Praia, Cape Verde, July 20, 2023 – Boeing [NYSE: BA] and Cabo Verde Airlines today celebrated the delivery of the airline’s first fuel-efficient 737 MAX jet with a special event at its home base with officials and employees. As part of its new “take-off” rebranding, the airline’s 737-8 will reconnect the Cape Verdean diaspora and boost tourism for the island nation from Africa, Europe, North America and South America.
Cabo Verde Airlines connects four continents with non-stop flights from its hubs in Praia and Sal. The 737-8 is part of the airline’s new “take-off” relaunch strategy. It aims to renew its fleet and expand its network to previously operated routes following the pandemic.
The 737 MAX airplane family delivers enhanced efficiency, improved environmental performance and increased passenger comfort to the single-aisle market. Powered by CFM International LEAP-1B engines and advanced technology winglets, the 737 MAX reduces fuel use and emissions by 20% compared to airplanes it replaces.
Ryanair (NYSE: RYAN), Edinburgh’s No. 1 airline, today (6th July) celebrated the 15-year anniversary of its base and 33 millionth passenger at Edinburgh Airport. Ryanair first began operating to/from Edinburgh Airport in 2001 with its first flight from Dublin. The airline has since grown to become Edinburgh Airport’s biggest carrier operating a record schedule for Summer ’23, with over 590 flights per week across 69 routes, incl. 6 new routes – Belfast, Bournemouth, London, Newquay, Rhodes, and Venice – on its 11 based aircraft, which represent a $1.1 billion investment and support over 3,800 local jobs.
To celebrate the 15-year anniversary of Ryanair’s Edinburgh base, as well as 33 million passengers and its record-breaking Edinburgh schedule for Summer ‘23, the airline has launched a special seat sale with fares from £29.99 for travel between July and Sept available only at Ryanair.com.
Toulouse, France – In the same month as it celebrated its 40 year anniversary, ATR has reached another impressive milestone in its history, delivering its 1,600th aircraft to national flag carrier, Air New Zealand (OTC: ANZLY). This delivery highlights the enduring strength of the ATR program, providing essential connectivity to communities all over the world. It also proves the value of the ATR 72-600 at serving domestic routes in New Zealand as it is the last of 29 aircraft ordered.
While ties between the two companies initially began some 25 years ago with the delivery of first generation ATR’s, this last decade has seen the forging of closer ties, with the delivery of the 29 dash 600 aircraft and through an important collaboration that enhanced the aircraft’s approach capabilities.
The introduction of the RNP AR 0.3/0.3 feature, part of ATR’s latest Standard 3 avionics suite, helped the airline and its pilots with the accuracy of the approach into Queenstown airport and providing reliable connectivity to the local community, who benefit greatly from ski tourism in the mountainous region.
Sustainability is also a key concern for both airline and manufacturer, with Air New Zealand having chosen the ATR 72-600 for its fleet as it burns 40% less fuel and emits 40% less CO2 than a similarly sized regional jet. This shared commitment to further enhancing eco-efficiency led to an agreement to work together to explore the future of the regional aviation ecosystem, including hybrid aircraft in 2018.
Embraer celebrated today the delivery of its 1,600th E-Jet, an E190-E2. Helvetic Airways of Switzerland received the milestone aircraft. Airlines and leasing companies from some 50 countries have added Embraer E-Jets to their fleets since the first-generation jets entered revenue service in 2004. The new, highly fuel-efficient second-generation E-Jets family, the E2s, started flying with airlines in 2018.
“It’s an honor in my new role as President and CEO of Embraer Commercial Aviation to deliver this landmark aircraft. It’s a tremendous milestone in the E-Jets program and in the company’s history,” said Arjan Meijer. “Over the years I have been personally very close to Helvetic and their E-Jets fleet planning project. Everyone at Embraer is extremely proud to see such a renowned airline flying our 1,600th production E-Jet.”
Helvetic Airways is currently transitioning from a fleet of first-generation E-Jets to E2s. The carrier received its first E190-E2 in October 2019 and has added four more since as part of its fleet renewal program. Helvetic flies the airplanes in a 110-seat single-class configuration on domestic and international routes. The carrier has firm orders for 12 E190-E2s and purchase rights for a further 12 E190-E2s with conversion rights to the E195-E2, bringing the total potential order to 24 E2 aircraft.
“We are especially proud to receive an E2 aircraft in these challenging times for our industry,” adds Tobias Pogorevc, CEO of Helvetic Airways. “And it’s a genuine privilege to share this special moment with Embraer. We’ve received very positive feedback on the E190-E2, from our passengers and our crews, since we introduced it into our fleet. We couldn’t be happier with the aircraft’s performance. The fuel burn is even lower than expected, which makes the airplane even more environmentally friendly. And we’re looking forward to resuming operations soon – with our milestone E190-E2 as well.”
For nearly two decades, Embraer’s innovative E-Jets family has been transforming commercial aviation. It is the industry’s most successful line of 70-to-150-seat passenger jets designed specifically for this capacity segment. The program has logged in excess of 1,900 orders to date from more than 100 customers. Some 80 airlines currently fly Embraer E-Jets. The global E-Jet fleet has accumulated more than 30 million flight hours, with an average mission completion rate of 99.9%. The versatile airplanes are flying with low-cost, regional and mainline carriers.
The E190-E2 is one of three aircraft in the second-generation E-Jets family. Compared to the first-generation E190, the E190-E2 consumes 17.3% less fuel. This makes it the E2 the most efficient single-aisle aircraft family on the market.
MONTREAL/WINNIPEG (Reuters) – Canada’s longest railroad strike in a decade ended on Tuesday as Canadian National Railway Co reached a tentative agreement with workers, but shippers warned it could take weeks before service bounces back to normal.
Industry groups celebrated the end of the eight-day strike at the country’s biggest railroad, which had cost them sales and raised their expenses. News of the deal, which must still be ratified by union members, sent CN shares up by as much as 2%.
Thousands of unionized workers began heading back to their jobs, CN said, with operations expected to be in full swing on Wednesday. Union members should vote on the deal within eight weeks.
CN has rescinded 70 temporary layoff notices at an auto shipment terminal in Nova Scotia following the deal, another union said.
Canada relies on CN and Canadian Pacific Railway to move crops, oil, potash, coal and manufactured goods to ports and the United States.
Details of the agreement were not available but some 3,200 striking conductors and yard workers had been demanding improved working conditions, including rest breaks.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau acknowledged CN and union officials in a tweet on Tuesday and thanked workers, industry and all Canadians for their patience.
Trudeau’s minority government had faced pressure from industry and farmers to end the strike and force workers back to their jobs.
Transport Minister Marc Garneau told reporters on Tuesday that if Ottawa had intervened with legislation, “we would not have had a solution today.”
Teamsters Canada President Francois Laporte noted the federal government “remained calm and focused.” CEO of Montreal-based CN J.J. Ruest thanked customers for their patience.
About half of Canada’s exports move by rail, according to industry data, and the strike would likely cost the Canadian economy less than C$1 billion ($750 million) and cut fourth-quarter growth by about 0.1 percentage point, Brian DePratto, a senior economist at TD, said.
PROPANE SHORTAGE TO PERSIST
The Canadian Propane Association warned severe shortages of the fuel in several eastern Canadian provinces could last weeks. “We need to get the inventory back up,” said association President Nathalie St-Pierre, noting the “crisis” was not over.
Garneau said CN will work quickly to clear the backlog, but added the process is complex and would take time.
Bob Masterson, chief executive of the Chemistry Industry Association of Canada, said some plants had slowed production during the strike.
Based on past rail disruptions, he said CN is likely to move critical commodities first, like propane for farms and homes and chlorine for drinking water, leaving other shippers to face delays.
PAIN FOR MINERS, FARMERS
Brendan Marshall, a vice president with the Mining Association of Canada, said miners faced hefty costs due to lost sales and plant disruptions. He said restoring normal operations could take a week for every day of disrupted service.
“Now we can hope that things can get back to normal in quick fashion. It’s cost a lot of money to farmers already,” said Markus Haerle, chairman of the Grain Farmers of Ontario. Wet conditions have stalled the harvest across much of Canada, including much of Haerle’s corn crop near St. Isidore, Ontario. Those crops must be dried before they can be sold, but the rail strike held up deliveries of propane, forcing farmers to use costlier alternatives.
(Reporting by Allison Lampert in Montreal and Rod Nickel in Winnipeg. Additional reporting by Kelsey Johnson in Ottawa, writing by Steve Scherer, editing by Louise Heavens, Steve Orlofsky and David Gregorio)
FILE PHOTO: Railcars stand idle at the CN railyards in Edmonton
