Canada, India Expand Bilateral Agreement to Allow Unlimited Frequencies

Monday, November 14, 2022 at 10:31 PM ET

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An Air India 777-300ER (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Katie Bailey)

As China continues to pursue its zero-Covid-19 strategy imposing heavy restrictions on international travel and countries in East Asia continue to feel the impact of the closure of Russian air space to European and North American carriers, efforts are being made to boost commercial relationships with other Asian countries that represent viable commercial partners for Western economies.

While in Bali, Indonesia for the G20 Summit — a meeting of leaders from 20 of the world’s largest economies — scheduled for this week, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced an expanded Air Transport Agreement between Canada and India that will now remove all frequency restrictions to the flights between the two countries.

“Today, we are announcing an agreement between Canada and India, that will allow an unlimited number of flights between our two countries,” Trudeau said, as reported by the news agency Asian News International.

“The expanded air transport agreement between Canada and India is a positive development for air transport relations between our countries,” added the Honorable Omar Alghabra, Canada’s Minister of Transport in a statement. “We are pleased to expand this relationship with additional flexibility for airlines to serve this growing market. By making the movement of goods and people faster and easier, this expanded agreement will continue to facilitate trade and investment between Canada and India and help our businesses grow and succeed.”

The new Air Transport Agreement has defined six entry points per country that carriers will be able to serve with their flights. The Indian cities that will be allowed to receive flights from Canada are Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Mumbai, while their Canadian counterparts will be Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton, Vancouver and two additional airports that will be selected by India.

India is currently Canada’s fourth biggest trading partner, and there are approximately 700,000 Indian citizens living and working in Canada, according to Apoorva Srivastava, India’s consul general in Canada who spoke at a press conference at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport. “Indian students form the largest chunk of international students coming and studying in Canada. We currently have 230,000 and a lot more ready to come to Canada for educational purposes,” Postmedia reported.

Existing Services by Air Canada and Air India

Air Canada is currently the only Canadian carrier designated to fly between Canada and India: the carrier flies non-stop to Delhi’s Indira Ghandi International airport with daily flights from both Toronto, and there is also an additional thrice weekly service from Montreal. Both flights are operated with a Boeing 777-200LR aircraft.

The Montreal-based carrier has also launched a direct seasonal service between Toronto and Mumbai that will be operational between Nov. 7, 2022 and March 24, 2023. The flight will have a stop at London Heathrow, and Air Canada has obtained the Fifth Freedom rights to sell seats on the London-Mumbai route, therefore entering the very competitive UK-India market. This route will be flown with a Boeing 787-9 aircraft.

Air India is the only designated Indian carrier to fly to Canada. The carrier operates a daily non-stop service from Delhi to both Toronto and Vancouver using a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.

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.

RwandAir Begins Non-Stop Flights Between London Heathrow and Kigali

Victor Shalton

Monday, November 14, 2022 at 12:52 AM ET

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Jack Dawin

A RwandAir A330 (Photo: Wikimedia Commons | Jeroen Stroes Aviation Photography)

To cater for increased demand, RwandAir operated its first non-stop direct flight between the Rwandese capital Kigali and London last week. The African airline has been operating flights to London via Brussels for the past five years, with service to Brussels now operated separately.

Services started at the beginning of November with the inaugural flight WB710 operated by an Airbus A330-200, which can accommodate 20 passengers in Business class, 21 in Premium and 203 in Economy. The Rwandan national company will offer four flights per week between its base in Kigali and London Heathrow Airport.

Departures are scheduled for Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday at 11:35 p.m. arriving the next day at 6:20 a.m., with return flights leaving Britain Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday at 8:30 p.m. landing the next day at 7:00 a.m.

Simon Rickman, RwandAir UK country manager, said: “We are excited our first direct flight has landed at London Heathrow today. The UK is an incredibly important market for RwandAir as we know these new direct services will prove very popular with our customers, who will highly value our shorter journey times and increased connections to onward destinations across Africa.”

Ross Baker, Heathrow’s chief commercial officer, said, “We are delighted to see RwandAir expand their operations by launching a new non-stop route linking London and Kigali through Heathrow, the UK’s hub airport.

“It is fantastic that demand for travel is increasing again, boosting connectivity for passengers and cargo.”

RwandAir remains without competition on this route launched in May 2017. The airline which has been using Airbus A330s on the London route has flown London-Kigali via Brussels for the last five years. It originally operated from London Gatwick but, after three years, switched to Heathrow in 2020.

The new flights increase access for high-end leisure customers “who want to experience a close encounter with Rwanda’s world-famous mountain gorillas, go on safari in Akagera National Park,” according to Rwandair, “and admire the majestic landscape of Rwanda in The land of a thousand hills”.

The airline, however, is not abandoning the line between Kigali and Brussels-Zaventem, on which it shares its codes with Brussels Airlines: rotations – operated on the A330-300 – are offered on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 12:30 a.m. to arrive at 8:00 a.m., and leave the Belgian capital at 9:00 p.m. to land the next day at 5:30 a.m.

The airline currently flies to 28 destinations across East, Central, West, and Southern Africa, while its intercontinental flights include flights to the Middle East, Europe, and Asia.

The Rwandese flag carrier operates a mixed fleet comprising of two B737-700NGs, two Bombardier CRJ-900 NextGens, two Bombardier Q-400 Next Gens, four Boeing 737-800NGs, one Airbus A330–200 and one Airbus A330–300.

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.

JetBlue Refreshes Special Veterans Livery

Joey Gerardi

Saturday, November 12, 2022 at 11:38 PM ET

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Ryan Ewing

JetBlue's updated "Vets in Blue" livery (Photo: JetBlue)

JetBlue’s special livery that honors our veterans, appropriately named “Vets in Blue” has had a major refresh to its livery. The airline has many special liveries, about 16 of them, all unique and feature colorful designs, some of which pay tribute to groups such as the New York City Firefighters and Veterans while others are a creative way to show off the airline like their Blueprint livery on the airlines Embraer E190 aircraft.

The airline, which has been presenting these full aircraft special liveries since 2010, unveiled the original ‘Vets in Blue’ livery back on Veterans Day in 2014. The new refreshed livery will remain on the same tail number it has since 2014, N775JB, an Airbus A320 that was delivered new to JetBlue in 2009 in the standard livery.

JetBlue’s new “Vets in Blue” livery (Photo: JetBlue)

The updated livery will feature a refreshed ribbon, which now goes from the tail section up to the rear section of the wings, unlike the old livery where the ribbon was only near the back of the plane. The plane will still say “JetBlue Honors Our Veterans”, but the titles will now be above the windows instead of under them like before. Perhaps the biggest change and most notable change is the shade of blue they used, on the old livery the main color of the aircraft was a dark blue section of the plane whereas with the new update it features a much brighter blue color.

JetBlue Airbus A320 “Vets in Blue” livery (Photo | Jetblue)

The old livery was unveiled the same year as when the first USO, United Service Organization Center, was opened at a New York City area airport, which also happened to be located right in JetBlue’s home at JFK Airport, Terminal 5.

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.

Air Astana Secures Three Additional Boeing 787-9s from Air Lease Corporation

Aviacionline

Friday, November 11, 2022 at 10:38 AM ET

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Ryan Ewing

Air Lease Corporation Boeing 787-9 (Image: Boeing)

Air Lease Corporation announced long-term lease placements for three new Boeing 787-9 aircraft with Air Astana, the national carrier of Kazakhstan. The aircraft are scheduled to deliver to Air Astana beginning in early 2025 through spring 2026 from ALC’s order book with Boeing.

“We are pleased to announce this lease placement for three new Boeing 787-9 aircraft with Air Astana today,” said Steven Udvar-Házy, Executive Chairman of Air Lease Corporation. “These three ALC Dreamliner aircraft will greatly enhance Air Astana’s long-range capabilities and passenger comfort as the airline expands international routes from Kazakhstan.”

“ALC is honored to announce this lease placement with longtime customer Air Astana and be a part of the airline’s fleet modernization program by adding three highly efficient new Boeing 787-9 aircraft to Air Astana’s fleet,” added Alex Khatibi, Executive Vice President of Air Lease Corporation.

“The Boeing 787-9 is an important aircraft to Air Astana’s fleet modernization as we expand our routes and focus on passenger experience,” said Peter Foster, President and Chief Executive Officer of Air Astana. “The Dreamliner offers fuel-efficiency and range flexibility that will greatly add to our current fleet operations.”

Fleet renewal plans

Air Astana is updating its current fleet and the 787 will replace the three 8-year-old Boeing 767-300s that is operating for its twin aisle, long-haul routes. Initially, the 787s were set to be delivered in 2017 but economic conditions pushed the entry into service to 2019.

The carrier has also released two Embraer E190 to the market, which were taken by Dominican carrier Sky High. The Caribbean company expects to end 2022 with four E190s former operated by the Kazakh operator. The E190s will be replaced by a significant order of 30 Boeing 737 MAX Air Astana closed in November 2019.

The airline operates scheduled domestic and international services from its main hub, Almaty International Airport, and from its secondary hubs, Nur-sultan Nazarbayev International Airport, Atyrau Airport, and Aktau Airport. The Air Astana Group operates a fleet of forty aircraft with an average age of 5.2 years split between Air Astana, its full-service airline established in 2002, and FlyArystan, its low-cost airline established in 2019.

This article was originally published by Redacción on Aviacionline in syndication with AirlineGeeks.

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Asian Carriers Hosts Forum As Regional Travel Restrictions Ease

John Flett

Friday, November 11, 2022 at 08:00 AM ET

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Benjamin Pham

A Thai Airways Airbus A380 taxis at London's Heathrow Airport. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)

The Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA)’s 66th Assembly of Presidents is being held in Bangkok, Thailand this week. After two years of virtual assemblies due to the coronavirus pandemic, the airline leaders of the AAPA member airlines have said they are “cautiously optimistic” about the immediate future of air travel in the region.

For some carriers, their home countries have only recently removed some or all of travel restrictions for international travel. For example, it was only on 11 October that Japan lifted the ‘on-arrival test at the quarantine station, self-quarantine in places such as…own residence or accommodations, and refrained from public transportation.’ Japan still requires either a valid COVID-19 vaccination certificate of three doses of vaccines or a certificate of the negative test result of a pre-departure COVID-19 test conducted within 72 hours prior to departure from the original country/region.

Travel restrictions aside the AAPA advised on Thursday that for the first nine months of 2022, Asia Pacific airlines recorded a 500 percent increase in the number of international passengers carried compared to the same period in 2021. The figure of 62 million international passengers carried was on the back of a 125 percent increase in capacity lifting the average load factor to 70 percent. Perhaps illustrating the lack of travel in the region during the same period in 2021 marks an incredible 40 percentage point load factor increase.

Subhas Menon, Director General of the AAPA, stated, “The region’s recovery still lags behind the rest of the world and is expected to reach only 75% of 2019 levels by year-end. Except for mainland China, the gradual reopening of borders in many economies in Asia and strong recovery in air services only underscore the magnitude of pent-up travel demand.”

Ahead of the AAPA Assembly of Presidents, Bloomberg reports Thai Airways’ Chairman of Rehabilitation Plan, Piyasvasti Amranand, stating a few of the challenges that the region and the wider industry still face. The airline is currently under a ‘court-monitored debt restructuring’ after shedding half of its workforce and 40 percent of its aircraft. Acknowledging the challenges airlines are facing in acquiring newer more fuel-efficient aircraft the chairman said: “It’s not all that easy now, the market is changing — to be getting new or second-hand leasing of wide-bodies or narrowbodies.”

As a result, Thai Airways is set to hold onto three Airbus A330s and two Boeing 777-200ERs it had intended to sell. Both aircraft are scheduled to re-enter service in early 2023. According to Bloomberg, the airline had 100 aircraft in its fleet pre-Covid but currently has 61 with plans to add a further 18 into the fleet in the next two years. It is reported that Thai Airways is considering bringing back six A380s in 2024 to add capacity to the network in the absence of newer aircraft.

John Flett

John has always had a passion for aviation and through a career with Air New Zealand has gained a strong understanding of aviation operations and the strategic nature of the industry. During his career with the airline, John held multiple leadership roles and was involved in projects such as the introduction of both the 777-200 and -300 type aircraft and the development of the IFE for the 777-300. He was also part of a small team who created and published the internal communications magazines for Air New Zealand’s pilots, cabin crew and ground staff balancing a mix of corporate and social content. John is educated to postgraduate level achieving a masters degree with Distinction in Airline and Airport Management. John has held the positions of course director of an undergraduate commercial pilot training programme at a leading London university. In addition he is contracted as an external instructor for IATA (International Air Transport Association) and has been a member of the Heathrow Community Fund’s ‘Communities for Tomorrow’ panel.

JetSMART Requests Authorization to Open a Subsidiary for Domestic Flights in Colombia

Aviacionline

Thursday, November 10, 2022 at 08:30 PM ET

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Ryan Ewing

A JetSMART Airbus A320 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Pablo Diaz)

On November 24, a Public Hearing by the Colombian Aeronautical Authority (Aerocivil) will be held, where it will be revealed that JetSMART requested to open a subsidiary in Colombia to operate domestic flights.

According to the request, the company plans to have twelve Airbus A320neo that will be incorporated over a period of three years and will be based at El Dorado International Airport (BOG), Bogota, for scheduled passenger, cargo, and mail flights. But the company also requested 111 domestic routes, where different cities will have between 10 and 12 destinations, with a focus on Barranquilla, Bucaramanga, Cartagena, Cali, Medellin/Rionegro and San Andres.

By the end of 2022, JetSMART’s South American fleet will consist of eleven Airbus A320ceo, ten A320neo and three A321neo. By 2023, the company would receive 14 additional A320neo and A321neo aircraft to be distributed among the three countries and/or an eventual fourth country.

All these planes are part of an order for more than 430 Airbus A320 family aircraft signed in 2019 by the airline’s controlling group, Indigo Partners, from which ninety would be transferred to JetSMART. The company maintains the goal of reaching one hundred aircraft by 2026, including fourteen A321XLRs that will allow it to reach destinations in Mexico, the United States and the Caribbean from its bases in Argentina, Peru and Chile.

JetSMART’s entry into a stirred market

The Chilean branch of the Ultra-Low-Cost operates four international routes to Colombia: Santiago to Bogota, Cali and Medellin; and Antofagasta-Cali. In addition, JetSMART Peru was authorized to operate to seven Colombian cities from Lima, Arequipa, and Cusco.

During 2022, Ultra Air became the newest Colombian airline and has transported more than 900,000 passengers so far this year. It currently operates with 6 Airbus A320ceo on fifteen domestic routes and plans to launch its first international routes next year.

JetSMART’s request came at a time when the local VIVA is processing the rejection of integration with Avianca by Aerocivil. The low-cost airline has stated on several occasions that it is going through a complicated financial situation because of the increase in the price of fuel and inflation, which puts its survival at risk if its agreement with Avianca is not approved.

This article was originally published by Gastón Sena on Aviacionline in syndication with AirlineGeeks.

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Brazilian Aviation Authority Grants JetSMART Argentina Permission to Fly to Rio de Janeiro

Aviacionline

Thursday, November 10, 2022 at 07:30 PM ET

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Pablo Diaz

A JetSmart Argentina Airbus A320 aircraft. (Photo: JetSmart)

Brazil’s National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) authorized JetSmart Airlines SA to begin regular international operations in the country. The low-cost carrier will start its first flights between Argentina and Brazil on December 6, connecting Buenos Aires/Ezeiza (EZE) with Rio de Janeiro (GIG).

The company had announced that it would return to Brazil with the Chilean subsidiary in mid-2022, but at the end of August it announced that JetSMART Argentina would land in Rio de Janeiro instead, with five weekly flights.

Rio de Janeiro is Argentina’s main tourist destination: in 2019, 842,552 passengers were mobilized between Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro through five companies (Aerolineas Argentinas, Emirates, Flybondi, GOL and LATAM).

It is worth noting that ANAC Brazil’s authorization to operate between Argentina and Brazil, includes other destinations that the ultra-low-cost had approved by ANAC Argentina after the 2018 Public Hearing: Brasilia, Belo Horizonte, Curitiba, Florianópolis, Porto Alegre, São Paulo and Viracopos/Campinas from Buenos Aires, Bariloche, Córdoba, Mendoza, Neuquén, Puerto Iguazú, Rosario, Salta and Tucumán.

JetSMART Argentina is the fifth low-cost airline to be authorized in Brazil, adding 8 routes connecting four Brazilian cities with four South American cities:

Flybondi

According to ANAC Brazil, between January and September 2022, Flybondi transported 184,394 passengers. The company doubled its operations compared to the 2019/20 summer season.

From Buenos Aires/Ezeiza (EZE) to Rio de Janeiro/Galeão (GIG) it operates double daily flights. São Paulo/Guarulhos (GRU) with 6 weekly flights. Florianópolis (FLN) with 7-9 weekly flights.

JetSMART Chile

The company had suspended all its operations to Brazil during the COVID-19 health crisis, and for brief periods operated to Foz do Iguaçu. By December it would recover this last destination and launch a new one: Rio de Janeiro.

From Santiago (SCL) it operates to Rio de Janeiro/Galeão (GIG) with 6 weekly flights and to Foz do Iguaçu (IGU) with 2 weekly flights.

SKY Airlines

The Chilean airline transported 162,453 passengers in the first nine months of the year. The only destination it has not resumed is Salvador (SSA), but its current operations have increased its frequencies and seat offer compared to 2019, since it incorporated the Airbus A321neo in its routes.

From Santiago (SCL) it flies to Rio de Janeiro/Galeão (GIG) with 9 weekly flights, increasing to double daily flights as of January 2023. In addition, it covers the route to São Paulo/Guarulhos (GRU) with 6 weekly flights, increasing to double daily flights in January 2023. Florianópolis (FLN) currently involves one daily flight.

VIVA

VIVA is the latest low-cost carrier to enter the Brazilian market, inaugurating operations in July. In its first three months it transported 11,467 passengers, with an occupancy rate of 78%.

From Medellín/Rionegro (MDE) to São Paulo/Guarulhos (GRU) with 4 weekly flights, increasing to 5 by the end of November.

This article was originally published by Gastón Sena on Aviacionline in syndication with AirlineGeeks

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Avelo Airlines Set to Open its Fifth Base in Raleigh-Durham

Aviacionline

Thursday, November 10, 2022 at 01:28 PM ET

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Edited By:

Pablo Diaz

Boarding Avelo's first ever commercial flight in Burbank. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Taylor Rains)

Avelo Airlines will open its fifth base at Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) by February of next year. The new base allows the airline to expand its air service in North Carolina and the East Coast of the United States.

Effective February 2, 2023, Avelo adds the following nonstop services: Fort Lauderdale (FLL), Orlando (MCO), Sarasota – Bradenton (SRQ), Tampa (TPA), Fort Myers (RSW) and West Palm Beach (PBI). The airline will have promotional fares available from USD 29 to MCO and USD 39 to the remaining five destinations in Florida, tickets are already available from the company’s website and its regular channels.

“Our six new nonstop routes in Florida are just the beginning. Establishing RDU as Avelo’s fifth base will allow us to provide affordable and convenient nonstop access to even more destinations. We appreciate the warm welcome Avelo has received from Raleigh, Durham and the surrounding areas; we look forward to strengthening our presence in this vibrant community with the opening of Avelo’s new base here in February,” said Andrew Levy, president and chief executive officer of Avelo Airlines.

Growth at RDU

The airline will position one Boeing 737 Next Generation and plans to add a second unit by the first quarter of 2023. In the coming years, the airline plans to base between five and seven aircraft at RDU and move hundreds of thousands of passengers annually.

To support this new base the company plans to create at least 50 jobs by the first half of next year. The employee profile roles the airline will seek include flight attendants, pilots, airport customer service, technical operations personnel, and aircraft maintenance.

“Research Triangle has long been recognized as one of the best places in the country to live, work and visit. We are excited to see Avelo expand its presence at RDU and create exciting new job opportunities at the airport,” said Michael Landguth, president and CEO of the Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority.

Avelo’s new route schedule at Raleigh-Durham (RDU)

Orlando (MCO)
Effective February 2, 2023: Monday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday.

Tampa (TPA)
As of February 3, 2023: Mondays and Fridays.
As of February 16, 2023: Monday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday.

Fort Lauderdale (FLL)
As of February 16, 2023: Monday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday.

Fort Myers (RSW)
From February 16, 2023: Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday.

Sarasota – Bradenton (SRQ)
As of February 17, 2023: Monday, Friday and Saturday.

West Palm Beach (PBI)
From February 17, 2023: Monday, Friday and Saturday.

This article was originally published by Rainer Nieves Dolande on Aviacionline in syndication with AirlineGeeks.

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Qantas Wins “Shonky” Award for 2022

Mike Mangano

Thursday, November 10, 2022 at 07:00 AM ET

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Edited By:

Benjamin Pham

A Qantas 787 Dreamliner lifting out of Paine Field in Washington. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Katie Zera)

Qantas has once again found itself under heavy criticism, having been awarded the Australian Consumers’ Association’s “Shonky” award on Nov. 3. CHOICE — the not-for-profit advocacy group — was plain in its assessment, stating the airline “appeared to deliberately be going out of its way to winning a Shonky award.”

The airline had several shortcomings, such as flight delays, cancellations, baggage handling failings and refund policies. The group also added that Australia’s national carrier is performing at budget airline levels, despite advertising itself as a premium carrier.

CHOICE money and travel expert Jodi Bird said, “People are still paying premium prices, but not getting premium service.”

Having made headlines across Australia’s news networks, the award is the latest condemnation in what has been a year of disapproval for Qantas since Australia’s borders opened up following the multi-year COVID lockdowns.

“The Spirit of Disappointment”

Taking a sled at Qantas’ slogan ‘the Spirit of Australia’, CHOICE stated the Shonky award was given “for being the spirit of disappointment.”

Highlighting the much-publicized cancellations and late arrivals of Qantas, CHOICE made mention of its July performance, which saw the airline fall to 47.1 percent for on-time arrivals. Despite considerable improvement since, the advocacy group went on to state that “the travel chaos at airports and cases of lost baggage has been well documented” — a reference to entire flights where passenger baggage had not been loaded.

Moving onto refunds, Bird added, “At the beginning of the pandemic Qantas communicated to their customers that they were entitled to a credit voucher for canceled flights. Qantas didn’t state upfront that customers may be entitled to refunds,” Jodi says. This confusion – added to an inability to use credits on cheaper flights – resulted in the airline holding onto approximately 1.4 billion Australian Dollars ($906 million).

With regard to call wait times, CHOICE engaged in mystery shopping in September 2022, finding Qantas wait times averaged 21 minutes and a maximum wait of 50 minutes. Contrasting to Virgin Australia, CHOICE stated “Qantas still lagged behind competitor Virgin, whose customers waited an average of five minutes, and a maximum of 13 minutes. It’s no wonder that Qantas was the most complained-about company to CHOICE by readers and members in 2022.”

CHOICE concluded with strong commentary, referring to Qantas’ apology which saw the airline distribute 50 Australian dollars to its frequent flyers, by saying “We think throwing peanuts at their customers is still not good enough when the airline continues to let them down.”

Airline Fires Back at Criticism

In response to the nationwide criticism, Qantas released a statement in which it says its “operations have improved every month to be around, or better than pre-COVID levels.”

The statement, while acknowledging internal causes behind its cancellation rate, again demonstrated Qantas’ tendency to assign fault to other factors such as weather and “air traffic control constraints.” Additionally, aiming to prop itself up, the airline added that, “Qantas outperformed our main domestic competitor for the eighth month out of the past 12.” That ‘main competitor’ — presumably Virgin Australia —managed to reach an on-time arrival and departure percentage for September of 68.2 percent and 66.7 percent respectively. Qantas, according to the same Australian Government source, achieved 69.2 percent and 69 percent respectively.

Referring to figures not yet verified by the Australian Government’s monthly report, said that the airline had reduced cancellation rates to 2.2 percent for the month of October, an apparent improvement from what it says was 2.4 percent for September. According to government statistics, Qantas as a whole reached 2.5 percent for September, with only its regional arm QantasLink actually reaching the 2.4 percent cancellation rate.

According to Qantas, its pre-COVID cancellation rate was 2.4 percent.

This article was updated on Thursday, Nov. 10, 2022 at 9:43 p.m. ET to correct an error in a figure that should have been $1.4 billion instead of “million.”

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.

Emirates and Gulf Air Launch Codeshare Agreement

Aviacionline

Wednesday, November 09, 2022 at 07:25 PM ET

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Edited By:

Pablo Diaz

Gulf Air's first A320neo (Photo: Airbus)

Emirates and Gulf Air today signed a new codeshare agreement on the first day of the Bahrain International Airshow. The partnership is scheduled to start next December, although it must still obtain regulatory approval.

Tim Clark, CEO of Emirates, and Waleed Al Alawi, CEO of Gulf Air, signed the agreement at an event that was also attended by Zayed R. Alzayani, Chairman of Gulf Air’s Board of Directors, and other members of the management teams of both airlines.

As a result of the agreement, customers of Gulf Air, the national carrier of the Kingdom of Bahrain, will have more and improved connection options. They will be able to use Emirates’ services from Dubai International Airport (DXB) to Europe, Africa, the Far East, and South America.

Once it comes into effect, Gulf Air will market tickets under its “GF” code for Emirates-operated flights. As is customary with this kind of agreements, the partnership will allow ticketing and check-in to be combined and unified into a single booking. In addition, users will have access to a unified baggage policy and more competitive fares. Service will be available through Gulf Air’s official website and the airline’s other online sales points.

“We are pleased to partner with Gulf Air to offer their customers greater access and strong connection opportunities to unique destinations on our network, complemented by Emirates’ signature in-flight service and hospitality throughout their journey from Dubai”, said Tim Clark.

“Our relationship with Emirates Airline has always been strong and today we are reaching a higher level of collaboration with many more opportunities in the horizon between the two carriers”, said Waleed Al Alawi. “This partnership will empower both of us to offer a more elevated experience to passengers and widen their travel options”, he added.

Emirates currently maintains codeshare agreements with twenty-six airlines as well as two rail operators. As a result, the Gulf’s largest carrier has expanded its network reach to more than three hundred new destinations.

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

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