Reading Time: 2 minutes In a wide-reaching agreement signed in Beijing today, Lufthansa and Air China have agreed to conclude a deal two years in the making. Both airlines have agreed to form a joint venture (JV) which will operate all connections between Europe and China, significantly expanding their code-sharing connections and commercial partnerships. It will commence operations in […]

Reading Time: < 1 minute JetBlue Airways will purchase from Philadelphia-based biofuel provider SG Preston over 33 million gallons of blended jet fuel per year for at least 10 years, the New York-based airline said Sept. 19. The fuel will consist of 30% hydro-processed esters and fatty-acids (HEFA) renewable jet fuel blended with 70% traditional Jet-A fuel. JetBlue expects to […]

Reading Time: 2 minutes Turkmenistan Airways, the flag-carrier airline for Turkmenistan, has narrowly avoided suspension of all flights in Russian airspace owing to the failure to settle a US$220,000 debt payable to local Russian air traffic management. The airline had originally assured Russian authorities and the Federal Air Transport Agency, Rosaviatsa, that the debt would be settled on August […]

Reading Time: 2 minutes Qantas will launch daily direct flights between Melbourne and Tokyo’s Narita Airport from 16th December 2016, responding to growing demand and marking the next step in its Asian growth strategy. The new route will be operated by an upgraded, two-class A330-300 with 297 seats – the aircraft widely seen as best in class for the […]

Reading Time: 2 minutes Singapore Airlines (SIA) will not extend the lease on its first Airbus A380-800 when the contract expires in October 2017, but still has five A380s on firm order with Airbus for delivery from 2H 2017. Singapore Airlines regional public relations manager-Europe Peter Thomasch confirmed to ATW, “The first lease expires in October next year and […]

Reading Time: 2 minutes Lufthansa crew to wear anniversary costume to look after guests on its flights. Ten years ago we heard it for the first time: Take-off for the Lufthansa crew in national costume. Since then, a total of 20 destinations have been flown to on four continents, with national costumes from three different fashion houses introduced to the […]

Reading Time: < 1 minute The aircraft bearing the airline’s distinctive livery will now enter the final phase of production, including further ground and flight tests. This first A350-900 for China Airlines is scheduled for delivery in the coming weeks. China Airlines has 14 A350-900s on order. The aircraft is expected to be deployed on the carrier’s long-haul routes to […]

Reading Time: 2 minutes Norwegian has now flown three million low-cost long-haul passengers between Europe and the U.S. since low-cost transatlantic services began in 2013. Norwegian first launched low-cost flights from Scandinavia to the U.S. in May 2013, followed by services from London to the US beginning in July 2014. Today, the airline offers 37 nonstop routes between Europe […]

Reading Time: < 1 minute Hong Kong Airlines has signed a contract with Airbus for the firm order of nine additional A330-300 aircraft. The aircraft will be operated across a network which links Hong Kong with a wide range of destinations in Asia, and beyond. “Today’s announcement underscores our plan to operate an extensive regional network in Asia,” said Zhang Kui, […]

Reading Time: 2 minutes Qatar Airways Cargo becomes the first carrier to fully adopt, implement and integrate the next generation messaging standard, Cargo Extensible Mark-up Language or Cargo-XML in its core cargo management system, CROAMIS. The Cargo-XML messaging is an initiative mandated by International Air Transport Association (IATA) as a preferred standard for electronic communication between airlines and other air cargo stakeholders such […]