Behind the Scenes at London City Airport – Airlines and Operators

Recently I had the pleasure of shadowing staff at London City Airport to see what goes on behind the scenes this at busy Docklands airport in the middle of the city. In the first post, I shadowed the opening of the airport with the Controllers in the Ops Room. In the second I visited the Ramp Control Team as they monitored and planned each aircraft operation. In this final post,...

Behind the Scenes at London City Airport – Ramp Operations

Recently I had the pleasure of shadowing staff at London City Airport to see what goes on behind the scenes this at busy Docklands airport in the middle of the city. In the first post, I shadowed the opening of the airport with the Controllers in the Ops Room. Now, in this second post we look at what goes on once the airport is open. Ramp Control Situated in the Jet Centre, which is a VIP...

GOL orders 60 737MAX aircraft

In South America’s biggest single aircraft order ever (at list prices), GOL Linhas Aereas has announced its intention to purchase 60 Boeing 737MAX. At list prices, Boeing says the order is worth $6bn, though airlines routinely negotiate discounts for larger orders. GOL’s CEO, Paulo Kakinoff, stated: ”The decision to order Boeing 737 MAX is in line with our commitment to maintaining...

Behind the Scenes at London City Airport – Opening the Airport

Recently I had the pleasure of shadowing staff at London City Airport to see what goes on behind the scenes this at busy Docklands airport in the middle of the city. In this first post, we look at what goes on immediately prior to opening the airport to aircraft each morning. Airport Hours London City Airport is principally a business airport – currently with a 60% dominance over leisure...

Silver Airways expansion continues

The new darling regional carrier of the southern USA, Silver Airways, has announced further expansion of its route network with new services from Alabama and Mississippi. These include flights from Greenville, Tupelo, Hattiesburg-Laurel and Meridian, Mississippi, as well as Muscle Shoals, Alabama, to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL). Since its...

Round the OneWorld Challenge Completed!

You may remember I wrote about a challenge that was being undertaken by British Airways’ Richard Tams, and Emerald top tier frequent flier Andrew Solum which would see them circumnavigate the globe and travel on every oneworld member airline. Well, the guys have done it! Not only did they make every flight and airline, but they also more than reached their target of raising £20,000 for...

Cubana planning Antonov 158 fleet

Cubana is planning to order a fleet of six Antonov AN-158 aircraft. These will be used on flights from its Havana base to destinations around the Caribbean and into Central America. The AN-148 is a stretched version of the AN-148. It can seat 99 passengers and has a range of 1,600 miles (2,500km). It is unclear whether this order is in addition to the three Antonov AN-148s already on order,...

LOT Polish 787 flights in Europe

LOT Polish Airlines has announced a series of intra-European flights on their new Boeing 787 aircraft to aid in crew familiarity. The first aircraft is due for delivery in November, making LOT the first European airline to take on the Dreamliner. The European flights are bookable now, and include: Warsaw – Brussels, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 9th, 10th January 2013 Warsaw – Budapest, 11th-14th January...

Air Canada to launch a low cost carrier

Following the recent announcement that Lufthansa are to launch a new low cost carrier to handle short haul flying, Air Canada have also now announced their intentions to start a new low cost subsidiary to help increase their share on new and existing markets. Full details, including the name, will be announced in the next few weeks. However, it has been announced already that this new LCC...

Will Lufthansa Start a Low Cost Carrier?

Lufthansa have indicated that they’re looking to start a low-cost airline to handle a portion of their European flying. The German national carrier has already stated that these European operations are losing money in the order of hundreds of millions per year, which clearly needs to be changed. A new project, provisionally titled Direct4You has been proposed as a means of returning these...

British Airways 787 and A380 delivery dates

The CEO of British Airways, Keith Williams, has made an announcement regarding the expected delivery dates of the carrier’s Airbus A380 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. The first of the eight 787s on order will be delivered in May 2013. The first of the 12 A380s on order will be delivered in July 2013. This will be a significant year for the carrier as it takes on these new aircraft....