TOMORROWS TRANSPORTATION NEWS TODAY!
In early September 2021, adventurer and photographer Chris Burkard traveled to Iceland to cycle an adapted version of the Westfjords Way, an incredible new touring route through some of Iceland’s most remote parts. Chris and his friends cycled over 1000km (650 miles) through winding fjords and remote villages in the super-scenic northwest corner of the country.
Click the link below to read the full article!
https://www.icelandair.com/blog/cycling-westfjords-chris-burkard/
Sky Lagoon, Iceland’s newest geothermal bathing hotspot, opened in Reykjavik last week. If you know Iceland, you know that soaking in warm water is a favorite national pastime. Sky Lagoon is one of the new breed of designer pools catering to locals and visitors looking for sweet soaking opportunities in Instagram-worthy landscapes.
The opening weekend for Sky Lagoon was a big, buzz-worthy success, with media coverage and plenty of gorgeous photos flooding social media. The sun shone brightly and in an incredible stroke of good fortune, Sky Lagoon’s huge, 75-meter (246ft) infinity-edge pool and the large windows of the designer sauna enjoy a view across the ocean to the Icelandic president’s residence, and in the distance, an erupting volcano on the peninsula. The view – of smoke plumes, and a red glow when the conditions are favorable – is one the architects could have only dreamed about in the planning stages of the complex. A front-row seat for rosy sunsets completes the appeal, and we can imagine winter soaks under northern lights adding an extra wow factor.
Click the link below to read the full story!
https://www.icelandair.com/blog/sky-lagoon-opens-in-reykjavik/
Singapore Airlines (SIA) has completed sale-and-leaseback transactions for 11 aircraft, comprising seven Airbus A350-900’s and four Boeing 787-10’s, raising approximately S$2.0 billion in total.
The transactions were arranged by four different parties, as follows:
| Lease Arranger | Aircraft |
|---|---|
| Aergo Capital Limited | 1 Airbus A350-900 1 Boeing 787-10 |
| Altavair | 4 Airbus A350-900’s |
| EastMerchant / Crianza Aviation | 1 Airbus A350-900 2 Boeing 787-10’s |
| Muzinich and Co. Limited | 1 Airbus A350-900 1 Boeing 787-10 |
| Total | 11 |
SIA has successfully raised approximately S$15.4 billion in fresh liquidity since 1 April 2020, including these sale-and-leaseback transactions. The amount also includes S$8.8 billion from SIA’s successful rights issue, S$2.1 billion from secured financing, S$2.0 billion via the issuance of convertible bonds and notes, as well as more than S$500 million through new committed lines of credit and a short-term unsecured loan.
SIA continues to have access to more than S$2.1 billion in committed credit lines, along with the option to raise up to S$6.2 billion in additional mandatory convertible bonds before the Annual General Meeting in July 2021.
During this period of high uncertainty, as the airline industry continues to navigate the unprecedented challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the SIA Group will continue to explore additional means to raise liquidity as necessary.
Mr. Goh Choon Phong, Singapore Airlines Chief Executive Officer, said: “The additional liquidity from these sale-and-leaseback transactions reinforces our ability to navigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic from a position of strength. We will continue to respond nimbly to the evolving marketing conditions, and be ready to capture all possible growth opportunities as we recover from this crisis.”
Sky Lagoon, Iceland’s newest geothermal bathing hotspot, opened in Reykjavík last week. If you know Iceland, you know that soaking in warm water is a favorite national pastime. Sky Lagoon is one of the new breed of designer pools catering to locals and visitors looking for sweet soaking opportunities in Instagram-worthy landscapes.
The opening weekend for Sky Lagoon was a big, buzz-worthy success, with media coverage and plenty of gorgeous photos flooding social media. The sun shone brightly and in an incredible stroke of good fortune, Sky Lagoon’s huge, 75-meter (246ft) infinity-edge pool and the large windows of the designer sauna enjoy a view across the ocean to the Icelandic president’s residence at Bessastaðir, and in the distance, the erupting volcano on the Reykjanes peninsula. The view – of smoke plumes, and a red glow when the conditions are favorable – is one the architects could have only dreamed about in the planning stages of the complex. A front-row seat for rosy sunsets completes the appeal, and we can imagine winter soaks under northern lights adding an extra wow factor.
Sky Lagoon is just a few kilometres from downtown Reykjavík, at Kársnes harbor in Kópavogur. Note that it’s not a place for people with young kids, as admission to the lagoon starts at 12 years of age.
Visitors have a choice of 2 packages, with the main difference being in the changing facilities. The more expensive Sky Pass includes private changing rooms with use of Sky Lagoon’s premium hair- and skincare amenities. Both entry passes – the cheaper Pure Pass, and the Sky Pass – include lagoon admission and access to the 7-step ‘Ritual’, which takes place inside a turfhouse inspired by an age-old Icelandic building tradition. There’s an in-water bar serving drinks, plus a stylish cafe and snack bar in the complex building.
Throughout the stylishly rustic complex, visitors can see design elements that draw inspiration from Icelandic nature and heritage, from the turfhouse to turf walls and plunge pool.
Sky Lagoon presents The Ritual as a ‘rejuvenating journey that awakens your senses and leaves your skin healthy and glowing’. It combines warm and cold waters, warm steam, dry heat and fresh air.
If you like the sound of Sky Lagoon, Iceland has a lot more treats that are right up your alley. There’s a growing number of geothermal spas springing up around the country, creating an incidental itinerary for road-trippers looking to end each day with a scenic soak.
Aside from Sky Lagoon, one of the newest to hit the scene is Vök Baths (pictured below) in East Iceland, where the highlight is 2 floating pools set in lake waters.
All year round, these complexes draw bathers to their warm waters. In the wise words of one local, “Iceland’s sunshine doesn’t come from the sky, it comes from the water.”
From horseback riding to cave diving, puffin watching to hot spring soaking, Iceland has turned itself into a popular vacation destination. Until fairly recently however, beer tourists didn’t have much to entice them to this island nation in the North Atlantic. In fact, 2019 marks only 30 years since Iceland legalized the sale and consumption of beer with over 2.25% alcohol, ending nearly eight decades of a curious and narrowly defined type of prohibition. Things have changed considerably however, particularly in the last few years.
The first Icelandic craft brewery, Bruggsmiðjan, which produces the popular Kaldi, didn’t open until 2006, and as recently as 2015 there were only seven small breweries nationwide. Today, nearly 30 beer companies dot the countryside, with the highest concentration in greater Reykjavík. There’s trendy KEX Brewing in the capital city, which just opened its second location in Portland, Oregon; Ölverk Pizza and Brewery in the South, where the brewhouse is powered by geothermal energy; Brugghús Steðja, which gained publicity by making beers with unusual ingredients including smoked whale testicles; and Lady Brewery, one of the newer brands in Iceland, started by two young women in a home kitchen.
“The culture has changed so fast,” says Valgeir Valgeirsson, head brewer at RVK Brewing Company in central Reykjavík. “[Craft beer] is quite a new concept. We’re just trying to build it up.”
Ten taps greet visitors to RVK, along with a British beer engine, traditionally used to serve cask ales. Here, in an unassuming taproom overlooking the brewery’s stainless steel fermentation tanks, those with adventurous palates can try everything from a juicy, easy-drinking pale ale with notes of tropical fruit, to a boldly flavored, high-alcohol stout made with coffee and coconut. Creativity is king in this new era of brewing, with the sky as the limit. Valgeir and a number of other brewers around the country have even made sour beers by incorporating skyr, an Icelandic cultured dairy product, into their recipes.
Meanwhile, more than 230 miles (370 km) away in the small but scenic fishing village of Siglufjörður, Marteinn Haraldsson is the proud owner of the country’s northernmost brewery, Segull 67. Marteinn, a computer scientist who grew up in town but lives in Akureyri, learned the basics one homebrew recipe at a time, but now produces much larger batches in a former fish-freezing factory a short distance from the popular Herring Era Museum. An amber lager simply called Original and Sigló, an India pale ale, sell best, but Marteinn also makes a Belgian-style wheat beer with coriander and lime peel and a pineapple summer ale—not exactly options you would have had in Iceland as recently as a few years ago.
For all of the tourists that arrive in Siglufjörður via cruise ship during the summer months, Marteinn talks about the obstacles to being a little business in a remote town of 1,200. “Most of our challenges are getting people to know about us,” he says. “We just try to take it one day at a time.”
East of Reykjavík, in the town of Hveragerði, Ölverk Pizza and Brewery has successfully gained attention since opening its doors in 2017, by combining complementary passions: wood-fired pizza, and craft brewing. General manager Laufey Sif Lárusdóttir and her partner head brewer Elvar Þrastarson don’t currently can or bottle any of the beers they make, preferring to serve them on premise by the glass, pitcher, or tasting flight. Working on a small system enables Elvar to keep the draft list varied and interesting, tempting taste buds with a mild, malty, and food-friendly Altbier alongside a hazy, hoppy, party-in-a-glass imperial IPA like Disco Juice. The couple also typically devotes two of their eight taps to other small Icelandic breweries they admire, like Ölvisholt in Selfoss or The Brothers Brewery on Heimaey in the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago.
“It’s really small and friendly,” says Laufey of the young Icelandic beer scene. “For other industries it’s really weird. But if someone else opened up a brewery here I would say ‘Okay, I will be better.’” Ólafur Ágústsson, one of the partners behind KEX Brewing, echoes this sense of camaraderie, and explains how a desire to build and promote interest in craft brewing motivated the company to begin hosting an annual Icelandic Beer Festival at KEX’s four-story space in downtown Reykjavík eight years ago. Last year more than a dozen Icelandic brewers poured their ales and lagers alongside examples from the US and elsewhere in Europe.
“We’re not brewers at all,” he says. “I’m a chef. We’re just people who like good beer. We wanted to make the scene better. That’s what’s important right now—helping everybody and trying to grow the market.”
Something’s Brewing, All Around Iceland
1. KEX Brewing Hosts of the popular annual Icelandic Beer Festival.
2. RVK Brewing Company Fruity sours share space with easy- drinking lagers and hazy, hoppy IPAs.
3. Brugghús Steðja Sleep on the farm in an insulated cabin at this rural brewery.
4. Dokkan Brugghús The first brewery in the Westfjords, and possibly the most remote in Iceland.
5. Segull 67 Brewery Fresh beer, fishing history, and views of Siglufjörður.
6. Bruggsmiðjan Kaldi Brewery Soak in a beer spa at the country’s oldest craft brewery.
7. Húsavík Öl Expect creative saisons made with birch, rhubarb, juniper, or mint.
8. Beljandi Brugghús Approachable beers and a rustic vibe inside a former slaughterhouse.
9. Smiðjan Brugghús Try the baby back ribs cooked in Icelandic stout.
10. The Brothers Brewery Watch for puffins on the ferry ride to this island brewery.
11. Ölvisholt Brewery Don’t miss the chance to try Lava, a smoked imperial stout.
12. Ölverk Pizza and Brewery Pair a tasty ale with the surprisingly delicious banana pizza.
There are many more breweries in Iceland, particularly in the greater Reykjavík area. For a complete map, check out the Independent Craft Brewers of Iceland’s Facebook page.
The last we heard of the Icelandic budget airline Wow Air was in March 2019 when it ceased operations without warning, stranding up to 4,000 passengers at the time. According to Yahoo, the airline is now on schedule to come back in October of this year, thanks to a major investment by USAerospace Associates.
Michele Ballarin, chief executive of USAerospace Associates, said in a press conference last week that Wow Air will relaunch with just two planes in operation, with the potential to increase that number to more than 10 aircraft by summer 2020. The relaunched Wow Air operations will be based at Dulles International Airport, located outside of Washington, DC, though it will have facilities in Reykjavik and nearby Keflavik International Airport.
Click the link for the full story! https://www.theverge.com/2019/9/9/20857460/wow-air-comeback-october-iceland-us-airport-dulles-bankruptcy
Reykjavik, Airbus Helicopters is supporting the Icelandic Coast Guard (ICG) with the entry into service of two Airbus H225 heavy search and rescue (SAR) helicopters as the first step in a renewal of the agency’s helicopter fleet.
The aircraft are replacing two of the ICG’s three existing Airbus AS332L1 Super Pumas, the first of which entered service in 1995. They are being leased from Norwegian helicopter lessor Knut Axel Ugland Holding AS and will both be in service by the end of April 2019. The ICG plans to purchase permanent replacements for all three aircraft in its fleet by 2022.
Airbus Helicopters is providing pilot and technician training on key features of the H225 and ongoing maintenance and support under an HCare Smart Parts By the Hour contract.
The 11-tonne category, twin-engine H225 is the latest member of Airbus Helicopters’ Super Puma family with more powerful engines providing a smoother ride and enhanced performance compared to the AS332L1.
Equipped with state-of-the-art electronic instruments and a 4-axis autopilot system, the H225 offers outstanding endurance and fast cruise speed, and can be fitted with a wide range of SAR equipment. Operated by two pilots, it can be configured with up to 18 seats or six stretchers.
The H225 and military H225M are benchmarks in SAR and combat SAR and are operated by 20 nations worldwide.
Commander S.G. Sindri Steingrimsson, Director Flight Operations at the ICG said: “The experience with our current fleet of Super Pumas has been excellent through the years. Overall they have done a fantastic job for us here at the Icelandic Coast Guard, in some of the most challenging conditions for aircraft SAR operations in the world. We fully expect that the new Super Pumas will add great value to the safety and security of our operations, increasing capability and reliability while at the same time modernising our technological standards to meet current needs.”
The attached photo shows one of the new leased aircraft.
About Airbus
Airbus is a global leader in aeronautics, space and related services. In 2018 it generated revenues of € 64 billion and employed a workforce of around 134,000. Airbus offers the most comprehensive range of passenger airliners. Airbus is also a European leader providing tanker, combat, transport and mission aircraft, as well as one of the world’s leading space companies. In helicopters, Airbus provides the most efficient civil and military rotorcraft solutions worldwide.
(Reuters) – Iceland’s WOW air became the latest budget airline casualty on Thursday, halting operations and cancelling all future flights after efforts to raise more funds failed.
WOW, which focussed on low-cost travel across the Atlantic, advised stranded travellers to seek flights with other airlines. It flew a total of 3.5 million passengers last year.
“This is probably the hardest thing I have ever done but the reality is that we have run out of time and have unfortunately not been able to secure the funding of the company,” WOW CEO and founder Skuli Mogensen wrote in a letter to the company’s 1,000 employees.
“I will never be able to forgive myself for not taking action sooner,” he added.
WOW had earlier postponed flights on Thursday as it entered what it had hoped were the final stages of an equity raising with a group of investors.
“My flight from Boston has been cancelled. Having a hard time getting through to anyone on the phone. Can you help me at all?” Twitter user Marc Solari wrote.
WOW replied with an apology and offer of further assistance.
WOW is the latest budget airline to collapse as the European airline sector grapples with over-capacity and high fuel costs. Recent failures include Britain’s Flybmi, Nordic budget airline Primera Air and Cypriot counterpart Cobalt.
“RESCUE FARES”
Other airlines including, Icelandair, Easyjet and Norwegian stepped in offering discounted ‘rescue fares’ to stranded passengers, according to the Icelandic Transport Authority
WOW has been pursuing different avenues to raise money over the past few months.
It ended talks with rival Icelandair last Sunday while veteran low-cost airline investor Bill Franke also had cancelled a proposed investment through private equity fund Indigo Partners.
Icelandair shares traded up 13 percent percent at 1215 GMT after the failure of a competitor.
Founded in 2011 by entrepreneur Mogensen, WOW used smaller single-aisle planes to fly between Iceland and many destinations in the United States and Europe.
Its website had advertised flights from London to cities such as New York and Boston for as little as 150 pounds, although the journey went via the Icelandic capital Reykjavik.
Norwegian Air has a little over half of the market share in the fast-growing, low-cost, long-haul transatlantic market, while WOW controlled a quarter in 2018.
There are fears of a knock-on effect on Iceland’s important tourism industry.
Around 30 percent of tourists visiting Iceland last year flew with WOW and the collapse could trigger a 16 percent drop in tourists this year, research from Icelandic bank Arion showed.
( By Stine Jacobsen and Tommy Lund; editing by Darren Schuettler/Keith Weir)
COPENHAGEN (Reuters) – Icelandic low-cost carrier WOW air, which is in talks with U.S. private equity fund Indigo Partners about a potential investment, said on Thursday it would reduce its fleet to 11 aircraft from twenty and cut 111 jobs.
Indigo is managed by Bill Franke, the veteran U.S. low-cost airline investor, and has also made investments in U.S.-based Frontier Airlines, Mexico’s Volaris, Chilean carrier JetSmart and Hungary’s Wizz (WIZZ.L).
“After a challenging year, WOW air is now restructuring and simplifying its operations to return to its roots as a profitable ultra-low cost airline while discussions with Indigo Partners progress,” WOW Air said in a statement.
It said it was in negotiations with its lessors to return some of its aircraft including all Airbus A330s. Four Airbus A321s are being sold in a transaction that will improve its liquidity by more than $10 million, it said.
WOW Air will have around 1,000 employees after the job cuts, it said.
Indigo and WOW Air have not disclosed any details about their talks, but WOW Air has said that CEO and primary shareholder, Skuli Mogensen will remain a principal investor in WOW after the deal.
Icelandair (ICEAIR.IC) last month scrapped its plan to buy the privately-held airline.
(Reporting by Teis Jensen; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)
Image from http://wowair.us
(Reuters) – Icelandair (ICEAIR.IC) has agreed to buy rival Icelandic airline WOW air from its founder for about $18 million in an all-share deal aimed at creating a stronger international competitor.
Airlines are looking to consolidate in many markets as a result of rising running costs, largely to higher oil prices, and increased competition from low-cost, budget carriers.
WOW has focussed on low-cost travel across the Atlantic, using smaller single-aisle planes to fly between Iceland and destinations in the United States and Europe.
While there has been some consolidation in Europe over the last year, with Lufthansa and easyJet acquiring parts of failed airline Air Berlin in 2017, the chief executives of the continent’s biggest airline groups say more is to come.
Struggling Italian carrier Alitalia is seeking new investors and British Airways-owner IAG (ICAG.L) bought a stake in Norwegian Air (NWC.OL) with a view to a takeover.
A jump in the oil price could spur more consolidation, as weaker players are likely to suffer over the winter period as costs rise during a period when fewer people tend to fly.
Both Icelandic airlines, which Icelandair said would continue to operate under separate brands, use Keflavik Airport as their main hub between Europe and North America.
Together they have a combined 3.8 percent share of the transatlantic market, Icelandair, which warned on profit in July due to an increase in capacity on some routes across the Atlantic, added in a statement.
Icelandair shares jumped by nearly 50 percent after it announced the WOW takeover, the biggest one day percentage gain in its stock price since September 2009. The headline value of its offer for WOW was based on Friday’s closing share price.
“WOW air has been Icelandair’s main competitor and the acquisition is likely to lead to increase in average fares and better capacity control on the market to and from Iceland.” Arion Banki analyst Elvar Ingi Moller said.
WOW’s founder and sole owner Skuli Mogensen, who will receive 272 million shares in Icelandair, said that the deal will strengthen its international competitiveness.
Moller said WOW, which has 14 Airbus A320 family aircraft and three widebody A330 planes, has come under pressure due to higher oil prices and lower air fares in recent months.
Icelandair said its shareholders are due to meet to vote on the deal in the near future.
(Reporting by Tommy Lund; Additional reporting by Saray Young; Editing by Jon Boyle/Louise Heavens/Alexander Smith)
Image from www.boeing.com
© 2024 WELCOME TO WWW.PLANESINTHEAIR.COM
Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑
