Picture of the Day(31 December 2011)

Turkish Airlines Boeing 777-35R/ER(TC-JJB) taking off at Tokyo-Narita International(NRT) on March 21, 2010.

Source: airliners.net

Picture of the Day(30 December 2011)

Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-212/ER(9V-SQI) departing Singapore-Changi(SIN) on November 9, 2011 operating as SQ870 to Hong Kong.

Source: airliners.net

Picture of the Day(29 December 2011)

China Southern Airlines Boeing 777-21B/ER(B-2058/058) taking off from Guangzhou-Baiyun(CAN) on July 24, 2011.

Source: airliners.net

Russia's Transaero to take four 787s

Russian carrier Transaero is to acquire four 262-seat Boeing 787s under an agreement which continues its recent fleet-renewal programme.

The airline said it had signed an agreement with the US airframer to take the aircraft. It has not disclosed an engine selection.

Transaero said the twinjets would be configured with four first-class, 14 business-class and 244 economy-class seats.

Director general Olga Pleshakova said the airline was "sticking to a principle of innovation" with the decision.

She added that the carrier had already made advance payments to secure the 787s, which will be used to replace Boeing 767s used by the Moscow-based operator.

"This aircraft, which has become a symbol of emerging technology, has the highest efficiency," said Pleshakova.

Transaero has already tentatively signed for Airbus A380 and Boeing 747-8 aircraft, and placed an order for eight Airbus A320neos.

Source: Flightglobal

Picture of the Day(28 December 2011)

Air India Boeing 777-237/LR (VT-ALC) taxing at Tokyo-Narita International(NRT) on December 18, 2011.

Source: airliners.net

Picture of the Day(27 December 2011)

JetBlue Embraer ERJ-190-100IGW(N318JB) landing at Charlotte-Douglas International(CLT) on October 20, 2011.

Source: airliners.net

Picture of the Day(26 December 2011)

Finnair Airbus 319-112(OH-LVE) carrying the old livery taking off from Dusseldorf-International(DUS) on   August 17, 2011.

Source: airliners.net

Picture of the Day(25 December 2011)-Merry Christmas!!

TAP Portugal Airbus 319-111(CS-TTN) making a landing at Funchal/Madeira(-Santa Cruz) Airport on May 25, 2006.

Source: airliners.net

Picture of the Day(24 December 2011)

Cathay Pacific Airways Cargo Boeing 747-867/F/SCD making its first type appearance at Sydney-Kingsford Smith International(SYD) on November 27, 2011.

Source: airliners.net

Lufthansa sells bmi to British Airways parent IAG

British Midland International A321. By Rob Finlayson


British Airways (BA) owner International Airlines Group (IAG) reached a binding agreement with Lufthansa Group (LH) to buy British Midland Ltd. (bmi), the companies announced Thursday.

IAG, the parent company of BA and Iberia, will pay €207 million ($271 million) in cash for the loss making UK carrier, although the price is subject to significant reductions if LH decides not to sell bmi subsidiary bmibaby before completion, IAG said.

The deal is subject to regulatory clearance from competition authorities, including the European Commission. The companies said they aim to complete the transaction during the first quarter of 2012.

LH has the option to sell bmibaby and bmi regional before the deal is completed. IAG CEO Willie Walsh said bmi regional and bmibaby “are not part” of the company’s plans. “Buying bmi’s mainline business gives IAG a unique opportunity to grow at Heathrow, one of our key hub airports. Using the slot portfolio more efficiently provides the option to launch new long-haul routes to key trading nations while supporting our broad domestic and short-haul network,” he said.

The deal follows an agreement in principle signed in early November. LH also held negotiations with Virgin Atlantic Airways (VS), which on Thursday said it would ask anti-trust regulators to block the deal.

“Claiming that this deal is about new markets from Heathrow is a smoke screen. This deal simply cuts consumer choice,” VS president Richard Branson said. “BA is already dominant at Heathrow and their removal of bmi just tightens their stranglehold at the world’s busiest international airport. We will fight this monopoly every step of the way as we think it is bad for the consumer, bad for the industry and bad for Britain,” he said.

The purchase of bmi will increase IAG’s number of slots at Heathrow by up to 56 daily pairsat an airport where it already holds about 43% of slots.

Walsh warned that “there is an urgent need to restructure” bmi, but he said “IAG’s purchase of bmi will protect more British jobs than if the airline had been closed and had its Heathrow slots sold off.”

LH CEO and chairman Christoph Franz said, “As part of Lufthansa’s strategic development, the sale means that our customers, shareholders and employees will benefit from a sharpened corporate profile and a stronger financial position of the group.”

LH will remain responsible for bmi staff pension liabilities.

Source: ATW

Picture of the Day(23 December 2011)

Korean Air Airbus 380-861(HL7612) making a landing at Los Angeles International(LAX) on November 14, 2011.

Source: airliners.net

Picture of the Day(22 December 2011)

Pakistan International Airlines-PIA Boeing 777-240/LR(AP-BGY) at Manchester-Ringway International(MAN) on December 3, 2011.

Source: airliners.net

ANA expands: Seattle, San Jose join 'Dreamliner club'

Seattle and San Jose will be the next cities to join the growing global route map of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. They'll also likely become the first U.S. cities to land regular passenger service on the new-age jet.

Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways (ANA) – the first carrier in the world to put the Dreamliner into passenger service –says it will use the new aircraft for an expansion into the United States.

ANA will begin service to both Seattle and San Jose on April 1, with plans for 787 service to Tokyo Narita from each. That start date appears to all but assure that those cities will be the first in the U.S. to land regular service on the 787.

Japan Airlines will use the 787 to fly from Tokyo to Boston, but that service won't begin until April 22.United says it expected to begin 787 service in "early 2012," but it seems unlikely to be in a position to put the Dreamliner into scheduled service prior to April.

As for ANA's new routes, the company touted its expansion along the U.S. West Coast.

"Seattle is an important international business hub and home to companies such as Microsoft, Amazon and, of course, Boeing itself while San Jose is in the heart of Silicon Valley," ANA CEO Shinichiro Ito says in a release. "Passenger demand to fly to both destinations is high, not only from Japan but from many Asian cities. The launch of these new services will make ANA the only Japanese airline to operate the two routes, as well as the only carrier to operate the Narita-San Jose route."

ANA will go head-to-head with both United and Delta on the Seattle-Tokyo route, though ANA and United will likely coordinate their service since they have limited antitrust immunity as joint-venture partners.

The addition of San Jose and Seattle will grow ANA's number of U.S. gateways to eight. It currently offers service to six U.S. airports: Chicago O'Hare, Honolulu, Los Angeles, New York JFK, San Francisco and Washington Dulles.

The San Jose service is notable for several reasons. For San Jose, it restores a link to Tokyo that the airport lost when American discontinued its San Jose-Tokyo route in 2006. It also returns overseas service to the Bay Area airport, which has struggled with declining flight numbers in recent years.

It also gives ANA a second route in the Bay Area. The Mineta San Jose International Airport is just about 35 miles from San Francisco International, where ANA also offers nonstop service to Tokyo. However, San Francisco is a key hub for ANA's joint-venture and Star Alliance partner United.

"There is strong demand for flights to San Francisco now, so we are expecting solid demand for our Seattle and San Jose flights, too," Ito is quoted as saying by Bloomberg News.

Source: USA Today

Picture of the Day(21 December 2011)

Etihad Airways Airbus 330-243(A6-EYS) starts to take off at runway 23L at Manchester-Ringway International(MAN) on November 19, 2011.

Source: airliners.net

Announcement

The editor will be away from 10 December to 20 December. Thanks.

Picture of the Day(9 December 2011)

Japan Airlines Boeing 777-246(JA772J) with the Arashi(Japanese band) livery at Osaka-Itami(ITM) on November 26, 2011.

Source: airliners.net

Boeing 787 Dreamliner Sets Speed, Distance Records

Boeing has established two world records with the 787 Dreamliner, setting new marks for both speed and distance for the airplane's weight class.

"Speed and distance capabilities are fundamental to the value the 787 brings to the market," vice-president and general manager of the 787 programme, Scott Fancher, said.

"These records are a great way to demonstrate that this airplane is the game-changer we have promised."

The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner is the first airplane to provide both long distance capabilities with mid-size capacity (210-250 passengers in a three-class seating), allowing airlines to open new, non-stop routes preferred by the traveling public.

The airplane is 20 per cent more fuel efficient than similarly sized airplanes, said Boeing in a statement today.

The sixth 787 – ZA006 – departed Boeing Field in Seattle on Dec. 6, 2011 and completed an around-the-world trip on Dec. 8 that led to two different world records. The 787 now holds the record for the longest flight and the fastest speed around the world for its weight class. Six pilots shared duties during the two days of flying. The route took the airplane from Seattle to Dhaka and back to Seattle.Pic: Courtesy of Boeing

The sixth 787, ZA006, powered by General Electric GEnx engines, departed from Boeing Field in Seattle at 11.02am on Dec 6 and set the distance record for its class (440,000-550,000 lbs) with a 10,710nmi (19,835km) flight to Dhaka, Bangladesh, with credit for 10,337nmi (19,144km).

This record had previously been held by the Airbus A330 based on a 9,127nmi (16,903km) flight in 2002.

Following an approximately two-hour stop for refueling in Dhaka, the airplane returned to Seattle on a 9,734nmi (18,027km) flight.

The airplane landed at 5.29am on Dec 8, setting a new record for speed around the world (eastbound), with a total trip time of 42 hours and 27 minutes.

There was no previous around-the-world speed record for this weight class.

The 787 carried six pilots, an observer for the National Aeronautic Association (NAA), and operations and other Boeing employees -- 13 people in total.

Flight routing on the first segment of the journey took the airplane from Seattle across the US to Nantucket. After crossing the Atlantic Ocean, the airplane entered European air space at Santiago, Spain, and proceeded down the Mediterranean, across Egypt to Luxor, across the Middle East and over India to Bangladesh.

On the second segment, the Dreamliner flew over Singapore, the Philippines and Guam before entering US airspace over Honolulu and returning to Seattle.

Boeing said it holds world records for longest distance flights in five weight classes with records set by the KC-135, 767-200ER (extended range), 777-200 and 777-200LR (longer range).

The 777-200 also holds the speed record for its weight class.

Source: Bernama

Picture of the Day(8 December 2011)

Malev Hungarian Airlines Boeing 767-306/ER(HA-LHC)flying across the sky of Budapest on August 20, 2007.

Source: airliners.net

Picture of the Day(7 December 2011)

Virgin Atlantic Airways Airbus 340-313X(G-VAIR) taxing at London-Heathrow(LHR) on November 24, 2011.

Source: airliners.net

Picture of the Day(6 December 2011)

All Nippon Airways(ANA) Boeing 787-881 Dreamliner taxing to the gate at Tokyo-Haneda International(HND) on November 24, 2011.

Source: airliners.net

Photos, video: Sydney Airport's domestic & international overhaul

A major overhaul of Sydney Airport would see Australia's busiest airport transformed into two 'airline alliance-based precincts' for Qantas and Virgin Australia, with international, domestic and regional services operating under one roof.

The scheme, revealed today by the privately-held Sydney Airport Corporation, would allocate the current domestic Terminal 2 and Terminal 3 exclusively to Qantas, Jetstar and members of the oneworld alliance, with one terminal for domestic flights and the other for international services.



On the other side of the runway, today's international Terminal 1 would become the new home for Virgin Australia and its growing roster of international partners including Etihad, Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines and Delta.



Other international airlines would continue to operate from T1, although they would likely be clustered around their own group of gates.

The change would reduce the time and hassle involved in transit between international and domestic services.

To help give you an idea of the scale of this project, here's how Sydney Airport currently works (or, as some might say, doesn't work).


There are seperate international and domestic terminals, with transfers between the two done via shuttle bus – a free 'scenic ride' around the perimeter of the tarmac if you're with Qantas, or a paid trundle via public roads for connecting to other domestic airlines.

Also makes above is the 'Qantas Jet Base' hangar facility, directly below the domestic terminals. Now here's how Sydney Airport would like things to look, circa 2019, if this massive makeover gets the green light.

We're now looking back towards Sydney, from the other side of the photo shown above.


Virgin Australia's domestic and regional flights would operate from one arm of what is today the international terminal (T1).


Adjacent to this would be all international flights by Virgin Australia and its partners...


... while international airlines not affiliated with Virgin (or Qantas) would be located further down T1.


And here's the new home for Qantas and friends. Under the plan, T2 and T3 become a single mega-terminal for all domestic and regional flights by Qantas, Jetstar and QantasLink.


Some international flights by Qantas and its oneworld partners also appear ear-marked for this terminal, if the image below is any guide.


There'll also be a second international wing built where the Qantas Jet base stands today.


Sydney Airport believes the proposal can become reality by 2019. Here's a video prepared by the airport (and from which we grabbed the images above) to show how the new airport will look.

Source: australianbusinesstraveller

Picture of the Day(5 December 2011)

British Airways Boeing 747-436(G-BNLP) departing from London-Heathrow(LHR) through mist and drizzle on November 12,2011.

Source: airliners.net

British Airways bid for BMI aims to plug Asia gaps

British Airways scrapped long-haul flights from Manchester in 2008, opting to route through Heathrow


British Airways will probably target Korea, Malaysia and other high-growth Asian markets as it examines how to make the best use of operating slots at London’s Heathrow airport on offer with the takeover of BMI.

BA’s parent, International Consolidated Airlines Group, last month reached an accord to buy BMI from Deutsche Lufthansa. IAG allocates one-third the number of seats to Asia that it does to the US, leaving it trailing European rivals in tapping travel to some of the world’s fastest-growing economies.

British Airways will also have the capacity available to exploit new inter-continental routes as the London-based company takes delivery of 12 Airbus SAS A380 superjumbos and 24 Boeing Co. 787 Dreamliners starting in 2013. BMI generally serves less lucrative, short-haul destinations using smaller planes.

“There isn’t that much that BMI does out of London that IAG doesn’t do already, or would want to do,” said Chris Logan, an analyst at Echelon Research & Advisory in London. “IAG will cut a lot of BMI’s existing routes and use the slots for long- haul to Asia and perhaps a few additional US destinations.”

British Airways has had limited scope for growth because of a lack of operating positions at Heathrow, Europe’s busiest airport, which operates at 99 percent of capacity and won’t be allowed to add a third runway, according to UK Prime Minister David Cameron.

Buying UK-based BMI will add 8.5 percent of total slots to the 44.5 percent that BA and Spain’s Iberia- with which it merged in January to form IAG - already control.

“We’re still moving forward” with the acquisition and currently doing due diligence on BMI, said Laura Goodes, a spokeswoman for IAG.

Prime targets for BA are likely to include Incheon, the biggest hub in South Korea, a country the carrier has never served, and Kuala Lumpur, which it exited in 2001 to focus Southeast Asian operations on Bangkok and Singapore, according to John Grant, a London-based consultant at UBM Aviation.

“British Airways needs to be back in that part of the world,” Grant said. “It’s the perfect time because they’ve got new orders for aircraft coming in. It really is the missing piece of the jigsaw.”

Air France-KLM Group, Europe’s biggest airline, offers 13 weekly flights to Korea and Lufthansa four. The French company also provides seven services to Kuala Lumpur, operated by the Dutch KLM unit. Kuala Lumpur will also probably feature high on BA’s wish list because Malaysian Airline System is set to join the Oneworld alliance that IAG leads, Grant said.

British Airways also currently operates only 26 weekly flights to China, versus 73 at Air France and 47 at Lufthansa. Madrid-based Iberia doesn’t operate any Asian flights, its chief strength being on routes to Latin America.

To maximize the attraction of services to London, British Airways flights need to leave Asia late at night, allowing passengers to sleep on the plane and head straight into morning meetings after arriving at Heathrow, UBM Aviation’s Grant said.

Gulf carriers including Dubai-based Emirates, the biggest airline by international traffic, Qatar Airways and Etihad of Abu Dhabi represent a major threat to any expansion in Asia as they seek to funnel transfer traffic through their hubs on fast-expanding fleets of widebody planes, Echelon’s Logan said.

“It seems like a good idea to expand to Asia, but delivery schedules at Middle Eastern carriers are so aggressive that there’s a risk in the medium term,” he said. “It’s surprisingly easy for airlines to mess up an attractive market by all throwing supply at it at the same time.”

Travellers shouldn’t expect new connections immediately as routes can take as many as two years to set up, Grant said.

Source: arabianbusiness

Picture of the Day(4 December 2011)

Air India Boeing 777-237/LR (VT-ALF) taxing at London-Heathrow(LHR) on May 22, 2011.

Source: airliners.net

Picture of the Day(3 December 2011)

Air Canada Boeing 777-233/LR(C-FIUF) approaching runway 25 of Sydney International(SYD) on July 7, 2011.

Source: airliners.net

Picture of the Day(2 December 2011)

Aeroflot-Russian Airlines Airbus 330-243(VP-BLY) departing from Moscow-Sheremetyevo(SVO) on November 21, 2011. 


Source: airliners.net

Picture of the Day(1 December 2011)

US Airways Airbus 330-323X(N272AY) departing from Manchester-Ringway International(MAN) on August 18, 2007.

Source: airliners.net

Scoot to launch Sydney services in mid-2012

Singapore Airlines' (SIA) new long-haul low-cost carrier, Scoot, has chosen Sydney as its first destination.

The low-cost carrier will launch a daily service between Singapore and Sydney from mid-2012, said Australia's New South Wales state premier, Barry O'Farrell.

"As the first true no-frills airline operating between Sydney and Asia, we can't wait to bring a whole new way to travel, even better airfares to shake up the industry," said Scoot's chief executive, Campbell Wilson.

Scoot will commence operations with four Boeing 777-200s and expects to receive its Air Operator's Certificate (AOC) by the first quarter of 2012.

Source: Flightglobal