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August 24, 2021

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August 24, 2021

SKS Airways: New Malaysian airline wants to grow before take-off

Stephen Steiner August 24, 2021 13:32

On November 13, 2017, SKS Airways was founded in Johor Bahru, Malaysia. Regional flights with four Twin Otters were planned, but SKS has not yet taken off. Nevertheless, there are already plans to purchase larger aircraft. Johor Bahru is located on the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula opposite Singapore. Senai International Airport, north of the city, is 33 kilometers from Singapore Seletar and just under 50 kilometers from Singapore Changi. The city is therefore located exactly in between and is optimally connected to Singapore via "The Causeway" dam and the newer "Second Link" bridge over the Strait of Johor. The SKS Group of Companies, which is mainly active in the real estate sector, founded its own airline called SKS Airways at the end of 2017. The original plan was to purchase four DeHavilland Canada DHC-6-300 Twin Otters. Although based in Johor Bahru, the aircraft were to be stationed in Kuala Lumpur Subang (Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport) and in Singapore Seletar. The Twin Otters were to be used on routes to tourist destinations in Malaysia - such as Kota Bharu, Ipoh, Langkawi, Pangkor, Pula Redang, Taman Negara and Tioman. The first Twin Otter was then transferred from Sion, Switzerland, to Kuala Lumpur Subang in December 2019 with various stops and later painted there and registered as 9M-KIA. The second aircraft followed about a year later and received the registration 9M-KIB. Two other DHC-6s are currently still parked in Switzerland. But SKS Airways has not yet managed to start operations. The start date has been postponed several times - still

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German Airways ultimatum to Green Airlines: 800.000 euros on the table or 11,3 million euros lawsuit

Jan Gruber August 24, 2021 13:06

By the end of this week, ticket seller Green Airlines must pay German Airways 800.000 euros or the Zeitfracht subsidiary will file a lawsuit for 11,3 million euros. A lawyer's letter quoted by Airliners.de shows that German Airways has suspended its flight services without notice due to late payment. However, this does not mean that Green Airlines is free of the payment obligations it entered into when the charter contract was signed. German Airways is insisting through its law firm that the contract should continue. It also points out that both a minimum purchase and a term were agreed. According to the lawyer's payment request quoted by Airliners.de, Green Airlines has not met the agreed weekly advance payments. These were agreed as a guarantee and German Airways is only no longer flying because the ticket seller is in arrears. The fact that ticket sales continued under German Airways flight numbers after the "blue letter" was also not well received by the Zeitfracht subsidiary. As already mentioned, German Airways' lawyer insists that a minimum number of flight hours that must be taken per month was agreed in the charter contract. Green Airlines is also said to have committed to chartering two Embraer 190s for at least nine months. Then the bill is presented: 11,3 million euros are demanded. Late payment is said to have led to non-flying German Airways also argues that holding costs arise for not flying, which is said to be a result of late payment. These alone amount to 2,7 million euros. "Assuming that a mutual termination of the contract (...)

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South Africa: Emirates and Cemair work together

Amely Mizzi August 24, 2021 10:05

Emirates and the South African airline Cemair have signed an interline agreement. This allows passengers of the Gulf carrier to transfer from Johannesburg and Cape Town to Bloemfontein, Kimberley, Margate, Durban, Hoedspruit, Plettenberg Bay, George and Sishen. Interlining is a form of cooperation in which tickets from both carriers can be combined. Checked baggage is "checked through". In contrast to code sharing, however, flights are flown under the flight number of the respective operating carrier. "By working with Cemair, our customers gain improved access to numerous popular holiday destinations in South Africa. In addition, there are new destinations served exclusively by Cemair such as Margate and Plettenberg Bay," explains Emirates CCO Adnan Kazim. This is the fourth agreement that the Gulf carrier has concluded with a South African airline. Cemair was founded in 2002 and operates a total of eleven aircraft. These are a Bombardier CRJ100ER, two CRJ100LRs, a CRJ200ER, a CRJ200LR, a CRJ900ER, a DHC Dash 8-100, two Dash 8-300s and two Dash 8-400s. The average age is 20,8 years.

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Stephen Hester becomes the new Easyjet chairman

Amely Mizzi August 24, 2021 09:32

At Easyjet, Stephen Hester will take over as Chairman on December 1, 2021. He succeeds John Barton, who will step down after nine years. "I am delighted that Stephen has been appointed as easyJet's next Chairman. His extensive and diverse experience in leading large international companies in regulated industries, coupled with his outstanding strategic thinking, will serve the airline well as it leads the post-pandemic recovery and complements and enhances the skills of the existing Board and leadership team," said the outgoing Chairman of his successor. Hester's career to date has been predominantly in the financial sector. He has worked for the Royal Bank of Scotland and RSA Insurance, among others. The manager is considered a so-called turnaround expert. "I see so many opportunities for this iconic brand in the coming years, all underpinned by its proven business model, unrivaled network and loyal customer base. I am convinced that we can be winners in the European aviation industry of the future by serving our customers well and generating attractive shareholder value. I can't wait to join the Easyjet team," said Hester about his future role at Easyjet.

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Air Serbia takes second B737-700 from Smartwings

Amely Mizzi August 24, 2021 09:04

The Czech airline Smartwings is now flying with a second Boeing 737-700 on behalf of Air Serbia. The OK-SWW has been in use on holiday routes from Belgrade since Friday. Since June 2021, the Serbian carrier has been using a Boeing 737-700 on wet lease. According to Ex-Yu-Aviation.com, the Smartwings medium-haul jet flies mainly on sub-charter on Air Serbia charter routes. The contract is scheduled to run until September 26, 2021. The fleet of the partially state-owned airline currently consists of five ATR72s, ten Airbus A319s, one A320 and one A330 each, and two Boeing 737-700s operated by Smartwings. One A319 is still parked. The Boeing 737-700s that were used for the charter brand Aviolet have since been phased out.

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Play is struggling with low utilization

Jan Gruber August 24, 2021 08:32

The Icelandic airline start-up Play has applied to the US Department of Transportation (DOT) for flight rights between Keflavik and destinations on the US east coast. The start of service is scheduled to take place in June 2022, although the carrier did not provide any further details about the actual destinations. The planned flights are to be carried out with Airbus A321neo aircraft. At least, this is what was applied for to the DOT. Play currently has three such aircraft in its fleet. The company announced a few months ago that it had no plans for widebodies. It intends to serve the transatlantic destinations with Airbus A321neo and possibly A321LR/XLR. The fleet is expected to grow to around 2025 aircraft by 15. Bumpy capacity utilization on European routes The European routes that were started a few weeks ago are currently not enjoying particularly impressive capacity utilization. The 192-seat aircraft rarely have more than 60 passengers on board. At times, there are just over ten passengers. This can be attributed to two circumstances: Firstly, Play is a newcomer and at the beginning, low capacity utilization is not the exception but rather the rule. On the other hand, the various entry and quarantine regulations are obviously having an adverse effect on demand. In any case, Play has since reacted and reduced frequencies on many routes. For example, the destinations Berlin and Paris-Charles de Gaulle will be halved at least at the beginning of September 2021. Both destinations will temporarily only be flown to twice a week. Similar measures can also be found on other routes.

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ITA will initially focus on Milan Linate

Amely Mizzi August 24, 2021 08:06

The new Italian state airline ITA is to initially focus on Milan Linate airport. There is a significant reason for this, as Alitalia has already lost many slots here and there is a risk of no longer being the top dog at this inner-city airport. In general, the flight offer at Rome Fiumicino and Milan Linate should be largely balanced. However, the northern Italian airport will temporarily play a larger role and will be a kind of "parallel hub" for at least a few months. This suggests that ITA wants to fly to as many slots as possible. Nevertheless, the new company is to significantly reduce its presence in Linate at the behest of the EU Commission. Alitalia's market share was around 66 percent. The competition authorities want this to be cut to a maximum of 33 percent. This means that Alitalia will have to give up around half of its take-off and landing rights. Of course, that is not what they want. The government was able to negotiate a compromise: This means that ITA can take over 85 percent of Alitalia's slots in Linate and 43 percent of those held by the "old carrier" in Rome-FCO. All other take-off and landing rights must be reapplied for.

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Lufthansa brought 1.500 refugees to Germany

Amely Mizzi August 24, 2021 07:32

For around a week, Lufthansa has been operating on behalf of the Federal Republic of Germany from Tashkent, among other places, to fly refugees from Afghanistan to Europe. The carrier has now announced that it has transported around 1.500 people so far. For a week, Lufthansa has been setting up an air bridge to fly refugees from the Central Asian state to Germany. An Airbus 340 long-haul aircraft is used for each flight. In total, over 1500 people have been brought to Frankfurt on the daily flights so far. After arrival in Frankfurt, a Lufthansa care team supports the arrivals with food, drinks, clothing and provides initial medical and psychological care. A play and painting corner have been set up for the many children who are now landing in Frankfurt, and toys have been donated. Lufthansa will also be operating further flights from Tashkent in the next few days in coordination with the Federal Foreign Office.

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ACA also criticizes developments at Lauda Europe

Jan Gruber August 24, 2021 07:05

The Austrian pilots' association Austrian Cockpit Association is concerned about the latest developments at the Vienna base of the Maltese Lauda Europe. It must be guaranteed that the pilots can be 100 percent attentive ("situation awareness"). According to the ACA, this also means being able to rely on fitness and thus on all the resources of the human body. "But if I only get paid when I go flying, it is understandable that I will also show up for work if I am perhaps a little under the weather. This could be due to health reasons, a slight cold, a little stomach ache, if I have not slept well, or perhaps have had to cope with a stroke of fate, I will fly under these conditions. Because I need the money," said the pilots' association. The Vida union announced a few days ago that basic salaries at the Vienna base of Lauda Europe are to be cut. Instead, 40 euros gross per flying hour will be paid in future, but only when the pilot is actually on duty. When asked, Lauda Europe denied the statements made by the union Vida, which were based on documents and reports from pilots of this company. The allegations were completely unfounded and completely untrue, according to the management of the Ryanair subsidiary. However, it is noteworthy that some Lauda Europe pilots have extensive knowledge of the plans that Vida and ACA are protesting against. According to them, initially only those pilots who are employed on seasonal contracts are affected. This information simply does not fit with the total denial of the company management. The ACA further explains,

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