Tag: wet (Page 1 of 2)

Marathon Airlines expands Embraer pool program agreement for seven E-Jets

October 18, 2023 / WIL BALDWIN

Amsterdam, Netherlands, October 18, 2023 – Embraer SA (NYSE: ERJ) announced that it has signed a contract amendment with Marathon Airlines for the Pool Program to include additional two E195s. Now, seven E-Jets will receive support for a wide range of repairable components – three E175, one E190, and three E195. The Greek airline started the Pool Program contract last year, with its first E175, and has seen steady fleet growth since. Currently, Embraer’s Pool Program supports more than 60 airlines worldwide.

Embraer provides support to airlines worldwide, with its technical expertise and its vast component services network. The results are significant savings in repair and inventory carrying costs and a reduction in warehousing space and resources required for repair management, while ultimately providing guaranteed performance levels. Embraer Services & Support’s portfolio offers a wide range of competitive solutions designed for each customer to support the growing fleet of Embraer aircraft worldwide and deliver the best after-sales experience in the global aerospace industry.

About Marathon Airlines

Marathon Airlines is an EASA-approved airline based in Greece providing customer-centric, safe, and reliable Wet Lease (ACMI) services to well-established EU carriers and Charter flights. We are also specialized in a range of solutions including private jet charter and aircraft management. The current fleet also includes 2 Legacy 600 aircraft.

For more information, visit www.flymarathon.aero.

Airbus and Republic of Singapore successfully complete air to air refuelling flight test

October 11, 2023 / WIL BALDWIN

Getafe, Madrid, Spain, October 11, 2023 – Airbus Group SE (Paris: AIR) and the Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) worked together to successfully complete the automatic air-to-air refuelling (A3R) flight test campaign with the Airbus A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) and F-15 fighter, ahead of its certification in the first half of 2024.

Over the course of three weeks in August, a RSAF A330 MRTT made more than 500 automated wet and dry contacts with the air force’s full fleet of receiver aircraft, including the F-15SG aircraft, a customised variant of the US-built F-15E Strike Eagle air-to-ground fighter jet.

The flight tests with F-15SG were conducted in Singapore, covering the whole operational AAR envelope in different weather conditions under the supervision of the Spanish certifying authority, called INTA (National Institute for Aerospace Technology).

Qantas Group provides market update

September 24, 2023 / WIL BALDWIN

September 25, 2023, Qantas Airways Ltd ADR (OTC-QABSY) – The Qantas Group provides the following update to inform the market of a material increase to investment in customer improvements, continued strength in travel demand and the impact of elevated fuel prices.

CUSTOMER IMPROVEMENTS

The Group will invest a further $80 million in customer improvements across FY24 in addition to the $150 million previously budgeted, which will be funded from profits.

This additional investment is aimed at addressing a number of customer ‘pain points’ through improvements such as better contact centre resourcing and training, an increase in the number seats that can be redeemed with Frequent Flyer points, more generous recovery support when operational issues arise, a review of longstanding policies for fairness and improvements to the quality of inflight catering.

Qantas is also working to accelerate some initiatives already underway, such as the re-platforming of the Qantas app. More detail on these actions will be shared in coming weeks.

DEMAND LEVELS

Overall travel demand remains strong, with trading conditions in the first quarter of FY24 similar to the last quarter of FY23.

Qantas and Jetstar expect to carry more than 4 million passengers over the September/October school holidays and football finals period on almost 35,000 domestic and international services. This compares with around 3.7 million passengers on approximately 28,000 services over the same four week period last year.

Latest survey data shows that travel remains a top spending priority among Qantas Frequent Flyers over the next six months, well ahead of entertainment, renovations and homewares[1]. The Group greatly appreciates the continued support from customers choosing Qantas and Jetstar.

FUEL, FX AND FARES

Fuel prices have increased by around 30 per cent since May 2023, including a 10 per cent spike since August. This is driven by a combination of higher oil prices, higher refiner margins and a lower Australian dollar.

If sustained, this is expected to see the Group’s 1H24 fuel bill increase by approximately $200 million to $2.8 billion after hedging[2]. A further $50 million impact is expected due to non-fuel related foreign exchange changes.

The Group will continue to absorb these higher costs, but will monitor fuel prices in the weeks ahead and, if current levels are sustained, will look to adjust its settings. Any changes would look to balance the recovery of higher costs with the importance of affordable travel in an environment where fares are already elevated.

CAPACITY AND NETWORK UPDATE

New aircraft deliveries and wet-leasing arrangements will help Qantas and Jetstar boost international capacity by 12 percentage points by the end of the calendar year – an increase of almost 50 additional flights a week.

This includes Qantas resuming its Sydney-Shanghai services and starting two new routes, Brisbane-Wellington and Brisbane-Honiara, as well as a new Jetstar service from Brisbane to Tokyo.

Both international and domestic capacity for 1H24 is materially unchanged from estimates given in late August 2023.

FINANCIAL FRAMEWORK

The Group remains in a very strong financial position, including its debt levels and continued strong revenue intakes.

The on-market share buyback of up to $500 million announced on 24 August 2023 is now 10 per cent completed. Shareholder approval will be sought at Qantas’ upcoming AGM to increase the headroom for further share buybacks that the Board may choose to do in future in line with the Financial Framework.

[1] QFF sentiment tracker,n=2,019.Data collected between 1 August 2023 and 31 August 2023. Sample of QFF members from Red Planet panel. Based on respondents’ intended changes to upcoming spending across different categories.

[2] Assumes 1H24 underlying into-plane market reference price of approximately A$191 per barrel.

SWISS Reports Marginally Positive Earnings for Third Quarter Quarter

November 4, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

The coronavirus pandemic depressed earnings at Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) in the first nine months of 2021, too. Following an extremely challenging winter period, however, spring 2021 saw a slight recovery in demand which then strengthened in the summer months.

Marginally positive Adjusted EBIT for the seasonally strong third quarter

SWISS witnessed a significant increase in air travel in the traditionally strongest third-quarter period which, thanks to a certain catch-up effect, extended into autumn. The company was able to raise its summer-months capacities to 55 per cent of their pre-crisis levels, and was able to sell the additional production, too. Third-quarter revenue rose by 91.0 per cent as a result, from the CHF 370.5 million of 2020 to CHF 707.8 million. The combination of higher production and sizeable cost reductions enabled SWISS to report an Adjusted EBIT of CHF 6.7 million for the period (Q3 2020: CHF -148.3 million). The positive third-quarter earnings reduced the operating loss for the first nine months of the year to CHF -391 million (Q1-3 2020: CHF -415 million), even though the first two months of 2020 had been unaffected by the coming crisis. Total revenue for the first nine months of 2021 was some 11 per cent down on the prior-year period at CHF 1.37 billion (Q1-3 2020: CHF 1.54 billion). Very strong demand on the cargo front continued to partially make up for the weak passenger business.

“We are delighted to have achieved a marginally positive earnings result for the third quarter of this year,” says SWISS CFO Markus Binkert. “We were able to both sell our increased capacities and further lower our costs over the summer months. But our third-quarter earnings result is still substantially below its pre-crisis levels.” For seasonal reasons, SWISS will be unable to emulate these positive quarterly earnings in the current fourth-quarter period, and the company expects to report a substantially negative earnings result for 2021 as a whole.

Restructuring measures initiated are having their effect

The actions taken under the ‘reach’ strategic restructuring programme to achieve recurring savings of some CHF 500 million are progressing according to plan. Five Airbus A330s have been temporarily stored to downsize the long-haul aircraft fleet. A reduction should also be effected in the short-haul fleet by withdrawing older aircraft of the Airbus A320 family earlier than planned and deferring deliveries of new Airbus A320neo family aircraft. The number of aircraft of other airlines operating SWISS services on SWISS’s behalf under wet-lease agreements should also be reduced. Two further new Airbus A320neo aircraft will be delivered to SWISS this year.

SWISS’s liquidity also continues to steadily improve. The company now expects to utilize no more than half of its bank credit facility, and is also confident of repaying such loans ahead of their maturity. “The actions we have taken under our restructuring are having their effect, and we are on track to overcome the crisis. With the revival in air travel worldwide, which has been further boosted by the announcement that the USA is opening up again, we now expect to be able to raise our capacities next year to at least 70 per cent of their pre-crisis levels,” says CFO Markus Binkert.

Strong passenger growth in the summer months

SWISS registered increases in its passenger numbers of 88.3 per cent for July, 123.7 per cent for August and 204.6 per cent for September 2021 compared to their prior-year periods. Systemwide seat load factor for the third-quarter period amounted to 66.4 per cent, on capacity that was at 55 per cent of its pre-crisis level. Seat load factors on SWISS’s European network remained higher than those on its intercontinental routes, though the latter were still a substantial improvement on their 2020 levels.

SWISS¹transported 3.7 million passengers in the first nine months of 2021, some 15.2 per cent²fewer than it had carried in the same period last year. A total of 35,264 flights were performed in the period, 14.6 per cent fewer than in January-to-September 2020. Nine-month systemwide capacity was 3.4 per cent down in available seat-kilometre (ASK) terms, while total traffic volume, measured in revenue passenger-kilometres (RPKs), saw a 23.7-per-cent decline. Nine-month systemwide seat load factor stood at 50.7 per cent, 13.5 percentage points below its prior-year level.

For the fourth quarter of 2021 SWISS will continue to offer more than 50 per cent of its pre-crisis capacities and thereby maintain a flight programme that is as stable and reliable as possible. Some 90 destinations are served from Zurich and Geneva in the current winter schedules – broadly the same number of points that were served before the present crisis, but with fewer frequencies. The aircraft providing these services also include three long-haul Boeing 777s which were temporarily converted to operate cargo-only flights in response to the pandemic, but which have now been converted back for regular passenger use.

¹Excluding Edelweiss Air

²In line with the provisions and practice of the Lufthansa Group, SWISS has modified the definitions used in its traffic volume reporting, with retroactive effect to 1 January 2021. This is also reflected in the corresponding year-on-year comparisons.

Virgin Australia Group Outlines Growth Plans to Support Tourism Recovery

April 19, 2021 / WIL BALDWIN

BRISBANE, 15 April 2021: Virgin Australia Group has announced fast-tracked plans to acquire new aircraft, create more frontline jobs and grow its network to further support domestic tourism.

The recovery efforts include the reintroduction of 10 additional Boeing 737-800 aircraft and the planned return of more than 80 per cent of the airline’s pre-pandemic domestic capacity by mid-June. Network operational changes will also allow the airline to redeploy Boeing 737 aircraft to other parts of its network over the coming months.

After a year of rolling state-based restrictions, pent-up travel demand is supporting the launch of several new and expanded services and frequencies on key leisure and business routes. Virgin Australia Group is committed to maintaining a market share consistent with its pre-COVID position.

Commitment to Jobs

The creation of more roles at the Company will see more than 220 cabin crew return to the skies from the airline’s discontinued long-haul international, ATR regional and Tigerair Australia operations. The new recruits will join one of 15 cabin crew training schools over the next two months.

In addition, a major recruitment drive to fill more than 150 new cabin crew roles, including an expression of interest for future positions has also begun today, with applications from other Virgin Australia employee groups being assessed as a matter of priority. External expressions of interest can be made via the airline’s careers website.

Fleet and Network

The Company has finalised arrangements to re-introduce 10 Boeing 737-800 aircraft which had previously been operated by Virgin Australia, with further aircraft under investigation. The first three aircraft will join the airline’s mainline fleet this month while the remainder are set to progressively enter service by October.

The Company is finalising wet lease arrangements with Alliance Airlines to operate Fokker 100 services on behalf of Virgin Australia between Brisbane-Alice Springs and Brisbane-Mt Isa from 19 April 2021. The move will allow Virgin Australia to explore more efficient ways of managing capacity and frequencies to support choice and convenience for regional customers.

Using an Airbus A320 aircraft, Virgin Australia Regional Airlines (VARA) will also move to operate select services on mainline routes between Perth-Darwin, Perth-Broome and Perth-Adelaide from next month. These arrangements will support the redeployment of the Boeing 737 aircraft to other markets.

Between now and the June school holidays, the airline will add more than 220 return flights per week to its schedule, offering new and extended seasonal services and expanded frequencies on key business and leisure routes. Trans-Tasman services to Queenstown are set to recommence ahead of school holidays on 18 September 2021.

Embraer E195’s Make Vietnam Debut with Bamboo Airways

September 29, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

Two Embraer E195s have commenced operations in Vietnam with Bamboo Airways, offering the first jet service to Con Dao from Hanoi, Vinh and Hai Phong. Con Dao Island and the surrounding National Park is an area of outstanding natural beauty 1400km (760nm) from the capital Hanoi, off the southern coast of Vietnam. The popular tourist destination, featuring an archipelago of 16 islands, is currently only served by turboprop aircraft due to its short runway, light pavement, and lack of fuel provision.

The Embraer E195s join Bamboo Airways’ fleet on a wet-lease agreement with Denmark based Great Dane Airlines, adding to the growing number of E-Jet operators in the Asia Pacific region.

“Bamboo Airways is proud to offer jet-operated flights to Con Dao with the E195s,” said Mr. Dang Tat Thang – Executive Vice Chairman of Bamboo Airways. “The aircraft’s short runway performance makes it an ideal aircraft for flights to and from Con Dao. The two by two seating will offer our passengers a high level of comfort in a modern, spacious aircraft, including the one-of-its-kind Business Class on the route to Con Dao.”

“Congratulations to Bamboo Airways on this strategic move. The E-Jets will give them great flexibility both in performance as well as in economics,” says Raul Villaron, Vice President, Asia Pacific for Embraer’s commercial aviation unit. “The E195’s fuel efficiency and economics enables Bamboo Airways to cost effectively manage fluctuating demand and operate lower density routes with the right sized aircraft. We welcome Bamboo Airways to the Embraer family and our global team are here to support them.”

Bamboo Airways is the first to operate direct flights to Con Dao from three cities; the capital Hanoi, Hai Phong city in the North and Vinh city in the central area. There will be two flights a day on the Hanoi – Con Dao route and daily flights from Hai Phong and Vinh to Con Dao in the initial phase. Bamboo Airways are operating the aircraft in a comfortable single class configuration with 118 seats.

Embraer is the world’s leading manufacturer of commercial aircraft up to 150 seats with more than 100 customers from all over the world. For the E-Jets program alone, Embraer has logged more than 1,800 orders and 1,600 aircraft have been delivered. Today, E-Jets are flying in the fleet of more than 80 customers in some 50 countries. The versatile 70 to 150-seat family is flying with low-cost airlines as well as with regional and mainline carriers.

Ethiopian Airlines Dash-8 Careers Off Juba Runway In Bad Weather

December 10, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

An Ethiopian Airlines aircraft has suffered a runway excursion at Juba International Airport this evening. Wet conditions are being blamed for the accident, which has caused extensive damage to the aircraft. All passengers and crew are said to have deplaned safely.

The Dash 8 can be seen on the grass away from the runway. Photo: Twitter with permission

What happened?

Images are circulating online of a worrying incident in South Sudan. An Ethiopian Airlines aircraft has ended up some way off the runway, embedded in a grassy field and listing to one side. Close up images appear to show some damage to the landing gear and fuselage.

Damage can be seen to various parts of the plane. Photo: Garanovich PuTin

Click the link below for the full story!

https://simpleflying.com/ethiopian-runway-excursion/

CIAF Leasing Signs Order with Embraer for Three E190 Jets

November 17, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

Dubai, UAE, November 17, 2019 – Embraer and Cairo-based CIAF Leasing have signed a firm order for three E190 aircraft. The deal has a value of USD 161.4 million at current list prices and will be added to Embraer’s fourth quarter backlog.

The three new aircraft will join CIAF’s existing fleet of three E170s, two of which are on lease with Jasmin Airways, the other with Air Cairo. CIAF are also due to receive two E195s in mid-November.

Dr. Hassan Mohamed, Chairman and CEO of CIAF Leasing said, “The three new E190s will be an excellent addition to our growing fleet of Embraer E-Jets. With a fleet of E170s, E190s, and E195s, CIAF will have the flexibility to offer to both our wet and dry lease customers a service that fits their needs exactly.”

Raul Villaron, Vice President Sales, Africa and Middle East, Embraer Commercial Aviation said, “CIAF is rapidly increasing its footprint in both wet and dry leasing with the addition of further aircraft to their fleet and the establishment of their own AOC (Air Operator Certificate) in June this year. It’s a pleasure to work with an organisation that’s going from strength to strength by exploiting the benefits a family of aircraft can provide.”

All three aircraft will be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2020, in a new livery showing off CIAF’s new visual identity.

Embraer is the world’s leading manufacturer of commercial aircraft up to 150 seats with more than 100 customers across the world. For the E-Jets program alone, Embraer has logged more than 1,800 orders and 1,500 aircraft have been delivered. Today, E-Jets are flying in the fleets of 80 customers in 50 countries. The versatile 70 to 150-seat family is flying with low-cost airlines as well as with regional and mainline network carriers.

SWISS Adds Ljubljana to its Route Network

October 3, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

From 16 October onwards, SWISS will be offering a new service to the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana, departing from its hub at Zurich Airport. There will be five connections a week initially, with a daily flight from 27 October.

Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) is to extend its route network to include a new destination, Ljubljana, from 16 October onwards. There will be five flights weekly up to and including 26 October, which will initially be operated by Helvetic Airways. With the rollout of the winter schedule on 27 October SWISS will fly to the new destination once a day from Zurich on an alternate basis with its wet lease partner, Helvetic Airways.

Prior to discontinuation of flight operations by Adria Airways, SWISS passengers were able to travel to from Zurich to Ljubljana thanks to a codeshare agreement. The new flights will ensure a continuing connection. As a result, passengers from all over the world will still enjoy smooth travel to the Slovenian capital via the SWISS hub at Zurich Airport. Passengers from Ljubljana will have access to the Swiss flag carrier’s worldwide network.

The timetable is available at swiss.com, flights may be booked now.

Airbus Delivers First A330neo in Hi Fly Livery

September 3, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

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.

What happened?

Archives