In a move to boost the capacity of regional routes, Ethiopian airlines recently took delivery of it's 25th Dash 8 -400 aircraft with a ceremony held at the De Havilland plant in Toronto. Canada. The airline operates an all Dash 8-400 fleet turboprop fleet on its regional routes. Ethiopian Airlines expects to receive eight more Dash 8-400. In a brief ceremony, Ethiopian airlines CEO Tewolde Gebremariam told that the Dash 8-400 is a highly capable aircraft for operations in the region, especially in high altitude and hot temperatures. “We are a very happy customer… Keep building this great airplane and we’ll keep flying it,” Gebremariam said. Ethiopian Airlines continue to expand and build capacity and is by far the largest airline in Africa. It has become an African pride and a role model to other airlines in the continent. Picture credit:De Havilland Canada

In what Aviation enthusiast can best describe as somewhat expected, Air France announced it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Airbus for 60 A220-300 aircraft. The deal also includes an additional 30 options and 30 acquisition rights which could potentially see an order of 120 aircraft. The aircraft are planned to be delivered from September 2021 and will replace the airline’s existing A218 and A319 fleet of around 51 aircraft. The airline has stated that, “This aircraft will allow the company to increase its competitiveness by reducing its cost per seat by more than 10% compared to the aircraft it will replace.” In a statement by Mr Guillaume Faury, Chief Executive Officer, Airbus “It is an honour for Airbus that Air France, a long-standing valued customer, has endorsed our latest family member, the A220, for its fleet renewal plans.” Air France also announced that it would phase out all of its Airbus A380’s by 2022. It had previously been announced that thre

Turkish airlines today 30th of July, 2019 launched a new route to Pointe-Noire in Republic of Congo. This flight will depart the airline's hub in Instanbul (IST) as TK587 at 14:35 and arrives at Pointe-Noire (PNR) at 22:05 local time same day with a flight duration of 9 hours 30 minutes. It is however pertinent to note the flight will have a "technical stopover" at Libreville in Gabon with a duration of 50 minutes before proceeding to its final destination. With this new route, Turkish airlines already the airline that flies to most destination in the world is further cementing it's foot print in the Central African region. Pointe-Noire is a port city situated on the coast line of the Atlantic ocean and an oil and gas hub in the Republic of the Congo.It’s also known for its beaches, abundant wildlife and diverse terrain like lagoons, mangroves and savanna.It is also the second largest city after Brazzaville. The new route will be serviced by a Boeing 737-900

Nigeria's oldest airline Aero contractors in a bid to boost consumer confidence and increased patronage by the flying public have started a loyalty program called Regular Flyers Initiative (RFI). The mechanics simply encourages the flying public to fly the airline regularly and be rewarded with a business class upgrade. Aero contractors who recently celebrated 60 years of flight operations in the country with a week long celebration to mark the milestone. This is coming after the turbulent period the airline faced notably between 2013 -2016 due to internal and external cataclysmic factors. The appointment of Captain Ado Sanusi as the Managing Director of the airline a technocrat with vast experience in the aviation management have witnessed a turn around and have risen above the challenges through hard work and Managerial expertise with a commitment to improvements in capacity and service delivery to the flying public. Picture credit: Aero high flyers

All is now set for the British Airways inaugural Airbus A350-1000 flight to Madrid as BA finally received the brand new Airbus A350-1000 registered G-XWBA at it's base in London Heathrow Airport (LHR) after the delivery flight suffered flight delays and cancellation from Airbus Headquarters in Toulouse, France. British Airways will initially use the aircraft to fly between London and Madrid prior to flying long-haul routes from September 2019, to Dubai, followed by services to Toronto. As previously reported in our earlier post, read here  https://aviationroundtable.blogspot.com/2019/07/british-airways-today-announced.html?m=1 In total, the British national carrier ordered 18 A350-1000s which are due to replace the ageing  Boeing 747-400 aircraft currently in the fleet as part of the airlines robust fleet renewal initiative. Picture credit: Sam Chui

In a press release by aircraft manufacturer Airbus, Ireland’s national carrier Aer Lingus has taken delivery of its first of eight A321LR aircraft, becoming the first airline in International Airlines Group (IAG) to operate the type. The aircraft on lease from Air Lease Corporation is powered by Leap CFM engines and configured in a two class layout with 16 business and 168 economy seats.The Dublin based carrier will deploy the aircraft on transatlantic routes to the US East coast potentially JFK in New York from it's hub in Dublin Ireland. Aer Lingus currently operates a total of 50 Airbus aircraft including 13 A330s and 37 A320 Family aircraft. The A321LR and the A330 combined within the same fleet is a powerful lever to cover the needs of the medium to long haul markets. The A321LR is a member of the A320neo Family, with over 6,600 orders by more than 100 customers. It delivers 30 percent fuel savings and nearly 50 percent reduction in noise footprint compared to

Emirates  airlines have launched its twice daily flight operations to Nigeria's capital city Abuja. In fulfillment of it's earlier promise to increase capacity based on "popular demand" and the commitment of the airline for deeper inclusion and penetration into the country bringing the airlines' daily frequencies in Nigeria to four. The additional flight operation will avail the travelling public seemless travel options from Abuja to the vast route network of the Gulf carrier via it's hub in Dubai UAE. The first flight of the day will be operated as EK 2614 which departs Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (ABV) at 11:45 and arrives Dubai International Airport (DXB) at 21:45. Kindly note the times stated are local times respectively. The route will be serviced by a Boeing 777-300ER with a flight duration of 7 hours. The second flight as posted on the airline's website will be operated as EK 789 and scheduled to depart Abuja (ABV) at 18:00 and

Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) have certified Air Peace fleet of aircraft air worthy after the completion of the audit carried out by the Authority. In a statement released, "after completing a thorough technical audit of Air Peace fleet of aircraft following its 'hard landing' on Tuesday, the 23rd of July, 2019 have certified all the operational aircraft on the fleet of the airline airworthy." The NCAA carried out the technical audit of the airline and its fleet of aircraft with a view to ensuring the airline is in compliance with extant Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations (Nig.CARs), and to mitigate the re-occurrence of the incident. This technical audit was not limited to this recent incident. The airline operational, technical and safety performance in the last twelve months were also scrutinized. The Civil Air Authority also went further to assure the flying public that all the aircraft on the fleet of NCAA authorized Air Certificate (AOC) holder

British Airways has resumed flights to Cairo nearly seven days after abruptly cancelling services due to what it termed "security concerns". In a statement, the airline announced it had “reviewed security arrangements as a result, it was satisfied that there was no cause to continue grounding flights to the Cairo". The abrupt suspension of flights to the Egyptian capital was received with outright condemnation by the Egyptian authorities as they were not part of the decision and had no prior knowledge before the drastic decision was taken. This caused travel chaos to travellers booked on the route considering the timing of the suspension in the busy summer holiday period. In response to the suspension, Egypt Air increased capacity on the lucrative London - Cairo route to cover up for the short fall. It is however unclear if Egypt air will stick to the new increased capacity or revert back to status quo.

The end of four engine Airbus A340 for commercial flight is near with so many airlines around the world planning to retire the aircraft or have already done so. The latest of such airline is Virgin Atlantic. As the airline is set to end operations of the aircraft by the end of 2019. Part of the plan is to replace the retired aircraft with Airbus A350. Virgin Atlantic is due to receive four Airbus A350 aircraft by the end of the year, which will be replacing the carrier’s five Airbus A340 aircraft. The current largest operator of A340 Lufthansa with about 30 aircraft of 2 variants of the aircraft also have plans to retire the aircraft. That will be fully reported in another post here on Aviation Roundtable blog. In truth, the once jewel of transatlantic flight, due to the fact that four engines were essential for extended operations over oceans in the years past. However, with the new Extended Twin Operation (ETOPS) regulations, having four engines is now no longer essential.

In a bold move to showcase and highlight the important role women play in Aviation, United Airlines has flown a Boeing 787 to an airshow in the USA with an all-female crew. The aircraft was flown by a female Captain and First Officer and had all-female cabin crew on board. Even the passengers were nearly all-female, with nearly 100 female passengers representing women in various fields in the United workforce. As earlier stated, the bulk of the passengers ferried were from different department of the airline. These included, Airport operations, Sales and Marketing, Inflight services, Technical operations, Network Operations, etc. Furthermore, United highlighted this move on its media portal and was quick to buttress how much of an impact having female staff throughout the company has been. In a statement by Executive vice President Linda Jojo, “Women are in critical leadership roles across United and what better way to demonstrate our commitment to women in aviation than a

Egypt Air received a brand new Boeing 787 today July 24, 2019. The new Dreamliner took off from Seattle to Cairo, making the 5,925 nautical-mile (10,973 km) journey the longest 787 delivery flight using sustainable bio fuel, according to Boeing. With this delivery flight, Egypt Air became the launch customer of Boeing’s new offer to Operators an option to use biofuel on delivery flights. “Sustainable aviation fuels have been shown to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up to 80 percent through its lifecycle,” according to the manufacturer. The Boeing 787-9 is already the fifth of six Dreamliner order that Egypt Air placed back in 2017 via long term lease from AerCap. In a statement by Ahmed Adel, chairman, and CEO of Egypt Air “We are committed to the sustainable growth of our airline and supporting commercial aviation’s efforts to protect the environment,” “We are delighted to support EGYPTAIR’s fleet renewal strategy and to be a part of this important industry-first miles

Aviation Roundtable blog had promised in our previous post to update the financial report on Boeing once published. In the post, we exrayed the mid year review between the two aircraft manufacturing giants Boeing  and Airbus. Read here.  https://aviationroundtable.blogspot.com/2019/07/mid-year-review-airbus-takes-lead-over.html?m=1 Boeing today Wednesday 24th July, 2019 reported a nearly $3 billion second-quarter loss as the aircraft manufacturer struggles with the prolonged grounding of its best-selling 737 MAX jet, sending its shares lower in early trading. Consequentially, shares of Boeing were down by 1 percent at the premarket trading of the New York stock exchange (NYSE). Boeing made a pledge of compensating the direct families of the victims of the Max 8 crashes to a tune of $100 Million. The company has also cut production of its flagship single-aisle aircraft and it booked a charge of nearly $5 billion in the quarter in the wake of the worldwide grounding following fata

An Airpeace flight a Boeing 737 aircraft from Porthacourt (PHC) today 23rd July, 2019, lost the nose gear upon landing at Lagos Airport Runway 18R in Nigeria's commercial capital and busiest airport. According to eyewitness account @ariellafitness, the aircraft was scheduled to land at runway 18L but because of the inclement weather and the poor visibility at that time, the Captain announced She was going to land on Rwy 18R which had better airfield approach lights as against runway 18L. The professionalism of the Pilot in command ensuring minimal damage to the aircraft with no injuries on board is quiet commendable. Usually, such incident have high potential of a catastrophic outcome if not properly handled. Just recently, on the 22nd of June, 2019 another of Airpeace aircraft a Boeing 737 from Abuja (ABV) with 87 Passengers and 6 crews skidded off the runway upon landing in heavy rains in Portharcourt (PHC) airport and came to a rest in soft mud. As at the time of pu

In a potential move that will adversely disrupt flight operations especially in the busy summer flight schedule, British Airways pilots have voted overwhelmingly to go on strike in a row overpay. Here is what transpired. The British airways Pilots union association BALPA conducted a ballot for its British Airways pilots over the possibility of a strike action. As posted by the Pilot union, 90% of members took part in the ballot. Of that 90% of members, 93% voted in favour of strike action. Which is quite overwhelming . The brunch of the disagreement is based on the current pay pilots flying for the airline receive.In a Swift response, British airways posted a statement via it's Twitter handle. "We are very disapointed that the Pilot union BALPA, has chosen to disrupt our customers travel plans- including the summer holidays of thousands of families and their friends with a potential strike action. We have yet to receive strike date from BALPA, so there are no change

British Airways today announced the inaugural flight date of its first Airbus A350-1000. The aircraft is scheduled to fly from London to Madrid on the 5th of August carrying a host of invited guests. This was confirmed in a statement on their social media handle of the Airline. "We’re excited to welcome the first A350-1000 into our fleet this summer and it will operate to and from Madrid for several weeks. It will start to appear in our schedules soon, however, as with any flight the aircraft type planned to operate could change at any time." British Airways’ first Airbus A350-1000 will be the first aircraft in the airline’s fleet to feature the new Club World cabin. The inaugural flight will see invited guests travelling to Madrid with British Airways CEO Alex Cruz and a host of Passengers who can book the economy class tickets available on offer. Passengers are able to book tickets for the flight, however, only economy tickets are available, as the Club World

Ethiopian Cargo is on the verge of finalizing a deal for two additional 737-800SFs to support the continued growth of its intra-Africa network. Despite the unfortunate set back of the ET Boeing Max 8 crash, Ethiopian Airlines continue to grow from strength to strength and opening up new frontiers At present, ET’s 737-800SFs are used on short-haul routes that are within a four-hour range from the carrier’s Addis Ababa (ADD) hub to destinations in East, Central and West Africa. Before the freighters were added, many of the routes now served with the -800SFs were limited to bellyhold capacity on narrowbody passenger aircraft. Increased demand for perishable exports, however, has justified freighter capacity to accommodate larger volumes. Further orders for additional freighters are expected in the coming years. The carrier previously forecasted as part of its Vision 2025 plan that its freighter fleet will grow to nineteen units over the next five years. Earlier this month, Ethiopia

The quest for seemless connection and availing an avenue for the travelling populace experience air travel in a safe, comfortable and professional manner led to the establishment of Azman Air in 2010. With a current fleet of 4 aircrafts, Azman Air is slowly carving a niche for it's self, and have suddenly uplifted itself to the most improved airline in Nigeria. Airline business in a country like Nigeria has its ups and downs with Government bureaucracies and multiple taxation are land mines that are injurious to a start up airline. Breaking even and running an airline in a safe,comfortable and profitable manner therefore becomes an up heel adventure. For Azman air to be able to weather through the storm and upheavals to become one of the most dynamic airline in the country surely deserves some accolades. The Owner and Chief Executive Alhaji Abdulmunaf Yunusa Sarina through his wisdom have created an avenue through which the airline is managed by professionals who knows

After a very turbulent first 2 quarters of the year for aircraft manufacturer Boeing largely due to the catasthrophic 2 deadly crashes of Boeing 737 Max aircrafts involving Lion air and Ehtiopian airlines respectively leading to declaration of loss as reported by Aviation roundtable. Read here. https://aviationroundtable.blogspot.com/2019/07/mid-year-review-airbus-takes-lead-over.html?m=1 Things are turning around positively for Boeing as Korean Air has finalized an agreement with the aircraft  manufacturer to order 20 787 Dreamliner airplanes – including 10 each of the 787-10 and 787-9 models valued at $6.3 billion according to list prices. Along with an agreement to lease 10 additional 787-10 jets from Air Lease Corporation. The carrier will quadruple its Dreamliner fleet as it looks to bring greater efficiency and passenger comforts to its operations. Korean Air, one of the largest transpacific carriers in Asia with 16 non-stop routes to North America, is adding the 787-10 to

Things are looking to the brighter side for Indonesian carrier Lion Air as the low cost airline received its first A330-900, becoming the first airline from the Asia-Pacific region to fly the Airbus A330neo. The aircraft is on lease from BOC Aviation and is the first of 10 A330neos set to join the airline’s fleet. Recall, it was a turbulent past year for Lion Air culmulating with the unfortunate Boeing 737 Max 8 crash in the Java sea just 12 minuites after take off from Jakarta killing all 189 people onboard. It is therefore very pleasing to see Lion Air slowly gaining it's feet back. Lion Air is the largest privately owned airline in the country and the second largest low cost carrier  in South East Asia after Air Asia. The airline currently boost of a fleet size of about 117 aircrafts and over 248 aircrafts on order. The A330neo delivered will be used by Lion Air for non-stop long-haul services from Indonesia cities such as Makassar, Balikpapan and Surabaya to Jeddah a

Air travellers flying with Emirates Airlines this summer are in for some special treat as the gulf carrier unveils the game changing luxurious interiors in it's first class suite, business and economy class on it's Boeing 777-300ER aircrafts. The quest to ensure Passengers safety, well-being, comfort and seemless travel experience cannot be over emphasized. That is why Emirates airlines always strive in bringing desired changes and upgrade to suit the flying populace. It is however worthy to note, the newly unveiled cabins wil only be available in some selected routes which notably are Brussles, Frankfurt, Geneva, Kuwait, London Stansted, Male, Riyadh, Tokyo Haneda and Vienna. Be sure to check out the new interiors on your next travel while on board Emirates airlines on any of the above mentioned routes.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency has disclosed that the revision follows analysis of the re-engined type's elevator and aileron computer. It has not elaborated on the situation beyond stating that "excessive" pitch could occur under certain conditions and "during specific manoeuvres". EASA cautions that this could result in "reduced control" of the aircraft. Airbus has issued temporary revisions to the aircraft's flight manual incorporating operational limitations. This is coming  off the heels of FAA and EASA ordering Boeing 757 operators to carry out Aileron check. Read here https://aviationroundtable.blogspot.com/2019/07/faa-easa-order-boeing-757-operators-to.html?m=1 EASA has ordered operators of the A321neo to amend the flight manuals accordingly, within 30 days.The order covers both the CFM International Leap-1A and Pratt & Whitney PW1100G versions of the aircraft. Airbus has issued seven relevant temporary revisions

In a move that will enhance and boost the haulage and cargo capacity, Philippines leading airline Cebu pacific and it's subsidiary Cebgo takes delivery of the first of two passenger-to-freighter converted ATR 72-500F. The aircraft was previously part of Cebu Pacific’s own passenger fleet and will be the airline’s first dedicated freighter. This particular unit been delivered to Cebu Pacific will not just be the first freighter for the airline, it will also be the first freighter for any carrier in the Philippines. It will allow the airline to transport a variety of items around the Philippine islands, where many airports can only be served with turboprops like the ATR 72. Cebu Pacific originally inked an agreement with IPR for two ATR 72-500 conversions in July 2018. Unit 820, along with another of the airline’s ATR 72-500s (828), were both inducted for conversion at the Sabena Technics facility in Dinard last year. Both ATR 72-500Fs will be operated by Cebu Pacific’s Cebg

Exciting times lies ahead as Turkish Airlines begins flight to the beautiful island of Denpasar Bali in Indonesia. Turkish Airlines who is renowned as the airline that flies to most countries than any other airline in the world is constantly looking at bringing cities even closer with it's seemless connection and route network. The beautiful island of Bali is renowned for it's breathtaking beaches, pleasant sceneries and in general a heaven for funseeking and tourists. Bali is Indonesia main tourist destination, which has seen a significant rise in tourists over the years. Tourism-related business makes up 80% of its economy. It is renowned for its highly developed arts, including traditional and modern dance, sculpture, painting, leather, metalworking, and music. TripAdvisor named Bali as the world's top destination in its Traveller's Choice award. Turkish Airlines will deploy the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft to service the Instanbul- Denpasar Bali

Qatar Airways  today announced the launch of its new service to Gaborone, Botswana, starting 27 October 2019. The capital and largest city of Botswana will be the airline’s first destination in the African country. The three-times weekly flights will be operated by an Airbus A350-900 aircraft, featuring 36 seats in Business Class and 247 seats in Economy Class. Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “We are excited to be launching three-weekly flights to Gaborone, another highly sought after destination in Africa. Qatar Airways is committed to growing our presence in Africa and adding to the 22 destinations in 15 countries we already offer. Our new service to the enchanting city of Gaborone will enable us to provide a seamless journey to and from Botswana, for passengers connecting from our extensive network of more than 160 destinations worldwide.” Gaborone is the capital and the largest city in Botswana, a landlocked country in Souther

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issued airworthiness directives requesting all Boeing 757 operators to carry our required inspections.This drastic measures is following the report of the failure of the aileron trim actuator attachment lug. Just a forthnight ago, EASA ordered the wings outer layer spar of first generation A380s be checked. Read here.  https://aviationroundtable.blogspot.com/2019/07/cracks-trigger-a380-wing-spar.html?m=1 According to the FAA, Operators of the Boeing 757 type have to conduct “repetitive checks of the aileron trim actuator bearing for free rotation, repetitive detailed inspections of the aileron trim actuator attachment lug for damage and cracking, and applicable on-condition actions”. The unsafe condition was reported during one of the flights, where the flight crew was limited to move the flight-control surface. The FAA AD said the following: “The FAA received a report indicating that

Zimbabwe owned national carrier, Air Zimbabwe is embroiled in a legal tussle over the ownership of two A320s. The two Airbus planes arrived at the carrier over seven years ago, but have barely been used yet. While the leasing company, South Jet, says Air Zimbabwe needs to pay for the planes, the carrier maintains that they were a donation and that South Jet need to release the paperwork to allow them to repair the planes. The carrier claims that the planes were donated to the Government of Zimbabwe by authorities in the Isle of Man, and subsequently passed to the airline. However, South Jet maintains that the aircraft are dry leased from them and have taken Air Zimbabwe to court over its failure to pay the leasing fees. The two Airbus A320-200s, registered Z-WPM and Z-WPN, we arranged to go to Zimbabwe in a deal spearheaded by China Sonangol International. At the time, the Chinese partner was looking to bail out the Mugabe regime and help revive the debt-laden national carrier

Emirates announced today its plan to launch a new daily service from Dubai (DXB) to Mexico City International Airport (MEX), via the Spanish city of Barcelona (BCN), starting on 9 December 2019. Emirates’ Mexico City flight will be a linked service with Barcelona, meaning that customers can now travel between the two cities in unprecedented style and comfort.  Citizens from Mexico, Spain and the UAE only need their passports to enjoy visa-free travel to each respective country. The new route will be operated with a two-class Emirates Boeing 777-200LR which offers 38 Business Class seats in a 2-2-2 configuration and 264 seats in Economy Class. The new 777 flight will also offer up to 14 tonnes of cargo, opening up access to more global markets for Mexican exports such as avocados, berries, mangoes, automotive parts and medical supplies.  Emirates SkyCargo has been flying freighters to/from Mexico City since 2014 already and in the last year carried over 22,500 tons of cargo on t

The geographical location of Pakistan in the middle of a vital aviation corridor while the  airspace restrictions lasted greatly affected hundreds of commercial and cargo flights each day, adding to flight time for passengers and fuel costs for airlines. Pakistan’s airspace has been reopened to civil aviation with immediate effect, its aviation authority said following months of restrictions imposed in the wake of a standoff with neighboring India earlier this year. Based on the Notice to Airmen (NOTAMS) published on the Civil Aviation Authority’s website.“With immediate effect Pakistan airspace is open for all type of civil traffic on published ATS (Air Traffic Service) routes,”  Pakistan closed its airspace in February after a standoff with India in the wake of an attack by a Pakistan-based militant group on a police convoy in Indian-controlled Kashmir that killed dozens of paramilitary police. Partial operations at Pakistani airports resumed once tensions eased but restri