“The American Airlines team continues to deliver on our goals of running a reliable operation and returning to profitability”, said Robert Isom, the company’s CEO. “Demand remains strong and it’s clear that customers in the United States and other parts of the world continue to value air travel and the ability to reconnect post-pandemic”, he added.
The company said that despite a “challenging operating environment” because of hurricanes that affected operations in Florida and the Caribbean and flooding in Dallas-Fort Worth, it was able to “restore its operational reliability” thanks to a good on-time arrival rate and completion factor
American Airlines third quarter 2022 key financial and operating results
Record quarterly revenue for the company totalled 13.5 billion dollars. The figure represents a 13 percent increase over the same period in 2019, despite recording 9.6 percent less capacity compared to the third quarter of 2019.
Net income of 483 million dollars, or 0.69 dollars per diluted share.
Fuel expenses of 3.8 billion dollars, 97.1 percent higher than in the same period of 2021.
Operating margin, excluding net special items, of 7.2 percent.
Liquidity of 14.3 billion dollars, more than double that of the same period in 2019.
The company made approximately 380 million dollars in scheduled debt and lease payments between July and September.
As of 30 September 2022, it had reduced its total debt by 5.6 billion dollars from peak levels, reported in the second quarter of 2021.
“Debt reduction continues to be a top priority”, the company said. In that regard, it stressed that it would continue to pursue its plan to reduce total debt levels by 15 billion dollars by the end of 2025.
American Airlines and its regional partners operated more than 500.000 flights in the third quarter of this year.
The average occupancy rate reached 85.3 percent, up 6.6 percentage points from the same period in 2021.
Projections for the last quarter of the year
Based on current trends, the company expects its total revenue for the fourth quarter to be 11 to 13 percent higher than that reported in the fourth quarter of 2019. However, it expects total capacity to still be 5 to 7 percent lower. The airline maintains a schedule that includes more than five thousand daily operations on average until the end of the year.
With the current demand trends and fuel price forecast, American Airlines expects to have a positive operating margin of between 5.5 and 7.5 percent between October and December this year. In addition, it forecasts its diluted earnings per share, excluding net special items, to be between 0.50 and 0.70 dollars.
An Avianca A321 prepares for its next flight at LAX. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)
Avianca and ITA Airways, the Italian airline heir to Alitalia, have signed a codeshare agreement to connect their respective networks on both sides of the Atlantic through Bogota, Cali, Medellin, Miami, and Rome.
The agreement will come into effect on October 31 and will allow Avianca passengers to fly between Bogota and Rome using the Colombian airline’s flights to London, while ITA passengers flying to Miami will be able to connect with Avianca’s flights to Bogota, Cali, and Medellin, and then also take advantage of Avianca’s more than 125 routes in Latin America.
ITA currently operates a daily flight between Rome and Miami. As shown on Cirium, four weekly operations are operated on Airbus A330-200 aircraft and three on Airbus A350-900 aircraft, totaling 1,942 seats each way.
Avianca operates one daily flight between Bogota and London-Heathrow on Boeing 787-8 aircraft, providing a weekly offer of 1,750 seats each way, while it operates forty-four weekly flights between Bogota and Miami totaling 4,456 seats per leg.
“At Avianca, we continue to promote international connectivity, offering our customers multiple travel options to easily and efficiently fly to the world’s main destinations. With this agreement, we expect to transport together with ITA Airways close to 1,000 additional passengers between Colombia and Rome, boosting tourism and business between both countries. With this codeshare we offer another option to further enhance connectivity between Latin America and Europe,” said Julio Ordóñez, Avianca’s Director of Alliances.
Andrea Benassi, Chief of Network, Fleet and Alliances ITA Airways, said that “this collaboration allows us to bring our passengers to Colombia thanks to flights connecting to Bogota, as well as to bring Avianca passengers to Italy and Europe with convenient flights connecting to Rome Fiumicino. This new agreement brings ITA Airways’ codeshare agreements to thirty, an important result achieved by the airline in just 12 months”.
A United Boeing 757 departing Los Angeles.
(Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)
United is strengthening transatlantic operations at Shannon, Ireland’s Airport with a new seasonal service from Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. This route will boost Shannon’s international connection, as the airline also offers a nonstop connection from Newark, N.J.
The airline’s last operation between Chicago’s O’Hare Airport and Shannon was on September 6, 2017. During that summer season, this route carried 24,818 passengers, United operated continuously at Shannon between 2013 – 2017 and offered a five-times-weekly operation.
“Today’s announcement from United Airlines that they plan to expand their network at Shannon with new daily service between Shannon Airport and their hub at Chicago O’Hare Airport next year is fantastic news for our customers and our staff at The Shannon Airport Group,” said Mary Considine, Chief Executive Officer of The Shannon Airport Group.
Flight Itinerary
Chicago O’Hare – Shannon Flight UA 288 ORD 18:20 – SNN 07:30+1 daily flights.
Shannon – Chicago O’Hare Flight UA 289 SNN 09:30 – ORD 11:45 daily flights.
The route will be operated on Boeing 757-200 aircraft with a capacity of 169 seats in three classes (16 Business Class/45 Economy Plus/108 Economy), the service will start on May 25 and will be available until Sept. 4. By the 2023 summer season, United will offer two daily flights at Shannon and will have a weekly seat offering of 4,732 seats and will be the only foreign carrier to provide transatlantic operations at Shannon.
According to data compiled through Cirium, United will offer 15,190 seats per week between North America and Ireland in 88 operations, making it the third largest operator in this market, behind only Aer Lingus and American Airlines. It will also be the U.S. airline to provide the most destinations and routes to Ireland.
“As the only U.S. airline to offer direct flights from Shannon, we are pleased to announce this new expansion of our route network from Ireland to the U.S.,” said Martina Coogan, United’s Ireland Sales Manager.
“We look forward to another busy summer for international travel in 2023 and are proud to leverage our industry-leading global network to offer our customers in the west of Ireland even more travel options and the ability to connect through our U.S. hubs to other destinations in the Americas,” Coogan added.
United’s schedule for the 2023 summer season:
(Sourced through Cirium, subject to change)
Dublin
Newark: two daily flights on Boeing 757-200s and Boeing 767-400ERs.
Washington – Dulles: daily flights on Boeing 757-200.
Chicago O’Hare: daily flights on Boeing 757-200.
Shannon
Newark: daily flights on Boeing 757-200.
Chicago O’Hare: daily flights on Boeing 757-200.
This article was originally written by Rainer Nieves Dolande for Aviacionline.
A formation flight of Ampaire Electric EELs. (Photo: Ampaire)
American hybrid aircraft manufacturer Ampaire has signed a memorandum of understanding with Tamarack Aerospace Group for aircraft upgrades. The agreement will allow Ampaire to utilize Tamarack’s research and development for the aerodynamic improvement of its fleet, aiding in increased efficiency and flight time.
A key benefit of the joint development is Tamarack’s advanced SMARTWING active winglet technology, with Ampaire eager to deliver its vision of sustainable aviation in what is an increasingly sustainability-focused industry. According to Ampaire, the Tamarack’s active winglets increase fuel efficiency and range, smooth flight and improve the ability to take off and land on shorter runways regardless of high/hot conditions and payload”.
For customers of Ampaire, the improvements translate as a two-in-one performance enhancement and cost reduction, with the optional SMARTWING addition compatible with the entire fleet of Eco Caravan, Eco King Air, and Eco Otter.
Speaking on the benefits of Tamarack’s active winglet technology, Tamarack CEO Nick Guida said, “Tamarack’s Performance SMARTWING technology has demonstrated substantial aerodynamic improvements on multiple platforms including 160 upgraded CitationJets, and our goal aligns closely with Ampaire’s to make every aircraft more efficient and sustainable”, with Ampaire CEO Kevin Noertker adding the “technology is a great match with Ampaire’s hybrid propulsion system, as both work synergistically to upgrade the performance and economics of the proven aircraft operated by our customers”.
Understanding Tamarack’s “Active Winglets”
Far from a recent innovation, winglets have seen extensive use in aviation since the late 1970s in an effort to increase fuel efficiency. As an extension of an aircraft’s wing, the winglet aids in the reduction of wingtip vortices — a dragging force — generated during the lifting process. To produce lift, a wing must generate both a low pressure above and a high pressure below. Simply put, the pressure difference causes the wing to rise, in effect being pulled up by a suction force.
This lift is typically strongest around the center of the wing, however the same cannot be said about the wingtip. Without any surface extending beyond the wing, the higher pressure below is sucked into the lower pressure above, producing a mixing of the air — vortices. Since the air above the wingtip is no longer low pressure, lift is reduced and drag increased. The result is an inefficient wing and an aircraft that requires more fuel.
The winglet, essentially a vertical extension of the wing, reduces the drag effect of vortices by inhibiting the movement of higher-pressure air below into the low pressure above. When designed correctly, the winglet can even add a small degree of thrust.
While many modern aircraft utilize winglets to reduce the negative impact of vortices, Tamarack believes its SMARTWING active winglets can outperform others. According to Tamarack, SMARTWING technology can adapt to different regimes of flight, allowing the winglet to always perform at its optimum level, including changing load conditions of the aircraft. Automatic, and functioning autonomously from other aircraft systems, Tamarack’s active winglets are designed for simple installation and require no structural changes or additions.
According to Tamarack, the efficiency increases are significant – a huge bonus for the rapidly developing electric aviation industry. In terms of numbers, Tamarack says “a flat wing Cessna CJ/CJ1 (CitationJet) aircraft that could fly three hours nonstop prior to installing Active Winglets can now fly four hours nonstop on the same fuel with Active Winglets,” adding “a flat wing aircraft is generally a 900 nautical miles aircraft. However, equipped with Active Winglets, the same flat wing aircraft can fly at least 1,200 nautical miles”.
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.
An American A321 in Charlotte. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)
American Airlines has reached an out-of-court settlement in order to put to rest a class action lawsuit that was brought against them by up to 2.8 million passengers that claim they were “improperly charged” baggage fees between 2013 and 2021.
The lawsuit originated from the action of five passengers who claimed the airline broke its promise to allow them free baggage check-in on some of their luggage due to their frequent flier status, premium credit card or first-class ticket.
“The settlement applies to two sets of affected passengers: those who received email confirmation that promised one or more of their checked bags would be free but still had to pay; and those who held branded credit cards that entitled them to no-charge luggage checking but who were still charged on domestic trips. Travel had to take place on or after Feb. 24, 2017, and tickets needed to be bought no later than April 8, 2020,” the Washington Post reported.
American Airlines has agreed to pay at least $7.5 million to settle this lawsuit that has been filed in a Federal Court in Texas in February 2021 but has admitted no wrongdoing as the plaintiffs claimed the airline has “breached its [own] contract” by not allowing certain passengers to check-in some of their baggage for free.
“Rather than risk trial and appeal, which could lead to class members getting zero or less than-full compensation at an uncertain time later, the settlement gives every settlement class member a guaranteed opportunity now to get 100% compensation,” says the motion by American Airlines as reported by Business Insider.
The carrier also agreed to pay administration costs for the settlement as well as attorney fees and has put no limit or cap on the amount it will pay above that number. “That amount represents a strong result given the potential recovery and the risks and delay of ongoing litigation in this case. The fairness, reasonableness and adequacy of the proposed settlement is even clearer in light of the risks, expense, and delay that would accompany ongoing litigation,” continues the motion.
According to the lawsuit American Airlines failed to program the correct exemption into the software that automatically calculates baggage fees when passengers check in at the airport.
Baggage Fees Generated Over $2 Billion for U.S. Carriers in 2021
According to Statista.com, in the U.S. passengers have paid $2.18 billion in baggage fees, and almost a quarter of this amount has ended up in American Airlines’ accounts. In fact, the Texas-based carrier has collected $520.9 million in baggage fees, and it is firmly at the top of this list, leading second-ranked Delta Air Lines by an ample margin. Delta’s revenues in this area are just shy of $360 million for 2021, just above the $341 million reported by United Airlines.
Airlines Baggage Fees 2021 (Source: Statista.com)
The three biggest carriers in the U.S. account for over 56% of the total amount corrected by all carriers. In fourth place, there is ultra-low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines whose business model heavily relies on ancillary revenues that account for almost 50% of the carrier’s revenue, according to CAPA.
Notably absent from the top positions of this list is Southwest Airlines, which is still refusing to charge baggage fees for the first two pieces of luggage, maintaining the policy that was common practice in the U.S. until the mid-2000s. In fact, the progenitor of all low-cost carriers, despite carrying 17.4% of domestic passengers in the U.S., only collects 1.2% of the total amount of baggage fees.
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.
A Cathay Pacific 777 lifts off from Dusseldorf, Germany. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Fabian Behr)
Hongkongers have started dusting off their passports and returning to the skies again following the lifting of travel restrictions in September. In response to that surging demand, Cathay Pacific has increased flight frequencies across a wide variety of routes.
Earlier, the Hong Kong government scrapped hotel quarantine policies and implemented a so-called “0+3” model. Travelers coming from overseas need to take three days for self-monitoring for Covid-19 symptoms. During the self-monitoring period, travelers will be banned from entering restaurants and some other locations with crowds.
Taiwan is also carrying out a similar policy with travelers from North America and European countries, but the visitors need to take seven days of self-monitoring, a so-called “0+7” model.
Business travelers are not forecasted to come back to Hong Kong immediately, but Hongkongers have begun planning their long-awaited vacations. In Japan, one of the most popular destinations among travelers from Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific has increased frequencies to Tokyo’s Narita International Airport to 86 weekly and Osaka to 106 weekly in October.
The carrier is going further in adding almost 140,000 seats in November and December for those traveling to Japan. Flights between Hong Kong and Tokyo’s Haneda Airport will be resuming in November and Hong Kong to Sapporo will resume in December. Japan reopened its border and started welcoming international travelers on Oct. 11.
Meanwhile, the airline will add 31,500 seats in the coming two months to London. It is expected first class service will be resumed on CX251 and CX252 on Dec. 5 and Dec. 6. British Airways has also announced that it will resume London to Hong Kong services on Dec. 5. However, Virgin Atlantic has shocked the city and revealed that it will pull out of Hong Kong services as a result of the invasion of Ukraine.
Cathay Pacific also announced that passenger flights to Madrid; Milan; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Kathmandu, Nepal and Bengaluru, India will be resumed. In the wake of surging demand, the airline is planning to hire 4,000 more employees.
In addition, Cathay Pacific revealed the travel figure for September, carrying 265,845 passengers, a slight increase compared to last month.
“Looking ahead, we remain focused on adding as many passengers flight as we can, and have already added more than 400 flights sectors in October to and from regional and long-haul destinations since the September announcements by the Government.” Ronald Lam, Chief Customer and Commercial Officer said.
Attracting Foreign Travelers
Despite the fact that the border of Hong Kong hasn’t fully opened, the Hong Kong government is trying to lure foreign travelers back by giving away 500,000 air tickets. Earlier, the IATA criticized Hong Kong’s travel restrictions will cost the city as an international aviation hub.
However, Hong Kong Express, Cathay Pacific’s subsidiary low-cost carrier, is facing a challenge after lifting the travel restrictions. The no-frills airline has canceled some scheduled flights after Jan. 15, a week ahead of the Lunar New Year holidays. According to local media, the airline has been facing staffing issues. The airline said it has reviewed its flight schedule in 2023 to provide passengers with a more transparent outlook.
“Customers are also eligible for full refunds if there are no other suitable options available,” Hong Kong Express’s spokeswoman said in a statement.
A CemAir CRJ-200 parked on the ramp. (Photo: CemAir)
CemAir — a South African privately-owned airline — is looking to expand its operations by expanding its domestic capacity.
The airline is best known for its flights to smaller towns like the popular tourist spot of Plettenberg Bay and the iron ore mining hub of Sishen. However, the carrier is also looking beyond South Africa’s borders for new routes.
The International Air Services Council (IASC) — a council that was only recently reconvened after being vacant for a year and is now dealing with a massive backlog of applications by airlines — has granted CemAir seven weekly frequencies on the Johannesburg-Livingstone, Zambia route and four frequencies on the Johannesburg-Lilongwe, Malawi route.
In addition, CemAir has received additional three frequencies a week between Johannesburg and Accra, Ghana; Nairobi, Kenya; Pointe Noire and Brazzaville in Congo; Libreville, Gabon and Entebbe, Uganda.
Moreover, IASC also granted CemAir two frequencies a week on the Johannesburg-Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Johannesburg-Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo routes, while one will be between Johannesburg and Freetown, Sierra Leone.
CemAir CEO, Miles van der Molen, while speaking to Travel News, said the outcome for a few of the routes applied for was still pending which include Johannesburg to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; Johannesburg to Victoria Falls, and Harare, Zimbabwe.
Airline’s Fleet Expansion
According to Van der Molen, the airline would acquire more aircraft to cope with the need for increased capacity. CemAir had already committed to six 90-seat Bombardier CRJ-900 regional jets, which could be increased to 10 aircraft by the end of next year.
He also noted that, in addition to the regional routes, CemAir would add to its domestic operations. It will increase its Johannesburg-Cape Town, South Africa frequency and will soon start flights from Johannesburg to London.
The carrier had in late last month hinted that it was expecting a post-lockdown upset in South African aviation and had already begun to acquire more aircraft to plug the gap, which would ultimately be left by Comair’s demise.
“That’s where we see a lot of our capacity going moving forward,” Van der Molen, told Business Insider SA of the airline’s expansion into the rest of Africa.
“We’re continually adding capacity [and] we’re growing quite quickly. Some of that capacity is deployed domestically, but we see that the domestic market, in time, when it fully recovers, will mostly need larger equipment [aircraft] for efficiencies and economies of scale… but the regional routes tend to be thin by nature, and the smaller aircraft we operate are practically the correct gauge for those routes,” Van de Molen added.
Headquartered at Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport, CemAir increased its fleet size by more than 20% in the first half of the year. CemAir’s expansion plans were revealed in a government gazette published on Sept. 23.
CemAir’s operations outside of South Africa are currently limited to Luanda, Angola and Lusaka, Zambia. The airline also services Gaborone, Botswana and Maputo, Mozambique through codeshare agreements with other carriers.
It is unclear when these new routes will become operational, with the IASC hearing and deliberation just one step of many in the process of getting passengers in the sky. The longest of these processes is the diplomatic one, whereby governments of the countries where the airline plans to fly, need to approve the route.
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.
DDR-SEG Preserved at Rhinow Stolln. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Mark Evans)
Up until 1990 Germany was split into two nations. The capitalist west and the communist east. Sanctions placed upon the Soviet Union and satellite nations by the West, prevented East Germany from purchasing western aircraft. This meant that Russian aircraft were predominantly operated during the communist reign.
Interflug was the national airline of East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic. It was founded in 1955 as Deutsche Lufthansa and soon started flights to most European socialist capitals. In 1963 Deutsche Lufthansa was absorbed into Interflug and by the end was operating a large airliner fleet consisting of Ilyushin 18s, Ilyushin 62s, and Tupolev 134s. They also operated various other aircraft for agricultural, industrial and survey work as well as a flying school.
The East German airline had to endure significant problems during the 1970s and 80s. An energy crisis and rising fuel prices caused the airline to cease its domestic network, with the last domestic route flown in 1980. Its ageing fleet of Russian aircraft became expensive to operate. They used a lot more fuel than western jets and their engines didn’t meet new noise regulations in the west. This saw them paying increased landing fees or being banned from certain airports.
Once commercial airliners were made exempt from the trade embargo in 1988, Interflug quickly ordered three Airbus 310s with the first delivered in 1989. The western jets offered increased range over the IL62s allowing for direct flights to Cuba.
Unfortunately, the Berlin-based carrier didn’t have a chance to replace the other Russian aircraft. The German Democratic Republic was dissolved in October 1990 and became part of the Federal Republic of Germany. An agency was established to reprivatize East German enterprises. No investors could be found and the liquidation of Interflug was announced in February 1991, with the last flight in April.
Five of the IL18s were granted a second lease of life after a group of former Inteflug employees formed a Cargo airline called Berline. It was based out of Interflug’s former hub at Schonefeld Airport in Berlin but ceased operations in 1994.
The Airbus 310s were transferred to the German Air Force operating VIP flights for high-ranking German officials.
Several of the aircraft were preserved and remain at various airports and museums throughout the country.
DM-STA Preserved at Leipzig. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Mark Evans)
DM-STA IL18 Deutsche Lufthansa colours – Preserved at Leipzig Airport.
DDR-STB IL18 Interflug colours – Preserved in Leipzig City Centre. Located on top of a building along Karl-Heine Strasse.
DDR-STE IL18 Interflug colours – Preserved at Borkheide Hans Grade Museum.
DDR-STG IL18 Interflug colours – Preserved at Erfurt Airport.
DDR-STH IL18 Interflug colours – Preserved Flugausstellung L & P
DDR-SCH Preserved at Finowfurt. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Mark Evans)
Junior Museum, Hermeskiel.
DM-SEC IL62 Interflug colours – Preserved at Luftfahrt Und Technik Museumspark,Merseburg Airport. Unfortunately, the museum has closed and the aircraft are for sale, so this aircraft is unlikely to stay there for long. Tupolev 134 DDR-SCZ was also there but appears to have been sold already. Currently unknown if it has a new location.
DDR-SEF IL62 Interflug colors – Preserved at Leipzig City Centre asRestaurant Regenbogen.
DDR-SCB T134 Interflug colors – Preserved at Magdeburg Airport.
DDR-SCL Preserved at Biberach. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Mark Evans)
DDR-SCH T134 Interflug colors – Preserved at Finowfurt Aviation Museum.
DDR-SCK T134 Interflug colours – Preserved at Flugausstellung L & P Junior Museum, Hermeskiel.
DDR-SCL T134 Hydro Systems colors – Preserved at Hydro Systems, Biberach.
Germany has a rich heritage of preserving the history of aviation and many more aircraft can be found at various museums around the country. Several more Russian aircraft have been conserved at the following locations.
Auto Und Technik Museum, Sinsheim.
CCCP-77112 Preserved at Sinsheim. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Mark Evans)
A fantastic museum with many Aircraft Exhibits as well as other transports. They have spectacularly preserved a Tupolev 144 on top of their roof alongside a Concorde.
Russian Aircraft include:
CCCP-77112 Tupolev 144 Aeroflot colors.
HA-LBH Tupolev 134 MALEV colors.
OK-PAI Preserved at Sinsheim. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Mark Evans)
OK-PAI Ilyushin 18 CSA colors.
0833 Ilyushin 14 Bulgarian Air Transport titles, but operated for the Polish Air Force.
Technikmuseum, Speyer.
Another large Museum with many Aircraft exhibits. Their main exhibit is the former Lufthansa B747-200 D-ABYM. Russian Aircraft include:
UR-64460 AN22 Antonov Design Bureau.
52+04 AN26 German Air Force.
Flugausstellung L & P Junior Museum, Hermeskiel.
In addition to the two Interflug aircraft mentioned above the museum has many other exhibits. Russian aircraft include:
HA-ANA AN2 Hungarian Air Force.
52+08 AN26 German Air Force – Preserved Flugausstellung L & P Junior Museum, Hermeskiel.
3076 IL14 Polish Air Force.
The museum also has many interesting western types. Particularly a Vickers VC-10, G-ARVF painted in full United Arab Emirates Government colors.
Other Locations:
CCCP-65745 T134 basic Aeroflot colors, missing its tail – Preserved at Flugplatz Museum Cottbus.
RA-65117 T134 www.kunz.aero titles – Operated as an aircraft recovery systems testbed at Hahn Am See.
HA-LCB T154 Flughafen Stuttgart titles – Preserved at Stuttgart airport and used as a fire trainer.
Mark has been interested in aviation since the age of eight when he first went plane spotting at Manchester Airport, England. Trips around various European airports in the following years and then to the USA as a teenager furthered his desire.
This led to Mark wanting to work in the industry and at the age of twenty one was accepted to train as an Air Traffic Controller. After training and working for several years in England, Mark moved to Bahrain in the Middle East where he worked for six years. He then moved to Sydney, Australia where he resides today after twenty years in the profession.
Mark's pursuit to see planes has seen him visit over 140 countries and territories, including places, like North Korea, Sudan and Iran. He has flown over 1,100 times, visited over 700 airports and can always be found researching his next trip.
An ITA Airways Airbus A330-200 at Rome Fiumicino Airport.
(Photo: ITA Airways)
ITA Airways, Italy’s national airline, was founded on June 29, 2020, by the government of President Giuseppe Conte, 100% public society (property of the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance) with Francesco Caio as chairman and Fabio Lazzerini (former Alitalia manager) as CEO.
October 14, 2021, marked the end of Alitalia’s (former Italy’s national airline) history after 74 years. The next day, on Oct. 15, 2021, the new Italian airline, ITA Airways, began flight operations when the first flight, (AZ 1637) from Milan Linate to Bari Palese landed at 7:35 a.m., with 60 passengers on board and the crew still in Alitalia uniforms.
From this flight started the story of the new Italian national airline, which, despite trying hard to proceed smoothly and break away from the “bad legacy” left by Alitalia, always seemed to be in trouble and is still struggling to “take off”.
Alitalia brand was bought for 90 million from ITA Airways but never to be used and officially “to remove it from the market.” The new airline, however, had half of Alitalia’s old fleet, 52 planes, which will be gradually repainted blue, and less than half of its staff, 2,800 people.
ITA Airways officially joined the SkyTeam alliance (like Alitalia before) on October 29, 2021, and for the time being until December 31, 2022, it will belong to it.
Right from the start, the European Union’s Antitrust Authority imposed on ITA Airways the necessity of no continuity between Alitalia and the new Italian airline. This meant ITA Airways couldn’t buy from Alitalia the loyalty program “MilleMiglia” with more than 5 million members and the maintenance and handling branches. The Italian government tried to finance the new airline with €3 billion euros, but since the Antitrust Authority limited public financing, there was just a 1.35 billion euros financing for three years, €700 million in 2021, €400 million in 2022 and €250 million in 2023.
Due to the change of government in Italy from Giuseppe Conte to Mario Draghi, Alfredo Altavilla took over Francesco Caio as chairman of the airline. From the beginning, he did not get along very well with CEO Fabio Lazzerini and the first tensions began, which will never be resolved.
In 2022, the first offers to privatize the airline arrived from different buyers. The first was from MSC and Lufthansa, and the Italian government had the option to remain a minority shareholder. Although everything seemed ready for sale, the American fund Certares and the airline Delta and Air France-KLM took over, making another offer and the first negotiation fell apart, proceeding to the latter. Meanwhile, more than half of ITA Airways’ board members resigned over disagreements with Chairman Altavilla.
Not Just Bad News
Early June 2022 saw the arrival of the first Airbus A350-900 for intercontinental routes to America, and ITA Airways was the first Italian airline to use this aircraft. As of October 14, 2022, there are 69 aircraft in the fleet, including the six new Airbus A350s, eight A330-200s, 31 A320ceos, and 18 A319ceos. New Airbus A220s will also be introduced in October. The first two, with the “Born To Be Sustainable” livery, made their first commercial flight on Sunday, October 16.
ITA Airways plans by 2026, a fleet of 80% new generation aircraft that will lead to an estimated 1.3 mln tons of CO2 emissions reduction over four years, from 2022 to 2026. Great news also from the new loyalty program, “Volare,” which has over 700,000 members and continues to grow.
It has been a year of great difficulty for ITA Airways, which, amid internal disagreements and external impositions, has had problems from the outset in operating and overcoming each new obstacle, also posed by restrictions due to the pandemic. Since the first day of flight operations, Italy’s flag carrier today has carried 9 million passengers, with an average of 95 travelers per flight. However, from October 2021 to June 2022, it recorded a daily loss of €1.6 million.
The privatization negotiations are very important and it is clear that time is now running out. The new government in Italy will finally give a future strategy for the Italian national airline that maybe seems destined to follow in the footsteps of Alitalia.
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.
Across the globe, AirlineGeeks and you – our community – are joined by one love: the love of flight. That love takes many forms, from airlines to aerobatics. For this reason, we are thrilled to announce we are sponsoring one of Australia’s largest air shows – the annual Wings Over Illawarra.
Why the hype? We want you to join us for this incredible event. As our second ever Australian sponsorship, we want to celebrate Australian aviation and this AirlineGeeks milestone with you.
For two days, Nov. 12 and 13, AirlineGeeks will be centered in the middle of the most diverse collection of vintage and modern aircraft in Australia, all within a one-and-a-half-hour drive south of Sydney. Located at Shellharbour Airport, we expect an incredible display of historical airliners, such as one of only two airworthy Super Constellations in the world, as well as many other flying and static displays from Australia’s Historical Aircraft Restoration Society.
Additionally, we anticipate intense aerobatics, historical formation flights, and fast flyovers from Australia’s newest F-35 Lightning II. For the AvGeek in need of their own flight, helicopter joy flights will also be available to take in the incredible coastline views and equally dramatic mountain ranges surrounding the airport.
Each day will include an action-packed program of aerial action, with a lineup of both civilian and military aircraft. The flying displays will include the RAAF’s Roulettes, an impeccably restored Lockheed C-121C Super Constellation (aka “Connie”), a classic Boeing Stearman biplane, as well as some of the most iconic warbirds of the Second World War, such as the Vought F4U Corsair, Supermarine Spitfire, and German Focke Wulf 190 – to name just a few.
A Supermarine Spitfire – one of many historical aircraft flying at this year’s Wings Over Illawarra. Photo: Justin McCoy
To complement this array of aircraft, we are excited to see the former record-setting English Electric Canberra – setting an altitude record of nearly 66,000 feet in 1955 – joined along with many more exhibits sure to satisfy the inner historian.
While there will be a certain focus on these incredible displays above, the static exhibits on the ground are also sure to excite. These displays are expected to comprise of HARS’ Boeing 747-400, Douglas DC-3 and DC-4, a General Dynamics F-111, and a true gem – a Consolidated PBY Catalina – as well as many others yet to be confirmed. For a small donation to the museum, guided tours of some of these aircraft are available.
A Douglas DC-4 at Wings Over Illawarra. Photo: Justin McCoy
The exhibits and stalls extend beyond these aircraft, with different exhibitors through the differing precincts. For the reader eager to explore the prospect of becoming a pilot, advantage can be taken of the different flying schools in attendance, as well as gliding clubs and other aviation specialists. We also anticipate drone exhibits and stalls, each demonstrating the potential of unmanned aviation in the 21st century.
AirlineGeeks will be sharing photos, interviews and reviews with our audience, so be sure to tag us in your photos and get a ‘selfie’ with our banner!
With such an array of action and exhibits, we are excited for a fantastic weekend of planes, noise, and that intoxicating smell of jet fuel. If you can make it (we extend this invitation to those beyond Australia), we’d love your company as we lift our eyes ever upward and share in our true love – our love of flight.
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.
