Tiger Airways calls Adelaide home

Image Courtesy of Andrea Silvia

Tiger Airways launches its second Australian base in Adelaide to further its expansion in Australia. Opening the new Tiger Airways second hub at Adelaide International Airport offers the state of South Australia an increase in visitors to the state as well as the creation of new jobs. Tiger Airways considered a secondary hub after it achieved a 91% load factor in its primary hub at Melbourne International Airport. The airline has based two Airbus A320 aircraft in Adelaide as well as 60 South Australian based pilots and crew to help with the rapid start to new operations. Tiger Airways has plans to add new low cost services to Perth, Hobart, the Gold Coast, Alice Springs and Canberra as well as increasing the number of flights between Victoria and South Australia.

The South Australian Tourism Minister commented that the additional flights would bring about 10 million more visitors over the next eight years to South Australia as well as create new jobs and support the local economy. It all bodes well for the future of Adelaide and the state of South Australia with this new Tiger Airways expansion into its new Adelaide hub.

Passengers will now be able to enjoy greater connectivity and more options to all of their favorite Australian cities. Welcome Tiger Airways to the city of churches.

Enjoy some of the best deals to all Tiger Airways destinations by consulting the Tiger Airways website.

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Fly Dubai welcomes its first Aircraft to its new home

Image Courtesy of Hannes Meyer

Fly Dubai unveiled its first Boeing 737-800 on May 18, 2009 to a group of selected guests including industry experts, staff and media. With June 1 fast approaching when Fly Dubai will operate its inaugural service to Beirut the arrival of its first Boeing 737-800 next generation aircraft is a major step for Dubai’s very own low cost airline.

The selected group of guests got a first glimpse of the carrier’s vibrant and refreshing livery. His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Ruler of Dubai, Chairman of Fly Dubai and vice president of the United Arab Emirates personally selected the livery to capture the essence of Dubai with the bright colors of blue and orange. These vibrant colors were selected to show the colors of Dubai’s coastline where the orange reflects the sun, sand and warmth of the people while the blue epitomizes the endless blue skies and the majestic blue seas that Dubai is known for all over the world.

This 737 next generation aircraft is the first of 50 to be delivered to Fly Dubai by 2016. The airline placed an historic order at the Farnborough Air Show last year worth about $3.74 billion dollars at the current list prices making Fly Dubai operators of one of the youngest and most efficient aircraft fleets in the world ultimately giving its passengers more options at the lowest prices flying to destinations in high demand across the gulf region and surrounding countries while bringing unrivaled connectivity to all parts of the world from its Dubai base.

Fly Dubai has already announced it will fly to four destinations of Beirut, Amman, Alexandria and Damascus. With more routes to be announced in the near future Fly Dubai is bringing passengers a new way to fly at the lowest prices.

Welcome Fly Dubai

Talking Point:

With its highly anticipated entry to the market will Fly Dubai gain a large portion of market share from the word go? Will their popularity translate into profits from the onset?

How will this impact the highly successful Air Arabia and the likes of Jazeera Airways, Wataniya Airways, Air India Express and other low cost carriers flying the Arabian Skies?

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Abu Dhabi here we come!

Image Courtesy of Wikipedia

Image Courtesy of Wilstop

JAT Airways re-established its connection on the Belgrade-Abu Dhabi route as the Boeing 737 of Serbia’s national flag carrier touched down on May 6, 2009 at 6:55am local time greeted by water cannons upon its touch down. This is the first direct air link from JAT Airways between Belgrade and Abu Dhabi since 1998.

JAT Airways will operate in and out of Abu Dhabi’s terminal 1 on its Wednesday, Friday twice weekly service with Flights touching down in Abu Dhabi at 6:55am and departing back for Belgrade at 7:45 am on the same day with a turnaround time of 50 minutes.

JAT Airways becomes the 44th airline to begin operations at the fast growing Abu Dhabi International Airport. Its convenient early morning departures will offer its passengers wonderful connection options to Paris, Milan and the remainder of the JAT Airways network through its Serbian hub and gateway city, Belgrade.

ADAC (Abu Dhabi Airports Company) has expressed its joy in welcoming JAT Airways to Abu Dhabi broadening the destinations served from Abu Dhabi International Airport and bringing closer the dream ADAC has of bringing passengers together from the east and west at Abu Dhabi, a new up and coming super hub.

Talking Point:

Will the Belgrade-Abu Dhabi route yield profitability, viability, success and a high passenger load factor that JAT Airways is looking for?

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Wreckage of Air France missing jet confirmed

The wreckage of Air France flight 447 has been confirmed scattered across the Atlantic Ocean about 400 miles beyond the Archipelago of Fernando de Noronha. A salvage effort may take weeks but it will be a team effort from a multiple of countries spearheaded by the French and Brazilians to recover the remains to piece together the clues of what happened to Air France flight 447 high above the Atlantic that fateful night.

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Debris of Air France flight 447 found

The Brazilian Air Force has confirmed that they have come across what may be the debris of Air France flight 447 Airbus A 330 aircraft scattered across the Atlantic Ocean about 410 miles beyond Fernando de Noronha, the Brazilian archipelago near the flight path that Air France 447 was flying from Rio de Jeneiro to Paris. Floating debris and signs of fuel were spotted but indication of any sign of life was non existent.

Currently there are three commercial ships in the area joining in the search attempt and France has committed a ship for deep water exploration and can deploy an unmanned submarine capable of potentially retrieving the vital black box recorder that is believed to be sitting at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean where depths can reach up to 20,000 feet.

The search goes on and gathers pace in the attempt to piece together the missing clues as to what brought down Air France flight 447 in the earliest hours of Monday morning. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of those still missing.

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Air France Airbus A330 Jet Missing

Air France Airbus A 330. The aircraft type

that went missing over the Atlantic

Image Courtesy of Flickr

An Air France Airbus jet is feared lost carrying 228 people on board after it vanished over the Atlantic.

It is believed that the Airbus A 330 aircraft encountered a thunderous zone with strong turbulence at 2:00am local time just off Brazil’s northern coast with Air France receiving an automated message from flight 447 about 14 minutes later signaling an electrical failure.

Although experts have ruled out that the plane could have been hit by a lightening strike, It is likely that the plane entered a zone with heavy turbulence and thunderstorms rising up to 50,000 feet, a phenomenon common to this part of the world at this time of year. These violent storms can produce heavy turbulence pounding an aircraft with extremely high winds and hail. Structural damage can result out of these storms causing pilots serious problems if they cannot maneuver around them.

It is without doubt that the plane is no longer flying in the sky considering the amount of fuel it carried on board and the amount of time that has elapsed since it has been deemed missing. At this time, it can be provisionally concluded that something catastrophic happened aboard AF 447 that caused this aircraft to fall from the sky. With no mayday call or distress signal from the flight deck it points in the direction that the pilot didn’t have enough time due to the plane descending at an alarmingly rapid rate.

Air France fears the worst and French President Nicolas Sarkozy said that the chances of finding survivors are “little”. Search and rescue attempts are underway however searching in the Fernando de Noronha Archipelago is considered very difficult due to the vast size of the area where the plane could have possibly went down after it left Brazilian radar. Brazilian Air Force planes are trying to trace the same route that was taken by the missing Air France jet however as of yet no results have come to fruition.

A member of Brazil’s non-reigning royal family, Prince Pedro Luis De Orleans e Braganca was on board Air France Flight 447 travelling from Rio de Jeneiro to Paris. The prince is confirmed missing as announced by the Orleans e Braganca family in an official statement.

If all were killed it would be the deadliest airline disaster since November 12, 2001 where 265 people perished when an American Airlines Flight 587 utilizing Airbus A300 aircraft crashed into Queens, NY after take off from JFK Airport nearby.

My thoughts and prayers go out to all the families, relatives and friends who had loved ones aboard Air France flight 447.

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Swiss set to fly C Series jets

Image Courtesy of Flight Story

Swiss International Airlines will be the first to fly the Bombardier CS 100 series aircraft. With Lufthansa, the parent company of Swiss International Airlines being the first to sign a letter of interest (LOI) for the Bombardier C series aircraft program which includes 30 orders for the C Series jet and another 30 options, the $1.53 billion deal will provide Swiss International Airlines a brand new fleet of aircraft to replace their aging Avro RJ100 “Jumbolino” fleet that is due to be phased out by 2015.

The new Bombardier CS 100 jets will be in service with the Swiss fleet by 2014 giving the principal airline of Switzerland greater operational effectiveness and simplicity to its fleet. The C Series fleet will be tailored to permit utilization for short-haul and transcontinental routes as well as adding simplicity, with the CS family of aircraft sharing commonality allowing the same crew type rating, operating and maintenance procedures.

The C Series aircraft family will be comprised of the 110 seat CS 100 and 130 seat CS 300 series aircraft bringing the latest in technology, unrivaled passenger comfort and performance as well as increased efficiency giving Swiss a great base to strengthen their business opportunities, route expansion and future viability and growth. The C Series will also give Swiss International Airlines an environmentally sustainable product with the aircraft setting benchmarks with reduced emissions, noise and fuel burn. It is touted to be the greenest single aisle aircraft in its class.

How will Swiss look to implement the fleet? Will it pursue increasing flight frequencies to destinations already served or pursue route expansion policies with this all new very efficient, high performance jet?

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Nikki expands its fleet with Embraer ERJ 190 aircraft

Image Courtesy of Anna Aero

Niki Airline, the Austrian low cost airline operating services to destinations in Europe and Egypt has received its first Embraer ERJ 190 aircraft on May 15, 2009 at the Brazilian base of Embraer in Sao Jose dos Campos. Niki has plans to integrate the Embraer ERJ 190 into their fleet this upcoming summer season with deliveries of the type to be realized in the first half of this year. Niki has five firm orders and five purchase rights for the ERJ 190 series aircraft.

Since 2004 when Air Berlin purchased a 24% share in Niki, the airline has been expanding cautiously as opposed to other low cost operations however this summer the all new Niki Embraer fleet will join the Airbus Fleet enabling the Austrian low cost airline to increase its market coverage and business opportunities. Niki Airline is expecting delivery of a further 8 Airbus A 320 aircraft from 2009 through 2015 further strengthening its fleet.

Niki has plans of combining the new 112 seat ERJ 190 for medium density routes as well as adding frequency to existing routes. The larger 150-210 seat Airbus aircraft will be integrated to high density routes. Niki Lauda, founder and President said “the ERJ 190 is the most economical and environmentally friendly airplane of its size”. This Airbus, Embraer aircraft combination sought by Niki is to provide a greater more versatile product in the market, increase their coverage and opportunities.

The Embraer E-Jet aircraft type is ideal for the establishment of new routes due to its start up costs being low while combining excellent economics and offering a high level of comfort something Niki passenger’s have come to expect and enjoy on every Niki Flight.

The E-Jet Aircraft family has proven to aid airlines in developing new markets at a lower operating cost as well as offering the ability to combat flying inefficient larger aircraft on low load factor routes making them more viable through utilizing the Embraer E-Jets. Nikki has taken this approach and entrusted the ERJ 190 to lead its way with performance, efficiency, comfort and versatility on its already existing European network and into the future on new Intra-European routes.

Some Questions to consider:
Will Niki achieve greater economies of scale with this new aircraft type? Will passengers enjoy more options, destinations and choices at the lowest prices aboard Niki airline? Which new destinations will Niki seek as it expands its operations? Check out the Niki Airline website at www.flyniki.com and enjoy the Niki service on your next flight.

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Tiger Airways to fly to Sydney

Image Courtesy of Tiger Airways Australia

Tiger Airways offer flights to Sydney from Melbourne and Adelaide further extending the reach of Tiger Airways in the Australian domestic market and providing passengers with more options to fly to their favorite Australian destinations.

Tiger Airways begins its Melbourne-Sydney service from July 3, 2009 and its Adelaide-Sydney service July 31, 2009.

Come fly the Australian skies with Tiger Airways.

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Air Austral upgrades its In-flight technology

Air Austral has upgraded its In-flight entertainment system for its new Boeing 777-300 aircrafts by selecting to install the Panasonic Avionics eX2 In-flight entertainment system. The new system will offer passengers all the latest Audio and Video on Demand (AVOD) among all the latest trimmings aboard the super efficient 777.

Air Austral now offers its passengers greater in-flight experience opportunities on routes from majestic Reunion Island to destinations in Europe, Africa and the South Pacific, differentiating their unique product and service to some of the world’s most exotic destinations.

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Lufthansa looks to the future with paperless travel

Image Courtesy of Eurowings

Lufthansa one of the worlds premier airlines, fifth largest in terms of passengers carried and Germany’s flag carrier has added more innovative options for its passengers. As Lufthansa looks to future growth and viability it has extended its paperless travel service to encompass more cities it serves around the world.

Lufthansa’s mobile boarding pass service is available on almost all long haul flights departing from Germany. It was recently implemented on Lufthansa’s Frankfurt-Vancouver route and with 85,000 passengers a month using the service the way was paved for Lufthansa to extend the mobile boarding pass program offering passengers greater options to more destinations, more convenience, flexibility and efficiency.

The new mobile boarding pass service does away with the need for paper documents by virtue of passengers getting their boarding pass sent directly to their internet enabled cell phone or mobile device. The new paperless boarding pass contains a 2D barcode in addition to relevant flight data such as passenger’s name, flight number and time of departure. This information enables each passenger to pass through security checkpoints, proceed directly to the particular flights departure gate and board the aircraft upon the 2D barcode being read by a scanner.

Passengers can check in online via the internet or request an electronic boarding pass from their cell phones via the Lufthansa.com portal. Further options that Lufthansa offers with this service is the ability for passengers who are travelling together to check in independently and request to be seated next to each other. Furthermore passengers will be able to change seating options with this new innovative service.

Lufthansa has continued to take steps to expand the program considering its success with this service. It is not only available for long haul flights originating from Germany but from all Lufthansa destinations in Canada and more than thirty airports in Europe.

Welcome to a world of paperless travel.

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Qantas and Jetstar Asia offer Seamless Travel

Image Courtesy of stuff.co.nz

Qantas and Jetstar Asia have signed an interline agreement to offer seamless ticketing to Jetstar Asia’s Asian destinations come August 1, 2009. This step is a significant move to strengthen Jetstar Asia’s presence at its Singapore hub, increasing Jetstar Asia’s global profile, offering passengers more options and easy travelling along the Qantas and Jetstar network.

This move comes just over a month after the revamp of the Jetstar Asia ownership structure by where Qantas owns a 49% stake in the carrier while the other 51% belongs to Mr. Dennis Choo Teck Wang, the billionaire Singapore Travel entrepreneur and long time ally of Qantas in the Asia-Pacific region.

This new interline agreement to strengthen Jetstar Asia’s presence in the market stands to bear fruit for Qantas by virtue of tapping into the connecting traffic from Jetstar Asia’s flights bringing with it an increase in feeder traffic to Qantas designated flights to and from Singapore, the vibrant southeast Asian city which draws in millions of travelers each and every year.

Jetstar Asia stands to receive greater visibility on the global booking system due to this ability to interline. They will receive greater visibility with travel agents and allow Qantas and Jetstar Asia customers the option to purchase itineraries with greater ease and flexibility combining multiple destinations with the two carriers across a wide network in the Asia-Pacific region.

Jetstar Asia is one of the first low cost carriers to embark on an interline agreement. Generally low cost airlines have not embarked on interlining like full service airlines have as it adds complexity to operations but with Jetstar Asia being a part of the Qantas group and sister airline to Jetstar Australia interlining is more mainstream ultimately benefitting passengers without the increase in fares, an integral part to Jetstar Asia’s success.

Talking Point:
What do you feel will be Singapore Airlines response to this interlining agreement between Qantas and Jetstar considering its presence at Singapore’s Changi International Airport?

Will this have any effect on Silk Air, the subsidiary of Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Tiger Airways, the low cost carrier 49% backed by SIA?

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Qantas and Etihad Join Forces

Images Courtesy of Aero Channel (Qantas A380 over Sydney Harbor), Photobucket (Etihad Airwyas logo) and Boeing (Etihad Boeing 777 impression).

Qantas and Etihad Airways have announced a partnership by where passengers flying from Abu Dhabi will have seamless connections to Australian based Qantas’ own Jetstar by where the domestic airline will fly passengers to top Australian destinations.

Etihad passengers will no longer need to purchase another ticket or carry their bags between the international and domestic terminals, allowing passengers more options and a much smoother transit to their final holiday destinations. Qantas and Etihad have entered into a relationship where they will share passengers between Australia and Abu Dhabi Etihad’s home base and the capital city of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This new deal gives Qantas a new boost after the Australian flag carrier had to cut 1750 jobs and defer some of their aircraft orders due to the economic down turn.

It gives both Qantas and Jetstar an expanding customer base out of the Middle Eastern super hub and an opportunity to build business in a time where new super airlines are emerging and maybe the only ones with deep enough pockets to re-invest the tens of billions of dollars required on replacing and refurbishing ageing aircraft fleets and continually expanding their operations and interests globally.

Qantas is taking proactive steps to ensure it stays at the pinnacle of the airline world and re align itself for future viability and sustainability.

Which path will Qantas choose for its future viability and growth? only time can foster this answer but this new Qantas and Etihad partnership is a step to ensure the flying kangaroo is flying the world skies well into the future, setting a standard and changing the way we fly.

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Fly Dubai adds new exciting destinations

Fly Dubai, Dubai’s first low cost airline opens two new routes to Damascus, Syria beginning June 8 followed by the inaugural service to Alexandria, Egypt’s Mediterranean gateway starting June 9, 2009.

The two new routes compliment Fly Dubai’s first two air services to Beirut and Amman giving travelers options to four destinations encompassing four countries within the first ten days of service for Dubai’s first low cost airline.

With more destinations to be unveiled during Fly Dubai’s forecasted rapid expansion and in line with its focus of “connecting people” across the Middle East, GCC, India, Africa and Eastern Europe travelers stand to benefit with this new Arabian star lighting up the skies.

Travelers can fly for as low as 250 Dirhams (AED) one way to Amman and Beirut which translates to $68 USD each way while Damascus and Alexandria services will be offered for 300 AED and 350 AED one way translating to $81 USD and $95 USD respectively.

Book your next Fly Dubai flight at www.flydubai.com.



Please Note:
AED: United Arab Emirates Dirhams, USD: United States Dollar, GCC: Gulf Cooperation Council

Disclaimer
The displayed Fly Dubai ticket prices on Airline Insight are Fly Dubai published prices as of 05/17/09. Airline ticket prices can fluctuate and are subject to change, please consult the Fly Dubai website for any price changes and fluctuations. Book your ticket on www.flydubai.com .
Exchange rate translations from AED (United Arab Emirates Dirham) to USD (United States Dollar) are published exchange rate conversions sourced from www.xe.com as of 05/17/09. Exchange rates are subject to price changes and fluctuations, please consult www.xe.com for up to the latest live rates.

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Fuji Dream Airlines: A new airline to hit the skies of Japan

Image Courtesy of Normando Carvalho Jr

A very big konichiwa and a very warm welcome to Fuji Dream Airlines the new Japanese low cost domestic Airline.

Based out of the Mt Fuji Shizuoka Airport located in central Japan, Fuji Dream Airlines (FDA) will initially offer travelers flights to Kagoshima, Kumamoto and Komatsu giving passengers more options, a new refreshing service at the lowest possible price on these intra Japanese routes.

Flying brand new Embraer 170 E-jets Fuji Dream Airlines hopes to hit Japan’s skies by the end of July. FDA will initially offer a daily flight to Kagoshima and Kumamoto as well as two daily flights to Komatsu from its Shizuoka base allowing passengers to travel in style in the new and very efficient 76 seat Embraer E-jets.

Backed by the Suzuyo Group who has more orders on the horizon with the Brazilian manufacturer Embraer for E 170 and E 190 series aircraft is committed to FDA’s long term future and contributing to Shizuoka’s economic development.

Fuji Dream Airlines has a bright future and clear skies ahead in becoming a major player in Japan’s domestic airline market. The lucrative opportunity has presented itself for FDA due to Japan Airlines (JAL) and All Nippon Airways (ANA) reducing the number of their local air services on intra Japanese routes to concentrate on their more profitable high density domestic and international routes.

Can Fuji Dream Airlines capitalize on this void? Will passengers get the lowest possible prices? Will FDA come through for the local economies and foster economic development at the local level?

FDA’s Competition may come from a variety of smaller subsidiaries owned by the two major Japanese airlines in JAL and ANA but Fuji Dream Airlines has the opportunity to be a mover and shaker on the regional level connecting regional destinations with the super efficient Embraer E-jets, the same destinations that were originally considered unviable and unattractive for Japans larger operators.

With a unique product offering at the lowest possible price Fuji Dream Airlines has the opportunity to become a key market player giving travelers something they have yearned for: Options, flexibility, connectivity at the lowest possible prices. Will Fuji Dream Airlines open the gate for a new wave of low cost carriers in Japan’s skies?

Welcome Fuji Dream Airlines! I look forward to flying FDA in the near future!

Check out the website of Fuji Dream Airlines at www.fujidreamairlines.com and stay tuned for future news and up dates on Airline Insight.

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First 737-800 for Fly Dubai

Image Courtesy of Rick Schlamp

The first Fly Dubai Boeing 737-800 series aircraft completed flight tests at Seattle Boeing Field on April 28, 2009 bringing closer the arrival of the first 737-800 to Fly Dubai.

Fly Dubai is Dubai's first low cost carrier who will operate an ultra modern fleet of Boeing 737-800 Next Generation aircraft to destinations within four and a half hours flying time of Dubai, the new global hot spot .

It is due to hit the skies this summer with its inaugural service to Beirut, Lebanon with daily return flights starting the 1st of June followed by a daily service to Amman, Jordan, Fly Dubai's second destination beginning the 2nd of June.

Fly Dubai hopes to achieve rapid expansion where its passengers will be able to fly to cities in the Middle East; India and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). In the Future Fly Dubai envisions a network that will ultimately serve destinations in Iran, North and East Africa as well as Eastern Europe extending its reach even further and providing its customers with more options to fly.

Welcome Fly Dubai, a refreshing new player in the Arabian Skies.

Check out all the best deals and book your next Fly Dubai flight on www.flydubai.com

I look forward to your responses.With a vision of constantly striving to make the Airline Insight blog a betterexperience and more insightful to you please feel free to send us an email at airlineinsight@gmail.com

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Welcome

The Airline Insight Blog is dedicated to the aviation industry while providing a refreshing and insightful experience to you. With Airline Insight you will travel through the aviation industry and its developments, from new start up airlines to breaking news from around the world. Welcome to your Airline Insight blog, a place to explore and enjoy your journey from the Captain’s seat!

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