Frontier Airlines Announces Five New International Destinations As It Continues Expansion

Thursday, August 18, 2022 at 04:36 PM ET

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A Frontier A320 in Denver (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Parker Davis)

Ultra-low-cost carrier Frontier Airlines announced on Tuesday that it will launch flights to an additional five destinations outside of the U.S. The carrier will operate its new international flights from the nation’s busiest airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, with service beginning between November and December later this year.

Beginning Nov. 5, and continuing through Dec. 17, Frontier will add nonstop service to five destinations from Atlanta, more than doubling its current international operation out of the airport. Destinations served will include San Jose, Costa Rica; Liberia, Costa Rica; Nassau, Bahamas; San Salvador, El Salvador and Kingston, Jamaica.

“This is a significant moment for Frontier Airlines here at Hartsfield-Jackson,” said the airport’s Deputy General Manager and Chief Commercial Officer Jai Ferrell. “We are excited that Frontier will expand our travelers’ choice of international connectivity with these five new routes.”

The carrier began operating internationally from Atlanta a little under a year ago, offering nonstop flights to three international destinations including Cancun; Montego Bay, Jamaica and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic.

The announcement brings excitement for the airlines and its customers, offering many more options for travelers looking for a getaway.

“This international expansion marks an exciting milestone for Frontier at ATL,” said Jake Filene, Senior Vice President of Customers at Frontier Airlines. “We now offer an extensive range of flight options, including an impressive roster of international destinations, providing Atlanta-area consumers even more opportunities to enjoy our ‘Low Fares Done Right.’ With the addition of these new routes, Frontier now serves 36 nonstop destinations in total from ATL.”

A Quick Expansion

Service to each destination will begin different days with varying frequencies. The first destination the airline will serve is Nassau, service that will start Nov. 5. Intro fares will begin at $69, and the route will be serviced one time weekly. On Nov. 6, it will launch flights to San Salvador, El Salvador, beginning at $69, with services running twice weekly.

One day later, Frontier will add Kingston — with an intro fare of $89 — operating twice weekly. Ten days later on Nov. 17, twice-weekly service to San Jose, Costa Rica will begin, with introductory fares of $79. Service to Liberia, Costa Rica will begin just prior to the uptick in passenger travel for Christmas, on Dec. 17. The carrier will serve Liberia once weekly and plans to start offering tickets for $79.

Additionally, the Denver-based airline announced new international service from Orlando International Airport to Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla Guadalajara International Airport in Guadalajara, Mexico. Service to Guadalajara will begin Nov. 6, and the city will be served twice weekly.

Lastly, the carrier will launch three weekly flights from its Denver International Airport hub to Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida. Service begins Nov. 6, as well.

The announcement comes just weeks after Frontier’s $2.7 billion bid was rejected by Spirit stakeholders for purchase of the company. One day later, Jetblue’s $3.8 billion buyout deal was accepted.

Chase Hagl

Chase Hagl grew up in Twin Falls, Idaho. His love and passion for Aviation landed him in Orem, Utah where he obtained a B.S. in Aviation Management with a minor in Business Management from Utah Valley University. Chase currently works as a flight attendant in Charleston, SC and is also the primary Inflight ASAP ERC representative for startup airline, Breeze Airways. His experience in the aviation industry spans back four years, working in areas including agriculture application, customer service, maintenance, and flight ops. In his free time, Chase enjoys road biking, astronomy, and flying.

Pacific Airshow Gold Coast Releases Event Dates

Mike Mangano

Wednesday, August 17, 2022 at 12:00 PM ET

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Parker Davis

Canada's Snowbirds performing at Pacific Airshow, Huntington Beach. (Photo: Pacific Airshow)

Pacific Airshow today released the dates for its inaugural Gold Coast, Queensland, event, expanding the highly successful Pacific Airshow Huntington Beach to Australia in 2023. The three-day Pacific Airshow Gold Coast, scheduled from Aug. 18 to Aug. 20, 2023, promises to be the largest air show in Australian history.

In an interview with AirlineGeeks, Pacific Airshow Gold Coast event organiser Kevin Elliott said that the event aims to be “more than just an air show. It will be a total experience,” with the exact setup yet to be announced.

A Southward Expansion

Following April’s announcement that Pacific Airshow would be expanding to Australia, Elliott said there was substantial interest in what the event could look like. As such, the event will seek to cater toward a variety of attendees, from professionals to more casual visitors.

Offering a glimpse into what those in attendance can expect, Elliott said, “There will be hospitality options for everyone – ranging from show-centre General Admission on the beach to ‘money can’t buy’ VIP experiences, corporate chalets, private cabanas and more! The hospitality build-out on the beach is going to be truly extraordinary and when combined with our highly curated cuisine offerings — we’re taking hospitality on the beach to a whole new level.”

Rendered image of hospitality setting at Pacific Airshow Gold Coast. Image: Pacific Airshow

In addition to the culinary culture to be experienced, Elliott said attendees can expect “something for everyone throughout the event precinct stretching for several kilometres along the esplanade,” adding that spectators “can expect the whole of Surfers Paradise, land, sea and sky to be transformed into the world’s biggest stage.”

Explaining why Pacific Airshow Gold Coast stands out as unique among other Australian air shows, Elliott said the event will “be an absolutely epic air show, with the air displays set to flow non-stop and fluently.” Although finer details are yet to be released, including the specifics of which display teams will be performing, Elliott’s position on the International Council of Air Shows means the world’s best talent will be attracted to the event. In a statement, Pacific Airshow said that “spectators are set to be thrilled by world-class aerobatics and jets with adrenaline-pumping speed and thunderous power as well as the latest in Urban Air Mobility technology.”

Performers join up for the camera over Pacific Airshow Huntington Beach. Photo: Pacific Airshow

Elliott reinforced that despite the size and scale of Pacific Airshow Gold Coast – with the event already utilising several full time operations teams – the entire experience will be family-friendly. Speaking on the matter of safety, Elliott told AirlineGeeks that “all stakeholders have been engaged” so as to ensure a safe atmosphere for all in attendance to enjoy. He also said that “during the history of Pacific Airshow, not a single arrest has been made.”

A Boost For Tourism

Given the losses experienced by Australia’s tourism industry throughout the pandemic, Pacific Airshow Gold Coast is expected to bring a welcome increase of both national and international tourists to Australia’s most popular holiday destination.

“The Pacific Airshow Gold Coast will be a game-changer for our city and I’ve no doubt that now the 2023 dates are announced, the media and marketing exposure across Australia is sure to result in strong accommodation bookings giving our tourism sector a welcome boost though the traditionally quieter August period,” Major Events Gold Coast CEO Jan McCormick said.

According to Elliott, Pacific Airshow Huntington Beach already attracts 3 million visitors each year and has become a national sensation in the United States – a positive sign for Pacific Airshow Gold Coast, which aims to become an annual and integral element of the Gold Coast’s tourism sector. Speaking on the location and its importance to the event, Elliott told AirlineGeeks that event will be “the biggest spectacle on the coast”, adding “what better place to be than on the Gold Coast – an ideal place to combine a holiday with an incredible air show.”

Mike Mangano

Mike’s love affair with flight and mechanical objects in the sky began at an early age, fascinated by space documentaries and the vintage Flight Simulator ’95. He currently works as an instructor for UAVs and is training to receive his Private Pilot Licence with the goal of working in manned flight instruction. An avid reader of all things aviation and manned space flight, Mike stays close to developments in aerospace while reminiscing and sharing the rich history of flight with others. He loves writing, engineering and science.

Qantas Orders A321 Freighters In Next Move with Airbus

Pete Ainsley

Wednesday, August 17, 2022 at 09:00 AM ET

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Parker Davis

A Qantas A380 in long-term storage (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)

Qantas has deepened it cooperation with Airbus again. In the wake of the growing demand for cargo, in particular in the Asia Pacific region, Qantas will increase its cargo services by adding six Airbus A321 freighters.

The flag carrier revealed that it will source the aircraft on the open market and covert the new aircraft from passenger flight to cargo flight. Six aircraft are expected to be arrived in Australia between early 2024 and mid- 2026. The new aircraft designation will be A321P2F — P2F stands for “passenger to freighter,” Airbus’s answer to Boeing’s Boeing Converted Freighter — BCF — program.

Qantas currently owns three A321P2Fs, which can carry 23 tonnes of goods, nine tonnes more than current 737s. The aircraft are around 30% more fuel efficient per tonne than their American-made counterparts. The airline said the A321P2F can reduce its emissions and enable to generate further operational efficiencies.

The airline will replace its two aging Boeing 737 freighters with the new aircraft. One B737-300F was retired last month after 36 years of services.

“This is one of the largest ever investments in our domestic freight fleet, that will enable Qantas Freight to capture more of that demand and will provide the opportunity to help Freight further grow revenue earnings,” said Qantas CEO Alan Joyce in a statement.

According to the airline, Qantas Freight has been benefiting from the increased demand for e-commerce and higher international yields driven by supply chain disruption. Qantas didn’t mince its word on the upcoming financial report.

Earlier, Qantas unveiled that two of its Airbus A330 passenger aircraft had been converted into freighters and are expected to start operating in 2023. The new aircraft will be able to carry up to 50 tonnes of freight. Qantas said one freighter will join the international network and the other freight will operate domestic route.

Since the airlines have been facing the severe turbulence in 2020, most airlines geared up their cargo services for the Covid-19. Some carriers’ income from the cargo services offset the weak travel demand. Also, online shopping becomes the new normal after two years of the pandemic.

New Airbus Fleet

Earlier, Qantas reached the agreement with Airbus for subscribing 12 Airbus A350-1000 XWBs and 20 Airbus A220s and A321XLRs. Qantas said it would pick the A350-1000 for its well known “Project Sunrise,” linking Sydney and Melbourne, Australia to London and New York as well as operating other international routes.

The A321XLRs and A220s will be used primarily on domestic routes, while the A321XLRs could also be operated from Australia to destinations in Southeast Asia.

In the meantime, Qantas and Airbus announced further cooperation after the aircraft contract had been inked. The pair are going to invest up to $200 million to help develop the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) industry in Australia, with the project aimed at helping Qantas and other potential customers lower their carbon emissions. Qantas has committed to using 10% SAF in its fuel by 2030.

Pete Ainsley

Ethiopian Airlines Adds European Fifth Freedom Route, Continues 737 MAX Deliveries

Victor Shalton

Wednesday, August 17, 2022 at 06:00 AM ET

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Parker Davis

An Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787-9 prepares to land in Brussels. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Fabian Behr)

Ethiopian Airlines will try to stabilize its schedule in the months ahead, and it will turn to overseas flights to make that happen. The airline has obtained traffic rights on the route between Geneva, Switzerland and Manchester, two destinations to be offered jointly from Addis Ababa.

Beginning Oct. 30, the resumption of flights by the Ethiopian national carrier between its base in Addis Ababa and Manchester airport will no longer pass through Brussels as before the Covid-19 pandemic, but instead will connect through Geneva Airport.

This flight will receive the fifth freedom designation, allowing Ethiopian Airlines to fly passengers solely between Switzerland and England and vice versa. The airline will offer four weekly frequencies operated by a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner departing from Ethiopia, which can accommodate 30 passengers in business class and 285 in economy.

These flights between Geneva and Manchester are scheduled to operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays at 7:15 a.m. to arrive at 8:05 a.m., while ET729 returns leaving Manchester at 6:50 p.m. and landing at 9:40 p.m. The Ethiopian national airline will face competition on this route from the low-cost EasyJet, Jet2 and TUI Airways.

In addition to the three weekly rotations to Manchester offered by the Star Alliance carrier via Brussels before the pandemic, it also provided three to Geneva with continuation to Marseille, France.

Zaventem Airport, located in Brussels, will benefit from two weekly flights from Addis Ababa plus five operated via Vienna. Marseille’s Provence Airport will then be served via Rome’s Fiumicino International Airport three times per week.

Currently, Ethiopian Airlines offers only three direct European destinations: Paris, London and Frankfurt. The airline operates to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport and Heathrow Airport in London.

With regard to its African flight offering, Ethiopian Airlines from January 2023 intends to increase capacity on its service to Bulawayo, its newest destination in Zimbabwe.

Initially, the Star Alliance carrier had scheduled from Nov. 1, a four-times weekly Addis Ababa – Victoria Falls – Bulawayo – Addis Baba service with a Boeing 737-800 or 737 MAX 8. As observed by Aeroroutes, the airline plans to switch to Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner starting January 1, 2023, with selected dates to be operated by Boeing 787-8.

According to planespotters.net, the airline currently has 36 Boeing 737s and 27 Boeing 787s in its fleet.

MAX Deliveries

Meanwhile, following the decision to return the MAX plane to its scheduled flight operations earlier this year, Ethiopian Airlines has resumed taking delivery of the Boeing 737 MAX from the U.S.-based manufacturer . The airline has so far received three Boeing 737 MAX since the resumption of flights three years after the crash of flight ET302, which killed 157 people.

An Ethiopian 737 MAX 8 parked in Washington. (Photo: AirlineGeeks)

As the airline resumes commercial ops of the 737 MAX 8, its first new unit — ET-AWJ — was received at the beginning of July. Two more 737-8s — ET-AWK and ET-AXG — have since been delivered, registering a total of seven active aircraft.

A further 23 are awaiting delivery, all configured to accommodate 16 passengers in business class and 144 in economy. According to planespotters.net, five others have already received their new registrations — ET-AZA, -AWF, -AWG, -AWH and -AWI — suggesting imminent deliveries.

The rest of Ethiopian Airlines’ medium-haul fleet consists of six Boeing 737-700s and 23 Boeing 737-800s plus 21 De Havilland Canada Dash-8 Q400s It also operates three Boeing 767-300s and 10 Boeing 777s in addition to assorted other aircraft.

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.

Delta Set to Reinforce Seattle-Seoul Daily Flight with Second Service

Parker Davis

Wednesday, August 17, 2022 at 12:38 AM ET

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Parker Davis

A Delta A330 lands in Los Angeles (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Hisham Qadri)

Delta Air Lines will increase the frequency of its nonstop service between Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and Seoul-Incheon International Airport with the addition of three-times-per-week service effective Dec. 13.

The new service will complement Delta’s existing daily operations and Joint Venture partner Korean Air’s five-times-weekly service, bringing the total frequency to 15 flights a week.

Delta’s Seoul services will operate on the latest Airbus 330-900neo aircraft, featuring Delta One suites, Delta Premium Select, Delta Comfort+ and Main Cabin services. The added service will also provide new time channel option for customers connecting to Asia via Incheon, the joint venture’s hub.

“Korea travel demand has strongly rebounded since the reopening in April, leading recovery in Asia,” said Matteo Curcio, Delta’s Vice President – Asia Pacific. “With our increased flights between Incheon and Seattle, more passengers will be able to enjoy our best-in-class travel experience during the winter travel season.”

A Delta Air Lines Boeing 757 climbs out of Eagle County Airport. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)

Delta is Seattle’s largest global airline and serves more international destinations than any other carrier, offering more than 130 daily departures to nearly 50 destinations across the globe. The Seattle-Tacoma International Airport recently opened a new, stunning 450,000-square-foot International Arrivals Facility (IAF) in May, offering customers a faster, more comfortable experience, with enhanced technologies for faster passport check clearance and reducing the average customer connection time by about 15 minutes.

Delta’s operations from Atlanta and Detroit to Incheon have resumed daily service as of Aug. 2, and Minneapolis service will return on Oct. 29. With the additional frequency from Seattle in December, Delta will increase the capacity on the U.S.-Korea network by 10% compared with 2019.

This article was written by Pablo Díaz for Aviacionline.

Parker Davis

Parker joined AirlineGeeks as a writer and photographer in 2016, combining his longtime love for aviation with a newfound passion for journalism. Since then, he’s worked as a Senior Writer before becoming Editor-in-Chief of the site in 2020. Originally from Dallas and an American frequent flyer, he left behind the city’s rich aviation history to attend college in North Carolina, where he’s studying economics.

United Airlines Firms eVTOL Order with Payment to Archer

Fangzhong Guo

Tuesday, August 16, 2022 at 05:49 PM ET

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Parker Davis

Archer Aviation's Maker during a test flight. (Photo: Archer Aviation)

Archer Aviation announced on Aug. 15 that it had received a $10 million pre-delivery payment from United Airlines. Archer secured the order of 100 with United in April 2021. The order was valued at $1 billion, meaning United Airlines put a 1% downpayment for the new aircraft.

The payment marks one of the most significant cash transactions in this sector. Until last month, most deals made public were non-binding letters of intent. American Airlines announced commitments for pre-delivery payment to Vertical Aerospace in July, which boosted the industry’s confidence that money would begin regularly changing hands. However, the announcement did not indicate an immediate monetary transaction. Unlike Vertical Aerospace, Archer Aviation clearly received funds from its customer before its press release.

Archer Aviation

The electric plane maker also announced the name for its first production airplane, dubbed Midnight. It will be piloted and can carry four passengers for up to 45 trips under 20 miles. Archer expects to deliver the first airplanes in 2024-2025.

The company is conducting a flight test campaign on its technology demonstrator, Archer Maker. So far, the planemaker has tested the airplane’s vertical take-off and landing configuration. At the end of July, it announced that the plane had completed critical azimuth flight tests that simulated wind coming from different directions. The San Jose-based company expects to start transitional flight tests near the end of 2022.

The company also posted new footage of its prototype. In the latest video, the plane maker showcased the Maker’s ability to hover and move in different altitudes and directions. The footage showed significant improvement in hover stability compared to the first hover video from December 2021. The company also changed the Maker’s livery to a silver tone rather than the all-black livery it wore during the first hover.

United Airlines’ Sustainability Commitment

The Chicago-based airline has been at the forefront of sustainability investments. The airline has agreements in almost all sectors of sustainable aviation technologies. Besides sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and carbon capture, it has a few new energy aircraft on order.

United went on a shopping craze in 2021. After signing the agreement with Archer Aviation, it also invested in Electric Regional plane maker Heart Aerospace for the 19-seat airplane ES-19. Later in the year, it also invested in the Hydrogen-electric engine company ZeroAvia.

On the other end of the spectrum, United also has 15 Boom supersonic aircraft on order on order. However, it committed itself to use 100% SAF to offset the high fuel consumption.

A Heart Aerospace ES-19 in United Airlines Livery. (Photo: Heart Aerospace)

Other eVTOL programs

The electric air taxi market is one of the fiercest in the innovative aviation space. Besides the United-Archer partnership and the aforementioned American-Vertical deal, all the major airplane manufacturers are also heavily invested in this sector.

Boeing invested $450 million in Wisk earlier this year. Wisk has been flying its current generation prototype since 2018. Similarly, Airbus’s electric flight program has also been flying since 2018 and is planning on its maiden flight for the next generation aircraft cityAirbus NextGen in 2023. Embraer also has its urban air mobility arm, Eve Air Mobility. Despite having flown a prototype, it also targets the same entry into service timeframe in 2025.

Fangzhong Guo

Fangzhong grew up near an OEM airport in northeastern China, where he developed his enthusiasm for aviation. Taking upon his passion, he's now working as an aircraft interior design engineer. Besides working in the aerospace industry, Fangzhong enjoys trying out different types of airplanes and seeing how airplane interiors have evolved. So far, he's flown on over 80 types of aircraft. He also planespots in his spare time. His rarest catches included the 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft and AN-225.

Aegean Airlines Consolidates Network, Adds New Emirates Codeshare Agreement

Vincenzo Claudio Piscopo

Monday, August 15, 2022 at 09:17 PM ET

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Ryan Ewing

An Aegean Airlines Airbus A321 prepares for touchdown. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)

On Monday, Greece’s flag carrier Aegean Airlines signed a codeshare partnership agreement with the national airline of the Arab Emirate of Dubai, Emirates. Aegean Airlines, through this deal, has thus reached 18 Airline Partners and further consolidates its network.

This agreement between Emirates and Aegean Airlines will allow travelers to benefit, through Athens International Airport of increased connectivity to eight different destinations in Greece using a single ticket: Kerkyra, Chania, Irakleion, Mikonos, Thira, Rodi, and Salonicco e Alexandropoulos. Emirates currently serves the largest international airport in Greece with 12 weekly flights operated by Boeing 777s.

On flights operated by Aegean Airlines, the Arab airline will affix its own code, offering passengers a seamless booking experience and a single, consistent baggage policy. At the same time on flights operated by Emirates between Dubai and Athens, the Greek airline will place its own code.

Emirates and Aegean Airlines will subsequently increase their joint codeshare network starting in October 2022, adding eight more regional European routes via Athens, including Bucharest, Belgrade, and Naples, as well as westward on Emirates’ flights to Newark from Athens and New York JFK from Milan.

This agreement is the second that the Greek flag carrier signed in just under a month. At the end of July, it had signed another exclusive cooperation deal with ELAF group. This group, in Saudi Arabia, is a long-standing leader in the travel and tourism industry, famous for its range of award-winning hotels. This partnership aims to increase travel, tourism and cultural exchanges between Greece and Saudi Arabia, bringing more European tourists to Saudi Arabia.

Increasing tourism is part of the Saudi Kingdom’s national tourism strategy, which aims to provide a full range of services and benefits for tourists and to promote an environment conducive to current and future investment. Flights to Greece, in the beginning, will take off only from Riyadh and Jeddah, while other cities will be added in later stages.

Aegean Airlines is in good health and aims to end 2022 profitable along with expecting to fully recover from the COVID-19 pandemic with a record summer.

The Greek airline, a few weeks ago, announced it was interested in acquiring other carriers in Southeastern Europe, including Croatia Airlines. Aegean Vice President, Eftychios Vassilakis, said the carrier aims to strengthen its regional role in Southeast Europe through possible new acquisitions. In October OF last year, the airline bought a 51 percent stake in Romania’s Animawings.

Vincenzo Claudio Piscopo

Vincenzo graduated in 2019 in Mechanical Engineering with an aeronautical curriculum, focusing his thesis on Human Factors in aircraft maintenance. In 2022 he pursued his master's degree in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Palermo, Italy. He combines his journalistic activities with his work as a Reliability Engineer at Zetalab.

IATA Moves to Have Age Limit For Pilots Removed

Vanni Gibertini

Monday, August 15, 2022 at 06:32 PM ET

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Ryan Ewing

Landing in New York aboard a Tailwind Air Cessna 208B. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Katie Bailey)

While the airline industry recovers from the drastic collapse in demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, airlines and airports worldwide are struggling to cope with the sudden uptick in demand triggered by the removal of many restrictions on international mobility.

As the first “normal” summer in three years approaches its final weeks, thousands of passengers have had their travel plans severely affected by delays, cancelations and lost luggage, mainly due to the unpreparedness of some airlines and airports to adequately staff their operations to deal with the expected traffic.

Many workers in the airline industry experiences layoffs and furloughs during the pandemic when companies tried to reduce their cost base in the face of falling revenues. But when travel demand recovered, it was not always easy to rebuild the workforce at previous levels, especially in some positions that require high levels of expertise.

The primary example of this shortage concerns the number of pilots available to operate the schedules designed by the airline planning departments.

Carriers have been warning the industry for quite some time about a potential shortage of pilots that the industry may experience as “baby boomers” start exiting the workforce through retirement and new recruits struggle to replace them due mainly to more stringent conditions to be met in order to qualify for the job but also because of the significant financial costs required to complete the necessary training, which further reduces the pool of candidate to replace incumbent pilots.

Age Limits Imposed Over 100 Years Ago

The pandemic accelerated the retirement process for some of the older pilots and the industry is starting to feel the pain. At the moment the Chicago Convention, the international treaty signed in 1944 that still constitutes the backbone of the regulation governing international commercial aviation, imposes an age limit of 65 for pilots. This limit had originally been set at 45 in 1919 by the International Commission for Air Navigation; then in 1947 ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) took over responsibility from ICAN, without mentioning any age limitation for pilots.

In 1963, ICAO introduced a limit at 60 years of age based on the risks of sudden incapacitation, and ultimately, in 2006, the age was increased to 65 for multi-crew operations (with the second member still due to be under the age of 60) due to the improved life expectancy and health conditions of older people in developed countries.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) representing almost 300 carriers around the world has submitted a paper to the ICAO General Assembly which suggests removing the age limit for pilots. Next September in Montreal, ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) will hold its General Assembly, a plenary meeting occurring every three years where all Member States gather to discuss and vote on new provisions to regulate international commercial aviation.

“With demand for air travel anticipated to return to [pre-pandemic] traffic levels in 2023, and then continue on an upward growth path, the demand for commercial pilots is expected to exceed supply,” says the IATA paper as reported by Flightglobal.

“It is therefore timely to revisit legacy age limitation requirements to ensure that they remain fit for purpose, do not represent an unjustified barrier to employment for these critical workers and do [not] constitute de facto age discrimination.”

According to a document published by EASA (European Aviation and Space Agency), Canada, New Zealand, and Australia do not have any age limits for pilots, Japan has increased the mandatory retirement age to 68, while European countries, as well as the United States, have maintained their age limit at 60, although some E.U. member states have filed for exemption requests.

Vanni Gibertini

Vanni fell in love with commercial aviation during his undergraduate studies in Statistics at the University of Bologna, when he prepared his thesis on the effects of deregulation on the U.S. and European aviation markets. Then he pursued his passion further by obtaining a Master’s Degree in Air Transport Management at Cranfield University in the U.K. followed by holding several management positions at various start-up carriers in Europe (Jet2, SkyEurope, Silverjet). After moving to Canada, he was Business Development Manager for IATA for nine years before turning to his other passion: sports writing.

Spanish easyJet Pilots Begin the First of Three Strike Periods Called for August

Ryan Ewing

Sunday, August 14, 2022 at 09:39 PM ET

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Ryan Ewing

An EasyJet A320 with Sharklets (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Fabian Behr)

The Spanish Airline Pilots Union (Sindicato Español de Pilotos de Líneas Aéreas – SEPLA) began on Friday, the first of three 72-hour strike periods called for August. The measure will run until next Sunday, while other days of protest will take place on 19, 20, 21, 27, 28 and 29 of this month.

According to the union section that brings together the pilots of the low-cost airline based in Spain, the measure will be carried out “due to the company’s refusal to recover the conditions that the pilots had before the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as to negotiate the second collective bargaining agreement.”

“This is the only possible alternative for the pilots’ representatives, after more than six months of refusal on the part of the company, which has rejected the three social proposals presented,” the union said in an official statement.

Union spokesmen stressed that the strike “is always the last possible resort» and said that the biggest victims of the situation «are the passengers», to whom they apologised. «During the worst months of the pandemic, we agreed to lower our salaries to guarantee not only jobs, but the survival of the company itself in Spain,” they said.

SEPLA cited the subsequent increase in the number of planes and pilots at the Barcelona and Palma de Mallorca bases, and the opening of a new hub in Málaga, as triggers for the situation. In that sense, they argue that the volume of operations is currently similar to that of 2019 but that, nevertheless, the company “refuses to recover the working conditions.”

Minimum services

The Spanish Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda established mandatory minimum services to be respected during the easyJet Spanish pilots’ strike. They will have to operate 57% of flights to and from Palma de Mallorca (PMI), 60% in Málaga (AGP) and 61% in Barcelona (BCN) and Menorca-Mahón (MAH).

According to the planned schedule, all flights scheduled for the strike days are international. The airline will have to take the necessary measures to ensure compliance with the required minimum service percentage.

This story was originally published by Agustin Miguens on Aviacionline in syndication with AirlineGeeks.

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.

Sun Country Schedules First-of-its-Kind EAS Flight

Joey Gerardi

Saturday, August 13, 2022 at 09:16 PM ET

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Edited By:

Ryan Ewing

A Son Country Boeing 737-800 in Las Vegas (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)

In mid-July 2022, the Department of Transportation posted a document selecting Sun Country as the airline that will serve the Essential Air Service of Eau Claire in Wisconsin. When the DOT decision was made it was a shock to most as there has never been an aircraft this large operating an EAS route within the lower 48 states. Southern Airways Express even posted a letter arguing they didn’t meet certain EAS requirements.

The contract and the start of the flights to Eau Claire are both on the same day, flights to Minneapolis/St. Paul starts on Dec. 1, 2022, although flights to Fort Myers don’t start until Dec. 19, 2022. Flights to Ft. Myers will operate on Fridays and Mondays, with flights operating from Eau Claire to Minneapolis once a day on Thursdays and Fridays and twice a day on Mondays. Flights from Minneapolis to Eau Claire operate on Sundays, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

On Mondays and Fridays, it appears an aircraft will operate from Ft. Myers to Eau Claire and onto Minneapolis, and shortly after the same thing will happen in reverse back to Florida. Although it is 100% possible to fly from Florida to Minneapolis with a connection through Eau Claire on the same aircraft given the current schedules, the airline doesn’t offer that flight option on their website. Although you could book those flights separately if you have a burning desire to connect in Eau Claire.

Sun Country Boeing 737s sitting at their main base at Minneapolis/St. Paul (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Joey Gerardi)

With the current schedule to Eau Claire, the airline is only operating flights to the community on four days of the week with departures only occurring from Eau Claire on three of them. This means Eau Claire will have zero departures on Sundays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. On Sundays, there is one arrival at 8:30 p.m. from Minneapolis that will sit overnight in Eau Claire until the Monday morning departure at 5:15 a.m., and on Wednesdays, one arrival at 5:15 p.m. which then sits at Eau Claire for 12 hours overnight until the 5:15 a.m. departure on Thursdays.

Back when the airline was still bidding for the contract, it mentioned it would offer a bus service between Eau Claire and Minneapolis on the days they don’t offer flights. This bus/shuttle service is not part of the EAS contract, and not a single word has been mentioned regarding the ground transportation to Sun Country’s Minneapolis hub or when it would start.

However, if you are looking for a fun AvGeek experience, the inaugural flight to Eau Claire on Dec. 1 operates on a different schedule with the aircraft operating from Minneapolis to Eau Claire and back in the middle of the day.

Joey Gerardi

Joey has always been interested in planes for as long as he can remember. He grew up in Central New York during the early 2000s when US Airways Express turboprops ruled the skies. Being from a non-aviation family made it harder for him to be around planes and would only spend about three hours a month at the airport. He was so excited when he could drive by himself, the first thing he did with his driver's license was get ice cream and go plane spotting for the entire day. He graduated from Western Michigan University in 2022 with a B.S. in Aviation Management & Operations and a Minor in Business, and currently works for a major airline in his hometown.