AIR INDIA SET TO SERVE SINGAPORE WITH DREAMLINER
Air India may have hit the headlines for the wrong reasons last week when the Star Alliance management board voted to suspend the airline’s planned integration into the airline grouping, but it now is in the news for the right reasons, as it prepares to become one of the early customers for the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The airline has 27 of the type on order and following a long delay with the certification of the airliner is scheduled to finally take delivery of its first aircraft before the end of this year. Two aircraft are expected to enter service in December, according to local sources and Indian newspapers are now reporting the planned operational debut of the aircraft. These stories, citing top company officials, suggest that Singapore will be the first scheduled destination for Air India’s 787s from mid-December with the type then being introduced on services to Hong Kong, Dubai, Frankfurt and Jakarta as more aircraft arrive.
FLYBE PREPARES FOR E175 INTRODUCTION
UK low-fare airline Flybe is expected to take delivery of its first Embraer 175s before the end of August and it appears that the aircraft will initially be used on the carrier’s flights from London Gatwick and Manchester and not Guernsey as originally planned. Shortly after the July 2010 order the airline revealed that it would “base an aircraft in Guernsey” so passengers on the island would “be the first to benefit” from the fleet investment. However, the airline’s latest schedule shows that the aircraft is planned to operate on four routes over the remainder of the Northern Summer, none of them touching Guernsey. According to its latest GDS inventory, Flybe will place the E175 into service on its weekday Manchester – Brussels route from September 1 and on weekend rotations to Hanover and Jersey. Another aircraft will serve its domestic London Gatwick – Inverness route from September 4. These plans are obviously subject to change. According to sources at the airline the first E175 is due to arrive at its Exeter base at the end of next week, with two further aircraft due to follow before the end of the month. Flybe placed a firm order for 35 175s at last year’s Farnborough Air Show to complement its Bombardier Dash 8Q-400 turboprops and larger E195s. The aircraft will be configured in an 88-seat single-class configuration. Speaking to The HUB at the time of the announcement Jim French, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, Flybe said: “The E175 will give us significant added capacity and is particularly suited to the sector lengths prevalent in Europe that we are most interested in exploiting. In short, it perfectly fits the Flybe business model and we are delighted to be extending our long-running partnership with Embraer.”
SKYWEST AIRLINES TO FLY FOR US AIRWAYS
US regional carrier SkyWest Airlines has signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) with US Airways to fly 14 aircraft for the airline’s US Airways Express subsidiary, further diversifying its activities. The agreement, which remains subject to approval from the airlines’ boards of directors, covers the operation of 14 Bombardier CRJ200s which will replace a mix of CRJ200s and Dash 8s flown by Mesa Airlines at its Phoenix hub. The arrangement will come into effect in “early to mid-2012”, according to SkyWest, and includes the option of boosting its capacity offering to the larger CRJ700. "We are pleased to add US Airways to SkyWest Airlines' strong partner portfolio," said Russell ‘Chip’ Childs, President and Chief Operating Officer, SkyWest Airlines. "SkyWest's people have done incredible work to provide a reliable, efficient product, and we look forward to offering that quality to US Airways customers."
ASTRAL AVIATION TO ADD MD-83SFS FOR INTRA-AFRICAN CARGO OPERATIONS
Kenyan cargo carrier Astral Aviation is planning to expand its intra-African network following the arrival of six new aircraft next year. The Nairobi-based venture currently has a fleet of three Douglas DC-9 Freighters and access to Boeing 727 and 737 models as well as some smaller regional turboprop types. However, it will acquire six McDonnell Douglas MD-83SFs in 2012 and plans expansion across the continent. Astral Aviation currently offers scheduled freight flights from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in the Kenyan capital to Dar es Salaam and Mwanza in Tanzania; Entebbe, Uganda; Juba, South Sudan and Kigali, Rwanda on a weekly or twice weekly basis. It plans to fly to a number of new markets and has highlighted Angola, Chad, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Nigeria, Zambia and Zimbabwe for future development. Alongside its scheduled operations Astral Aviation also offers charter capacity and has been involved in a number of emergency relief operations in Africa most notably the Niamey Famine, the Darfur Crisis, the Southern Sudan Relief Operations, the Mozambique & Madagascar Floods, the Eastern Congo Crisis, the Goma Volcano Eruption, and Humanitarian Crises in Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea.
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