Austrian Airlines announced the launch of a year-round flight service to and from Montreal/Vienna beginning April 29th, 2019.
The long-haul flight will be operated by the airline’s Boeing 767 aircraft.
Which 3 Italian cities rank as top unique experiences?
Italy is the homeland of the cities most appreciated by travelers according to reviews of users of an online platform. Coming in among the top 5 are Rome, Florence, and Milan. Amsterdam and Barcelona round out the top 5.
The Italian peninsula thus rose to the podium, winning 3 of the 5 positions in the ranking, according to the research conducted by Musement which analyzed 133 destinations distributed all over the world, based on beautiful landscapes, excellent culinary offers, and outstanding cultural attractions.
Analyzing the results of the research, the growth of interest in the national territory comes at the expense of medium- and long-range destinations emerges among the key factors, with long-haul destinations attracting less interest.
A surprising aspect is that once again Italy and the many experiences that the multiplatform provides users to get closer to the cultural traditions and landscape variety of Italy is emphasized.
Rome continues to be the most popular destination with a typically Mediterranean climate, cultural attractions, and unique tourist beauties such as the Colosseum, the Vatican Museums, and the Sistine Chapel. The city of Milan remains on the fourth step of the podium with international events such as My Photos Fair and the visit to the Cenacle in the rankings.
The second place is also Italian – Florence between the Boboli Gardens, the Uffizi, and gastronomic tours.
Among the top 5 destinations, some European cities also prevail, above all Barcelona, which wins third place with Park Guell and the Barcelona Aquarium.
The fifth position is Dutch. In fact, Amsterdam closes the standings thanks to the Van Gogh Museum, the cruise on the canals, and the Heineken Experience.
Uganda Airlines firms up orders for two Airbus A330neo aircraft
Uganda Airlines, the national carrier of Uganda, has firmed up its order for two A330-800 airliners, the latest version of the most popular A330 widebody airliner.
Fitted with the new Airspace by Airbus cabin, the A330neo will bring a range of benefits to Uganda Airlines and its customers, offering unrivalled efficiencies combined with the most modern cabin.
Uganda Airlines plans to use the A330-800 to build its medium and long-haul network with the aircraft offering cutting-edge technology along with more efficient operations
Launched in July 2014, the A330neo Family is the new generation A330, comprising two versions: the A330-800 and A330-900 sharing 99 percent commonality. It builds on the proven economics, versatility and reliability of the A330 Family while reducing fuel consumption by about 25 percent per seat versus previous generation competitors and increasing range by up to 1,500 nm compared to the majority of A330s in operation. The A330neo is powered by Rolls-Royce’s latest-generation Trent 7000 engines and features a new wing with increased span and new A350 XWB-inspired Sharklets. The cabin provides the comfort of the new Airspace amenities including state-of-the-art passenger inflight entertainment and Wifi connectivity systems, amongst others.
Airbus received 58 orders for jets in March
Airbus received orders for 58 jetliners in March – led by the A350 XWB widebody family in transactions that included a new customer; while delivering 74 aircraft to 40 customers from across its A220, A320, A330, A350 XWB and A380 product lines.
Pacing the month’s new business was Lufthansa Group’s order for 20 additional A350-900s, bringing its total A350 XWB orders to 45. Lufthansa Group is the biggest operator of Airbus aircraft.
Also in March, STARLUX Airlines of Taiwan signed a firm order for 17 A350 XWBs, comprising 12 A350-1000s and five shorter-fuselage A350-900 versions – becoming a new Airbus customer. The airline plans to deploy the aircraft on its premier long-haul services from Taipei to Europe and North America, as well as to selected destinations within the Asia-Pacific region.
Completing the month’s widebody new business was an order for one A350-900 from a private customer.
The single-aisle transaction in March involved 20 A320neo jetliners for an undisclosed customer.
Deliveries in March were composed of 57 A320 Family aircraft (13 in the CEO configuration and 44 NEO versions), eight A350-900s/A350-1000s, five A220s, three A330s (all in the NEO version) and one A380.
Among the month’s notable deliveries was the first A350-900 delivered to Evelop Airlines. With this aircraft – leased from Air Lease Corporation – the Spanish carrier of Barceló Group’s Ávoris travel division becomes the initial holiday/leisure carrier to operate an A350 XWB.
Other milestones in March included the first A380 delivery to Japan’s All Nippon Airways (ANA), which is the 15th operator of the world’s largest passenger aircraft. Additionally, Airbus delivered the no. 1 A330neo for an African airline, with Air Senegal receiving its first A330-900.
In the VIP sector, Airbus provided the first of three ACJ320neo aircraft for Comlux, which will now begin its cabin outfitting by the Comlux Completion centre in the United States. Comlux is the largest customer for Airbus Corporate Jets’ ACJ320neo Family.
Taking the latest orders and cancellations into account, Airbus’ backlog of jetliners remaining to be delivered as of 31 March stood at 7,357 aircraft.
Reunion Island breaks tourist arrivals record
Despite a difficult end to the year, 2018 was profitable and even historic for Reunion tourism as more than 574,000 outside visitors were welcomed . This is 4.1% more than in fiscal 2017, which had already had an unprecedented inflow of visitors.
In 2018, 35 ships and 39,433 cruise passengers landed on the island, which was satisfactory, although slightly lower as several companies were forced to review their routes in November and December.
Nevertheless, with revenues still increasing and amounting to more than 432 million euros, also a new record for the destination, the tourism sector confirms its preponderant place in the economy of Reunion.
Reunion’s neighbors in the Indian Ocean remain fond of the destination. Arrivals from the Indian Ocean area remains above 60,000 tourists in 2018, after a spectacular increase of 46% recorded in 2017. Within this Indian Ocean zone, Mauritius remains the main source market since it represents more than 30,000 tourists, or 5.8% of total arrivals to Reunion.
The communication and promotion actions carried out on the main European markets, other than France, have also been fruitful, as this visitor source market now accounts for 7.4% of total arrivals, compared to 6% in 2017. In total, 39,664 visitors came from the rest of Europe in 2018 which is 4.2% more than last year!
Unsurprisingly, the leisure clientele represents an overwhelming majority of arriving visitors with 90.8% of the overall volume of arrivals on the island, supplemented by 8.5% of business tourism.
The average length of stay of these foreign tourists is 17 days and remains unchanged compared to 2017, a figure particularly important for a long-haul destination such as Reunion.
Václav Havel Airport Prague: Here comes summer
Spring may have just officially sprung on March 20, but in Prague, summer is starting in just 2 days, and tourists are ready to travel.
On Sunday, March 31, 2019, the summer schedule comes into effect at Václav Havel Airport Prague. For the duration of the season, a total of 69 airlines will be operating regular scheduled direct flights from Prague, heading to 162 destinations in 54 countries. There will also be direct flights to 16 long-haul destinations, which is the largest number in the airport’s modern history.
“As part of the summer timetable, a total of four new airlines will be launching services from Václav Havel Airport Prague, two of them on long-haul routes. This proves our long-term success in motivating an ever-increasing number of airlines to open new routes from Prague, which ultimately means a wider choice of flights for our passengers,” says Vaclav Rehor, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Prague Airport. In comparison with the previous summer season, the total number of airlines running direct flights from Prague this summer will increase by two. Four new airlines, Air Arabia, SCAT Airlines, SunExpress, and United Airlines, will be operating their flights from Prague for the first time.
“The forthcoming summer timetable also confirms our long-term success in implementing a strategy to develop long-haul routes. During the summer, direct flights will be available from Václav Havel Airport Prague to a total of 16 long-haul destinations, which is the most in the airport’s modern history. In addition to new destinations such as Astana in Kazakhstan or Newark in New York, USA. Passengers flying during the summer season will also have the opportunity to fly to New York’s JFK Airport, Philadelphia, Toronto, and Montreal just like last year,” adds Vaclav Rehor.
In total, the summer timetable will see flights to 14 new destinations, alongside regular flights to Newark Airport in New York, which United Airlines will run from Prague daily, and flights to Astana, departing twice a week with SCAT Airlines. There will also be flights heading to Casablanca (twice a week with Air Arabia), Florence (offered 4 times a week by Vueling) and Billund (3 flights a week operated by Ryanair). Brand-new routes include two holiday destinations – Pescara in Italy and Zadar in Croatia. Thanks to these new summer routes operated by Ryanair, passengers can take advantage of faster and more comfortable way to destinations which until recently were mostly only accessible by road.
Some direct flights that were already available during the winter flight season will continue also during the summer season. These include, for example, flights to Amman, Marrakesh, Sharjah, Paris Beauvais and Moscow/Zhukovsky.
The most frequent flights this summer season will be those departing to Italy (17 destinations), Great Britain (16 destinations), Spain, and Greece (both with 12 destinations).
Among the most popular destinations with the highest number of flights from Václav Havel Airport Prague will be London (up to 93 flights a week), Moscow (up to 63 flights a week), Paris (up to 58 flights a week), Amsterdam (up to 54 flights a week), and Warsaw (up to 52 flights a week).
Long-haul routes: 16 direct flights offered by 19 airlines:
Astana SCAT Airlines
Chengdu Sichuan Airlines
Doha Qatar Airways
Dubai Emirates, flydubai, Smartwings
Philadelphia American Airlines
Montreal Air Transat
New York Delta Air Lines
New York (Newark) United Airlines
Novosibirsk S7 Airlines
Beijing Hainan Airlines
Riyadh Czech Airlines
Seoul Czech Airlines, Korean Air
Xi’an China Eastern Airlines
Shanghai China Eastern Airlines
Sharjah Air Arabia
Toronto Air Canada Rouge
Overview of new offers:
14 new destinations with regular transit (compared to the same period in 2018):
Amman Ryanair
Astana SCAT Airlines
Billund Ryanair
Bournemouth Ryanair
Casablanca Air Arabia Maroc
Florence Vueling
Marrakesh Ryanair
Moscow (Zhukovsky) Ural Airlines
New York (Newark) United Airlines
Paris (Beauvais) Ryanair
Pescara Ryanair
Stockholm (Skavsta) Ryanair
Sharjah Air Arabia
Zadar Ryanair
4 new airlines: Air Arabia, SCAT Airlines, SunExpress, United Airlines
Follow us on Prague Airport’s Twitter @PragueAirport.
Evelop Airlines adds another Airbus to its fleet
Evelop Airlines operates an all Airbus fleet of one A320-200, one A330-200 and three A330-300, and now the first of two A350 XWBs.
Evelop Airlines, the Spanish carrier of Barceló Group’s Ávoris travel division, has taken delivery of a A350 XWB. The second aircraft will be delivered in 2020.
The A350-900, on lease from Air Lease Corporation, will be based at Madrid Barajas – Adolfo Suárez airport and deployed on long-haul routes to Caribbean destinations.
The wide-body aircraft accommodates 432 passengers.
At the end of February 2019, the A350 XWB Family had received 852 firm orders from 48 customers worldwide.
Summer Schedule 2019: Frankfurt Airport puts spring in its step
New flight schedule to take effect on March 31 – Total flights expanding moderately
Frankfurt Airport (FRA) continues to strengthen its status as Germany’s leading international aviation hub. Starting on March 31, travelers will be able to fly from Frankfurt to a total of 306 destinations in 98 countries.
In this year’s summer season, the number of flights will increase moderately (by more than one percent) compared to last year. Seat capacity will also grow by between one and two percent.
European, domestic German and especially intercontinental flight offerings will all expand. A rise of between 1.5 and two percent of aircraft movements is expected in the intercontinental category, with seat capacity increasing by 1.5 to 2.5 percent.
New long-haul destinations
United Airlines will introduce daily services to Denver (DEN) in early May. Lufthansa will also offer a once-daily flight to DEN, while adding Austin (AUS), Texas as a new destination in North America. Cathay Pacific is increasing the frequency on its Frankfurt-Hong Kong (HKG) route, thus bringing the total to three services a week. Qatar Airways will offer more seats on one of its two daily flights to Doha (DOH), which will now be operated by an Airbus A380.
The intercontinental connections available from Frankfurt are marked by an impressive diversity, serving a total of 137 destinations. Lufthansa is continuing the new services introduced last winter to Cancún (CUN) in Mexico and Agadir (AGA) in Morocco. Condor will retain its flights to Kuala Lumpur (KUL) in Malaysia while stepping up the frequency to Phoenix (PHX) in the U.S., Calgary (YYC) in Canada, and Mombasa (MBA) in Kenya. Air India will also maintain its Frankfurt-Mumbai (BOM) route.
More connections to Turkey from FRA
Holidaymakers who wish to spend their vacation in Turkey have quite a few options to choose from: 11 airlines will now fly from FRA to a total of 15 destinations in that country, 15 percent more than before. They include a new service to Bodrum (BJV) by Lufthansa, which is also adding two other European holiday destinations: Heraklion (HER) in Greece and Tivat (TIV) in Montenegro.
Lufthansa will also continue flying to the new destinations it inaugurated last winter. Among them are Thessaloniki (SKG) in Greece, Trieste (TRS) in Italy, and Tromsø (TOS) in Norway. The airline is also adding more frequencies to Tirana (TIA) in Albania and Sofia (SOF) in Bulgaria, as well as Palma de Majorca (PMI) and Pamplona (PNA) in Spain. German leisure carrier TUIfly is strengthening its services from Frankfurt to Lamezia Terme (SUF) in Italy, Larnaca (LCA) in Cyprus, and Djerba-Zarzis (DJE) in Tunisia. In late March, Ryanair will add more services to Dublin (DUB), the Irish capital, bringing the total to 12 a week. Altogether, the total number of European destinations served from FRA will climb to 154, and within Germany to 15.
The impact on Frankfurt Airport of recent airline insolvencies is negligible. Flybmi will no longer be serving Bristol (BRS) in the United Kingdom and Jönköping (JKG) and Karlstad (KSD) in Sweden but because the aircraft used on those routes had only limited passenger seating their cancellation is only minimally affecting FRA’s total capacity. Nor are the failures of two other airlines, Germania and Small Planet Germany, having more than a very slight effect on total traffic.
Good preparation for a positive travel experience
The moderate growth in flight movements is fully in line with the expectations of Fraport, the operator of Frankfurt Airport. To handle the increase, Fraport has been hiring more staff and allotting more space for additional security checks during the summer season. Nevertheless, passengers may still experience processing delays on peak days. They are therefore advised to check in online before leaving home, arrive at the airport at least two and a half hours before departure, and then head immediately for the security checkpoint. Travelers intending to drive to the airport and leave their vehicles there can book parking spaces online in advance. Passengers are also advised to observe the airlines’ rules on cabin luggage. Fraport recommends taking as few carry-on items as possible. Information and pointers on travel and carry-on luggage can be found at www.frankfurt-airport.com.
Alitalia airline: The ongoing medley
The journey of Gianfranco Battisti, CEO of Ferrovie Dello Stato Italiane (FS), to the United States would have borne its first fruits in the definition of the new company for Alitalia, but so far nothing is definite.
Delta Airlines, in fact, should officially join the new Alitalia, but with an initial share of only 10%. The commitment signed with the managing director of FS doubles over the next four years to satisfy the industrial plan still being defined.
The managing director of Delta, Ed Bastian, would, therefore, have confirmed the interest for a percentage of shares similar to those already held in Air France-KLM, even if now FS will have to increase its participation up to 40%.
The US carrier, in fact, will guarantee its gradual investment to the point of controlling 20% as long as the new company makes profits, a scheme that follows the operation that Delta has already successfully experienced with Aeroméxico (from 19 to 49% in the past few years.)
According to the Italian press, the Battisti-Bastian confrontation would have focused on the shares of the new team, its shareholders, and governance, while the definition of the industrial aspects of the plan will need more time. As a result, a further postponement of the presentation of the Alitalia business plan is expected to be scheduled for next March 31.
easyJet’s second thought
In a peremptory tone through a press release, easyJet definitively closes the door on a possible entry into Alitalia. “Following the conversations with FS and Delta Air Lines for the creation of a consortium that evaluated the options for future Alitalia operations, easyJet decided to withdraw. However, the airline told the Adnkronos agency of its intentions to confirm its commitment to Italy and to continue to invest in the three airports of Milan, Naples, and Venice as done in recent years, adding routes and capabilities.”
The NewCo scheme
In the new Alitalia, therefore, 50% would be controlled by FS and Delta and another 15% would be due to MEF (the Italian Ministry of Economy and Finances) through the conversion of a bridge loan. It remains to be clarified how the remaining 35% would be divided. According to the newspaper Il Messaggero, in fact, Battisti would have obtained from the Treasury the availability of Fincantieri to cover 10-15%, while an additional 20% would remain to be covered (there are talks again of CDP – Italian National Promotional Institution) or Poste ( the state mail company) through some subsidiary companies. The new Alitalia could start with a capital requirement of around 1 billion euros.
While waiting for its future to be defined, Alitalia states to have recorded a 2.7% increase in passenger numbers on intercontinental routes compared to the same month of the previous year. And passenger revenue traffic is up by 1.2% on long-haul flights compared to the same period in 2018.
February cargo revenue, as stated by Alitalia, also increased by 4.9%. The results obtained on intercontinental routes have contributed to overall revenues, allowing Alitalia to record for the fifteenth consecutive month, growth in total passenger traffic turnover.