This one snuck up on me. Ethiopian Airlines will take delivery of its first 787 on Tuesday 14th August (next Tuesday). A crew will fly the new plane from Washington, D.C. to Addis Ababa on Thursday, August 16, 2012. The plane’s maiden flight the following weekend dubbed “The Dream Tour,” will be on August 18, 2012, with a sightseeing flight to Mount Kilimanjaro for around 270 invited guests, consisting of Ministers, Ambassadors, other VIPs, Ethiopian ShebaMiles [Frequent Flyer] Gold Members and media. Jealous! The first Ethiopian Dreamliner conducted its first test flight on Monday, July 9,…
Airline News (Friday)
Category Archives for Airline News (Friday).
Hawaiian Down under
Hawaii and Australian have been linked by air for 61 years. Qantas began flying from Australia to Hawaii in 1941 (during World War Two). Jet service began in 1959 and 747s started plying the route in the late 1970s. Air New Zealand commenced its service to the islands in 1968. Pan Am, Continental, American and United have all plied the route in the past. Today Non stop service between “Down Under” and Hawaii currently consists of: Qantas QF3: Sydney- Honolulu -three times a week (Wed, Fri, Sun)- Boeing 767-300 Jetstar JQ3: Sydney – Honolulu -daily -Airbus 330-200 Hawaiian Airlines…
ANA Passengers love 787
ANA has surveyed 780 of of its passengers who have flown the 787 between Tokyo, Japan and Frankfurt, Germany. A massive 98 percent said they wanted another chance to fly the Dreamliner, no matter which airline it belonged to. One quarter stated they would go out of their way to board the new aircraft again. Now I am really jealous! Other key findings: Cabin lighting exceeded expectations for 90 per cent of passengers 90 per cent said air quality and cabin pressure met or exceeded their expectations 80 per cent said the amount of personal space met…
Less Luxury at Lux air?
I have been to Luxembourg once. This tiny Grand Duchy has a population of half a million in an area of just under 1000 square miles (2 586sq km) in an area bounded by Belgium, Germany and France. It is the 170th smallest country in the world and the second wealthiest. The Grand Duchy has a railway company: Chemins de Fer Luxembourgeois with six lines. The last visit I had to Luxembourg was by train so I have not had the pleasure of flying the Duchy’s airline: Luxair. The carrier is rated a 3 star by Skytrax -but has very high customer reviews.…
Awards confirm Qantas Service Plunge
Every time, I open my mouth and criticise Qantas, I get push back from Qantas staff and from some Qantas loyalists. Yet, the cadre of passengers I talk to are fed up with an airline that keeps on Jetstar-izing (cheapening) its service. And it seems we have some vindication. In 2005 and 2006, Qantas was rated the second best airline in the world by the World Airline Awards. In 2008, it took third place. By 2010, Qantas had fallen to eighth place. This year, Qantas was given 15th place. This is the first time, it…
“Damn it, we’re going to crash” AF447
I have been long fascinated by and worried by the pitching into the ocean of Air France flight 447 bound from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to Paris, France in June, 2009. While it was in the middle of a tropical storm, it fell from the sky. This state of the art four year old A330 was piloted by a very experienced flight crew and belonged to an airline that is meticulous about maintenance. It should not have come down. For the families of those on board, answers were needed to explain the tragic loss of 228 lives (216 passengers and 12 crew). 02:13:40…
Air Zim still won’t die. It is like a Monty Python sketch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGFXGwHsD_A The news this week from Zimbabwe is the height of ridiculousness. Air Zimbabwe reminds me of the character in the Monty Python film: CART DRIVER: Bring out your dead! LARGE MAN: Here’s one! CART DRIVER: Ninepence. BODY: I’m not dead! CART DRIVER: What? LARGE MAN: Nothing… There’s your ninepence. BODY: I’m not dead! CART DRIVER: ‘Ere. He says he’s not dead. LARGE MAN Yes he is. BODY: I’m not! CART DRIVER: He isn’t. LARGE MAN: He will be soon. He’s very ill. BODY: I’m getting better! Air Zimbabwe this week suspended operations on July 2nd, 2012 following the grounding of its single…
And the new Qantas Dance Partner is…
There has been a significant amount of chatter about possible Qantas interest in a middle east carrier. Etihad who are partners with Virgin Australia were not a contendor. Emirates had been a possible favourite but seemed to announce they only wanted a quick codeshare. Yesterday, Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar al-Baker suggested that they were very interested in a Qantas tie up and would meet with Qantas management in Sydney soon. Qatar was awarded top airline status in 2011. They have been flying into Melbourne from Doha for two years and this week will launch Doha to Perth. To have Qatar feeding passengers into…
Jet Blue, Emirates Freq Flyer Reciprocity
The bigger news is that Emirates and JetBlue (having announced a code sharing agreement in April, 2012) have now said that as of yesterday (July 1, 2012), their Frequent-flier programs are now reciprocal. Fliers can earn credits in either of the carrier’s loyalty programs (but not both on the same flight!).Jet Blue customers can earn TrueBlue points on any of Emirates’ worldwide flights based on the number of miles on that flight and fare class: Emirates Economy Saver (B H K L M Q T U V X ) will earn 0.5 True Blue Points for every…
Qantas Refitted 747s
A video of Qantas refitted 747-400 with A380 features including new seats, cabin mood lighting and espresso machines. The 747-400 has 58 Business Class seats, 36 Premium Economy, 270 Economy seats and no First Class. Seat layout plan is here. Five have been refitted now. Three more 747s will be refitted by October 2012. It is great that the 747 is going to look great but it is of concern that Qantas are continuing to fly an aeroplane that should be retired. Not only will it cost Qantas more in excessive fuel consumption, but older planes cost more to maintain. I am curious that they are…
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