Toulouse, France 09 June 2021 – World2fly, the new long-haul airline recently founded by the Spanish hotel company Iberostar, has taken delivery of the first of two A350-900s on lease from Air Lease Corporation (NYSE: AL), becoming the latest operator of the world’s most efficient large widebody aircraft.
The airline, based on the Balearic island of Mallorca, will operate the two leased A350-900 aircraft on long-haul routes from Madrid to leisure destinations, such as Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic, Cancun, Mexico, and Havana, Cuba.
World2fly’s A350-900s feature a modern and highly-comfortable single-class cabin layout with 432 seats. Passengers will enjoy more personal space, wide seats and absolute well-being on board and appreciate the latest-generation in-flight entertainment and connectivity. The A350 Airspace cabin is the quietest of any twin-aisle aircraft and offers passengers and crew the best flying experience.
The Airbus A350’s clean-sheet design features state-of-the-art aerodynamics, a carbon-fibre fuselage and wings, plus the most fuel-efficient Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines. Together, these latest technologies translate into unrivalled levels of operational efficiency and sustainability for World2fly, with a 25% reduction in fuel-burn and CO2 emissions compared to previous generation twin-aisle aircraft.
JetBlue (NASDAQ: JBLU) announced it has formally taken delivery of its first Airbus A220-300 aircraft, marking the start of a new era for the airline’s fleet. The aircraft – tail N3008J – is scheduled to arrive at JetBlue’s home at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) this evening from Airbus’s U.S. production facility in Mobile, Ala. It is the first delivery of 70 A220 aircraft JetBlue has on order, which will be phased in to ultimately replace the existing fleet of 60 Embraer 190 aircraft.
The A220 boasts a nearly 30 percent lower direct operating cost per seat than the current E190. Lower seat costs come from both fuel and non-fuel savings. The A220 fleet will also help to further reset JetBlue’s maintenance costs well into the decade. The airline anticipates the A220 fleet, with improved reliability and longer maintenance intervals, will have a maintenance cost per seat that is more than 40 percent lower than E190s.
With a range of up to 3,350 nautical miles and a 40 percent lower fuel burn per seat than JetBlue’s E190 aircraft, the favorable economics open the door to new markets and routes that would have been unprofitable with JetBlue’s existing fleet. The A220 covers a wide mix of new and existing market possibilities with excellent economics on short, medium and even potentially transcontinental markets. This will allow for better overall aircraft utilization and provide a competitive advantage for JetBlue in short haul markets.
The A220 is powered exclusively by Pratt & Whitney GTF engines, which deliver double-digit improvements in fuel and carbon emissions. Optimizing fuel burn is an important first step in JetBlue’s cost-conscious sustainability strategy, and prioritizing fuel-efficient aircraft and engines aligns with JetBlue’s approach to reducing emissions. Earlier this year, JetBlue became the first major U.S. airline to achieve carbon neutrality for all domestic flights, and later announced its plans to achieve net zero carbon emissions across all operations by 2040. The A220’s significant reduction in per-seat emissions will help JetBlue meet and maintain its sustainability commitments.
The interior of JetBlue’s A220 will be as impressive as the operating capabilities of the aircraft. Customers will also enjoy an elevated inflight experience with wider seats, spacious overhead bins and extra-large windows. JetBlue’s fleet features the most legroom in coach (a) and free Fly-Fi®, the fastest broadband internet in the sky (b). JetBlue will reveal details of its custom-designed A220 cabin – featuring thoughtful, customer-friendly touches throughout – in January 2021.
JetBlue continues to navigate the new travel environment with a steady hand and a long-term view on recovery. The investment in the A220 allows the airline to continue to execute its low cost business model, and enables JetBlue to continue to offer low fares to more customers.
Click the link below to view the JetBlue Airbus A220-300 Aircraft time lapse video!
Due to increased uncertainty surrounding the duration and scale of the Covid-19 outbreak, Air New Zealand has today announced that it will be withdrawing the full year 2020 earnings guidance it issued to the market on 24 February 2020 and reconfirmed at its interim results announcement on 27 February 2020.
Air New Zealand has taken numerous steps to mitigate the impact of reduced demand resulting from Covid-19, including reducing capacity on its Asia, Tasman and Domestic networks, redeploying its fuel efficient 787 Dreamliner fleet to drive operational efficiencies and using tactical pricing to stimulate demand on the impacted sectors. However, the airline now believes that the financial impact is likely to be more significant than previously estimated and with the situation evolving at such a rapid pace, the airline is not in a position to provide an earnings outlook to the market at this time. An update on earnings expectations will be provided when appropriate.
Over the course of the past week the airline has seen additional softness in demand with a decline in bookings across its network. The further spread of Covid-19 to countries outside of China, including New Zealand, has driven a downward shift in demand.
Chief Executive Officer Greg Foran says that it is increasingly clear that Covid-19 has created an unprecedented situation and it is difficult to predict future demand patterns.
“We have been continuously monitoring bookings and in recent days have seen a further decline which coincides with media coverage of the spread of Covid-19 to most countries on our network as well as here in New Zealand,” says Mr Foran.
In response the airline has implemented further capacity reductions to its network, which include extending the suspension of its Shanghai service through to the end of April, and additional consolidation of services across the Tasman, Pacific Islands and Domestic network in March and April.
As a result of these actions, Air New Zealand has reduced total capacity into Asia by 26 percent, and total overall network capacity by approximately 10 percent since the outbreak of Covid-19 started.
Like the vast majority of its industry peers, the airline is also pursuing a range of mitigations in response to the swift decline of demand. These include the deferral of non-urgent capital spend and non-critical business activity across operational and corporate functions.
Chief Executive Officer Greg Foran has voluntarily offered to reduce his base pay of $1.65 million by approximately 15% ($250,000) with the support of the Board, and Air New Zealand’s Executive team will extend their salary freeze that has been in place since May 2019. On top of this, the airline has implemented a hiring freeze for all roles that are non-critical and will offer operational staff the option to take unpaid leave in addition to managing annual leave balances.
“Air New Zealand is a strong and resilient business operated by a world-class team with deep experience having navigated prior shocks to our business and industry. While we have already made swift adjustments to our operations, we are prepared to take further actions to address the ongoing demand impact of Covid-19,” says Mr Foran.
Summary of Air New Zealand’s response since the Covid-19 outbreak
Overall capacity reductions of approximately 10% across the network, including: – Asia capacity reduction of 26% through June, including extension of Shanghai route suspension through April – Tasman capacity reductions of 7% through June – Pacific Islands capacity reductions of 6% through June – Reductions across the Domestic network of approximately 4%, with a 10% to 15% reduction in March and April
Various labour initiatives including a voluntary reduction in CEO pay, a hiring freeze for all non-critical roles and voluntary unpaid leave for operational staff
Deferral of non-urgent capital spend and any non-critical business activity
Hi Fly, the privately-owned Portuguese wet lease specialist operating an exclusive all-Airbus fleet, has taken delivery of a new A330neo on lease from Air Lease Corporation (NYSE: AL). The aircraft is configured with 371 seats in a two-class layout, with 18 high-comfort lie-flat business class seats and 353 economy seats. All seats are equipped with the latest-generation in-flight entertainment system, and mood lighting is available throughout the aircraft.
The A330 will be deployed to further expand Hi Fly’s long-haul wet lease and charter operations worldwide. Hi Fly operates an all-Airbus fleet of 20 aircraft including four A320 Family aircraft, 15 A330/A340 Family aircraft and one A380.
As a wet lease specialist, Hi Fly provides aircraft on lease for short notice airline operations, with crew, maintenance and third-party insurance provided in a service-ready package.
The A330neo Family is the new-generation A330, comprising two versions: the A330-800 and A330-900. The A330neo Family aircraft shares 95% commonality with the previous A330.
It builds on the proven economics, versatility and reliability of the A330 Family, while reducing fuel consumption by 25% per seat versus previous generation competitors and increasing range by up to 1,500nm compared to the majority of A330s in operation.
The A330neo is powered by Rolls-Royce’s latest-generation Trent 7000 engines and features a new wing with increased span and new A350 XWB-inspired Sharklets. The cabin provides the comfort of the new Airspace amenities including state-of-the-art passenger inflight entertainment and Wi-Fi connectivity systems.
