4 JUNE 2018
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- SOAPBOX: General Sir Peter Cosgrove, Governor General of Australia
- 100th aircraft for Ethiopian
- Air New Zealand, Qantas in deal
- Airfields in danger alert
- Airport hotel shake-up
- Airports Expo set for take-off
- Brunei welcomes A320neo
- Carlisle flights delayed
- Cork – Paris in demand
- Drones action welcomed
- Dublin – Hong Kong milestone
- Glasgow – Dublin extra flights
- Heathrow China warning
- London Mandarin unveiled
- More C series for London City?
- Non-stop London – Sydney?
- oneworld adds Connect and Fiji
- Qatar Airways dining upgrade
- Spotlight on airport access
- SSJ100 upgrade plan
- Textron boost for Biggin
- WestJet arrives in Paris
- ON TOUR: Sydney Opera House
- JUNE CRUISE ISSUE
- AND FINALLY: How not to park a Porsche
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Brunei welcomes A320neo
Singapore will move up the rankings on Royal Brunei Airline’s route map on Thursday, 7 June, when it becomes the first destination to be served from Brunei by the carrier’s new A320neo aircraft.
Drones action welcomed
Government moves via an amendment to the Air Navigation Order 2016 to rein in misuse of drones were welcomed last week by the Royal Aeronautical Society, reflecting industry concern at recent incidents.
SOAPBOX: General Sir Peter Cosgrove, Governor General of Australia
General Sir Peter Cosgrove has been governor general of the Commonwealth of Australia since March 2014. The son of a soldier, he graduated from military college in 1968. He was sent to Malaysia as a lieutenant in the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (RAR), and soon after was posted to Vietnam, where he commanded an infantry platoon and was awarded the Military Cross. After several other postings and eventual promotion to general, Sir Peter became chief of the Army and then chief of the Defence Force before his appointment as governor general. This month’s SOAPBOX is taken from his address as he welcomes the 74th IATA AGM to Sydney.
100th aircraft for Ethiopian
Maintaining its position as an aviation pioneer, Ethiopian Airlines takes delivery tomorrow, Tuesday, of its 100th aircraft, a Boeing B787-900. It becomes the first African carrier to operate a 100-aircraft fleet.
Airport hotel shake-up
Promising to “revamp the staid airport hotel experience”, Marriott International’s Renaissance brand has made its debut in Poland and plans to open 16 more similar properties worldwide over the next 12 months.
Airports Expo set for take-off
More than 160 exhibitors and up to 3,000 visitors plus a line-up of key industry speakers including aviation minister Baroness Sugg are expected at this year’s British-Irish Airports Expo at London’s Olympia on 12-13 June.
Carlisle flights delayed
A recruitment crisis leading to a shortage of air traffic controllers was blamed last week for delaying by three months the launch of scheduled daily flights by Loganair at Carlisle Lake District Airport. The flights were due to start today, Monday (BTN 19 March).
Dublin – Hong Kong milestone
Cathay Pacific Airlines was the star of the show in Dublin last week as officials laid on an official welcome for the carrier’s new four-times-weekly direct service to Hong Kong, which began on Saturday.
London Mandarin unveiled
One of London’s top hotels, the Mandarin Oriental at Hyde Park, has completed the most extensive restoration in its 115-year history, in a programme it says was designed to confirm the property’s position as one of the best in the world (BTN 25 September 2017).
More C series for London City?
With a repeat order for the Airbus/Bombardier C Series a vindication of its success, airBaltic could open up London City Airport as a potential destination. The new deal is for 30 Bombardier CS300s, with options for an additional 30.
oneworld adds Connect and Fiji
Fiji Airways is to be the first oneworld connect partner, it was announced at the IATA AGM in Sydney yesterday (Sunday 4 June). It is the first new membership platform unveiled by the alliance since oneworld was announced 20 years ago.
Qatar Airways dining upgrade
Passengers on European routes are the first to experience a new on-board dining programme introduced by Qatar Airways for its premium customers, with new menus, cutlery and chinaware.
Spotlight on airport access
Autonomous vehicle technologies and Mobility as a Service (MaaS) are the hot topics for the second Airport Access Ideas forum being held in London on 27 June, hosted by law firm Katten Muchin Rosenman UK and the Global AirRail Alliance.
SSJ100 upgrade plan
Development of a second variant of the Sukhoi Superjet 100, also known as the SSJ100, is being considered after the programme won more money from the Russian government.
ON TOUR: Sydney Opera House
Few cities in the world have a more iconic gateway than Sydney and its sometime controversial Opera House, writes Malcolm Ginsberg. It vies with the Statue of Liberty at New York, San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge and, the first of them all, the White Tower (Tower of London).
JUNE CRUISE ISSUE
This month, we concentrate on two new cruise ships, one, Crystal Debussy, built for the rivers of Europe, and the other the flagship of TUI’s Marella UK ocean-going brand, Explorer.
AND FINALLY: How not to park a Porsche
While Sydney revels in world attention from the aviation industry this week with the arrival of the IATA AGM, at least one hotel employee probably wishes it wasn’t quite so much in the spotlight.
Air New Zealand, Qantas in deal
Increasing demand for air travel on key routes to and from Australasia led Qantas Airways and Air New Zealand to sign a codeshare deal on Friday, even though they belong to different airline alliances.
Airfields in danger alert
The All-Party Parliamentary Group on General Aviation has called on the prime minister and transport secretary to grant “official safeguarding” status to the UK’s 123 licensed or certificated airfields.
Cork – Paris in demand
Pent-up demand for a new service between Cork and Paris saw Air France last week convert what were initially seasonal flights to a year-round operation even before the Irish airport had officially welcomed its latest partner.
Glasgow – Dublin extra flights
Passengers travelling between Glasgow and Dublin have been given more flexibility with Aer Lingus Regional’s decision to introduce an extra flight on Thursdays, Fridays and Mondays. Franchise partner Stobart Air operates the service.
Heathrow China warning
In what it called a “boarding call for exporters”, Heathrow last week welcomed the arrival of two new direct services to Chinese cities – while warning competing European hub airports were still flying to 10 more Chinese destinations.
Non-stop London – Sydney?
A date for the introduction of the holy grail of long-distance air travel – non-stop flights between London and Sydney – is certain to be a talking point at IATA this week.
Textron boost for Biggin
Extra support to customers for Citation, King Air and Hawker aircraft, including the soon-to-be-certified Citation Longitude, is now available at Biggin Hill Airport with Textron Aviation adding a line maintenance station there.
WestJet arrives in Paris
Atlantic Canada forged another connection with Europe last week as rapidly-growing Canadian carrier WestJet made its inaugural flight between Halifax Stanfield International Airport and Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport.