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...