United Airlines Firms eVTOL Order with Payment to Archer

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

Verified

Edited By:

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

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

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

Archer Aviation

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

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

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

United Airlines’ Sustainability Commitment

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

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

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

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

Other eVTOL programs

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

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

Fangzhong Guo

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

Aegean Airlines Consolidates Network, Adds New Emirates Codeshare Agreement

Vincenzo Claudio Piscopo

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

Verified

Edited By:

Ryan Ewing

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Vincenzo Claudio Piscopo

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

IATA Moves to Have Age Limit For Pilots Removed

Vanni Gibertini

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

Verified

Edited By:

Ryan Ewing

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

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

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

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

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

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

Age Limits Imposed Over 100 Years Ago

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

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

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

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

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

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

Vanni Gibertini

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

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

Ryan Ewing

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

Verified

Edited By:

Ryan Ewing

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

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

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

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

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

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

Minimum services

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

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

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

Ryan Ewing

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

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

Joey Gerardi

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

Verified

Edited By:

Ryan Ewing

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Joey Gerardi

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

Jet2.com Prepares for Upcoming Rise in Leisure Holiday Travel

John Flett

Friday, August 12, 2022 at 03:00 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Benjamin Pham

Jet2 has ordered 36 Airbus A321neo aircraft, with flexibility to expand to 60 aircraft. (Photo: Airbus)

Jet2.com — one of the U.K.’s prominent leisure carriers — is capitalizing on the rise of passenger demand by putting its 2023 and 2024 winter programs of flights and holiday packages on sale. The airline operates to ‘over 65 sun, city and ski destinations across Europe and beyond with Jet2holidays offering over 4,100 hotels. Steve Heapy, chief executive officer of Jet2.com and Jet2holidays, said, “In response to this demand, we are putting our winter sun program on sale from all ten of our UK bases.”

Heapy stated, “We are pleased to be offering a fantastic selection of Winter Sun destinations and with more customers than ever wanting to give themselves something to look forward to next year, we have no doubt that these hotspots will be extremely popular with both customers and independent travel agents.”

The airline is adding six new routes: Belfast, Ireland to Malaga, Spain; Belfast, Ireland to Faro, Portugal; Newcastle, U.K. to Malta; Bristol, U.K. to Malaga; Bristol to Malta and Bristol to Palma Majorca, Spain. In addition, capacity is being added across the airline’s established network of sun and ski destinations. The Canary Islands will benefit from over 230 weekly flights and holidaymakers destined for Mainland Spain can choose from over 80 weekly services.

Jet2.com is the U.K.’s third largest airline, and amidst the continuing travel chaos of the European summer, was the only U.K. airline not to cancel any flights in July. According to aviation analysis site OAG, the carrier operated 12,063 flights during the month an increase of 14 percent over the summer of 2019.

“This summer is proving to be incredibly busy and because we prepared well in advance, it means we are flying millions of happy holidaymakers to and from their destinations without having to cancel their plans,” Heapy said. Over the weekend of Jul. 23 and Jul. 24 when English schools commenced summer holidays, Jet2.com had the busiest weekend in the company’s history operating over 800 flights. Two million passengers were carried in July positioning 2022 as potentially the airline’s busiest season ever.

The airline attributes the robustness and resilience of its operation to ‘proactively recruit well ahead of the bounce back and as such have a very visible uniformed presence in place (referred to as the Red Team) in U.K. airports as well as in main overseas airports and in resorts.

Heapy added, “There has been a lot of focus on the disruption affecting our industry, but this data shows that it is not all bad news. Thanks to our team of brilliant colleagues, we can proudly say that we operated every single flight despite July being the busiest month in our entire history.”

Jet2.com operate over 100 aircraft from bases in Belfast, Ireland; Birmingham, U.K.; Bristol, U.K.; East Midlands, U.K.; Edinburgh, Scotland; Leeds Bradford, U.K.; London’s Stansted Airport, Manchester, U.K. and Newcastle, U.K. In 2021, the airline announced an order for 36 Airbus A321neos with the first originally scheduled to arrive in 2023.

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.

Emirates To Introduces Third Daily Flights to Mauritius From October, Announces $2 Billion Upgrade to Cabins

Victor Shalton

Friday, August 12, 2022 at 05:28 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Jack Dawin

An Emirates A380 lands in London (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)

Due to increased travel demand to and from Mauritius, Emirates will boost connectivity to the island nation with additional evening frequency to Mauritius which will operate until January 31, 2023. Emirates will be commanding the traffic between Dubai and Mauritius with the new third-daily frequency which supplements the existing 2X-daily flight to the island nation operated by an Airbus A380.

The flights will boost seat capacity to and from Mauritius by approximately 35%, catering to the surge in demand and providing added support to the tourism industry during one of the busiest travel seasons.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive, Emirates Airline & Group said, “We thank the Mauritian authorities for considering our request to operate a third daily flight. Air connectivity is critical to international tourism, and these extra seats will help us bring even more visitors from across our network to Mauritius, and accommodate rising demand. Emirates is committed to playing a key role to promote inbound travel, and support the government in achieving its goal of hosting 1.4 million tourists by June 2023.”

Emirates to Improve its Soft Product

Meanwhile, Emirates is investing over $2 billion to enhance its inflight customer experience, the Dubai-based carrier said in a statement on Wednesday. The improvements include a massive program to redesign the interiors of 120 aircraft, along with other services across all cabins starting this year. Passengers can look forward to “elevated meal choices, a brand new vegan menu, a ‘cinema in the sky’ experience, cabin interior upgrades, sustainable choices and a generous approach to the little touches that make travel memorable,” Emirates said.

Sir Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airlines said: “While others respond to industry pressures with cost cuts, Emirates is flying against the grain and investing to deliver ever better experiences to our customers. Through the pandemic, we’ve continued to launch new services and initiatives to ensure our customers travel with assurance and ease, including digital initiatives to improve customer experiences on the ground. We’re rolling out a series of intensive programs to take Emirates’ signature inflight experiences to the next level.”

Additionally, every cabin class will be refreshed with new, first-of-a-kind Premium Economy cabins installed.

“With its first aircraft scheduled to roll into the Emirates Engineering Centre for retrofitting in November, planning work and trials have begun in earnest,” the airline added.

Passengers will also be recipients of fresh produce on board, from the world’s largest $40 million hydroponic farm set up by the airlines in Dubai.

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.

Japan Airlines Continues to Restore its Intercontinental Flights

Ryan Ewing

Thursday, August 11, 2022 at 10:30 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Ryan Ewing

A Japan Airlines 787-9 departing. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | William Derrickson)

As of early October, Japan Airlines is increasing its intercontinental operations in Europe, Oceania and North America, restoring most of its pre-pandemic frequencies, after sanitary restrictions in Japan and globally being gradually reduced.

The company expects to operate 3,840 flights on 53 routes in October, representing a 48% reduction from its schedule operated prior to the COVID-19 crisis.

Oceania

Starting in October, the Japanese airline increases its operations on the Tokyo Haneda (HND) – Sydney (SYD) route to daily flights operated on a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner with a 195-seat capacity in three classes, thus restoring its capacity to 2019 levels. This service is complemented by the nonstop connection between Narita (NRT) and Melbourne (MEL)

Flight itinerary between Haneda (HND) and Sydney (SYD)

Flight JL 51 HND 19:20 – SYD 07:10+1
Flight JL 52 SYD 17:25 – HND 13:35+1

According to data obtained by Aviacionline through the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Cities and Regional Development, Japan Airlines moved 224,258 passengers in Australia between June 2018 to June 2019 with an occupancy factor of 86.8% and 11,345 tons of cargo and mail in 1,459 air operations.

Europe

The company will increase its services between Tokyo Haneda (HND) and Helsinki (HEL) from 4 to 5 flights a week operated on Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. Japan Airlines will have an offer of 1,950 weekly seats in Finland:

Flight JL 47 HND 21:55 – HEL 06:35+1 Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Flight JL 48 HEL 17:25 – HND 13:35+1 Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Japan Airlines from Europe offers flights to London Heathrow (LHR), Paris (CDG) and Frankfurt (FRA), services to Russia remain suspended.

North America

The Japanese airline increases to daily flights with its routes between Narita (NRT) – Vancouver (YVR) and Haneda (HND) – Dallas (DFW). The latter will have a greater supply of seats with respect to 2019 levels:

Flight Itinerary to Vancouver (YVR).

Flight JL 18 NRT 18:30 – YVR 11:40
Flight JL 17 YVR 13:45 – NRT 16:30+1

The flights will be operated on a Boeing 767-300ER aircraft with a capacity of 199 seats in two classes (24 Business Class/175 Economy).

Flight schedule between Haneda (HND) and Dallas (DFW)

Flight JL 12 HND 10:55 – DFW 08:40
Flight JL 11 DFW 11:10 – HND 14:25+1

The flights will be operated on 195-seat Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft in two classes and 244-seat Boeing 777-300ER aircraft in four classes (8 First Class/49 Business Class/40 Premium Economy/147 Economy).

In addition, Japan Airlines will continue to operate its service between Narita (NRT) and Dallas (DFW) with four weekly flights on 787-9s, the carrier will offer 11 flights per week between Tokyo and North Texas, it will be the airline’s largest offering in this segment surpassing the offering offered in 2019.

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

Ryan Ewing

American Receives New 787 After Boeing Resumes Deliveries

Ezra Gollan

Thursday, August 11, 2022 at 01:57 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Vanni Gibertini

The first Boeing 787 to be delivered since the shutdown (Photo: Boeing)

Dallas-based carrier American Airlines announced on Tuesday that it had finally begun to receive Boeing 787s roughly 14 months after the FAA had suspended Boeing’s Charleston, South Carolina plant from delivering the type. The FAA had put a halt to Boeing’s 787 operations following alarming information on the manufacturer’s inspection processes in Charleston.

The hiatus meant more bad news for Boeing, who had said early this year that the halt in production would cost them $5.5 billion. The delivery today not only signaled that help was on the way to airlines relying on 787s for capacity but also Boeing’s revenues for the rest of this year. The manufacturer had made the 787 its economical, top-of-the-line widebody offering over the past decade with nearly 1,500 of the type on order across three variants.

Stan Deal, Boeing’s CEO of Commercial Airplanes said in a note to employees that, “every action and decision influences our customers’ trust in Boeing — we build trust one airplane at a time, we’ll continue to take the time needed to ensure each one meets our highest quality standards.”

Boeing’s Quest to Regain Its Reputation

As much as airlines need increased capacity and just want the planes they ordered, Boeing needs the revenue and chance to rebuild its reputation. Boeing has had its fair share of crises the past few years with the 737 MAX tragedies tarnishing the company’s reputation and leaving its future very much unknown.

Airlines only brought the 737 MAX back into service in early 2021 and passenger trust is something that Boeing will have to earn back and it will take a long time. It’s one thing for a corporation to damage its image with low-quality products that don’t stand up well, it’s another to knowingly build aircraft that have issues and then watch as hundreds die because of carelessness.

Boeing knows that the first step to getting customers and airlines to want to buy and fly on their planes is by being able to deliver them in the first place. The 787s still presents a fantastic option for carriers offering great fuel efficiency, range and comfort. Their size means they can be operated on long-haul flights between major and secondary markets which adds great flexibility for airlines.

Resumption of 787’s deliveries could also help to alleviate a lot of the issues related to capacity in the aviation industry right now. Not having one of the most important aircraft on the market in a standstill when it comes to deliveries has hurt numerous airlines. With almost 500 units still sitting on order books, most being the mid sized -9 variant while and longer -10, the return of the 787 is one that many airlines have been waiting for.

Ezra Gollan

Ezra Gollan is a student, photographer and aviation enthusiast based in New York, New York. He has spent over half a decade around New York City’s airports as a photographer.

British Airways to Land for First Time in Aruba and Guyana

Ryan Ewing

Wednesday, August 10, 2022 at 10:25 PM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Ryan Ewing

A British Airways 777-200 taxiing to its gate after landing in Austin. (Photo: AirlineGeeks | Mateen Kontoravdis)

British Airways announced that it will connect London with Georgetown (GEO) in Guyana and Aruba (AUA) for the 2023 northern hemisphere summer season. It will be the first time that both destinations will be part of the airline’s network of destinations.

The flights will be operated from Gatwick (LGW), via Saint Lucia (UVF) for Guyana, and via Antigua and Barbuda (ANU) for Aruba, using fifth-freedom rights.

Aruba adds a new player

The route between London and Aruba will start on March 26, will have twice weekly flights operated on Boeing 777-200ER aircraft with a capacity of 336 and 332 passengers depending on the variant.

London/Gatwick (LGW) – Antigua and Barbuda (ANU) / Flight BA 2157 / LGW 10:00 – ANU 13:35 Thursdays and Sundays.
Antigua and Barbuda (ANU) – Aruba (AUA) / Flight BA 2157 / ANU 14:35 – AUA 16:00 Thursday and Sunday.
Aruba (AUA) – Antigua and Barbuda (ANU) / Flight BA 2156 / AUA 08:30 – ANU 20:15 Thursdays and Sundays.
Antigua and Barbuda (ANU) – London/Gatwick (LGW) / Flight BA 2156 / ANU 21:15 – LGW 10:15 (+1) Thursdays and Sundays.

The United Kingdom is Aruba’s third most important market: in 2019 they received 10,882 British tourists. Currently, the only airline operating between the two markets is TUI Airways, with a weekly flight between March and October.

British Airways will be the fourth airline to connect the island with Europe, as KLM and TUIfly Netherlands also operate from Amsterdam (in addition to the TUI Airways schedule).

A historic milestone for Guyana

On the other hand, Guyana will have for the first time in its history a direct connection to Europe. Usually, to reach the South American country one had to fly through Barbados or Trinidad and Tobago.

The service will start on March 27, will have two weekly flights and will be also operated by Boeing 777-200ER aircraft with the same capacity configurations than the Aruba flight: 336 and 332 passengers.

London/Gatwick (LGW) – St. Lucia (UVF) / Flight BA 2159 / LGW 11:35 – UVF 15:35 Monday and Thursday.
St. Lucia (UVF) – Georgetown (GEO) / Flight BA 2159 / UVF 16:25 – GEO 18:05 Monday and Thursday.
Georgetown (GEO) – St. Lucia (UVF) / Flight BA 2158 / GEO 19:50 – UVF 20:15 Monday and Thursday.
St. Lucia (UVF) – London/Gatwick (LGW) / Flight BA 2158 / UVF 22:15 – LGW 11:45 (+1) Thursdays and Sundays.

Guyana’s Minister of Public Works, Juan Edghill, had expressed in 2021 during the landing of interCaribbean that they were negotiating with British airlines to connect Cheddi Jagan International Airport with London.

Both countries have a particularly important cultural link, given that Guyana is the only South American country that was a former British colony.

In 2019, 7,630 Britons arrived in the country and more than 27,000 Guyanese reside in the United Kingdom, according to the UK Department of Migration.

This story was originally published by Gaston Sena of Aviacionline in syndication with AirlineGeeks.

Ryan Ewing