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Stephen Steiner

CMA CGM wants larger cargo planes

Stephen Steiner September 14, 2021 13:26

The shipping company CMA CGM has only owned aircraft since the beginning of 2021. The Belgian airline Air Belgium operates these four Airbus A330-200Fs for the shipping and logistics company from Marseille. Now they want to purchase even larger Boeing 777-F freighters. CMA CGM is the largest shipping company in France and was formed in 1999 through the merger of the two shipping companies Compagnie Générale Maritime (CGM) and Compagnie Maritime d'Affrètement (CMA). According to its own information, CMA CGM operates a fleet of 566 ships and serves 420 ports worldwide. It is the third largest container shipping company in the world behind the Danish Maersk and the Swiss MSC. The approximately 110 employees are employed in 000 countries. At the beginning of 160, four Airbus A2021-330F cargo aircraft were taken over from Qatar Airways. These are operated under the name CMA CGM Air Cargo by the Belgian airline Air Belgium. In this so-called CMI contract, the operating airline is responsible for the crew, maintenance and insurance, while the owner remains in possession of the aircraft. The Airbuses are registered in Belgium under the registration numbers OO-AIR, OO-CMA, OO-CGM and OO-SEA. From Liège, scheduled cargo flights serve the destinations Atlanta, Chicago O'Hare, Dubai World Central, Istanbul and New York-JFK. Other destinations are also flown to as required. The company's own Airbus A200-340s (and soon A300-330s) used for passenger flights are based in Brussels-Charleroi. French AOC planned Now, a few days ago, job offers from CMA CGM appeared. Captains and First Officers are sought for the Boeing 900-F. Candidates should have at least 777 and 8000 hours of flight experience respectively, of which

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Two new ATR72 operators in Bangladesh

Stephen Steiner September 6, 2021 14:32

In the last few days, two new ATR72 operators have been announced in Bangladesh. The new cargo airline NXT Air and the regional airline Air Astra are using the European turboprop. For a long time, the turboprop aircraft from the DHC-8 family from Bombardier and DeHavilland Canada dominated domestic traffic in Bangladesh. The airlines Biman Bangladesh Airlines, GMG Airlines, Regent Airways, Royal Bengal Airline, United Airways and US-Bangla Airlines used DHC-8 aircraft. Only the national airline Biman remains, which currently operates five Q400s. The first ATR operator in Bangladesh was the no longer existing United Airways. As a replacement for the DHC-8-100, it used three ATR2010-2016s from 72 until it ceased operations in 200. However, the French-Italian aircraft only really took off with NovoAir. This company is replacing the Embraer 145 fleet with seven ATR72-500s. After the tragic accident of a DHC-8-400 of US-Bangla Airlines on March 12, 2018, this airline also changed its fleet. US-Bangla also uses seven of them, but of the more modern 600 version. In addition to NovoAir and US-Bangla, Hello Airlines also operates a smaller ATR42 as a cargo aircraft. And it is precisely Hello Airlines that has now founded a new subsidiary, NXT Air, which will soon use its first ATR72-200 freighter. This was announced by the leasing company ACIA Aero at the end of August 2021. With Air Astra, a new regional airline is about to start. From January 2022, the start-up is to use four ATR72-600s on domestic flights, writes The Daily Star. Behind Air Astra is Imran Asif, an expert in the local aviation market. Imran Asif was already managing director at

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Air Wisconsin again in its own livery

Stephen Steiner September 3, 2021 15:03

For over 35 years, Air Wisconsin has hidden its identity on its aircraft, as it has been flying for larger airlines as feeder flights in their colors since 1985. Air Wisconsin currently flies in the colors of United Airlines as United Express with a fleet of 63 Bombardier CRJ200 regional jets. Just one day after the then brand new Appleton airport opened, an Air Wisconsin aircraft took off for the first time on August 23, 1965. 56 years ago, the nine-seat deHavilland Dove was used for four daily flights to Chicago-O'Hare. The aircraft were soon replaced by larger deHavilland Canada DHC-6 TwinOtters and later supplemented by Swearingen Metroliners. In the following years, Air Wisconsin constantly expanded its fleet and was also able to operate its first jets. With BAC One-Eleven, later BAe 146-200 and deHavilland Canada DHC-7, it became one of the largest independent regional airlines in the United States. But from 1985 onwards, the company began to use its own aircraft for other airlines. Initially, such contracts were with United Airlines (as United Express). Later, AirTran (as AirTranJetConnect), US Airways (as US Airways Express), and American Airlines (as American Eagle) followed. Since March 1, 2017, Air Wisconsin has again flown exclusively to around 75 destinations as United Express. But now the first Bombardier CRJ200 has been repainted in its own colors. The future N498AW will not fly passengers around, but cargo. This means that AirWis, as the airline is often called, is opening up a new business area. This is probably mainly due to the fact that passenger numbers have been increasing since 2014.

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Saab 2000: It's lonely at the top

Stephen Steiner September 1, 2021 07:02

The print advertisement shown below caught our eye a few days ago. But why is Saab still advertising its Saab 20 over 2000 years after production ended? Aviation.direct would like to find an answer to this. After the great success of the Saab 340, the Swedish aircraft construction and defense company Saab AB (then still known as Saab-Scania AB) set about developing an enlarged regional aircraft in December 1988 - the Saab 2000. But the Saab 2000 is not just a stretched Saab 340, but a completely new aircraft design. The aircraft, which was finally assembled in Linköping, relied on various innovations and, above all, on powerful turboprop engines from the Allison Engine Company (now part of Rolls-Royce). The two AE2100A engines give the Saab 2000 enormous thrust, so that the cruising speed of 665 km/h was about 100 km/h higher than that of the direct competitors (ATR42, Fokker 50, DHC-8-300). On March 26, 1992, the time had come. The two test pilots Eric Sjöberg and Lennart Nordh were at the controls for the first flight of the new Swedish regional aircraft. But it was not all rosy. Problems arose during flight testing. It became apparent that the airflow over the horizontal tail assembly had a significant influence on the mechanical elevator control system (MECS). This was mainly caused by the powerful Allison engines and the two large six-blade Dowty propellers. Due to this problem, the program was delayed, but almost exactly two years after the first flight, the final certification took place on March 31, 1994. The Swiss regional airline Crossair was very impressed with the Saab 2000 and took over the first operator

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Hayways: FlyArmenia tries again

Stephen Steiner August 31, 2021 09:33

FlyArmenia Airways wanted to fly to various destinations in Russia with Boeing 737 Classics. But the project quickly failed. Now they want to try again under a new name. FlyArmenia Airways was only founded in Yerevan in October 2019. In July 2020, the Armenian authorities issued an Air Operator Certificate (AOC, #070). But FlyArmenia has not really taken off. This is probably due to the fact that one of the two Boeing 737s flew directly to Tehran after maintenance work in Tallinn instead of to Ukraine. The AOC was then lost. Aviation.direct reported on this. And now FlyArmenia wants to start again. Due to a realignment and a new strategy, the company has decided to change its name. From now on, it will operate under the name Hayways. The website has already been revised accordingly and given the new logo. Hayways names future destinations as: Anapa on the Black Sea, Moscow, Novosibirsk, Rostov-on-Don, Saint Petersburg and Saratov. In this respect, the focus is very similar to that under the old name. In terms of fleet, it will again be Boeing 737s. Most recently, the airline announced in June 2021 that it is in negotiations with some lessors for newer Boeing 737 NGs. Further information is not yet known.

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Does Belavia have to return aircraft?

Stephen Steiner August 31, 2021 07:02

May 23, 2021: Shortly before entering Lithuanian airspace, Ryanair flight FR4978 was diverted to Minsk - many voices spoke of a kidnapping of the regime-critical Belarusian journalist Raman Pratassevich by the Belarusian state. One day later, Great Britain closed the airspace to Belarusian aircraft and the European Union followed a day later. The flight ban hit Belavia in particular. But things could get even worse now. Belavia, the national airline of Belarus, operates a fleet of 33 aircraft. Some of them fly exclusively for the country's government. But due to the European Union's flight ban, various aircraft are grounded. The following Boeings are in the fleet: three B737-300s, two B737-500s, nine B737-800s, one B737-800BBJ, one B737-8 and one B767-300ER. Belavia has five E175s, seven E195s and three new E195-E2s from Embraer, while a single VIP-CRJ200 (Challenger 850) from the former Canadian manufacturer Bombardier is still flying in Belarus. The EU member states Lithuania, Poland, Latvia and Estonia have observed that Belavia is offering more flights between Turkey and Minsk. They believe that this opens up a new migration route via Belarus to Lithuania and Poland. Only recently there were reports of similar refugee flights with Iraqi Airways between Iraq and Minks. The states mentioned are therefore now demanding stricter measures against Belarus and thus also Belavia. Lithuania in particular is exerting pressure. "We must ensure that no European companies are involved in human trafficking, neither directly nor indirectly. For example, those European companies that lease aircraft to the otherwise sanctioned Belavia," writes Lithuania's Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis to the top EU diplomat Josep

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Finally! Nonstop flights from Berlin to Dubai

Stephen Steiner August 27, 2021 18:30

What Emirates has been trying to do for a long time, a small airline will now succeed in doing. Flights between the German capital and the largest city in the United Arab Emirates. Emirates has been trying for a long time to include the German capital Berlin in its route network. However, due to different contracts, Emirates is only allowed to fly to four German cities. And Emirates has been doing this for a long time. The Gulf airline connects Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg and Düsseldorf with its hub in Dubai. So if Emirates wanted to fly to Berlin, it would have to cancel one of the aforementioned destinations. This is not what Emirates wants. Just a few months ago, the airline's marketing director, Adnan Kazim, was urging that now was the best time to connect Berlin with Dubai in order to take advantage of the economic opportunities. Emirates is receiving support from companies, as well as chambers of commerce and industry and agencies from the tourism and business sectors in Berlin and Brandenburg. The BER boss, Lütke Daldrup, also spoke out in favor of a connection to Dubai. And that is exactly what BER is now getting. But not by Emirates. The Latvian airline SmartLynx Airlines will start flights between Berlin and Dubai from October 4, 2021 in cooperation with the German travel group FTI Group. Initially twice a week, then three times a week from December, an Airbus A321-200 will fly between the two cities. The FTI Group and Smartlynx are advertising that the flights will be launched precisely in time for the upcoming world exhibition EXPO2020.

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HUB Airlines: Multinational low-cost airline with A350 planned

Stephen Steiner August 27, 2021 17:03

Various airlines have already bitten their teeth on low-cost long-haul flights and now a completely new concept is being developed with HUB Airlines. Four companies on different continents are to take off soon with a fleet consisting of Airbus A350s. Since June 2017, Rudolf Brockhausen has been working on setting up a new concept in the long-haul low-cost (LHLC) sector. On November 21, 2019, HUB Airlines Ltd was founded in London. The Brazilian was himself an airline pilot and has a type rating for A320, B737, B757, B767 and B777. But for his HUB Airlines he wants to use a different model, the Airbus A350. HUB Airlines is to be a holding company that operates four independent airlines: HUB Europe, HUB North America, HUB South America and HUB Southeast Asia. The launch is to take place in Brazil at HUB South America. The base for this has already been announced: Viracopos International Airport in Campinas (northwest of Sao Paulo). Azul is also based at this airport. The company has the ambition to become the largest scheduled airline for long-haul flights. The aircraft, known as "HUBird", are to be used in a two-class configuration. In October 2020, HUB informed aircraft manufacturer Airbus that it had opted for the A350 XWB. According to the prospective airline, a clever structure has been developed that is based on a clockwise rotation. This makes it easy to connect the four hubs. HUB Airlines is still keeping quiet about when flight operations will begin.

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Red Sea Airlines: New Egyptian airline

Stephen Steiner August 27, 2021 13:02

Before the Corona crisis, a new airline was founded in Egypt under the name Red Sea Airlines. Probably due to Corona, the launch was delayed and much is still unclear. It separates Africa from the Arabian Peninsula - the Red Sea. Various states border the Red Sea, on the east bank Saudi Arabia and Yemen, on the west bank Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea and Djibouti. Jordan and Israel can also be found in the Gulf of Aqaba. Airlines from these eight countries could thus adorn themselves with the name of the sea. And that is what the national airline of the smallest neighboring state did. Air Djibouti, founded in 1963, had the addition of Red Sea Airlines in its name from 1973. But after financial difficulties, Air Djibouti - Red Sea Airlines stopped flights on January 22, 1991 and was subsequently dissolved. A successor company, also state-owned, used the same name again between 1997 and 2002. The virtual airline Air Djibouti, which has been operating since 2015, also uses this addition in part. In addition to the airlines from Djibouti, the national airline of Eritrea also used the sea name. Eritrean Airlines, founded in 1991, flew from Asmara between 1998 and 2001 with the addition Air Red Sea. Now Air Djibouti's additional name is being disputed. A new airline called Red Sea Airlines has been founded in Egypt. The flight operations manager, Nabil Helmy, attracted attention a few days ago with a statement on social media. His statement was "New Star is born in aviation".

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Lalona Air: The next virtual air number?

Stephen Steiner August 27, 2021 08:33

On January 15, 2022, Lalona Air, which is currently being founded, is scheduled to take off from Düsseldorf for the first time. According to the company, the company has been able to win the Danish Air Alsie as a flight partner. A 60-seat ATR72-500 is to be used to fly to domestic and foreign destinations. It is actually a familiar game. A company, often newly founded, sees a market for itself and then wants to offer appropriate flights. However, since it does not have an AOC (Air Operator Certificate), it has to find a partner who then has the appropriate certificates and aircraft. Although it is not legally an airline, it still calls itself one. This is also the case with Lalona Air. In just one month, ticket sales for various routes are to be launched on www.lalona-air.de. So far, the first two destinations have leaked out: Friedrichshafen and Klagenfurt. Lalona Air wants to position itself in the business sector, which also seems possible given that the ATR60 only has 72 seats. The company's website advertises itself with the phrase "Business airline for special requirements". Social media is even more specific. Sales manager Sean Niefer says: "Lalona Air is an airline for business travelers without compromises". Marvin Augustiniak, the managing director, says: "We will establish a new way of business travel in Germany". Strong words from people unknown in the industry. And Lalona Air actually wants to do a few things differently and thus attract business passengers. According to a press release, passengers will be able to enjoy a shuttle service to Düsseldorf Airport. The company also wants to offer free meals on board, free baggage allowance and a free shuttle service.

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