CommercialTanzania agrees to buy two Bombardier CS300s, one Q400The Tanzanian Government Flight Agency (TGFA) has signed firm purchase agreements for two Bombardier CS300s single-aisle jets and one Q400 turboprop, Bombardier announced Dec. 2. The aircraft will be leased to and operated by national flag carrier Air Tanzania, based in Dar-es-Salaam.
LinkScope clause freeze pushes E175-E2 back to 2021Embraer has delayed entry into service for the E175-E2 by one year, as recent scope clause agreements with US pilots union leave in place a ban on the type. The first E175-E2 will now be delivered in 2021 instead of 2020, Embraer says in a material fact released on 1 December.
LinkAir France shuffles management top teamAir France has announced a shakeup of its senior management in the wake of the recent appointment of Franck Terner as CEO. The company said Dec. 2 the new organizational set-up would be clearer, “better reflect its priorities,” clarify responsibilities and simplify operating methods.
LinkAir France takes delivery of first Boeing 787Air France has taken delivery of its first Boeing 787, a 787-9, leased through Netherlands-based AerCap. It will be used on Air France’s Paris-Cairo route from January 2017. The Air France-KLM Group has ordered 18 787-9s and seven 787-10s, with an additional 12 787-9s leased through AerCap.
LinkAlaska Air Group posted higher traffic in Nov.Alaska Air Group posted a 7% increase in passenger traffic for November on a year-over-year basis. Alaska Air Group is the parent company of Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air.
LinkAmerican trims Cuba flights, plans to downsize aircraft on two routesAmerican Airlines plans to cut back flights from Miami to three outlying Cuban cities beginning Feb. 16, 2017. The Fort Worth, Texas-based airline, which on Nov. 28, 2016 launched the first scheduled commercial passenger route from the US mainland to Havana, Cuba in 55 years, will trim its scheduled flights from Miami to Holguin, Santa Clara and Varadero from 2X-daily to 1X-daily.
LinkAtlas Air strikes deal with Nippon Cargo AirlinesAtlas Air will fly a cargo route connecting the US and Japan for Nippon Cargo Airlines beginning early next year. "[As we] begin this strategic arrangement with Atlas Air ... we look forward to having a long, mutually beneficial relationship," said NCA President and CEO Fukashi Sakamoto.
LinkDelta receives first US-produced Airbus aircraftAirbus has delivered the first A321 to Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines from its US manufacturing facility in Mobile, Alabama. Delta operates 137 A320 family aircraft and 40 A330s, and has another 123 aircraft on order—including A320 family, A330 and A350 aircraft. In April, Delta placed its third A321ceo order in three years.
LinkEurowings, cabin crew reach wage agreementLufthansa Group low-cost (LCC) subsidiary Eurowings and German public services trade union Verdi have reached a labor agreement for cabin crews Dec. 2. According to the agreement, flight attendants will see a 2.5% wage increase backdated from Oct. 1, 2016; a further 2.5% increase Oct.1, 2017; and another 1.25% increase Oct. 1, 2018.
LinkEVA Air, Air India to codeshareTaipei-based EVA Air and Air India announced a new codeshare partnership schedule Dec. 1. Under the agreement, the carriers will use both airlines’ flight numbers on EVA-operated routes between Taipei-Bangkok and Taipei-Singapore and on Air India-operated flights between Mumbai-Bangkok and Mumbai-Singapore.
LinkHainan Airlines applies to DOT for two new US routesChina’s Hainan Airlines is applying to the US Department of Transportation (DOT) to open two Sino-US routes—from Chengdu to Los Angeles and New York—as China’s outbound travel continues to grow. The Haikou-based carrier has received approval from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) to operate the two new routes. It plans to open twice-weekly Chengdu-Los Angeles service in the first quarter of 2017 and 3X-weekly Chengdu-New York service in the second quarter. Both routes will use the Boeing 787.
LinkSouth African Airways takes first A330-300South African Airways (SAA), has taken delivery of its first of five new leased Airbus A330-300s, becoming Airbus’s first Southern African operator of the aircraft type. SAA’s A330-300s are configured in a two-class cabin layout with 46 seats in business class and 203 in economy class seats.
LinkUnited To Pay USD$2.4 Million To Settle SEC CaseThe parent company of United Airlines will pay USD$2.4 million to settle charges it restarted a loss-making route so that a public official could get more convenient flights. The Securities and Exchange Commission said the airline reinstated a nonstop flight between Newark and Columbia, SC, at the behest of David Samson, the then-chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey who sought a more direct route to his home in South Carolina.
LinkUnited steps back on 777-300ER basesUnited Airlines may not base its first Boeing 777-300ERs at its Newark hub, with chief commercial officer Julia Haywood saying the decision has yet to be made. “We haven’t announced where it’s going to be based but you can imagine places like San Francisco and Newark where there are developed markets that are very long haul that work very, very well for us,” she said on the sidelines of a media preview of the Chicago-based carrier’s new Polaris business class lounge at Chicago O’Hare on 30 November.
LinkFrench carriers merge in low-cost groupingXL Airways and La Compagnie airlines are merging in a bid to create a sizeable French presence in the long-haul, low-cost market. La Compagnie is an all-business-class airline operating two 74-seat Boeing 757-200s between Paris Charles De Gaulle (CDG) and Newark Liberty International Airport. XL Airways, also based at Paris CDG, is in the low-cost economy bracket and operates a small fleet of Airbus A330-200s and -300s.
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