Titan Airways’ Boeing 737-400 G-POWC (c/n
25402) is to visit more than 50 countries as
part of the FIFA and Coca-Cola World Cup
Tour before this year’s tournament in Russia.
It emerged from Airbourne Colours at
Bournemouth on January 11 before positioning
under the cover of darkness to Stansted where
it received a customised interior.Titan Airways has also introduced a former
British Airways 737-400, now registered
G-POWS (c/n 25853, ex G-DOCT) into service
after it underwent a comprehensive cabin
refresh ahead of delivery. The jet will initially
be employed on charter and airline sub-
charter operations until October, when it will be
converted into a freighter.IN BRIEF
A new service to Kansas City will be added
by ICELANDAIR as part of its summer ying
programme. The thrice-weekly connections
from its Reykjavík/Ke avík base, launch
on May 25 and increase the carrier’s North
American network to 23 destinations.
Freight specialist CARGOJET has announced
a series of new international routes. The
Canadian rm will connect Hamilton, Ontario,
with Bogota (Colombia) and Lima (Peru) via
Atlanta, Georgia, on Fridays and Sundays.
It will also serve Cologne, Germany, from
Hamilton on Saturdays. All ights will be
own using the carrier’s Boeing 767-300F eet.
A daily non-stop service from Nairobi to New
York/JFK will mark KENYA AIRWAYS’ North
American debut. Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners
will be used for the route which is due to start
on October 28. The aim is to attract corporate
and high-end tourism traffic to Kenya and
Africa.
Boeing 777-300ERs were due to be
reintroduced by THAI AIRWAYS on its non-
stop overnight daily services from London
to Bangkok from February 1, due to high
customer demand. The Boeing type will
be replacing an Airbus A350. The larger
aircraft with 42 Royal Silk (business class)
passengers and 306 economy seats – ten
and 17 more than the A350 respectively – will
operate alongside the A380 that Thai uses for
its daytime service between the two cities.Niki Back in Charge at Niki
Control of Austrian low-cost carrier Niki is set
to be regained by F1 motor racing champion
and aviation entrepreneur Niki Lauda. The
Vienna-based airline, which Lauda created
in 2003 and sold in 2011, led for insolvency
in December after parent Air Berlin ceasedoperations, having run into nancial
difficulties. Lauda said he planned to retain
almost all of Niki’s 1,000 employees and
had secured 15 aircraft ahead of a planned
relaunch this March. In late December, Niki’s
administrators tentatively agreed to sell thecarrier to International Airlines Group (IAG)
but the deal fell through on January 8 after an
administrative court in Berlin halted the sale
and ruled that Niki’s insolvency should be
handled in Austria. A second offer by IAG saw
it lose out to Laudamotion.CIVIL NEWS
14 Aviation News incorporating Jets March 2018Discovery Aviation, based in Melbourne,
Florida, has launched production of the
Discovery XL-2 two-seat light aircraft. It
is an updated version of the all-carbon
composite Liberty XL-2, which was designed
by Briton Ivan Shaw and derived from his
Europa kit aircraft.
The Liberty ceased production in 2011
and Discovery, which acquired all rights in
2014, will deliver its rst three aircraft to an
existing XL-2 operator in South Korea.
The new XL-2, which is IFR-equipped
and has a Garmin G500 ight deck and an
optional STEC-30 autopilot, is aimed at ight
training schools and private pilots. Poweredby a FADEC-controlled Continental IOF-
engine, it has a range of 500 miles (800km)and a 125kts (230km/h) cruising speed.
Rod SimpsonDiscovery Aviation has launched production of the XL-2. Rod SimpsonDiscovery XL-2 in Production
A striking livery to promote football’s World Cup around the globe. Mark Empson – Bourneavia
PhotographyFIFA World Cup on Tour
with Titan
Virgin Adds to Fleet
Four Airbus A330-200s are being brought
into the Virgin Atlantic eet. The carrier
currently operates ten of the longer A330-
300s but is adding the 287-seat jets on
a 12-month lease to provide cover for its
Boeing 787 Dreamliners, several of whichwere grounded late last year following
issues with their Rolls-Royce Trent 1000
powerplants.
The aircraft will initially y from
Manchester to New York, Boston, San
Francisco and Barbados.Emirates for Stansted
Emirates is to establish a new daily
route from Dubai to London Stansted in
June, becoming the rst Middle Eastern
airline to operate out of this British airport.The rst departure from Stansted will
be on June 8 and the route own by the
carrier’s three-class Boeing 777-300ER.
Outbound, ight EK33 will depart Dubaiat 09:30hrs, and will arrive at 14:10hrs.
On its return, ight EK34 will depart
Stansted at 21:10hrs and arrive in Dubai
at 07:05hrs the following day.10-12_14_civil_newsDC.indd 14 05/02/2018 14: