Aviation 10

IN BRIEF

Scandinavian carrier PRIMERA AIR has

expanded its transatlantic network by

introducing direct  ights between London/

Stansted and Washington DC/Dulles. The

new link, which launched on August 23, is

operated by an Airbus A321neo and is in

addition to the carrier’s existing long-haul

routes to New York, Boston and Toronto.

The airline has also unveiled plans to

introduce a similar network from Brussels

next summer, linking the Belgian capital

to Boston, Newark and Dulles. It has,

however, con rmed its intention to axe its

Birmingham, UK, base from October 29

“due to capacity reduction”.

An ambitious $400m cabin upgrade

programme has been announced by the

LATAM AIRLINES Group. Approximately

200 aircraft, representing two-thirds of its

total inventory, will be revamped with both

long-haul and regional aircraft included as

part of the project. LATAM Airlines Perú

will receive the  rst renovated jets before

the end of 2018, with those intended for its

Brazilian counterpart following in early 2019.

Passengers  ying with the group’s Chilean

division are set to see the new cabins

towards the end of next year, according to

the  rm.

Low-cost carrier easyJet has announced it

will launch  ights to four new destinations

as part of its winter 2018  ying programme.

The Jordanian city of Aqaba, Polish capital

Warsaw and Rovaneimi (Lapland) in Finland

will all be served from London/Gatwick,

while it will also add connections from Paris

to Pau Pyrenees.

http://www.aviation-news.co.uk 9

A new all-cargo service launched by Hawaiian
Airlines has already  own two special  ights
to support disaster relief projects on the
islands. Recent powerful storms and the
continuing Kı-lauea volcano lava  ow have
caused severe damage to many homes and
businesses, with repair work ongoing.
The carrier used one of its two new ATR
72 all-cargo aircraft for the task, travelling
from Honolulu/Daniel K Inouye International
Airport to Lı-hu‘e Airport and Hilo International
Airport. Its turboprops carried essential
items, including construction and household
supplies to support relief projects.

“We are honoured to utilise our new cargo

operation to help support our neighbours

in need,” said Peter Ingram, president and

CEO of Hawaiian Airlines. The carrier’s

freight service is operated by Empire Airlines,

which also  ies the four ‘Ohana by Hawaiian

48-passenger ATR 42s. Hawaiian’s dedicated

cargo service is expected to grow in the

coming months. This will involve the arrival of

two jets that are due in 2019, complementing

the airline’s existing bulk freight and

containerised shipping offering on board its

mainline  eet of Airbus A330, A321neo and

Boeing 767 aircraft.

One of the ‘Ohana by Hawaiian’ ATR 72s. Hawaiian

New Cargo Service

Launched by Hawaiian

Sichuan Airlines, the largest all-Airbus  eet
carrier in China, has taken delivery of its  rst
A350-900 leased from AerCap on August
8, becoming the  rst Chinese mainland
operator to take delivery of the new jetliner.

Powered by Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines,

Sichuan Airlines’ A350-900 aircraft features

a two-class cabin layout of 331 seats: 28

in business and 303 in economy. The

new jetliner was delivered from Toulouse

will initially  y on domestic routes before

undertaking international services.

By the end of July 2018, Airbus had

recorded a total of 890  rm orders for the

A350 XWB from 46 customers worldwide.

Sichuan Airlines’  rst A350-900, delivered on August 8. Airbus

First A350 Delivery to China

Qantas Announces Major Lounge Investment Programme

Qantas will be extending its global

lounge improvement programme. The

multi-million dollar scheme will see the

national carrier upgrade six lounges in

Auckland, Brisbane, Hobart, Sydney,

Tamworth and Tokyo. Announcing the

investment on August 23 as part of its

record  nancial results, Qantas Group

CEO Alan Joyce said the improvements

are in addition to lounge upgrades that

are currently under way in Melbourne

and Sydney.

CIVIL ORDERS

Purchaser Aircraft Number Order Placed Notes

CIB Leasing Q400 5 August 28 Order conversion from CRJ Series aircraft

Qantas 737 MAX 10 10 August 29 Order conversion from MAX 8