Scandinavian airline Norwegian is ending flights between Ireland and North America effective September 2019. The airline is blaming the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX for no longer making the routes commercially viable.
The low cost carrier will end all routes from Dublin, Cork, and Shannon to both the United States and Canada. This will take effect from September 15th, 2019.
Since the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX in early 2019, Norwegian has been stuck wet leasing aircraft from various operators to carry out these routes, and with the additional costs, these services are no longer viable to the airline.
Norwegian operated its first transatlantic flight from Ireland in June 2016 between Cork and Boston. The airline expanded rapidly and hit a peak in May 2018 with 11,000 two way seats between North America and Ireland.
The decision to terminate Ireland to North America flights will not affect the other long haul operations of the airline, as those flights are operated by the much larger Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet.
About the Author: The Travel Wolf
The Travel Wolf (a.k.a. John) is a freelance aviation/airline writer, frequent traveler and avid airline enthusiast. I feel most at home when I am 30,000 feet in the air and watching the clouds from above. I love the smell of jet exhaust in the morning!
Hawaiian Airlines has announced its new four times weekly service between Maui Kahului Airport (OGG) and Las Vegas McCarran International Airport (LAS). This service is scheduled to begin on December 15th, 2019.
This new flight will be operated using the brand new, state of the art, Airbus A321neo. The flight will feature a First Class and Economy cabin.
Schedule:
HA32 OGG-LAS D: 850pm A: 430am (M/W/F/Su)
HA31 LAS-OGG D: 630am A: 1100am (M/T/Th/Sa)
Hawaiian Airlines is also announcing two additional services with the new Airbus A321neo aircraft. These new services include nonstop flights between Honolulu (HNL) and Seattle (SEA) starting January 7th, 2020, as well as seasonal winter service between Maui (OGG) and Los Angeles (LAX) from December 14th, 2019 through January 5th, 2020.
About the Author: The Travel Wolf
The Travel Wolf (a.k.a. John) is a freelance aviation/airline writer, frequent traveler and avid airline enthusiast. I feel most at home when I am 30,000 feet in the air and watching the clouds from above. I love the smell of jet exhaust in the morning!
The passengers on board S7 Airlines flight S7-263 from Moscow Domodedovo (DME) to Simferopol are lucky to be alive after their Boeing 737-800 aircraft ran off the end of the runway before finally getting airborne on August 5th, 2019.
Once the flight became airborne it flew successfully to Simferopol where the landing was problem free, however, the flight could have ended in tragedy.
Russian investigators are still researching the cause of this near accident, but initial thoughts are pointing to a miscalculation by the crew for the takeoff weight. Sources online have noted that the 737 was 15 tonnes heavier than initially thought. They believe the crew may have mistakenly calculated the takeoff performance using zero fuel weight instead of the actual fuel weight (which makes up the 15 ton discrepancy).
After the incident in Domodedovo, an inspection of the runway was performed and revealed glass debris as well as 5 damaged runway lights. Once the flight landed in Simferopol, an inspection of the aircraft was carried out and found to have glass embedded in the landing gear as well as 3 damaged tires.
About the Author: The Travel Wolf
The Travel Wolf (a.k.a. John) is a freelance aviation/airline writer, frequent traveler and avid airline enthusiast. I feel most at home when I am 30,000 feet in the air and watching the clouds from above. I love the smell of jet exhaust in the morning!
Jazeera Airways has announced new nonstop service between Kuwait and London Gatwick beginning on October 27th, 2019.
This new service will be operated using the new Airbus A-320neo aircraft on each of the 7 flights per week.
This flight marks the first time that both the United Kingdom and Kuwait will be connected in over 55 years.
Jazeera Airways has much larger plans than just offering passengers a new nonstop route between these two capital cities. The airline offers onward connections to other cities such as Dubai, Bahrain, Doha, and New Delhi.
This new flight marks the first time a low cost Middle East carrier is launching long haul flights on the new Airbus A-320neo.
The new London service on Jazeera Airways will offer a three class configuration: Business Class, Premium Economy Class, and Economy Class.
The 120th anniversary of the Kuwaiti-British Treaty of Friendship is approaching and this flight is a great example of continued friendship between both nations.
About the Author: Clayton Stevens
Clayton is a freelance airline and travel writer. His travels have taken him around the world to 6 continents and 39 countries. In his free time he enjoys bike riding, blogging, and spending time with family and friends. Thank you for taking the time to read our articles today on UltraFlyer.com.
Passengers panicked as smoke filed the cabin of British Airways Flight BA422 this week from London Heathrow to Valencia, Spain. The flight was noted as being normal and uneventful up until 10 minutes before landing. It was at that point when the cabin began to fill with smoke.
The passengers on board the flight said that there was no communication between the crew and the passengers, as well as the oxygen masks not deploying for them to breathe.
Once the aircraft landed in Valencia, the emergency slides were deployed and all passengers and crew disembarked safely.
The incident is being investigated.
About the Author: Clayton Stevens
Clayton is a freelance airline and travel writer. His travels have taken him around the world to 6 continents and 39 countries. In his free time he enjoys bike riding, blogging, and spending time with family and friends. Thank you for taking the time to read our articles today on UltraFlyer.com.
The owner of Mexican airline Interjet is putting the airline up for sale. Miguel Alemán Velasco announced plans to sell his airline to help settle the large debt it has acquired in recent years.
Overall the company is heading in a positive financial direction, however, some recent issues are causing massive issues for the company from an operational standpoint.
Rising oil prices
Airport payments
22 Sukhoi Superjet Aircraft (only 5 of the 22 are operational)
Media reports have circulated about fellow Mexican carriers Volaris and Viva Aerobus preparing offers to buy the airline, however, Interjet has stated it is looking at a merger with an international airline.
The sale or merger of Interjet will not be an easy road due to its finances. Between heavy debt, loses of 500 million Pesos in 2018, and the rise in fuel prices, buying into Interjet is a risky proposition.
The Travel Wolf (a.k.a. John) is a freelance aviation/airline writer, frequent traveler and avid airline enthusiast. I feel most at home when I am 30,000 feet in the air and watching the clouds from above. I love the smell of jet exhaust in the morning!
Two people have died and others are injured after an Angara Airlines Antonov An-24 aircraft crash landed in Nizhneangarsk, Russia.
The tragedy in Eastern Siberia took place after the aircraft attempted an emergency landing and ended up skidding off the runway before colliding with a sewage treatment plant.
The pilot and the mechanic on the aircraft died, and 7 passengers are currently hospitalized. The remaining 43 passengers were released and did not require hospitalization.
Passenger video from inside the cabin of this fatal flight
About the Author: Clayton Stevens
Clayton is a freelance airline and travel writer. His travels have taken him around the world to 6 continents and 39 countries. In his free time he enjoys bike riding, blogging, and spending time with family and friends. Thank you for taking the time to read our articles today on UltraFlyer.com.
United Airlines is canceling it’s Newark (EWR) to Mumabi, India (BOM) route due to a recent ban placed on flights over the country of Iran as well as the Gulf of Oman and Strait of Hormuz.
This ultra long 15 hour nonstop flight between Newark and Mumbai is only possible with the ability to cross over Iranian airspace. Pakistan is situated next to Iran, however, their country also has a no-fly restriction at the moment due to tensions between India and Pakistan. Another alternative route would take the aircraft too close to Syria and Iraq. With no other viable alternative without adding a refueling stop, the decision was made to close the route altogether for the time being.
Airlines try to avoid fuel stops whenever possible due to the delay it could cause the flight, as well as the additional costs incurred by the airline and reduction in potential profits on the flight.
The United Airlines route between Newark and Mumbai is an important link, as Mumbai serves as the financial hub of India. The route typically carries businessmen and wealthier passengers. It’s a safe bet that United Airlines will resume the flight once tensions with Iran cool down, or the situation with Pakistan improves.
Until that time, passengers will need to connect through Europe to reach their Indian destination.
About the Author: The Travel Wolf
The Travel Wolf (a.k.a. John) is a freelance aviation/airline writer, frequent traveler and avid airline enthusiast. I feel most at home when I am 30,000 feet in the air and watching the clouds from above. I love the smell of jet exhaust in the morning!
The long awaited ruling is in and the merger between Canadian airlines First Air and Canadian North is now officially approved per the Canadian government website (link here).
It appears from the article that the new airline will maintain the Canadian North name, even though it appears First Air is the entity taking over.
Even though the merger is approved, the Canadian government said that the merger is subject to a number of terms and conditions, including no price increases to passengers and cargo, no reductions in schedules to destinations, and that the airline is subject to several transparency and accountability measures financially.
About the Author: Clayton Stevens
Clayton is a freelance airline and travel writer. His travels have taken him around the world to 6 continents and 39 countries. In his free time he enjoys bike riding, blogging, and spending time with family and friends. Thank you for taking the time to read our articles today on UltraFlyer.com.
AZAL Azerbaijan Airlines operates flights twice per week from New York’s JFK airport nonstop to Baku Airport in Azerbaijan. The flights are operated on the Boeing 787 aircraft in a two class configuration. The last scheduled flight from JFK will depart on September 30th with service ceasing after that.
No official statement has been given by AZAL, but this information was confirmed by airline insiders as official. This news is unfortunate, as I had the opportunity to fly on AZAL from New York JFK to Baku to Moscow about 2 years ago, and the flight was phenomenal! The seating was comfortable, the entertainment was good, and the quantity and quality of the food was impressive, not to mention the cheap ticket price!
AZAL will surely be missed by some, as I know it was a preferred choice of mine for flights to and around Central Asia.
This post will be updated more once additional details are known.
About the Author: The Travel Wolf
The Travel Wolf (a.k.a. John) is a freelance aviation/airline writer, frequent traveler and avid airline enthusiast. I feel most at home when I am 30,000 feet in the air and watching the clouds from above. I love the smell of jet exhaust in the morning!
