STARLUX receives its first A350-900

Sunday, October 30, 2022 at 12:42 AM ET

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A mock-up design of Starlux's A350 jets (Photo: Airbus)

At the Airbus headquarters in Toulouse, France, STARLUX Airlines (SJX) received its first A350-900 today. The delivery ceremony was presided over by STARLUX Airlines Chairman K.W. Chang and CEO Glenn Chai, who were both delighted to celebrate the new accomplishment. Chang traveled to Toulouse to take part in the delivery process and personally fly the brand-new A350-900 (B-58501 Callsign) back to Taiwan. On October 29 at 15:30 local time, the plane is expected to touch down at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.

“This delivery is a milestone for STARLUX Airlines. The A350-900 is our first large widebody aircraft, which will allow STARLUX to open markets for longer routes, and this also marks the next step in our partnership with Airbus, with 17 more A350s deliveries in the future. With the addition of the A350-900, the STARLUX fleet now can cover short, mid, and long-range flights, providing service to passengers outside Asia,” said STARLUX Chairman.

The B-58501 is the first of the 18 A350s that STARLUX has ordered, and it will be put into service in January 2023 following the necessary approvals and crew training. Another A350-900 will be added to the fleet this year. The A350-900 will begin operations to Los Angeles in April 2023 after initially serving major cities in the Asia-Pacific area.

Details on STARLUX’s A350s

The largest of Rolls-famed Royce’s Trent series and the most effective large aero engine currently in service, the Trent XWB engines are used to power the A350-900. The engine is uniquely developed and tuned for the Airbus A350 family, which helps the aircraft’s entire noise footprint be reduced and results in a 25% gain in fuel efficiency. The airline has strengthened its relationship with Rolls-Royce by signing a long-term TotalCare servicing deal for all A350 aircraft equipped with the jet engine manufacturer, similar to the agreement it already has for its fleet of A330neos.

STARLUX’s A350 is the first A350 to offer First Class around the world. The new A350-900 for STARLUX has a cabin that is 4 inches wider and 35 inches longer than other A350s currently in operation, providing extra space for passengers in all classes as well as larger galleys for the cabin crew. The aircraft also has the most recent electrically dimmable windows, blocking 99.99% of visible light and switching twice as quickly as the previous version.

STARLUX’s aircraft is the very first A350 to put these new windows into service. Moreover, STARLUX is also the first airline to install dynamic secant luminous panels on an A350. At two gateways and the very end of Business Class, there are three motion panels that display various ceramic shapes with leaves elongating to help passengers feel at home. The STARLUX cabins can be configured with ambient lighting depending on the stage of the flight because the A350-900 will fly long-distance routes.

Four seats are available in First Class, 26 in Business Class, 36 in Premium Economy Class, and 240 in Economy Class on the premium four-class aircraft.

The 60-inch door wall used in First Class suites allows for a private space for each guest on board. To store luggage, a personal wardrobe is available.
A 48-inch door and a warm lamp can be found on the Business Class seats. Both First and Business Class seats can be converted into fully lie-flat beds, and they also include a “zero gravity” feature to provide further comfort and relaxation.
A leg rest and footrest bar have been added to the specifically built Premium Economy Class seats. Each seat’s thickness has been decreased to prevent leg numbness in Economy Class, and it has been reconfigured with a distinctive S-shape to allow for additional legroom.

The onboard entertainment of the A350 has been enhanced. Each seat in First Class features a 32-inch 4K screen, while Business Class passengers may enjoy a 4K resolution on a 24-inch screen. With a 15.6-inch or a 13-inch screen, respectively, travelers in Premium Economy Class and Economy Class may also enjoy 4K resolution.

STARLUX collaborated with Airbus and a production crew to use Airbus test flights as an opportunity to capture an air-to-air video of all three models in flight in order to celebrate both the addition of the third Airbus flight model to its fleet and the delivery of the first A350-900 to STARLUX. In recent years, only STARLUX has completed a formation flight with all three of its Airbus models, the A321neo, A330neo, and A350.

Views by Top Aviation Executives

Christian Scherer, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer and Head of Airbus International said: “With an all-new generation, all-Airbus fleet, STARLUX is bringing new levels of comfort and efficiency to the premium market. As the flagship aircraft in this fleet, the A350-900 will carry the airline’s brand on its longest routes as it opens up to new markets. We wish the airline every success as it spreads its wings to more destinations across the world.”

Ewen McDonald, Chief Customer Officer, Rolls-Royce Civil Aerospace, said: “We would like to congratulate STARLUX on taking delivery of their first A350 passenger aircraft, which is powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-84 engines. This delivery builds on our partnership with STARLUX who earlier this year took delivery of their first A330neo, which is also powered by our Trent 7000 engines. We look forward to further supporting STARLUX to maximize its fleet performance and achieve operational excellence. We thank STARLUX for their trust in Rolls-Royce, and we will continue our commitment to providing reliable power and world-class service to help STARLUX fly higher and further.”

STARLUX’s Future Plans

The Airbus A350-delivery 900’s has marked the beginning of a new phase for STARLUX. After tomorrow’s expected delivery of A321neo B58211, STARLUX will have eleven A321neos, four A330neos, and one A350-900. As STARLUX is ready to start service to markets outside of Asia, another delivery of two A321neos and an extra A350-900 will be made by the end of the year, increasing the company’s capacity. As more aircraft are prepared for delivery and the Taiwanese border reopens, STARLUX will be able to serve more passengers in style and expand its network with the highest effectiveness.

Kalai Raajan

Kalai has always wanted to work in the aviation industry, having been fascinated by its inner workings since he was a child. In pursuit of his dream, he obtained a diploma in aviation management and is currently interning with a low-cost airline, under in-flight policies. In his free time, he loves to engage in recreational activities, and watch sports. In the upcoming years, Kalai intends to pursue his degree at a business school before working as an executive for a global airline around the world.

Emirates Increases Service in Asia

Hemal Gosai

Saturday, October 29, 2022 at 12:33 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Vanni Gibertini

An Emirates 777-300ER in Dubai (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Hisham Qadri)

As we start a return to normalcy after lockdowns and travel restrictions due to COVID-19, travel isn’t what we expected. Business travel is still returning but leisure travel is returning in full force, often in greater numbers than before the pandemic.

Many leisure travelers are also becoming premium travelers resulting in unprecedented business and first-class loads across airlines are boosted by leisure travelers spending more for better travel experiences.

Emirates is seeing a lot of this across their global network and this is giving the airline reason to increase frequency or up-gauge the aircraft flying on certain routes. This is particularly true for flights to Asia.

Growth in Asia

Taiwan is reopening to the world soon following the termination of mandatory COVID-19 quarantine restrictions for arrivals. Emirates is planning daily service between Taipei and Dubai using Boeing 777 aircraft shortly after the restrictions are lifted, this is an increase in flights from the current four weekly flights. It’s expected that the end of the COVID restrictions will result in a significant increase in travel to Taipei and will also increase connectivity from Dubai for Emirates passengers.

Prior to COVID Emirates regularly flew an Airbus A380 in a two-class configuration to the Asian city. It’s likely that demand may be sufficient enough to start seeing the A380 heading to Taipei again from Dubai.

In addition to Taiwan reopening borders, Japan is set to remove daily arrival caps and mandatory COVID-19 testing and quarantine rules for arriving passengers.

Emirates has seen a significant spike in bookings for flights to Narita and Osaka from Dubai, this has resulted in an up-gauge of the aircraft used to service Japan’s Narita airport.

A380 on More Routes

The airline will reintroduce the A380 on their flights to Narita as a way to quickly provide more capacity to the high-demand location. Osaka will see daily service operated by Boeing 777 aircraft.

India is seeing some of the A380 love as well. Emirates flies to Bengaluru from Dubai three times a day using B777s. Starting on October 30, Emirates will replace one of those B777s with an A380. This will result in daily service with the A380 supplemented by two additional flights using B777 aircraft, an overall capacity increase.

This will make Bengaluru the first South Indian city to be served by an Emirates A380 and the second Indian destination for the Emirates A380 after Mumbai.

The airline has been accelerating the deployment of its flagship A380 aircraft across the world, currently the A380 flies to 30 destinations with more to be announced in the future. Emirates is planning on deploying the A380 to over 40 destinations by March 2023.

Cabin Refurbishments

During this expansion, Emirates is also planning on spending $2 billion to refresh airline cabins. AirlineGeeks recently had the opportunity to speak to Essa Sulaiman Ahmad, Emirates’ Divisional Vice President, USA and Canada about this refresh and what it means for the fleet.

Emirates will be retrofitting the interiors of 67 A380s and 53 B777s at a rate of one aircraft rolling out into service every 16 days.

The update will involve 5,092 A380 business class seats and 1,702 B777 business class seats along with their respective cabins. This goes from re-upholstered seats, new paneling, upgraded carpets, stairs, and flooring. All will be updated to reflect the new tones and design motives Emirates is prioritizing for this generation of seats.

Seven hundred and forty-eight first-class seats on the A380 and 272 first-class seats on the B777 are also due for upgrades. This means new leather, updated armrests, new paneling, flooring, and other design features. The fully enclosed suites found on a subset of aircraft will not be put on additional aircraft but many look and feel aspects of these seats will be incorporated in first-class cabins across the fleet as part of the retrofit program.

This retrofit will also extend the service life of some of Emirates’ existing aircraft according to Essa. This is an additional way the airline plans on coping with delays to the Boeing B777X program for which Emirates is a launch customer.

Menu Enhancements

Additionally, the airline is revamping menus in first class and offering unlimited portions of caviar for first-class passengers. It has also entered into an exclusive deal to serve Dom Perignon on flights, the reason behind Singapore Airlines dropping the champagne from their first-class offerings.

The airline is also investing millions of dollars into the development of vegan choices for passengers in all cabins. It has influences from Chinese, Indian, and Arabic cuisines and will be available for pre-order. New vegan offerings will also be expanded into Emirates lounges. A significant portion of these plant-based offerings will be sourced through Bustanica, the world’s largest hydroponic farm located just miles away from Emirates Flight Catering in Dubai.

Some of the example meals available:

Creamy Spinach & Avocado Mousseline with marinated tofu, blanched snow peas, radish, asparagus, pomegranate seeds, courgetti ribbon and sriracha oil
Multicolored Quinoa with caramelized pear and celeriac puree, roasted cauliflower, glazed carrots, sauteed kale and lovage pesto
Barley Risotto with Mushrooms served with sundried tomatoes, buttered chestnuts, blanched broccolini and toasted pumpkin seeds
Dark Chocolate Custard Cake with strawberries
Lemon Tart with coconut cream
Chocolate tofu cheesecake with strawberry compote

The menu items are imaginative and actually highlight vegetables instead of just using things like plant-based meat to duplicate meat-based dishes. Usually, vegan meals on flights are incredibly boring so it’s refreshing to see genuinely imaginative dishes available for people with dietary restrictions that are on the same level as normally catered dishes.

Emirates is putting its best foot forward as the world recovers from the COVID-19 lockdowns. From increased frequencies and larger aircraft to a completely refreshed fleet Emirates has big plans as it aims to go beyond where the airline was in 2019.

Hemal Gosai

Hemal took his first flight at four years old and has been an avgeek since then. When he isn't working as an analyst he's frequently found outside watching planes fly overhead or flying in them. His favorite plane is the 747-8i which Lufthansa thankfully flies to EWR allowing for some great spotting. He firmly believes that the best way to fly between JFK and BOS is via DFW and is always willing to go for that extra elite qualifying mile. Hemal's opinions are his own and do not reflect those of his employer.

How Qatar Airways is Embracing the FIFA World Cup Onboard

Hemal Gosai

Friday, October 28, 2022 at 10:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Benjamin Pham

Qatar Airways B777 in FIFA Livery (Photo: Qatar Airways)

Qatar Airways is in the process of fully incorporating and highlighting the 2022 FIFA World Cup into its in-flight services. The 2022 FIFA World Cup will be held in Qatar starting next month.

Passengers will see planes in a special FIFA livery and will be able to stream many of the games directly on their flights. In addition, there will be limited edition amenity kits, football jersey-styled loungewear and more for FIFA fans traveling on Qatar Airways.

Most importantly though, Qatar Airways is introduced special FIFA-themed menu items that feature a variety of meal and snack options including typical game day snacks like burgers and chicken wings along with the standard types of dishes offered on Qatar Airways.

AirlineGeeks had the opportunity to sample a few of these dishes and discuss the inspiration behind some of these dishes with Mary-Jane Bonnaud, Qatar Airways’ Culinary Development Manager.

Things started off with an amuse-bouche of lobster cocktail with poached prawn topped with caviar.

Poached Prawn Topped With Caviar (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Hemal Gosai)

This was followed by a wholesome soup, corn and jalapeno soup topped with Crème Fraiche.

Qatar Airways Corn and Jalapeno Soup (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Hemal Gosai)

Things got better when the sampler was brought out.

Qatar Airways Menu Sampler (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Hemal Gosai)

Top Row Left to Right:

A play on a hotdog with sliced beef with radish, fried onions, and pickles – part of the FIFA menu
Fried shrimp in vermicelli noodles -part of the FIFA menu
A chocolate mousse cake with berries and mango

Bottom Row Left to Right:

Beef carpaccio with black winter truffles
Roasted sweet potato with corn and smashed avocado
Duck ravioli with slice duck breast, roasted brussels sprouts, and tomato

A lot of the FIFA menu items are specifically geared around snack foods that people would typically have while watching sporting events. Below is how the steak nachos would look if served on a Qatar Airways flight departing the U.S.

Qatar Airways FIFA Steak Nachos (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Hemal Gosai)

Things got fun with the burger. The exact type of burger will vary based on the route. On flights from the United States there will be a burger with the typical fixings of an American cheeseburger.

Flights from Australia, for example, will have uniquely Australian fixings like beetroot on their burgers.

Qatar Airways FIFA American Burger (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Hemal Gosai)

Catering Partners

Qatar Airways primarily uses Do&Co for catering in the United States where available, alternatively, Gate Gourmet and Sky Chefs are used. Do&Co has a reputation within the industry as being one of the better caterers, however, Qatar Airways’ culinary director has assured AirlineGeeks that the offerings will be consistent across all North American departures in terms of taste, appearance and quality.

Airline catering is something that’s frequently overlooked so it’s always refreshing to see airlines take a fun approach to cater flights. Airline catering kitchens clearly have the capability to make good food as evidenced by airlines like Qatar Airways and Turkish Airlines. It is just a matter of the airline caring enough to make the necessary investments to offer good food on flights for its passengers.

Hemal Gosai

IAG Confirms Order for Boeing 737s and Options for Additional Aircraft

John Flett

Friday, October 28, 2022 at 07:00 AM ET

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Edited By:

Benjamin Pham

A British Airways 737 MAX in storage on the ramp. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Katie Bailey)

Shareholders of the International Airlines Group (IAG) have approved the consortium’s order for 50 Boeing 737 aircraft announced in May. Boeing has confirmed the order for the aircraft is now ‘firm’ and IAG will also have the option for 100 more. In IAG’s initial announcement which was given five months ago, it was noted that the order was for 25 Boeing 737-8-200 and 25 B737-10 aircraft with deliveries expected to begin in 2023.

Luis Gallego, IAG´s chief executive, said in May: “The addition of new Boeing 737s is an important part of IAG´s short-haul fleet renewal. These latest generation aircraft are more fuel efficient than those they will replace and in line with our commitment to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050.”

IAG comprises British Airways, Iberia, Vueling, Aer Lingus and LEVEL. The aircraft are expected to be utilized across all airlines for fleet replacement.

Boeing noted that IAG would be able to configure the B737-8 MAX 200 with up to 200 passengers, while the Boeing 737 MAX 10 could accommodate up to 230 passengers ‘in a single-class configuration and can fly up to 3,300 miles.’ Fuel efficiency for both aircraft is cited as ‘on average 14 percent more fuel-efficient than today’s most efficient Next-Generation 737s and 20 percent more efficient than the original Next-Generation 737s when they entered service.’

Ihssane Mounir, Boeing’s senior vice president of Commercial Sales and Marketing said, “We welcome today’s decision by IAG’s shareholders to approve a firm order for 50 737-8-200s and 737-10s, with options for 100 more, and we look forward to working with IAG on reintroducing the 737 into the Group’s fleets.”

The announcement comes a day after Boeing Chief Executive Dave Calhoun told CNBC he was confident that the company would get an extension to a deadline from the United States Congress on certifying the B737 MAX7 and B737 MAX 10 with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) under existing rules. Reuters reported that meeting the deadline or gaining an extension would be crucial for the aircraft manufacturer to avoid significant delays in delivery to airline customers.

Boeing is confident that the 737 MAX 7 would be certified by year’s end or in 2023 and that the 737 MAX 10 would begin FAA certification flight testing later this year or in 2023. If FAA certification was granted, Boeing would expect the 737 MAX 10 to enter into service in 2023 or 2024.

Failure to meet the December deadline or gain an extension would require Boeing to ensure that the aircraft ‘must have modern cockpit alerting systems to be certified by the FAA.’ The United States Congress adopted these certification reforms after the two fatal MAX aircraft crashes in 2018 and 2019 involving Lion Air of Indonesia and Ethiopian Airlines.

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.

Air Canada Resumes Flights to Panama and Expands Brisbane Operations

Aviacionline

Thursday, October 27, 2022 at 11:29 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Pablo Diaz

An Air Canada 737 MAX 8. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Katie Zera)

Air Canada will resume operations between Toronto – Pearson (YYZ) and Panama City (PTY), after a two-and-a-half-year absence due to the pandemic. With the return of the Canadian airline, five North American carriers will offer service at Tocumen International Airport (PTY).

“The benefits of the return of Air Canada to Panama will be significant not only from the point of view of connectivity, but this important decision constitutes an additional means to promote tourism, trade, investment and cultural exchange between the two countries,” said Raffoul Arab, General Manager of Tocumen International Airport.

Flight Itinerary

Toronto – Panama City Flight AC 1874 YYZ 08:30 – PTY 14:05
Panama City – Toronto Flight AC 1875 PTY 15:05 – YYZ 20:35

Initially the route will offer two flights per week (Friday and Sunday); starting December 18, the company will increase its operations to three flights per week by adding an extra service on Wednesdays. This service will be operated by Air Canada Rouge in Airbus A319 aircraft with a capacity of 136 seats in two classes (12 Business Class/124 Economy).

According Tocumen Airport Statistics, 96,925 passengers were mobilized between Panama City (PTY) and Canada within January and September 2022.

Between January and September of this year, Tocumen International Airport has registered a traffic of 11.5 million passengers, through eighteen commercial airlines offering services to eighty-four destinations in the Americas and Europe.

For this winter season, Air Canada will serve Belize (BZE), San Jose, Costa Rica (SJO), Liberia/Guanacaste (LIR) and Panama (PTY). In addition, it is the only Canadian airline operating out of Tocumen Airport (PTY).

Brisbane grows to daily service

After three months of resuming services between Vancouver (YVR) and Brisbane (BNE), starting June 1, 2023, the carrier will increase this service from four times per week to daily flights. This represents a 16.9% increase in capacity over 2019 levels, completely surpassing the pre-pandemic offering.

“This means Air Canada’s capacity at Brisbane is higher than it was before Covid. This is a great sign of recovery and firmly positions Queensland as a destination of choice for the North American market in time for its summer period,” according to Gert-Jan de Graaff, chief executive officer of Brisbane Airport Corporation.

Flight Itinerary

Vancouver – Brisbane Flight AC 35 YVR 22:45 – BNE 06:40+2 daily flights.
Brisbane – Vancouver Flight AC 36 BNE 09:45 – YVR 06:20 daily flights.

The route will be operated by Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft with a capacity of 298 seats in three classes (30 Signature Class/21 Premium Economy/247 Economy).

“Air Canada has seen strong demand for the Vancouver – Brisbane service since its restart in July and is excited to add these additional frequencies with the support of the Queensland government to return our operations beyond their full pre-covid level with the start of these daily flights. from the northern summer of next year,” says Vic Naughton, Air Canada’s General Manager Australia and New Zealand.

For the 2023 summer season, Brisbane (BNE) will have three nonstop services to North America operated by Qantas to Los Angeles (LAX) and Air Canada to San Francisco (SFO) and Vancouver (YVR).

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

Aviacionline

Northern Pacific Airways Completes Demonstration Tour, Unveils Hub

Fangzhong Guo

Thursday, October 27, 2022 at 07:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Benjamin Pham

New Pacific's first Boeing 757-200 at an unveiling event in Southern California (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Katie Zera)

Northern Pacific Airways — an upcoming Anchorage, Alaska-based transpacific airline — is picking up speed in preparation for launching flight operations.

Sporting a distinctive livery design, the first of the fleet’s newly refurbished 757-200s took off from Ontario, Calif. on Oct. 18. The plane conducted a 4-city, multi-state demonstration tour from California to Hawaii, Northern Marianas Islands and finally to its new home in Anchorage, Alaska. The aircraft finished its tour on October 25 back in Ontario, Calif.

The aircraft stopped overnight in Maui, Hawaii, before continuing to Saipan in the Nothern Marianas Island. During the stop, the airline met with customers, tourism and airline partners, aviation community guests, and members of the press. It also revealed a potential wet-lease partnership with the newly founded Northern Marianas Air to fly from Oceania to US and Asia.

While no paying passengers were onboard the aircraft, this is still significant for the upcoming airline. “This first flight is a major milestone for Northern Pacific Airways as it heads toward service launch,” Rob McKinney, CEO of Northern Pacific Airways, said. “Northern Pacific Airways will bring the world closer to the Alaskan traditions of freedom, friendship, and exploration with a cost-effective option.”

Anchorage Airport’s North Terminal

The ongoing $6 million revitalization project from Northern Pacific Airways strives to restore the state’s position as a leader in international air servicing. The project situates Alaska as a hub for international, long-haul travel. The upcoming Anchorage-based trans-Pacific airline has nearly completed upgrading its leased areas of the North Terminal in Anchorage, Alaska’s Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport.

The airport is matching the effort by further investing to improve and modernize public spaces of the terminal. “It’s really exciting to watch the progress we’re making in bringing Alaska to the forefront of international travel once again,” said Rob McKinney, CEO of Northern Pacific Airways. “Anchorage used to bustle as an international hub with travelers connecting from Asia, Russia, and the Lower 48 alike. We’re proud to say that Alaska’s North Terminal now looks the best it ever has. Visitors will be inspired to stay and explore Alaska, and Alaskans will have easier access to international travel than ever before.”

Monday’s preview event greeted attendees with a transformed North Terminal featuring a 50-seat mini-IMAX theater, as well as a 2,800-square-foot lounge and bar area. The event also provided Alaskans a first look at Northern Pacific Airways’ fleet, showcasing the detailed work of one of their improved Boeing 757-200s in Anchorage.

Future Services

Northern Pacific Airways will begin service with a fleet of Boeing 757-200 aircraft. The single-aisle plane is less costly to fly than its wide-bodied counterparts, yet it has a range greater than other aircraft of similar size. The aircraft is well-suited for point-to-point, long-haul flights and has enough space to accommodate each passenger’s carry-on luggage.

AirlineGeeks provided coverage for the company’s reveal event back in January. The entirety of Northern Pacific’s fleet will remain stored in California until the airline is prepared to launch in the spring of 2023, connecting service between Asia Pacific destinations and major U.S. cities. The 757-only airline will initially serve Japan and South Korea.

Previously, the startup airline reported plans to serve Mexico from Ontario before launching its Asia service. However, as the new year draws close, the company has yet to release any further updates. In addition to serving Mexico from California, the company has the approval to fly between Texas, New York and Mexico under the open sky agreement.

Seating configurations on Northern Pacific Airways (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Katie Bailey)

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.

Air Canada Doubles Down on the Airbus A220 and Orders Fifteen Additional Aircraft

Aviacionline

Wednesday, October 26, 2022 at 11:01 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Pablo Diaz

Air Canada Airbus A220-300 at Montreal Trudeau Airport (Photo: Air Canada)

Air Canada will add another 15 Airbus A220s, bringing the total number of Airbus A220 aircraft it will complete in its fleet over the next few years to sixty.

“The A220 has become an important component in Air Canada’s fleet modernization and a key part of our narrowbody fleet, thanks to its performance and passenger comfort,” said Mark Galardo, Air Canada’s Senior Vice President, Network Planning and Revenue Management.

“The A220 is the perfect aircraft for our North American network thanks to its economics, and its fuel efficiency also supports Air Canada’s commitment to reduce emissions on the path to its goal of zero net emissions from all global operations by 2050,” he added.

Christian Scherer, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer and Head of International, said, “With more than thirty aircraft in service with the airline, the A220 has established itself as an efficient route opener as well as a backbone workhorse, strengthening the airline’s continental network while meeting Air Canada’s ambitious decarbonization goals. We thank Air Canada for its continued confidence in Airbus.”

Air Canada’s Airbus fleet consists of 78 A320 family aircraft, 16 A330s and 31 A220-300s. It also has 10 A321XLRs on order.

Globally, the A220 has accumulated orders for nearly 800 aircraft, of which 220 are already in operation with sixteen airlines on more than 800 routes linking 325 cities.

This article was originally published by Edgardo Gimenez Mazó on Aviacionline in syndication with AirlineGeeks

Aviacionline

While Showing Signs of Recovery, Boeing Posts 3.3 Billion Loss for Q3 2022

Aviacionline

Wednesday, October 26, 2022 at 10:38 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Pablo Diaz

737 MAX airplanes stored during the worldwide MAX grounding. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Katie Zera)

Another earnings presentation, another negative result for Boeing. In recent years, the U.S. manufacturer found no way to escape this sequence, and Q3 2022 was no exception.

Although a deeper analysis shows a change in trend and some signs of recovery in the medium term, Boeing’s position remains complex.

In this quarter, Boeing presented a net negative result of $3.3 billion on total revenue just under $16 billion. A disastrous result across the board and, in one of those rare cases, a direct consequence of the problems that the division that kept the manufacturer afloat during the peak of the 737 MAX crisis is carrying silently. The goose that laid the golden egg is now a liability that triggers alerts on all fronts.

Boeing Defense and the fixed-price contract trap

For years, the Defense division proved to be a safe harbor for Boeing shareholders: long, expensive contracts with a production volume that guaranteed continuity. Of course, to win those contracts some concessions had to be made, which in part were born out by the contractors’ sustained abuse of the finances of the forces buying the products.

It took several things to happen on several programs that suffered delays, cost overruns, contracted packages that did not meet the operator’s expectations, and price increases before the USAF decided to put its foot down and not subsidize the supplier’s inefficiency: fixed-price contracts were born.

Perhaps the paradigmatic case is the KC-46: the multipurpose refueler that won by force a contract from the Airbus A330 MRTT was rushed out in bid-we-can’t-reject mode. Eleven years after winning the contract it still has not resolved basic issues with its remote vision system for refueling and only this year made progress with the approval of air-to-air refueling operations.

In 2011 it signed a fixed-price contract for 179 aircraft. Eleven years later, it delivered 62. With more than 100 aircraft to go, the KC-46 is a burden that will never recoup its development costs. And it is not the only one.

The T-7A Red Hawk has not been an easy – or cheap – project either, and the MQ-25 preferred not to feel alone and joined the club that also includes the new Air Force One, the VC-25B.

In this quarter Boeing Defense took responsibility for $2.8 billion of the $3.3 billion loss, on those four programs and a smaller expenditure on the NASA Commercial Crew program. An atrocious result for the division, which posted a -52 percent operating margin.

“While our cash generation was strong, our revenue and earnings were significantly impacted by losses on fixed-price development programs in our defense business, driven by higher estimated manufacturing and supply chain costs, as well as technical challenges,” Dave Calhoun said in a communication to employees.

“We are focused on maturing these programs, mitigating risks and delivering for our customers and their important missions,” he added

Boeing Commercial: Bad, but not that bad.

While unable to escape the red, Boeing’s commercial aviation division is showing some improvements that suggest the future doesn’t look as bad as it did in 2020 or 2021. With a loss of 643 million and an operating margin of -10.3 percent, it cannot be said that this is a good result – in fact, in millions of losses it is a little worse than last year, while revenue was considerably higher-, but much of this balance is attributable to problems that are already reducing their impact.

With 737 MAX deliveries in full swing and 787 deliveries gaining pace after returning in August, expect revenues to grow and charges for past delays and cancellations to impact less and less.

The 737-7 and -10 certification issues still hang over the division’s head and resolution of that conflict is absolutely key to the entire MAX project, but a favorable decision would solidify a must-have financial relief for the manufacturer at its flagship division’s worst historical moment.

“We continue to take important steps in our turnaround effort as we drive stability and focus on performance. That said, we remain in a challenging environment and have more work ahead of us to ensure we deliver on our commitments and restore the strength of our company” Calhoun also shared in his message.

“As we begin to reach key operational milestones, we were able to generate $2.9 billion of free cash flow in the quarter. This puts us on a very solid path to achieve positive free cash flow by 2022, which has been our key financial metric for the year,” he concluded.

And that is Boeing’s goal: to deliver a cash-flow positive year. After years of navigating troubled waters – in 2021 cash flow was -507 million – and with serious challenges ahead, Boeing has yet to resolve profoundly significant questions about its immediate future. But it seems that a little beyond the storm there is some sunshine.

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

Aviacionline

Trip Report: Flair Airlines Challenges the “Big Boys” in Canada

Vanni Gibertini

Wednesday, October 26, 2022 at 06:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Parker Davis

Flair Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Vanni Gibertini)

Despite being the second largest country in the world with a very sparse population and vast distances among its main cities, air transport in Canada has not evolved as it has in most of the other G8 countries. The market is mainly controlled by two large carriers, Air Canada and WestJet, and fares are quite high if compared to those available to travelers in Europe and the U.S.

During the past few years, a small number of start-up carriers adopting the typical business models of ultra-low-cost carriers have commenced operations to try and break the oligopoly in Canada and bring its 38 million inhabitants the lower fare enjoyed by their counterparts South of the Border or across the Atlantic.

One of these carriers is Flair Airlines, a carrier officially launched in 2005 as a cargo airline but rebranded in 2019 to adhere to the low-cost airline model and recently expanded to include 22 aircraft (plus 8 due for deliveries by 2023) connecting 38 destinations in Canada, the United States and Mexico.

During the month of September, they launched a promotional sale offering thousands of seats at 49 Canadian dollars one-way ($36), so we took this opportunity to experience their product firsthand with a short trip from Montreal to Halifax.

Taxes, Taxes, Taxes

During the booking process, it was easy to spot one of the reasons why low-cost carriers have always had a really hard time in Canada. To a net round-trip fare of C$0.99, these fees and taxes were added:

35 Canadian dollars for “Airport Improvement Fee” Montreal
35 Canadian dollars for “Airport Improvement Fee” Halifax
14.24 Canadian dollars for ATC fees
12.79 Canadian dollars for sales taxes, which is 14.975% for Montreal and 15% for Halifax

Therefore a 0.99 Canadian dollar net-fare would result in a 98.01 Canadian dollar all-in fare.

This fare only includes a personal item to carry onboard and store under the seat in front, however during both flights we were able to store our personal items in the overhead bins using the space available.

Expensive Bags

The maximum allowed size for the personal item is 6 x 13 x 17 inches, which is quite standard across the industry, and its weight is limited to 15.5 pounds. During our flights, this rule was not enforced very strictly, as most passengers had considerably bigger and heavier personal items.

Full size carry-ons (21.5 x 15.5 x 9 inches, or 55 x 40 x 23 cm) were offered for 33.34 Canadian dollars with checked bags costing 56.34 Canadian dollars for the first two items (49 Canadian dollars + taxes) and 90.38 Canadian dollars for the subsequent items (79 Canadian dollars + taxes).

Prices for extra items on Flair Airlines (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Vanni Gibertini)

During the booking procedure, some bundles are offered to reduce the price of extra items, but they are capacity controlled because on some flights the price of the bundle is simply the sum of the individual items.

Flair Airlines – Baggage Bundles (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Vanni Gibertini)

The outbound leg was flight F8 827 from Montreal YUL to Halifax YHZ on Wednesday, October 19 at 12:20 p.m., and it was operated by one of the three Boeing 737-800 aircraft still operating for the airline. All the other 19 aircraft are new generation Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft. Flight time was approximately 1 hour 35 minutes.

Flair Airlines – gate departure screen at Montreal Trudeau Airport (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Vanni Gibertini)

Airport Check-In Is a Luxury

The airline strongly encourages passengers to check in online via the website or the smartphone app, as having the boarding pass printed at the airport triggers a 25 Canadian dollars. On the outbound sector, online check-in was quite smooth, while on the return sector it took several hours and more than a dozen attempts to complete the procedure. It seems a recurring issue with the carrier, since when calling their customer service number, a recorded voice says that in case of problems with online check-in the charge will be waived.

Flair Airlines – Check-in area at Montreal Trudeau Airport (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Vanni Gibertini)

Passengers with bags to check-in can avail of a quite large check-in area in the main terminal, considering there is rarely more than one flight open for check-in at the same time (check-in opens 3 hours before departure).

Boarding took place from gate 17 in one of the remote islands: only the Flair Airlines flight was departing from there at that moment and it was organized in three groups. The seats are fairly dated, after all this is one of the oldest aircraft in the fleet, and the thicker old-fashion seats make the 30-31 inch seat pitch particularly uncomfortable for tall passengers.

Seat pitch on Flair Airlines Boeing 737-800 (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Vanni Gibertini)

In the back-seat pockets, there are two laminated sheets: one for the safety instructions and the other for purchasing refreshments. There is no trolley service: all refreshments are purchased on-demand and payment is exclusively by credit card: no cash is used onboard.

Flair Airlines interior of Boeing 737-800 (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Vanni Gibertini)

Flair Airlines onboard menu (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Vanni Gibertini)

Departure was delayed by approximately 20 minutes since the headcount had to be repeated several times: some passengers were repeatedly called through the public announcement system, as they had probably checked a bag but did not show up at the gate.

Unlike what happens with U.S. and especially European low-cost carriers, there doesn’t seem to be any emphasis on shortening the turnaround times. This may be explained partly by a difference in culture and partly by the fact that Flair’s network structure includes a large number of longer routes which limits the possibility of cramming extra sectors into the day if turnaround times are optimized.

The return leg was flight F8 828, scheduled to depart Halifax on Friday, October 21 at 11:20 a.m. The flight was operated with a Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft with a newer configuration, and three fewer seats (186 versus 189). The thinner seats made the perception of the seat pitch much more comfortable.

Flair Airlines – Check-in area at Halifax Stanfield Airport (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Vanni Gibertini)

The overhead lockers are the wider Space Bins, which are supposed to store up to 50% more carry-ons provided they are arranged lying on the smaller side. This would require passengers to know how to put their suitcases in the bins, to read the instructions or to be assisted by cabin crew in performing the operation correctly, none of which actually happened on our flight.

The Boeing 737 MAX 8 is supposed to be equipped with WiFi and free inflight entertainment to be streamed to the passengers’ individual screens, but on our flight, the system was not operative.

Seat pitch on Flair Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8 (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Vanni Gibertini)

The flight was at first delayed by approximately 30 minutes by the late arrival of the aircraft, but actual departure took place almost an hour late due to another quite slow boarding procedure. Flight time was a quick 1 hour 15 minutes.

On both flights announcements and the safety briefing were made in both Canada’s official languages. The order of the two languages appeared quite casual, while on other carriers it is usually English first and then French, except for when the aircraft is departing or arriving in Quebec when languages are switched and French is first due to local Quebec language laws.

The general impression is of a very young airline that still needs to iron out and standardize its procedures: for example, there appear to be strict checks for fastened seat belts whenever the signal is on, but before take-off and landing heavy objects like laptops are tolerated in the seat-back pockets and, while a flight attendant insisted for a personal item to be completely under the seat in front of the passenger, it was completely overlooked that jacket and purse of the same passenger were casually thrown on an empty seat next to them, when they should have been securely stored for take-off.

An Uphill Battle

While Flair’s effort to bring lower fares to Canada needs to be appreciated and supported, their baggage policy appears to be quite punishing: once we include all the charges for the items that would be included in a basic ticket in a full-service carrier, prices tend to become quite similar. For example, unless a specific seat is purchased during the booking or even at check-in, it is impossible to ensure that all the members of the same party will sit together. If no seat is being paid for, the system automatically assigns a seat without the possibility of choosing it or changing it.

Incumbent carriers can avail of large amounts of data to respond to lower fares launched by ultra-low-cost carriers: since they usually have a much higher number of frequencies on routes where they are under attack by budget competitors, they can just reduce the price of one of their flights of the day, usually the worst performing, in order to remain competitive without diluting too much of their revenue. This makes it difficult for new entrants like Flair but also like Jetlines and Lynx Air to compete effectively against Air Canada and WestJet.

Canada is also a difficult market to put in place the usual strategies adopted by low-cost carriers: airports tend to be quite expensive, and there are very few secondary airports that could provide better deals, so low-cost airlines are stuck paying the same high prices charged to their full-service counterparts. Flair Airlines has started services to some of the secondary airports serving popular destinations in the United States, such as Orlando Sanford (SFB), Phoenix-Mesa (AZA) and Los Angeles Burbank (BUR), on top of obtaining incentives from underserved communities in Canada like Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario, Lethbridge, Alberta and Prince George, British Columbia.

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.

Auckland Airport Revises Forecast Upward Amid Growing Demand

Pete Ainsley

Tuesday, October 25, 2022 at 10:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Parker Davis

An Air New Zealand 777-200 in Los Angeles (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)

In response to a speedy recovery, New Zealand’s Auckland Airport has revised its forecast for the financial year 2023.

Auckland Airport, the largest international gateway to the country, has seen a strong demand in domestic and international travel, in particular on North and South America, South Pacific and Trans-Tasman routes. The airport sees the recovery as universal, with travel demand to the U.K. and Europe on the rise as well.

The airport expects international passenger numbers will be between 60% and 70% of pre-Covid-19 levels and domestic passenger numbers could reach 85-90% of those figures, with a profit after tax between 100 million New Zealand Dollars ($57.9 million) and 130 million New Zealand Dollars for the financial year of 2023. That represents an uplift on guidance provided in August of between 50 million New Zealand Dollars to 100 million New Zealand Dollars.

The airport handled 5.6 million passengers in the financial year of 2022 (which ended in June), recording a net underlying loss after tax of 11.6 million New Zealand Dollars.

In addition, the airport agrees with IATA, that the global industry will recover to pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2024.

The airport’s latest announcement expressed concern over the North Asia market. China, one of the largest tourism markets pre-pandemic for New Zealand, has no sign of relaxing its travel restriction thus far. The other countries in North Asia have reopened their border gradually, Japan has followed in South Korea’s footsteps to welcome travelers in October.

Following the lifting of travel restrictions in Japan, Air New Zealand has seen a strong uptick in interest and bookings. Air New Zealand operates three times-a-week services between Auckland and Tokyo as a result. Japan was New Zealand’s fifth-largest international visitor market with 100,000 visitors arriving in 2019.

After the pandemic, North America has been identified as one of the priority markets for Kiwis. United Airlines and American Airlines return to New Zealand in October, Auckland becomes the most connected Australasian city to North America. Five carriers will provide eight destinations, offering up to 60 flights per week.

Competing with Its Neighbors

On the other hand, Auckland Airport has mentioned that it will compete with other countries, such as Australia, to entice more airlines and visitors to return to New Zealand. Australia has invested heavily in encouraging airlines to come back to Australia.

Despite the challenges aviation and aviation-adjacent industries are facing — such as the availability of crew, ground staff and resourcing associated with bringing fleets out of hibernation — the airport remains optimistic.

“We are increasingly confident that aviation is returning to normal, with the structure of the market becoming more balanced across inbound and outbound travel, and ‘business’, ‘friends and family’ and ‘leisure’ travel categories,” Carrie Hurihanganui, the chief executive of the airport, said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the airport has been focusing on the expansion of the terminal. The domestic terminal will end its services after six decades. Auckland Airport is going to combine its domestic and international terminals. According to the airport, the airlines currently pay some of the lowest domestic charges in Australasia to operate at the airport due to the age of the domestic terminal. The new terminal airport is expected to be completed in five years after construction is started.

Pete Ainsley