More Aircraft for Royal Jordanian
Royal Jordanian Airlines (RJA) has
nalised a short-term lease agreement for
three additional aircraft. The deal includes
a pair of 149-seat Airbus A319s, which
have been acquired from Pakistani carrier
Shaheen Air International on a three-
month wet lease, and a Boeing 737-
from South Africa’s Star Air.
RJA’s president and CEO Stefan
Pichler commented: “We are keen to
meet the high demand for travel during
this summer season, thus bringing
more aircraft into our eet, dedicated to
serving short- to medium-haul routesalong with our current airliners. The
three wet-leased aircraft, different in
design and con guration, comply with
the highest international service and
technical standards.”
The two A319s are expected to remain
in service with Royal Jordanian until early
September, while the 737 will return to its
parent at the end of the year. Meanwhile,
RJA has launched direct ights between
its Amman base and Copenhagen, the
45th destination in its network and rst in
Scandinavia. The thrice-weekly service is
operated by an Airbus A320.Swiss Air-Rescue Rega took delivery of its
rst two Airbus H145 helicopters on June- The incoming aircraft, of which six have
been ordered, are expected to make their
operational debut from Bern in October.
They are set to replace Rega’s existing eet
of EC145s, with the last one due to leave
service by mid-2019. Swiss Air-Rescue Rega,
a non-pro t foundation, provides professional
emergency medical assistance by air.IN BRIEF
Canadian low-fare carrier WESTJET
launched its WestJet Link regional feeder
service on June 20. The new division,
which links Calgary with several small
communities in Western Canada, is served
by three Saab 340s operated by Paci c
Coastal Airlines.The latest phase of the improvement works
has been completed at LIVERPOOL’S JOHN
LENNON AIRPORT. The £2m overhaul has
resulted in a redesign and expansion of
the World Duty Free retail area. It is part
of a wider £5m upgrade, work on which
has been ongoing for 18 months, intended
to improve the experience for passengers
departing from the Merseyside facility. It
includes refurbishing the upper oor of
the departure lounge, adding new retail
outlets and installing 13 ight information
screens. Meanwhile, Norwegian regional
carrier Widerøe has unveiled plans for a new
connection between Bergen and Liverpool.
The new twice-weekly link, which will be
served by a 114-seat Embraer E190-E2, will
start on August 17, operating each Monday
and Friday.Russia’s SEVERSTAL AVIA is set to take
delivery of its rst Sukhoi Superjet 100. The
aircraft, seen during pre-delivery testing
wearing the manufacturer’s serial 97016, is
the rst of six ordered by the Cherepovets-
based airline.A new partnership agreement between
BRITISH AIRWAYS and FIJI AIRWAYS was
signed on June 6. The London-based carrier
is now selling seats on Fiji Airways-operated
ights between Singapore, Los Angeles and
San Francisco to the Fijian gateway of Nadi.North Korea’s AIR KORYO airliner has
been given the green light to open its fth
route into China. The new service, from
Pyongyang to Xi’an, will start immediately
and follows the launch of ights to Chengdu
in May. Air Koryo also operates regular
ights to Beijing, Shenyang, Shanghai and
the Russian city of Vladivostok.QANTAS and AIR NEW ZEALAND have set
up a reciprocal codeshare agreement, saying
it will make travelling within Australia and
New Zealand much easier for customers.
Co-ordinated check-in and handling at
airports will mean shorter connection times
for passengers, in turn opening up more
onward ights and faster journey times.Airbus has opened a fourth A320 FAMILY
production line at its Finkenwerder facility in
Hamburg. Using digital technologies and a
more exible industrial set-up, the new line
is a key element in the ramping up of single-
aisle production to 60 aircraft per month by
the middle of next year, the company claims.
The A320 Family aircraft are manufactured
globally, at Airbus sites in Europe, China and
the US. In addition to the new production
line, Airbus also inaugurated a larger and
modernised Hamburg A320 Family delivery
centre with more customer areas, more
efficient delivery processes and increased
hospitality services.CIVIL NEWS
8 Aviation News incorporating Jets August 2018Swiss Air-Rescue
Rega officially took
possession of its
rst new H145 rescue
helicopters from Airbus
at the manufacturer’s
works in Donauwörth,
Germany, on June
2 1. Airbus Helicopters/
Christophe KellerSwiss Air-Rescue Receives
New Helicopters
Airbus has delivered the rst Airbus A350-
1000 for Cathay Paci c which was handed
over at the manufacturer’s Toulouse delivery
centre on June 20. The jet, B-LXA, is the
rst of 20 -1000s it has on order. It already
operates 22 of the A350-900. Cathay Paci c
says it will introduce the -1000 into serviceon July 1 on its busiest rotation – Hong
Kong to Taipei – and, after initial regional
ying to familiarise crews, it will launch a
new long-haul service to Washington DC on
September 15 this year. This will be longest
route ever own non-stop by the carrier at
8,153nm (15,100km).Cathay Paci c’s initial Airbus A350-1000, B-LXA, at Toulouse. Key-Barry Woods-TurnerFirst A350-1000 for Cathay Pacifi c
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