AvNews 13/10/17

Brandon & Jonathan
Oct 14, 2017
5 min read

Updates

Air Berlin

Air Berlin has announced that they will be ceasing operations on October 28th, 2017. Earlier this year, the airline had filed for insolvency, and after a multiple chances to keep the airline running, it has failed. Air Berlin has also stated that long haul operations will cease 13 days before total cease on the 15th. As Air Berlin fades from the skies, the company is up for grabs. Lufthansa has taken interest into buying a part of the fleet, and Etihad, who own about 30% stake in the airline, may also be flagged to receive something. Ryanair also has taken interest, but more on this later.

Lufthansa will be acquiring 81 of Air Berlin’s aircraft and up to 3,000 staff. Other major European airlines have also taken interest. easyJet has been negotiating with Air Berlin and that easyJet was interest in 20-30 of Air Berlin’s aircraft. Air Berlin’s aircraft have been kept a float of $178 million loaned from the German government as they worked out ceasing details.Besides easyJet, Irish airline, Ryanair have also been looking into parts of Air Berlin.

Monarch

It has been almost two week since the sudden fall of Monarch, and the sudden part has taken a toll. The English Karate Federation (EKF) had to spend £27,310 extra on flights to the Junior World Championships. Due to this fall, other travelers or holidaymakers have been looking for alternative, airlines have been taking advantage of this. Other european airlines have been hiking up prices to up to £1,000 per person. Up to 860,000 people have lost bookings since the airline’s collapse and the CAA have sent more than 30 planes to return stranded customers.

Air France 66

Air France 66, the A388 which landed in Goose Bay because of engine blowout over the Atlantic is due to fly back to paris Charles De Gaulle, damaged engine still attached. The aircraft has not taken any damage as of now.

Major News

French ATC Strike!

On October 6th, 2017, late Friday evening, an announcement was made after all airline personnel had gone home for the weekend. French Air Traffic Controllers have gone on strike. The General Directorate of Civil Aviation asked airlines flying to and from France to cut 30% of activity, this had take effect starting on the evening of the 9th and ended the morning of the 11th. Passengers were caught in this situation and flights were either cancelled or delayed or even combined into larger aircraft. All airports in France were affected from Charles de Gaulle to Marseille to Lyon. Air France had been hit the hardest especially France’s biggest airport, Paris Charles de Gaulle.

Aircraft News

A320 Family

The first Hawaiian A321neo has been fitted with engines and out of the paint shop, test registration D-AYAF, and will operate as N202HA once delivered.

A350

Malaysian Airlines’ first A350-900 has been rolled out of the paint shop in a special Malaysian flag livery.

737

WestJet has been delivered their first and second 737 MAX 8, registrations C-FRAX and C-FNAX. They recently flew CYYC-CYYZ with one of their MAXs, being the first MAX to fly in Canada.
Southwest had recently launched their MAX into commercial service by stationing their MAXs across the United States and operating flights across the US. Flights like Albuqerque to Dallas Love Field, Chicago Midway to Cincinnati, Las Vegas to Denver, Los Angeles to Phoenix, and so on.

747

Indonesia’s flag carrier, Garuda Indonesia retires their last 747-400. The 747-4U3, registration PK-GSH, operated its final flight on October 6th from Madinah to Makassar, then a ferry flight from Makassar to Jakarta. Garuda first operated their 744 back in 1994, 3 in their fleet with 428 seats, 42 business and 386 economy. The plane’s retirement is also part of Garuda’s fleet renewal programme.
Another Queen disappears from the sky as United’s last jumbo flies over the Golden Gate Bridge for the last time flying from San Francisco to Honolulu, the flight that United debuted this aircraft with. The aircraft featured a sticker replacing the modern United text with their classy 70s text “The Friend-ship” .The whole flight was a 70s themed party in the sky bringing you back to when United had first begun to operate the 747 featuring a 1970s themed menu, retro uniforms for the crew and in-flight entertainment fit for the time. Before the final takeoff, United had set up a spot in SFO for people to come by and take a gander at the last United queen.

(UPDATE: I did not realize that the final flight takes place on the 7th of November my mistake for this error.)

787

El Al had their first 787-9 delivered, the aircraft, registered 4X-EDB, was ferried from Paine Field to Tel Aviv on October 8th, 2017.
The first 787-10 has been painted with Singapore Airlines livery

Airline News

Aerolineas Argentinas suspends flights to Venezuela. The Argentinean airline has suspended flights to the Venezuelan capital, Caracas. They are of the many airlines who pulled out of routes to and from Venezuela, and those that still do operate, operate non-frequently. These suspensions are due to the rising criminal violence in the country as well as political uncertainty.

"Venezuela is becoming disconnected, it's practically disconnected from the rest of the world, above all by air, and we can't see any solution in the short term."

"Passenger traffic in Venezuela has dropped by 75% in the last 4 years."

New Alliance!

Earlier during the week a new alliance was formed between two amazing airlines. Air France and Vietnam Airlines signed a joint venture. The paris based company and the Hanoi based airline announced their intention to begin a joint venture for flights between Hanoi and Ho Chin Minch City and Paris. This unique arrangement should be taking place on November 1th. The main goal is to allow more connections between Europe and Vietnam.

As part of the arrangement, Air france will place its code on the 20 Vietnam Airlines flights to other Vietnamese cities, as well for the Cambodian cities. Vietnam Airlines will put its code on 30 Air France flights to destinations in France and Europe.

Emergencies

Cathay A350 flight is "shook."

Cathay Pacific flight 157 from Hong Kong to Brisbane, hit severe turbulence 50nm miles south of Manila. Crew were serving meals at the time and the pilots decided to divert to Manila once clear of the turbulence. 7 people were injured, six crew and one passenger, who were all taken to hospital, and were discharged with no serious conditions. The flight was grounded in Manila for 3 hours, then continued its flight to Brisbane. Passengers had reported that the flight attendants had actually hit the cabin ceiling then returning onto the floor, the turbulence lasted for roughly 10 minutes.

Special

KLM Celebrates their 98th Anniversary

KLM celebrates their 98th anniversary with th reveal of their Delftware miniature house #98 to their collection. The house is the replication of Anthony Fokker's in Haarlem, near Amsterdam. The first copy of the miniature house went to the President and CEO of the airline, Pieter Elbers, and the second copy went to Erik Harverkorn, the current owner and resident of the Fokker house.