Southwest Adds Assigned Seating, Redeye Flights Amid Revenue Woes

Southwest has announced a major shakeup in its product offerings amid a drop in profits, including changes to its seating model.

Andrew Chen

Thursday, July 25, 2024 at 04:26 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Ryan Ewing

Southwest 737 MAX 8 aircraft. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)

Southwest has announced a major shakeup in its product offerings amid a drop in profits. The Dallas-based carrier is moving forward with plans to change its seating model, revamp its boarding process, and add overnight redeye flights.

Seating and Boarding Changes: Premium and Assigned Seats

For over 50 years, Southwest has used a unique open seating model, in which passengers are assigned a boarding position and then pick any open seat once they board the aircraft.

Southwest has acknowledged that consumer preferences have changed, citing research showing that 80 percent of existing customers and 86 percent of potential customers prefer an assigned seat. Furthermore, the airline has stated that when customers stop flying with Southwest in favor of a competitor, open seating is cited as the number one reason for the move.

The airline will also be adding a premium extended legroom portion of the cabin, again citing research on consumer preferences. According to the airline, roughly a third of its seats will offer extended legroom.

Southwest will be introducing new seats from RECARO starting in 2025 (Photo: RECARO)

Introducing Redeye Flights

In another major shift for the airline, Southwest will begin operating redeye flights. While past labor attendant contracts prevented the airline from adding overnight flights, its new pilot and flight attendant agreements allow this change.

Starting on Feb. 14, 2025, the airline will begin flying overnight flights in five markets:

Las Vegas (LAS) to Baltimore (BWI)
Las Vegas (LAS) to Orlando (MCO)
Los Angeles (LAX) to Baltimore (BWI)
Los Angeles (LAX) to Nashville (BNA)
Phoenix (PHX) to Baltimore (BWI)

The introduction of redeye operations will allow the airline to improve its aircraft utilization and increase capacity without new aircraft. Southwest plans on introducing additional redeye flying in what it calls a “multi-year transformation to a 24-hour operation.”

“Urgent and Deliberate” Steps Being Taken Amid Financial Struggles

The product changes were announced on Thursday alongside the airline’s Q2 financial results. Southwest reported a 46 percent drop in profit to $367 million – or 58 cents per share – despite a 4.5 percent year-over-year increase in Q2 revenue. Although the company saw a decline in profits, its earnings per share still beat analysts’ estimates of 51 cents per share.

Southwest was once the most profitable airline in the United States but has more recently struggled against other airlines.

“Our second quarter performance was impacted by both external and internal factors and fell short of what we believe we are capable of delivering,” Bob Jordan, President, Chief Executive Officer, & Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors stated in a message to investors.

Andrew Chen

Andrew is a lifelong lover of aviation and travel. He has flown all over the world and is fascinated by the workings of the air travel industry. As a private pilot and glider pilot who has worked with airlines, airports and other industry stakeholders, he is always excited to share his passion for aviation with others. In addition to being a writer, he also hosts Flying Smarter, an educational travel podcast that explores the complex world of air travel to help listeners become better-informed and savvier travelers.

Farnborough Airshow Roundup: Day 3

It’s the third day of the Farnborough Airshow and a relatively quiet one due to there being no aircraft orders scheduled.

Sam Jakobi

Wednesday, July 24, 2024 at 04:08 PM ET

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Edited By:

Ryan Ewing

Inside a Boeing 787 Dreamliner flight deck at the Farnborough Airshow (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)

It’s the third day of the Farnborough Airshow and a relatively quiet one due to there being no aircraft orders scheduled. While the commercial news may be quiet, the airshow is far from it, with people still very much everywhere.

Thai Airways Extends Agreement to Maintain Boeing 777 Fleet

Thai Airways signed a deal with General Electric (GE Aerospace) to continue to maintain its Boeing 777 fleet. The service provided by GE Aerospace is dubbed the “TrueChoice” service, which includes maintaining, repairing, and overhauling the Thai Airways GE90 fleet.

Thai Airways remains a loyal customer of GE Aerospace, having used the GEnx on its Boeing 787 fleet expansion and equipping its fleet of Airbus A321neos with CFM LEAP engines.

The Thai flag carrier’s CEO, Chai Eamsiri, said that GE Aerospace “continues to prove itself as the right maintenance provider for our GE90 engines. This agreement extension ensures comprehensive coverage for our engines well into the future.”

ZeroAvia Partners with KLM to Fly Hydrogen-Powered Test Flight

Sustainable aviation start-up ZeroAvia has revealed that it will be partnering with the Dutch flag carrier to attempt a test flight. This would be a flight using liquid hydrogen as fuel, between two cities. When asked about the time scale at which a test flight could take place, ZeroAvia Founder and CEO, Valery Miftakhov, said that they were initially looking at 2026 at the latest.

When asked what kind of aircraft would be used for the test, Mr. Miftakhov said that he could not specify, but that it would be similar in size to the ATR 72 or DeHaveland Canada DHC-8.

At the moment, ZeroAvia is steadily making progress, having successfully produced multiple turboprop engine variants. These have been fitted to aircraft such as the DHC-8, and the Dornier 228.

Airbus Makes First Aircraft Lessor Partnership of ZEROe Program

Airbus has revealed that it will be partnering with Avolon in order to study Hydrogen-powered aircraft and reduce emissions in the aviation industry. This is the first partnership with an active lessor in the project’s history.

The European aviation manufacturer’s environmentally friendly project includes four concept aircraft, with all four carrying under 200 passengers. Its main goal is to make the first hydrogen-powered aircraft by 2035, and then start selling these commercially.

At the moment, progress is heavily underway, with other partners including Gatwick Airport for Infrastructure, easyJet, and Air Products, the world’s biggest supplier of hydrogen.

Sam Jakobi

Sam Jakobi is a young aviation journalist based in London, U.K. A lifelong Airbus fan, he has adored aviation for as long as he can remember. Sam writes articles and conducts interviews with members of the aviation community.

Delta Lags Behind as It Slowly Recovers From Weekend Meltdown

In an update to customers released on Wednesday, Bastian said that the airline expects to be fully recovered and operating normally on Thursday.

Andrew Chen

Wednesday, July 24, 2024 at 03:42 PM ET

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Edited By:

Ryan Ewing

A Delta A220 (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)

As airlines across the United States recovered from Friday’s global IT outage, one airline struggled to resume normal operations. While most airlines had reduced their delays and cancellations to relatively normal levels by Monday, Delta Air Lines continues to struggle with its recovery.

Thousands of Flight Cancellations

Major IT issues spread around the world on Friday, stemming from a software update issued by cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike that affected computers running Microsoft Windows. Travel disruptions quickly ensued, as key systems used by airlines and airports were affected.

Airlines in the United States have cancelled over 8,000 flights since the Friday outage, with Delta accounting for over 4,000 cancellations. The airline has stated that the main culprit has been a crew tracking-related tool. According to Delta Chief Executive Officer Ed Bastian, the tool was “unable to effectively process the unprecedented number of changes triggered by the system shutdown.”

By Monday, American Airlines and United Airlines had reduced their cancellations down to less than 100 flights each. However, Delta cancelled 1160 flights (30 percent of its schedule) on Monday and 511 flights (14 percent of its schedule) on Tuesday, according to data from Flightaware.com. As of 2:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time on Wednesday, Delta had 48 flight cancellations for the day.

Stranded Passengers and Airport Chaos

Reports of long lines to speak with airline staff and travelers stranded at airports filled news headlines throughout the weekend. While Delta has stated that it is offering meal vouchers and accommodations to affected passengers, it has not offered to reimburse passengers for flights booked on other airlines like Southwest Airlines did during its December 2022 operational meltdown.

The Atlanta-based carrier has also responded by issuing broad travel waivers that give passengers more flexibility in making ticket changes. It also suspended its unaccompanied minor services through Tuesday.

Crew members have also been hit hard by the disruptions, with many being stranded away from home, while others have picked up extra trips in an attempt to help improve the operation. The airline’s website and mobile app have also experienced performance challenges due to increased traffic.

The problems at Delta have led Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to announce that the Department of Transportation would be investigating the airline after it received a high volume of consumer complaints.

In an update to customers released on Wednesday, Bastian said that the airline expects to be fully recovered and operating normally on Thursday.

Andrew Chen

Southwest Faces Increased FAA Scrutiny Following Incident String

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is launching a safety review of Southwest after a series of close calls and other incidents.

Ryan Ewing

Wednesday, July 24, 2024 at 10:00 AM ET

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Edited By:

Ryan Ewing

A Southwest 737 MAX 8 in Las Vegas. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is launching a safety review of Southwest after a series of close calls and other incidents, the Wall Street Journal reported. The airline has confirmed the FAA’s safety review and said it is working closely with the agency on its evaluation of recent events.

The FAA has increased oversight of Southwest Airlines to ensure it is complying with federal safety regulations, the agency said. The review comes after a string of low-altitude alerts were issued to Southwest aircraft on approach.

In a statement, Southwest said it had formed a dedicated team of subject-matter experts and leaders from the airline, its union partners, and the FAA to bolster its existing safety management system.

The FAA has been stepping up its oversight of airlines in the wake of safety incidents. In March, it announced increased monitoring of United following a series of close calls and other issues there.

Ryan Ewing

Ryan founded AirlineGeeks.com in February 2013 and has spent more than a decade covering the airline business. His work has been featured by CNN, WJLA, CNET, and Business Insider. His aviation experience spans airport operations, Part 135 regulatory compliance, and airline crew workforce planning, along with time behind the yoke of a Cessna 172 and interviews with airline executives. Ryan now serves as Group President of Firecrown Media’s Aviation Group. He holds a B.S. in Air Transportation Management and an MBA from Arizona State University and teaches Airline Management at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Qatar Airways Shares How It Prepares High Quality Food at Altitude

If you’ve flown much, you’ll know that dining options on flights can range in variety and quality. Qatar Airways shares how it provies inflight service.

Lorne Philipot

Wednesday, July 24, 2024 at 08:25 AM ET

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Edited By:

Ryan Ewing

Nuts served after takeoff (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Hemal Gosai)

Some airlines are known for the exceptional quality of their inflight meals. If you’ve flown much, you’ll know that dining options on flights can range in variety and quality.

Fine Dining in the Sky

Though many passengers are happy with standard snacks when it comes to short-haul flights, serving high-quality food is a defining factor for many airlines operating long-haul flights.

So much so that the research, planning, and testing of menus and wine lists is as intensive as you would find in a top restaurant.

Airline Meals

Industry experts believe that there is more to just making food look good. It must also taste good.

To be on par with a fancy restaurant, inflight meals have to be carefully designed. However, this is something that is not quite as straightforward as it seems.

Airtight Cabin

While seated on a flight, passengers’ tastebuds are impacted by the dry conditions inside the pressurized aircraft cabin.

This impacts their sense of taste and smell and makes even tasty food seem very ordinary. Qatar Airways says it applies science when producing inflight menus for its flights.

Qatar Airways Catering Services Vice President, Shashank Bhardwaj, explains that the “great leveler is the physics of being in the air inside a pressurized tube.”

Qatar Airways’ Q-Suite business class (Photo: Qatar Airways)

Noteworthy Advances

Bhardwaj explains that two major advances have helped Qatar Airways overcome this. The first is the result of years of experimenting by chefs.

This has led to the realization that umami, the dense savory flavor found in a variety of foods including charcuterie, spinach, Chinese cabbage, seaweed, soy sauce, and tomatoes with a deep, red hue helps to win over senses dulled by dry air.

The second development is innovation in aircraft design and materials.

This includes the use of carbon-fiber-reinforced plastic in the aircraft’s fuselage. This allows the air inside the cabin to be more humid without risking structural damage.

Operations of Scale

Bhardwaj emphasizes the complexity of airline catering by highlighting the scale of Qatar Airways’ food and beverage operations.

Last year the airline utilised more than 5,000 tons of fruit and vegetables. This equals to 13.5 tons per day.

The airline prepares and serves more than 4,500 tons of poultry, meat, and fish as part of the 350,000 gourmet meals it prepares for its scheduled flights.

All meals are meticulously prepared to accommodate the dietary preferences of the passengers on specific routes.

Lorne Philipot

Lorne is a South Africa-based aviation journalist. He was captivated and fascinated by flying from the day he took his first airline flight. With a passion for aviation in his blood, he has flown to destinations in all corners of the globe. Lorne has traveled extensively and lived in various countries. Drawing on his travels and passion for aviation, Lorne enjoys writing about airlines, routes, networks, and new developments.

Farnborough Airshow Roundup: Day 2

After a day filled with orders on Monday, there’s only more to come as we kick off the day with a tour of Virgin Atlantic’s Airbus A330neo on static display,

Sam Jakobi

Tuesday, July 23, 2024 at 06:05 PM ET

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Edited By:

Ryan Ewing

Farnborough Airshow 2024 (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)

As the drizzle begins to come down this morning, the airshow opens for day two. After a day filled with orders on Monday, there’s only more to come as we kick off the day with a tour of Virgin Atlantic’s Airbus A330neo on static display, as well as a press conference on board with the CEO of the airline, as well as the CEO at Airbus Commercial.

Virgin Atlantic Order Seven More Airbus A330-900s

Virgin Atlantic CEO, Shai Weiss, announced on board the airline’s static A330neo this morning that his company would be purchasing an additional seven Airbus A330neos. This comes as a part of the London-based carrier’s fleet transformation, which he claimed it had spent 17 Billion pounds on over the last decade. Mr. Weiss confirmed that these A330neos would replace the existing A330-300 and A330-200 fleet.

This move should bring their total fleet number to 45 by the first quarter of 2028, with the old fleet including the A330ceos standing at 44 aircraft. AirlineGeeks asked Mr. Weiss whether he would keep the current cabin configuration on board the new aircraft, of which he said that he could not reveal anything at this time, but that he “highly appreciated” the current A330neo cabin.

Mr. Weiss claimed that the airline would position 40 of its fleet at London Heathrow, with the remaining five being at the carrier’s Manchester hub.

Commenting on the recent situation resulting in the cancellation of Virgin Atlantic’s route to Shanghai, Mr. Weiss blamed airspace issues. He stated that Chinese competitors could fly over Russian airspace, while Virgin Atlantic couldn’t so they had to take a longer route resulting in higher fuel consumption. However, Mr. Weiss said that he would “love to serve Seoul” once the Asiana and Korean Air merger was complete, due to free landing slots. From there, the airline can serve a 5th freedom route to the surrounding areas such as Japan or the Philippines.

Airbus Finalizes Order Announcement

Airbus today finalized an order with Japan Airlines to bring new long and short-haul aircraft to the fleet. The order consists of 20 Airbus A350-900s, and a further 11 Airbus A321neos. The order was announced in March of this year, however, was finalized at the airshow on Tuesday. Japan Airlines VP of Procurement, Yukio Nakagawa, claimed that it was “an honor” to make such an announcement.

The order includes one less A350 than announced in March. According to Mr. Nakagawa, this is because the extra A350 was a replacement for the one that crashed in January, however, Japan Airlines has decided not to continue with the aircraft.

As for the A321neos, JAL currently has no plans to convert them into the latest model, the Airbus A321XLR.

At the airshow over the past two days, there has been a strong focus on East Asian carriers, with both JAL and Korean making huge orders to add to their fleet. When asked about the impact of Chinese manufacturer Comac, Mr. Scherer said that it had no effect on the orders of Airbus aircraft and that he viewed them as “a friendly competitor,” but not a threat.

Qatar Airways Expands Boeing 777-9 Orders

Qatar Airways and Boeing have announced that it will extend its order for 40 Boeing 777-9s by 20, bringing the total figure for the order to 60 of the aircraft type. This means that Qatar Airways in total has 94 Boeing 777X aircraft on order, including both cargo and commercial configurations.

Stephanie Pope, CEO of Boeing commercial airplanes, said that the airline is “a leader in our industry, and we are honored the airline added 20 more 777-9 jets to its large Boeing order book. We appreciate their confidence that Boeing’s market-leading widebody family will provide outstanding fuel efficiency and a superior passenger experience for its global operations.”

Sam Jakobi

Skyward Express’ Fleet Expansion Supported by De Havilland’s Certified Refurbishment Program

The Farnborough Airshow is back. This year’s event featured some interesting announcements from De Havilland Aircraft of Canada.

Victor Shalton

Tuesday, July 23, 2024 at 05:48 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Ryan Ewing

A Skyward Express Fokker aircraft (Photo: AMISOM/Omar Abdisalan, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons)

The Farnborough Airshow is back. This year’s event featured some interesting announcements from De Havilland Aircraft of Canada including the newly launched OEM Certified Refurbishment Program. The company announced on Monday, July 22, 2024 the sale of a refurbished Dash 8-400 aircraft to Skyward Express, a private airline based in Kenya. This is part of Skyward Express’s ongoing fleet expansion strategy, as they recently acquired three Fokker F100s and are currently negotiating the purchase of a Fokker F70, according to NewsAero media website.

De Havilland Aircraft of Canada’s OEM Certified Refurbishment Program is designed to ‘keep the fleet flying.’ By acquiring, refurbishing, and re-marketing Dash 8-400 aircraft, the program meets the growing demand from customers. The specific aircraft acquired by Skyward Express will be reconfigured to support the airline’s ambitious fleet expansion.

Ryan DeBrusk, Vice-President of Sales and Marketing for De Havilland Canada, expressed enthusiasm about Skyward Express. “We are thrilled that Skyward Express is continuing to build their fleet of Dash 8-400s with the addition of an aircraft from our newly announced DHC OEM Certified Refurbishment Program,” said Ryan DeBrusk, Vice-President of Sales and Marketing for De Havilland Canada. “The Dash 8 is a prominent aircraft in Kenya, and we are proud to be working with Skyward Express, a premier operator in the region.”

Skyward Express has seen remarkable growth, solidifying its position in the Kenyan domestic market. To further support its expansion, the airline is actively acquiring Fokker aircraft. As reported by NewsAero in March this year, Skyward Express received its third Fokker F100 (registration 5Y-SKB, MSN 11369) from Woensdrecht Military Airport in the Netherlands. Additionally, the airline expects to add another Fokker, this time the F70 variant, to its diverse fleet.

Founded in 2013 by a group of Kenyan pilots and investors, Skyward Express initially focused on ad-hoc charters within East Africa. However, it has since expanded significantly and is now a leading carrier in Kenya, serving destinations such as Mombasa, Lamu, Eldoret, Lodwar, Diani/Ukunda, Malindi, Kitale, Kakamega, and Migori.

The airline has ambitious plans to add more regional destinations in the near future. Currently, Skyward Express operates twelve aircraft, including two De Havilland Canada DHC-8-100, one Dash 8-300, three F100s, one F70, and five F50s, according to Planespotters.net.

With the support of De Havilland’s Certified Refurbishment Program and its ongoing acquisition of Fokker aircraft, Skyward Express is well-positioned to continue its impressive growth trajectory and enhance its service offerings across the region.

In addition to the Skyward Express sale, the Tanzania Government Flight Agency (TGFA) also signed a purchase agreement for a DHC OEM Certified Refurbished Dash 8-400 aircraft. The aircraft will be used to enhance domestic air travel within Tanzania and leased to Air Tanzania. The TGFA provides VIP flight services to government officials.

Ryan DeBrusk, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for De Havilland Canada, stated, “The addition of a De Havilland Canada OEM Certified Refurbished Aircraft to the TGFA fleet provides continuity to the TGFA’s growing national airline program.” He emphasized the suitability of the Dash 8 aircraft for enhancing domestic air travel in Tanzania. TGFA provides VIP flight services to government officials and manages all Tanzanian government aircraft, which are leased to Air Tanzania.

Victor Shalton

Victor Shalton's love for aviation can be traced to when he was 11-years-old. As a seasoned aviation writer, he takes pride in providing the best aviation coverage around the globe and is passionate about advancing his skills in the aviation space. In addition, he loves travelling, writing, arts and while his speaking engagements have taken him around the world, he is proud to call Nairobi home.

Flydubai Lashes Out at Boeing

The current backlog of 125 aircraft is delayed enough that none of the 2024 planned units will reach the Dubai-based carrier.

Filip Kopeć

Tuesday, July 23, 2024 at 05:36 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Ryan Ewing

A flydubai 737 MAX 8 performing a test flight at Paine Field. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Katie Zera)

In a fresh press release just as the Farnborough Airshow opened its gates, flydubai commented on the extreme delays that are hindering its expansion plans.

Boeing Cannot Keep Up

The Dubai-based carrier operates a single-type fleet of 88 Boeing 737 aircraft including 29 Boeing 737-800s and 59 Boeing 737 MAXs split between MAX 8 and MAX 9 variants. With a backlog of 125 units, it is one of the manufacturer’s biggest clients for the type. This situation was already ongoing when flydubai decided to step in line with a large order for Boeing’s widebody workhorse, the 787 Dreamliner, back at the Dubai Airshow in 2023.

Boeing does not deliver in line with the expectations though. The press release mentions that the aircraft delivered so far in 2024 were ones delayed from the past years. The scheduled 14 units to be handed over this year are not coming at all, according to the latest delivery schedule revisions.

A flydubai Boeing 737 departs from Dubai International (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Hisham Qadri)

Commenting on the ongoing delays, Ghaith Al Ghaith, Chief Executive Officer at flydubai, said, “We are extremely disappointed to learn that Boeing will not be able to fulfil its commitment to deliver more aircraft for the remainder of the year. Boeing’s short-noticed and frequent delivery schedule revisions have hindered our strategic growth plans resulting in significant disruptions to our published schedules. The reduced capacity will ultimately affect our customers as well as our projected financial performance.”

Earlier this year, the carrier reported a record-setting profitability result for the year 2023. Now with the crippling aircraft delays, 2024 financial performance is in jeopardy, but there is more on the line. The fast-growing Middle Eastern airline is risking its brand image and reliability in the eyes of its customers.

Flydubai’s network in July 2024 (Photo: flydubai)

Flydubai In Defense

The sister company of Emirates, flydubai, is actively expanding its network. This year it announced entering all three of the Baltic markets, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, as the first UAE-based carrier. Plans like the above depend on the new aircraft delivery schedule to be fulfilled.

The carrier has already implemented mitigating measures to combat the shortage of available aircraft. It kept some units that were bound to leave the fleet and has invested in an extensive retrofit program for its fleet of Next-Generation Boeing 737-800 aircraft. This requires additional funds allocation both to pay off the lessors and also to fund the retrofit operation.

Moreover, the company’s management engaged in a significant agreement with a Czech schedule flights, charter, lease, and ACMI provider, Smartwings. The full-economy configured Boeing 737-800s helped flydubai to fulfil its Winter 2023/24 schedule.

Filip Kopeć

A passionate aviation enthusiast that started off his career as an aerospace engineer, but found his true calling on the commercial side of the airline business. Now as a finance guy among avgeeks and an avgeek among finance guys, he has experience working in the Revenue Divisions of three airlines. In his spare time he enjoys traveling, but admittedly sometimes is more about the journey than the destination.

Farnborough Airshow Roundup: Day 1

Over 75,000 visitors are expected over the course of the next five days in the small British town southeast of the capital.

Sam Jakobi

Monday, July 22, 2024 at 05:57 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Ryan Ewing

An Embraer E190 at Farnborough 2024 (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)

It’s day one of the Farnborough Airshow. Over 75,000 visitors are expected over the course of the next five days in the small British town southeast of the capital. With Royal Air Force flyovers, and more than 1,200 exhibitors, it’s sure to be a busy week.

Over the next five days, we plan to give you all the events taking place in daily “round-up” articles, so be sure to check back here each evening. In this article, we take a look at all the events occurring on the first day of the show, as well as a small press conference with executives at Boeing.

Boeing’s Pre-Airshow Press Conference

At a press conference in London, on the day before the show began, Boeing Commercial Aircraft CEO Stephanie Pope shared key details on the company. In response to questions regarding the impact on Boeing’s production, Pope claimed that Boeing had managed to increase production on their 737s and 787s.

Pope, who recently took the helm of Boeing commercial aircraft due to the resignation of Boeing’s former leader, claimed that she had key priorities to address when taking leadership. These included culture at the company, production, and quality.

Korean Air Renews Long-Haul Fleet by Ordering Boeing 777-9s and 787-10s

Korean Air announced at a press conference that they were ordering additional long-haul aircraft to their fleet. The order consisted of 20 Boeing 777-9s, and 20 Boeing 787-10s, with a further 10 Boeing 787s being optional. Korean Air CEO, Walter Cho, claimed that these additional aircraft tied in nicely with the Airbus A350-1000s ordered earlier this year.

When questioned on when the aircraft would be delivered, Mr. Cho said that they were looking at 2028 as the first delivery slot.

Japan Airlines Orders Additional Boeing 787s

Japan Airlines has announced that it will procure an additional 10 Boeing 787-9s, with the first set to arrive in 2028 going through to 2031. This is a finalization of the order announced in March of this year. Once the order is finalized, it will bring JAL’s Boeing order total to 10 Boeing 787s and 21 Boeing 737 MAXs.

Japan Airlines orders Boeing 787s (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Sam Jakobi)

Drukair Announce Order for Additional Airbus A320neos and new A321XLRs

In one of the first A321XLR orders of the airshow, Bhutan’s flag carrier announced a revolutionary short-haul order for the airline. The full breakdown consists of three Airbus A320neos and two Airbus A321XLRs.

The airline’s current Airbus fleet consists of four Airbus A320 family aircraft: three Airbus A319s and an A320ceo. The new aircraft will be revolutionary for the small Bhutani carrier, allowing them to reach destinations farther away such as the Middle East or northeastern Asia.

Drukair’s CEO, Tandi Wangchuk, claimed that he was “thrilled to embark on this new chapter in Drukair’s history, which dovetails perfectly with the development of the Gelephu Mindfulness City and work to expand the Gelephu airport. Our investment in these state-of-the-art aircraft underscores our dedication to supporting Bhutan’s vision of holistic and mindful development.”

Qatar Airways Announces Upgraded Qsuite Product

Qatar Airways revealed its “QSuite next-gen” product, an upgrade to its current business class product featured on its Boeing 777s and Airbus A350s. The new features include moveable 4K OLED Panasonic Astrova IFE screens, the first ever to be featured on board an airline’s cabin.

The seats in the cabin are also wider now, and the ability to socialize in so-called “Quad suites” (four seats grouped together) still remains at the heart of its product. The new seats will be featured on Qatar Airways’ Boeing 777-9s which are on order and set to first arrive in 2025.

Sam Jakobi

Boeing Projects Global Need for 2.4 Million New Commercial Aviation Jobs Over Next 20 Years

Boeing projects a demand of nearly 2.4 million new pilot, technician and cabin crew jobs worldwide through 2043 as commercial aviation markes grow.

AirlineGeeks.com Staff

Monday, July 22, 2024 at 04:11 PM ET

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Edited By:

Ryan Ewing

Pilot prepares aircraft for departure (Photo: Shutterstock | Demkat)

Boeing projects a demand of nearly 2.4 million new pilots, technicians, and cabin crew jobs worldwide through 2043 as commercial aviation markets in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Africa continue to grow.

According to a news release from Boeing, the company’s 2024 Pilot and Technician Outlook (PTO) shows the industry will require these new professionals to support the growing commercial fleet and meet the long-term increase in air travel.

The PTO report estimates a need for 674,000 new pilots, 716,000 new maintenance technicians, and 980,000 new cabin crew members to sustain the global commercial fleet through 2043.

The report projects demand for new personnel driven primarily by single-aisle airplanes, except in Africa and the Middle East where widebody airplane demand leads. Eurasia, China, and North America drive demand for more than half of new industry personnel.

South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Africa are the fastest-growing regions for personnel with staffing demands expected to more than triple over the next 20 years, the report states. Two-thirds of the newly hired personnel will address replacement due to attrition, while one-third supports growth in the commercial fleet.

The PTO forecast projects the following industry needs through 2043:

Region	New Pilots	New Technicians	New Cabin Crew
Global	674,000	716,000	980,000
Africa	23,000	25,000	28,000
China	130,000	137,000	163,000
Eurasia	155,000	167,000	240,000
Latin America	39,000	42,000	54,000
Middle East	68,000	63,000	104,000
North America	123,000	123,000	184,000
Northeast Asia	25,000	30,000	43,000
Oceania	11,000	12,000	18,000
South Asia	40,000	40,000	49,000
Southeast Asia	60,000	77,000	97,000

“Driven by aviation traffic trending above pre-pandemic levels, personnel attrition and commercial fleet growth, the demand for aviation personnel continues to rise,” said Chris Broom, vice president of commercial training solutions for Boeing Global Services, in the news release. “We are focused on being a reliable and innovative partner in the lifecycle of aviation training. Our offerings are rooted in competency-based training and assessment programs to help ensure high quality aviation training starting in flight schools and in commercial operations while helping enhance aviation safety through immersive and virtual training solutions.”

AirlineGeeks.com Staff

AirlineGeeks.com was founded in February 2013 as a one-person blog in Washington D.C. Since then, we’ve grown to have 25+ active team members scattered across the globe. We are all here for the same reason: we love deep-diving into the fascinating realm of the airline industry.