Southwest Airlines is inching closer to approval for service to Hawaii. But don’t start planning a trip just yet. The carrier still needs to pass a few more hurdles before it can schedule service.
AvGeek
TAP takes delivery of first A330neo, Airbus teases changes
As the first A330neo is handed off to TAP Airbus is teasing the idea of a “regional” version of the type, an aircraft far better suited to serve the vast majority of flights the A330 operates today. Why wait so long and will it ever really happen??
Delta’s first A220 flights now on sale
The first Delta Air Lines A220 flights are now loaded into the schedule and on sale for travelers. The carrier intends to base the fleet initially at New York City’s LaGuardia Airport and serve routes focused on business travelers, with Boston and Dallas-Fort Worth the first two destinations starting 31 January 2019. Over the summer of 2019 as the fleet grows the A220 will also serve Houston, Salt Lake City, Detroit, Minneapolis-St. Paul and JFK.
JetBlue pushes TATL further away, teases “Junior Mint” cabin
JetBlue spent the past several years teasing the idea of transatlantic flying. The company believes its Mint business class service could clean up in a market that sees high fares and relatively limited competition. Alas, it remains a dream in many ways. The market was reminded this morning at an investor briefing that such a “distraction” is not welcome at this time.
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.
American, JAL bring CES 2019 closer to Tokyo with non-stop flights
Adding extra flights to the schedule for the annual CES show in Las Vegas is a relatively common move. Demand is high and travelers are willing to pay higher than average prices to be at the massive technology conference so the airlines tend to enjoy nice profits on those flights. American Airlines and JAL are the latest to make a play for that traffic.
The first Hi Fly A380 lease customer is not who we expected
Reports out of Denmark this afternoon have a special addition to the Hi Fly A380 wet lease charter schedule. The first flight will operate on Wednesday for an unlikely customer. Thomas Cook Scandinavia reportedly chartered the aircraft for a one-off service from Copenhagen to Larnaca, Cyprus.
Taxes v Tourism: A battle for the Bahamas airports
Can the Bahamas pay for the necessary and significant airport upgrades without raising taxes or passenger fees? It seems that’s unlikely. And so the growth of the island nation’s tourism sector is at risk. Damned if you do and damned if you don’t. Hear from the Minister Tourism & Aviation Dionisio D’Aguilar on how the country plans to address these challenges.
Come fly with Moxy!
JetBlue. WestJet. Azul. Serially successful airline entrepreneur David Neeleman sits poised to try again, reportedly raising $100 million to launch a new carrier in the United States. So, are you ready to fly with “Moxy”?
Streaming to the Electronic Flight Bag: Norwegian, Astronics push forward with webFB
Processing more aircraft performance data faster means cost savings for airlines and a better ride for passengers. Norwegian and Astronics teamed up to deliver content to pilots’ tablets through a streaming solution that improves data processing both in real-time and over the long term. It also demonstrates a potential weakness in long-bandied plans for broader use of inflight wifi connectivity for aircraft operations data.