Airliner World – May 2018

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News Review • Americas

Fort Lauderdale-based Tropic Ocean

Airways is planning to expand its scheduled

seaplane services from its home airport and

Miami/Watson Island hub. The expansion,

facilitated by the delivery of four new

Cessna 208B Grand Caravan EX turboprops

this year, will include flights to destinations

such as Key West in the Florida Keys and

Bimini/North, Marsh Harbour and Nassau/

Paradise Island in the Bahamas. Other

destinations will be announced later.

LATAM Airlines will connect Tel Aviv to Latin

America for the first time from December

2018, with a new three-times weekly

service from Santiago Chile to the Israeli

capital via São Paulo, Brazil. The route will

be operated by a Boeing 787 Dreamliner,

offering 217 seats in economy and 30 in

premium business.

CEO Ed Bastian has revealed Delta Air

Lines will take delivery of a small number

of Bombardier CS100 jets during the fourth

quarter. “Our plan is to take the first C

Series by the end of the year and probably

induct it into service at the start of 2019,”

he told an investor earnings call. Delta’s

maiden CS100, of which it has 75 on order,

was originally planned for delivery in spring

2018. (Photo Bombardier)

UPS has wet leased capacity to meet a

surge in demand for global freight services,

Air Cargo News reports. Companies

providing support include Western Global

Airlines and 21 Air. UPS plans to add 35

jets to its fleet over the next four years,

including Boeing 747-8Fs and 767-300Fs.

“Beyond the new jets, UPS is pursuing a

multi-phased approach to increasing lift

that also includes dry leases [aircraft owned

by other companies but operated by UPS

personnel]; wet leases [aircraft owned and

operated by other carriers]; and purchasing

used airplanes,” a UPS spokesperson said.

Fogo Island, off the East Coast of Canada,

welcomed its first scheduled flights after

Exploits Valley Air Services (EVAS)

launched a new six-times weekly connection

to Gander on April 23. The rotations are

being operated by de Havilland Canada

DHC-6-300 Twin Otter C-GNQY (c/n 450),

under the Air Canada Express banner.

XTRA Airways plans to lay-off 164 staff

on May 19 as owner AerLine Holdings

seeks to find a buyer for the carrier,

reports the South Florida Business Journal.

Those affected include pilots, cabin crew,

maintenance staff, flight dispatchers, and

co-ordinators. Seven of the company’s

aircraft have already been sold. “We have

put the company in the best position to

permit a new owner to add whatever aircraft

fleet type that best suits its operational

needs, without the burden of expensive

leases or old technology equipment,” CEO

Frank Visconti told the Journal.

in brief

Discovery Air to Sell Subsidiaries

CANADIAN SPECIALIST services
provider Discovery Air is selling its
wholly owned subsidiaries as part of
a restructuring programme under
bankruptcy protection. It was granted
permission to offload Yellowknife-
based Air Tindi and Great Slave
Helicopters, as well as Discovery
Mining Services on April 4.

Discovery Air is welcoming bids for all

three subsidiaries until May 21, with

the auction scheduled for ten days

later. All transactions are expected

to be concluded, subject to court

approval, by July 31. In the meantime,

the three firms will continue to operate

as normal.

Discovery Air was granted protection

under the Companies’ Creditors

Arrangement Act, a bankruptcy

protection law, on March 21. This

was extended to June 29, protecting

Discovery Air or any of its subsidiaries

from being sued by creditors. It is

expected that the protection will be

extended further to enable the sale of

the three companies to be completed.

Southwest Considers More MAXs

DALLAS/LOVE FIELD-BASED

Southwest Airlines is considering a

new order for “more than a handful”

of Boeing 737 MAX jets. The low-cost

carrier would use the aircraft to replace

older aircraft and for fleet expansion

purposes, reported Bloomberg.

CEO Gary Kelly said: “I don’t expect

that we would have access to any

more deliveries this year, so it probably

would begin no earlier than next year.

With the extra capital, we are working

on ways to better serve our customers

and the first place we want to look is to

continue to modernise our fleet.”

Kelly added that Southwest was

looking at adding around 500 aircraft

in the coming years. It currently

operates 14 MAX 8s as well as 513

737-700s and 190 -800s, and has a

backlog of 196 MAX 8s, 30 MAX 7s

and four -800s. In January, Southwest

pushed back delivery of 23 of its

MAX 7s until 2023-24.

More IFE Options from United

UNITED AIRLINES is offering passengers
more in-flight entertainment (IFE)
choices, including at least one free
service, on all Wi-Fi equipped aircraft.
Between February and April, the
airline installed personal device
entertainment onto more than 200
aircraft that previously only offered
DIRECTV. Customers can now use their
laptop, Apple iOS or Android device to
access a library of complimentary
movies and TV programmes, in addition

to having the opportunity to purchase

DIRECTV to view live shows.

“Whether it is seatback on-demand,

DIRECTV or personal device entertain-

ment, we offer customers hundreds of

hours of programming to enjoy during

their travels,” said Mark Krolick, Vice

President of Marketing at United Airlines.

“We’re excited to expand our personal

device entertainment offering, which has

been a popular option amongst many of

our customers who tend to bring their

own devices when they travel.”

On select flights this summer, United will

distribute free cardboard phone stands

which prop up gadgets and allow hands

free viewing. It is also continuing the

roll-out of in-seat power outlets.

In other news, the airline’s first Boeing

737 MAX 9 has been painted in the

‘swoop’ livery that, until now, was worn

exclusively by its 787 fleet. The jet was

delivered to the carrier's Houston hub

on April 24. (Photo Joe G Walker)

Patriotic

767

Boeing 767-323ER N36NE (c/n 25193) is one of two jets used

by the NFL franchise, the New England Patriots, for travelling

between games. The aircraft visited Washington/Dulles on

March 25 bringing students, affected by the mass shooting at

Parkland high school in Florida in February, to the capital to

take part in the ‘March for Our Lives’ rally calling for stricter

gun control. BRIAN MCDONOUGH