows how China Southern fares will earn miles in American’s loyalty program, has also been posted to American’s site.

American and China Southern’s partnership comes at a time in which Oneworld has been cool on formally pulling the Asian carrier fully into the alliance — though it’s not clear which side the hesitation is coming from. At Oneworld’s 20th anniversary in February, Ron Gurney, CEO of Oneworld shared that the alliance had “no plans” to add the carrier in full. Instead, he suggested that China Southern might join Oneworld as a Connect partner, a new type of “alliance light” that allows passengers to connect onto partners and still earn benefits.

The relationship announced between American and China Southern on Wednesday is more thorough than that. In addition to the ability to earn and spend miles reciprocally, loyalty members can book flights directly through the other carrier’s website and still reap benefits. In other words, the relationship is almost like having an alliance partner without having China Southern in the alliance.

To be clear, many expected some sort of deeper relationship to bear fruit after American bought a stake in China Southern in 2017. Only a year after that investment, China Southern bowed out of the Skyteam alliance, leading many to speculate that it planned to join Oneworld. Ever since Gurney’s comments and the big push around Oneworld Connect, however, that enthusiasm seems to have faded.

That doesn’t mean that China Southern may not eventually end up joining Oneworld. Both airlines and alliances have famously been coy about when new members are coming onboard and China Southern will need to tread lightly in the back yard of Cathay Pacific, another major Oneworld carrier based out of Hong Kong. At the very least, AAdvantage members anxious to fly deeper into China will now get minimal frequent flyer benefits. Other Oneworld passengers will have to wait.

Story by Grant Martin

American Airlines Takes Delivery of its First A321neo

February 3, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

PITTSBURGH — After an 8 1/2-hour nonstop journey from Hamburg, Germany (XFW), the newest member of the American Airlines fleet has landed.

N400AN, American’s first Airbus A321neo, touched down at Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) shortly before noon Feb. 1. After clearing customs, the plane will head to American’s Base Maintenance facility at PIT, where it will spend a couple of weeks undergoing the usual extensive acceptance checks conducted whenever the airline adds a new aircraft type to its fleet. The Tech Ops – PIT team will install ViaSat satellite Wi-Fi, conduct general ops checks and add interior and exterior placards as they customize the aircraft for American. After that, it will visit other American bases before entering service.

The A321neo is scheduled to begin flying customers April 2 between Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) in Arizona and Orlando International Airport (MCO) in Florida. Once the company takes more deliveries, additional routes will include PHX–Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport (ANC) in Alaska over the summer, and PHX and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Hawaii later this year as the A321neo begins to replace retiring Boeing 757s. The A321 is already a versatile aircraft, and the A321neo (which stands for “new engine option”) adds about 400 nautical miles in range thanks to improved fuel burn from the new engines, putting additional destinations within reach.

American has ordered 100 of these jets with deliveries running over the next several years. They seat 196 customers and, in addition to the fast Wi-Fi, include power at every seat and free wireless entertainment to each customer’s own device including free live television. Additionally, American is the launch customer for Airbus’ new XL overhead bins which significantly increase capacity. The A321neo is American’s first aircraft delivered with these bins and the company will begin retrofitting existing A321s with this same bin later this year.

American is taking the “Cabin Flex,” or “NX,” option of the A321neo, which has a new door configuration. The A321neo is part of the order for 460 aircraft placed by American in 2011, which also included 100 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. The aircraft from that order have transformed American’s fleet into the youngest among U.S. network airlines.

Story and image from http://www.aa.com

Boeing Delivers First 737 MAX for Cayman & Fiji Airways

December 3, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

SEATTLE, Nov. 29, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Boeing [NYSE: BA] and Air Lease Corp. [NYSE: AL; “ALC”] today delivered the first 737 MAX 8 for Cayman Airways. The first 737 MAX to enter service in the Caribbean marks the beginning of the airline’s plans to modernize its fleet and expand its network.

“Cayman Airways is able to achieve the highest levels of efficiency with the 737 MAX 8, along with unparalleled levels of reliability and comfort,” said Cayman Airways President and CEO Fabian Whorms. “In addition, the MAX’s incredible range opens up the potential for several new markets within the Americas.”

Cayman Airways plans to take delivery of four MAX 8 airplanes to replace its fleet of 737 Classics.

Compared to the 737-300, the MAX 8 offers 30 percent greater seat capacity, and a more than 30 percent improvement in fuel efficiency per seat. The MAX achieves the higher levels of performance with the latest technology CFM International LEAP-1B engines, Advanced Technology winglets, and other airframe enhancements.

“ALC is pleased to announce this new Boeing 737 MAX 8 delivery with Cayman Airways today,” said Steven F. Udvar-Hἁzy, Executive Chairman of Air Lease Corporation. “With this new MAX 8 and the additional three aircraft set to deliver from ALC, Cayman Airways is successfully modernizing its fleet with the most technologically advanced, fuel-efficient aircraft to enhance the airline’s overall operations, maximize customer comfort and bring a new standard of excellence for travelers to and from the Cayman Islands.”

“We are delighted to open a new chapter in our partnership with Cayman Airways and ALC, and bring the 737 MAX to the Caribbean,” said Ihssane Mounir, senior vice president of Commercial Sales & Marketing for The Boeing Company. “The 737 MAX will help Cayman achieve significant improvement in performance and operating costs, while providing an even better flying experience for their passengers.”

To prepare for their new 737 MAX, Cayman Airways will train pilots at Boeing Global Services’ Miami training campus. Under this agreement, Cayman will use Boeing simulators for its entire 737 fleet including 737 Classics and Next-Generation 737s.

The 737 MAX family is the fastest-selling airplane in Boeing history, accumulating about 4,800 orders from more than 100 customers worldwide. Boeing has delivered more than 200 737 MAX airplanes since May 2017.

Story from www.boeing.com Image from www.caymanairways.com

SEATTLE, Nov. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — Boeing [NYSE: BA] delivered the first 737 MAX for Fiji Airways, which plans to use the fuel-efficient, longer-range version of the popular 737 jet to expand and modernize its single-aisle fleet.

“We are thrilled to take delivery of our very first 737 MAX 8, named Island of Kadavu,” said Andre Viljoen, Managing Director and CEO of Fiji Airways. “The introduction of the 737 MAX is the beginning of a new chapter for Fiji Airways and we look forward to taking advantage of the airplane’s superior performance and economics. These new airplanes will enable us to offer a world-class customer experience through the new Boeing Sky Interior cabins with in-seat entertainment for all guests.”

Fiji Airways plans to take delivery of five MAX 8 airplanes, which will build on the success of its fleet of Next-Generations 737s. The MAX incorporates the latest technology CFM International LEAP-1B engines, Advanced Technology winglets, and other airframe enhancements to improve performance and reduce operating costs.

Compared to the previous 737 model, the MAX 8 can fly 600 nautical miles farther, while providing 14 percent better fuel efficiency. The MAX 8 can seat up to 178 passengers in a standard two-class configuration and fly 3,550 nautical miles (6,570 kilometers).

“We are delighted to welcome Fiji Airways to the MAX family of operators and we are thrilled they will be the first 737 MAX operator in the Pacific Islands,” said Ihssane Mounir, senior vice president of Commercial Sales & Marketing for The Boeing Company. “We are honored by their continued partnership and confidence in Boeing products. The market-leading efficiency of the MAX will pay immediate dividends for Fiji Airways and will help them improve their operation and route network.”

Based at Nadi International Airport, Fiji Airways serves 13 countries and 31 destinations/cities including Fiji, Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Vanuatu and Solomon Islands (Oceania), the United States, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore. It also has an extended network of 108 international destinations through its codeshare partners.

In addition to modernizing its fleet, Fiji Airways will use Boeing Global Services to enhance its operations. These services include Airplane Health Management, which generates real-time, predictive service alerts, and Software Distribution Tools, which empowers airlines to securely manage digital ground-based data and efficiently manage software parts.

Story from www.boeing.com Image from www.fijisun.com.fj

Phoenix legal defeat prompts FAA to address noise concerns

February 22, 2018 / WIL BALDWIN

PHOENIX (AP) — Nearly 100 people strolled through the high school cafeteria throughout the evening, studying colored graphs of flight takeoffs and jotting down comments for officials.

More than three years after they awoke to find window-rattling flights rerouted in an airborne highway above their homes, residents of Phoenix’s downtown historic districts said they finally felt the Federal Aviation Administration was listening.

Click the link below for the full story!

Phoenix legal defeat

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