The first A350-900 ULR flew home to Singapore on Saturday. The routing it took was rather less than ordinary, lasting more than 16 hours and included a visit to the North Pole.
Airplanes and Airports
Etihad-Emirates combo: Hyperloop to the rescue?
Reports out this week have Emirates and Etihad once again circling around a potential merger. The politics behind such a deal are interesting but the airport terminal issues are massive. And Hyperloop might be the answer, a solution just crazy enough that it could work.
Swoop: A marketing machine that happens to fly planes
Canadian upstart Swoop, the ULCC arm of WestJet, aims to succeed as an airline mostly by not really acting like an airline. Sure, there are airplanes and pilots and such, but CEO Steven Greenway is adamant that change come quickly. And he’s keen to dramatically upset the North American aviation market along the way.
Hawaiian to Boston: New longest domestic flight
Hawaiian will soon operate a new longest domestic US flight. The carrier will launch service 5x weekly between Honolulu and Boston starting on 4 April 2019. The 5,095 mile flight is the longest domestic US route, besting the Honolulu-JFK service by just over 100 miles.
KLM gives up control to win over customers
Long considered a leader and innovator in the digital landscape, KLM faces challenges as it seeks to hold on to that role. Giving up some control enables the company to gain consumer confidence and improve satisfaction. And, hopefully, convert those passengers into the truly loyal.
Commercial service is back at Carlsbad: California Pacific finally set to fly
Carlsbad, California will, once again, have commercial air service. California Pacific Airlines (CPA) will do the honors this time around, launching multiple daily frequencies to Reno, NV and San Jose, CA on 1 November 2018.
Icelandair comes up short on revenue, loses its CEO
Icelandair faces a significant revenue shortfall in 2018 owing to growing competition and mistakes in growing its route network. The parent company of the airline also needs to find a new CEO. Björgólfur Jóhannsson took full responsibility for the missed numbers and tendered his resignation to the Icelandair Group Board of Directors.
American Airlines cuts international from Chicago, adds seasonal services
American Airlines continues its cuts to Asia service from its hub at Chicago O’Hare. After previously announcing that it would drop Beijing service, Shanghai flights will also be terminated this October. Seasonal adds across the Atlantic in 2019 will help offset these cuts.
Airline stopovers: Big business or marketing malarkey?
Stopovers arguably built the Icelandic tourism economy and its position in the North Atlantic aviation market. But are such programs a guaranteed success? More and more airlines are trying, often with outsized expectations and limited success. Here are a few examples of such…
A350 (finally) takes to the skies over China
After months and months of delays with their certification to operate in mainland China the very auspicious 8/8 saw two airlines take delivery of the type.