United Airlines (Chicago) today announced plans to launch year-round and seasonal service on several new routes to begin in the summer of 2012.

United will begin daily year-round service between Washington/Dulles International Airport (IAD) and Honolulu (HNL) on June 7, 2012, the only nonstop service between the two points. The flights will operate using the pictured Boeing 767-400 aircraft.

The airline will also add seasonal service to several popular summer travel destinations.

Alaska: New daily service between Denver (DEN) and Fairbanks, Alaska (FAI), will operate from June 7, 2012 through August 27, 2012, using Boeing 737-800 aircraft. Fairbanks offers access to Denali National Park, one of Alaska’s most visited destinations. The flights complement United’s existing Alaska service to Anchorage from hubs in Denver, Chicago, Houston and San Francisco, as well as Seattle/Tacoma.

South Dakota: United Express will offer daily seasonal service between Houston’s Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) and Rapid City, S.D. (RAP), gateway to the Black Hills, Mount Rushmore and the Badlands National Park, from June 7, 2012, to August 27, 2012. ExpressJet will operate the flights using Embraer ERJ 145 aircraft. United currently serves Rapid City from its Denver and Chicago hubs.

Wyoming: The airline will also add summer-season flights between its Houston and San Francisco (SFO) hubs and Jackson Hole, Wyoming (JAC), which attracts millions of summer visitors to nearby Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons. The Houston flights will operate twice-weekly from June 8, 2012, through August 27, 2012, using Boeing 757-200 aircraft. The San Francisco flights will operate daily from July 1, 2012, through August 27, 2012, as United Express, with Bombardier CR700 aircraft flown by SkyWest Airlines. These flights are in addition to United’s existing service to Jackson Hole from hubs in Chicago, Denver and Los Angeles.

With these new route additions, United will remain within the previously announced capacity guidance.

Since the October 2010 merger of United and Continental, the larger combined fleet has given the company flexibility to better meet market demand. United has added new routes from its hubs to international destinations such as Lagos, Nigeria; Guadalajara, Mexico; Montreal, Canada; Port-au-Prince, Haiti; Shanghai, China, and Stuttgart, Germany, along with new intra-Asia routes between the Tokyo hub and Hong Kong and between the Guam hub and Okinawa, Japan.

The merger also enabled the company to add a number of new domestic routes by using a mix of mainline and regional aircraft from both carriers more efficiently.

Copyright Photo: Jeffrey S. DeVore.

United Slide Show: CLICK HERE

AMR Corporation, parent of American Airlines and American Eagle Airlines (2nd) (Dallas/Fort Worth) is going through the Chapter 11 reorganization process. The corporation has not yet filed its intentions concerning its employee pension obligations. Previous Chapter 11 airline reorganizations have allowed U.S. carriers to leave their pension obligations behind.

According to this report by Reuters, the U.S. Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, which has the responsibility for insuring certain benefits in private retirement programs, has sued AMR for $92 million for its unpaid pension plan contributions.

Will AMR walk away from its obligations?

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough. American tried and heavily touted its “Working Together” maintenance program. Will the teamwork continue with the “new” American?

American Slide Show: CLICK HERE

MALEV Hungarian Airlines Boeing 737-7Q8 HA-LOP (msn 29354) (Budapest Winter Invasion) FRA (Bernhard Ross), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

MALEV Hungarian Airlines (Budapest) is out of money and has appealed to the government of Hungary for support. However due to recent European Commission rulings, state aid is very limited and this could be the end of the state carrier.

The Chairman of the Board, Dr. János Berényi, has requested the airline management to draw up a liquidation plan.

The airline has issued the following statement:

“During the January 30 meeting of the Board of Directors, Chief Executive Officer of Malév Lóránt Limburger informed the Board that despite the continually improving commercial results the financing of activities had become unviable and was unresolved from the end of January. At the same time, talks with ILFC on Friday had proved successful after agreement was reached that the American leasing corporation would continue to make the aircraft available for continuous operations.

In the interest of ensuring continuous operations, Chairman of the Board of Directors Dr. János Berényi requested Malév management to draw up – by the end of the week – a liquidity plan for the immediate future.

After discussing the Malév report the Board of Directors approached the owners with a request to do everything possible to resolve the situation, even though the Board recognized that due to the EU Commission ruling reached in January concluding that financing provided between 2007 and 2010 was unlawful state support, which further burdens the company’s heritage, the room for manoeuvre of the government is extremely limited.”

Meanwhile the government cabinet has declared the flag carrier to be a company of “strategic importance”, meaning that creditors cannot start the liquidation process.

Copyright Photo: Bernhard Ross.

MALEV Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Air New Zealand (Auckland) will be forced to find a new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) this year. Popular CEO Rob Fyfe, who is credited with turning the flag carrier around during his seven years at the top, has announced he will retire in December 2012.

Read the full story from the Sydney Morning Herald: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing. Please click on the photo for the full story of this special logojet.

Air New Zealand Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Korean Air (Seoul) reported a net loss of $87 million in 2011. The swing to the red is blamed on higher fuel costs. The company is vowing to turn it around in 2012.

Read the full report from AFP: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Joe G. Walker. A new delivery for Korean Air. Please click on the photo for the details.

Korean Air Slide Show: CLICK HERE

ANA’s (All Nippon Airways) (ANA Group) (Tokyo) net profit for the first nine months was 33.8 billion yen ($443 million), down from 37.5 billion yen a year earlier. This represents a 10 percent drop, due mainly to higher corporate taxes.

The company issued the following guidance:

“ANA Group, Japan’s largest airline group,
today reported its consolidated financial results for the first nine months of fiscal year 2011.

Operating revenues for the first nine months of the fiscal year 2011 rose three percent to 1,069.8 billion yen, while operating income
increased by 17.3 percent to 91.1 billion yen and recurring profit by 22.5 percent to 71.4 billion yen. Net income for the period was 33.7
billion yen compared with 37.5 billion yen the previous year.

Although economic conditions domestically and internationally remain challenging, ANA is working strenuously to stimulate demand, reduce costs and improve its competitiveness as a network carrier and in October became the first airline in the world to operate the new Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

As a result of these different initiatives and the
strength of the yen, ANA has revised upwards its forecast for operating income and recurring profit for fiscal year 2011, although operating
revenues are expected to remain flat.

Japan’s economy continues to recover gradually from the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11 last year, but the outlook globally remains uncertain owing to rising oil prices, the government bond crisis affecting the Eurozone and exchange rate fluctuations. ANA has responded to this challenging economic environment by working to stimulate demand for both its domestic and international routes, and
has rolled out approximately 30.0 billion yen in emergency cost improvement measures to minimize the impact on revenues. From November 1 last year, ANA began flying the Boeing 787, as a world’s first regularly scheduled service, and from January 21, began service on a new international route, Toyko Haneda-Frankfurt, further enhancing its
competitiveness as a network carrier.”

Read the full report from the Business Recorder: CLICK HERE

In other news, the pilots are threatening a strike tomorrow. ANA has issued the following statement:

“ANA Group regrets the threatened 24-strike on February 1st announced by its pilot unions and is continuing urgent negotiations with the unions concerned to avert industrial action and the disruption to passenger services it will cause.

Should the unnecessary strike go ahead, ANA will do everything possible to minimize the impact on passengers and services. No international flights will be affected. However domestic flights could regrettably be subject to cancellation and/or delay.”

Copyright Photo: Nick Dean.

ANA Slide Show: CLICK HERE

UPS-United Parcel Service (UPS Airlines) Boeing 767-34AF N317UP (msn 27745) LGB (Michael B. Ing), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

UPS-United Parcel Service (Atlanta) today announced fourth quarter 2011 adjusted diluted earnings per share of $1.28, a 21% improvement over the prior-year period. Total revenue increased 6% to $14.2 billion and adjusted operating profit climbed 17% to more than $2 billion.

Last Friday, the company announced a change in pension accounting to a mark-to-market methodology. Adopted in the fourth quarter of 2011 and applied retrospectively, this new method resulted in after-tax charges in 2011 and 2010 of $527 million and $75 million, respectively. Also, in the prior-year period, UPS recorded a net after-tax gain of $32 million from the sale of certain non-core business units in the Supply Chain and Freight segment. On a reported basis, fourth quarter 2011 diluted earnings per share were $0.74, a decline of 28% from the same quarter last year.

For the full year 2011, UPS achieved a new high in adjusted diluted earnings per share at $4.35. On a reported basis, diluted earnings per share were $3.84.

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing.

UPS Airlines Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Vladivostok Air (Valdivostok Avia) (Vladivostok) is adding new routes from Moscow to Chita, Ulan-Ude, Abakan and Blagoveshchensk this summer according to this article by itar-tass.com.

With the closure of Dalavia due to its large debt, Vladivostok Air announced the start of seven additional domestic routes and four new international routes from Khabarovsk.

Read the full story: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing. Please click on the photo for additional information.

Valdivostok Air Slide Show: CLICK HERE

South African Airways Airbus A340-642 ZS-SNI (msn 630) LHR (Wingnut), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

South African Airways (Johannesburg) today launched a new route from its Johannesburg base to Beijing, China, with an Airbus A340-600.

Copyright Photo: Wingnut.

Read the full report from Business Report: CLICK HERE

South African Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Ryanair (Dublin) reported a net profit of $19.8 million in the fiscal third quarter.

The ultra low-cost carrier issued the following statement:

“Ryanair, the world’s favorite airline, on January 30 announced a Q3 profit of €15m compared to a Q3 loss of €10m last year. Revenues increased 13% to €844m as traffic fell 2% and average fares rose 17%. Unit costs rose 11% due to a 7% increase in sector lengths and an 18% increase in fuel costs. Excluding fuel, sector length adjusted unit costs declined by 1%.”

The flamboyant airline continued:

“Our new routes and bases have performed well this winter. We open 5 new bases in Baden Baden (Ger), Billund (Den), Palma (Spain), Paphos (Cyprus) and Wroclaw (Poland) in March/April 2012. We expect to launch at least 1 more base for summer 2012, shortly. The EU recession, higher oil prices, the unfolding failure of the package tour operator model, significant competitor fare increases and capacity cuts, has created enormous growth opportunities for Ryanair, as large and smaller airports across Europe compete aggressively to win Ryanair’s growth.

Unit costs rose 11% mainly due to an 18% increase in fuel costs. Excluding fuel, sector length adjusted unit costs fell 1%, as we aggressively controlled costs despite a 2% basic pay increase, higher Eurocontrol fees, and substantially higher Dublin Airport charges. In FY13 we are 90% hedged for H1 at $990 per ton (approx. $99 per barrel), and 70% hedged for H2 at approx. $100 pbl. We expect to hedge the balance of our H2 2013 needs over the coming months. However, at these prices our fuel bill for FY 2013 will rise by approx. €350m which poses a significant cost challenge for next year.

The BAA’s recent announcement that it will pay dividends of £240m this year to Ferrovial and its other shareholders is further evidence that it is generating monopoly profits under the CAA’s “inadequate” regulatory regime. Over the past five years while Stansted charges have doubled, traffic has declined 26% from over 24m in 2007 to just 18m in 2011. The BAA monopoly’s shareholders are being unfairly enriched at the expense of Stansted airport users who continue to suffer high charges and inadequate service. We again call on the UK government and the CAA to bring forward the sale of Stansted to enable competition between London airports to deliver lower airport charges and improved customer service where the BAA airport monopoly and CAA’s “inadequate” regulatory regime has repeatedly failed.

We also call on the UK government to scrap its APD tourist tax which is damaging UK tourism and jobs. A similar visitor tax in Holland was scrapped after just one year when it was proven that its detrimental impact on Dutch tourism was far greater than the revenue it generated. UK APD was doubled in 2007 to £10 and was increased again to £12 this year and has resulted in the UK having the highest aviation taxes in the world, to the detriment of the UK’s tourism industry, which was one of the UK’s most important revenue earners before its visitor numbers declined over the past four year.

In Ireland the Government owned DAA airport monopoly recently published its 2011 traffic figures which highlighted a 26% decline in traffic from 30m pax in 2007 to just 22m in 2011. While many UK and EU airports delivered growth in 2011 by reducing charges, the DAA monopoly (protected by the Dept of Transport) raised fees by 40% and delivered another year of underlying traffic declines. Sadly, the new Irish government has failed to deliver any change or reform in airport or tourism policy and failed to scrap the €3 tourist tax. Ireland needs competition between Dublin, Cork & Shannon airports in order to reduce the DAA’s high airport charges, and return our tourism industry to growth, which will create thousands of badly needed entry level jobs in the Irish economy. We will continue to campaign for this change and reform, since the Dept of Transport’s current policy of protecting the DAA monopoly and raising access costs clearly isn’t working.

Our Q3 Net Profit of €15m was slightly ahead of guidance due to a combination of benign weather which caused fewer flight cancellations and significant de-icing savings, and a better performance on yields reflecting our planned winter capacity cuts, longer sectors, and higher competitor fares/fuel surcharges. Should these positive Q3 trends continue into Q4, we now expect our full year profit will exceed previous guidance (of €440m) and rise to €480m.

EGM to approve ADR share buy back.

Our September 2011 AGM authorised the board to buy-back ordinary shares representing up to 5% of our issued shared capital. However, EU ownership rules require that at least 50% of the Company be owned by EU nationals.

In order to facilitate further share buy-backs, the board intends to hold an EGM in March 2012 to seek shareholder approval to include ADR’s as well as ordinary shares in future buy-back programs for up to 5% of our issued share capital. A detailed letter to shareholders explaining these matters will be issued in due course and the Board believes that shareholders will support this proposal which will be subject to Stock Exchange and regulatory approvals in due course.”

Copyright Photo: Antony J. Best.

Ryanair Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Tiger Airways (Singapore) has finalized its acquisition of a 33 percent share in the grounded Mandala Airlines (Jakarta), becoming the second largest shareholder after the Saratoga Group (51.3 percent). The creditors and previous owners will hold the remaining 15.7 percent share.

Mandala will resume operations this year under the Tiger Airways low-cost model according to this article by The Economic Times.

Read the full article: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: John Adlard. This intricate Mandala design will fade into aviation history as the renewed carrier will also adopt the Tiger Airways brand.

AirAsia (AirAsia.com) (Thai AirAsia) (Thailand) Airbus A320-216 HS-ABK (msn 4088) DPS (Michael B. Ing), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Thai AirAsia (AirAsia.com) (Bangkok) will delete the Bangkok-Delhi (India) route on March 24 per Airline Route.

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing. Please click on the photo for additional information.

PIA-Pakistan International Airlines Boeing 737-340 AP-BCD (msn 23297) DXB (Ole Simon), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

PIA-Pakistan International Airlines (Karachi) has dropped the twice-weekly Karachi-Colombo (Sri Lanka) route.

Copyright Photo: Ole Simon.

PIA Slide Show: CLICK HERE

RAK Airways (rakairways.com) Airbus A320-214 A6-RKB (msn 3907) RKT (Paul Denton), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

RAK Airways (Ras al-Khaimah) will restore the Ras al-Khaimah-Kathmandu route on February 15 (three times a week). The airline will also launched a new long-haul route extending eastward to Bangkok commencing on June 1. The latter route will be operated with four roundtrips a week. BKK will be the company’s 12th destination.

Copyright Photo: Paul Denton. Please click on the photo for additional information.

RAK Airways Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Current Route Map:

Please click on the map to enlarge.

Air Namibia-XL.com (XL Airways Germany) Boeing 737-8Q8 WL D-AXLF (msn 28218) FRA (Bernhard Ross), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Air Namibia (Windhoek) is planning to return to Zimbabwe after a 13-year absence. The airline will fly a Windhoek-Harare route with four roundtrips a week starting in mid May.

Read the full full story from News Day: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Bernhard Ross.

S7 Airlines (Siber Airlines) Boeing 737-83N WL VP-BND (msn 28245) BRU (Karl Cornil), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

S7 Airlines (Novosibirsk) will launch new twice-weekly flights from Khabarovsk to Tokyo (Narita) starting on March 25 according to Airline Route.

Copyright Photo: Karl Cornil.

S7 Slide Show: CLICK HERE

United Airlines Boeing 757-222 N522UA (msn 24931) BWI (Tony Storck), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

United Airlines (Chicago) today announced it is now offering Economy Plus seating on all long-haul international Boeing 757-200 flights, offering economy customers the option of six inches of extra legroom.

With the reconfiguration, the aircraft have 16 flat-bed seats in BusinessFirst, 45 seats in Economy Plus and 108 in Economy. The 757-200 reconfiguration project, which began in late November, outfits those aircraft with 1,845 Economy Plus seats.

The 41 aircraft principally operate between New York/Newark and Amsterdam, Barcelona, Belfast, Berlin, Birmingham, Copenhagen, Dublin, Edinburgh, Frankfurt, Glasgow, Hamburg, Lima, Lisbon, London, Madrid, Manchester, Oslo, Paris, Shannon, Stockholm and Stuttgart, and between Washington/Dulles and Amsterdam and Paris.

United introduced Economy Plus in 1999. Today, the company offers the extra-legroom seating on more than 400 mainline aircraft and more than 150 regional jets. When fully deployed, United will offer customers more extra-legroom economy class seats than any airline in the world.

In addition to the expansion of Economy Plus seating, United continues to invest in onboard improvements:

1. United has recently modified 28 three-cabin Boeing 777-200 aircraft with new premium cabins, offering flat-bed seats and audio and video on demand, as well as larger video screens and power ports in United Economy.

2. United plans to modify 18 more Boeing 777 aircraft in the next year. United’s 23 Boeing 747-400, 21 three-cabin B767-300, 22 two-cabin B777-200 and 41 international B757-200 aircraft are already equipped with new premium cabins.

3. One Boeing 767-400 aircraft now features new premium-cabin flat-bed seats, Economy Plus seating and audio and video on demand. The airline will similarly modify 11 additional Boeing 767-400 aircraft and 14 Boeing 767-300 aircraft. When completed, United will offer more flat-bed seats than any airline in the world.

4. The airline will begin expanding the overhead bins in its 152 Airbus aircraft, increasing the available carryon-bag storage space by approximately two-thirds.

5. United will install satellite-enabled inflight Internet service on its aircraft beginning later in 2012.

Copyright Photo: Tony Storck.

United Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Donavia Boeing 737-5Q8 VP-BVU (msn 25166) FRA (Ole Simon), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Donavia (Rostov-on-Don) is adding two new routes from Sochi to both Ekaterinburg and Volgograd starting on May 26 per Airline Route.

Copyright Photo: Ole Simon. Please click on the photo for additional information.

Donavia Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Finnair Embraer ERJ 170-100ST OH-LEM (msn 17000141) GVA (Paul Denton), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Finnair (Helsinki) will drop the Helsinki-Kiev route on March 8 per Airline Route. The route is operated by Embraer ERJ 170s three days a week. The carrier is also cutting the Helsinki-Stuttgart route on February 29 which is operated by Flybe Nordic.

Copyright Photo: Paul Denton.

Finnair Slide Show: CLICK HERE

American Eagle Airlines Embraer ERJ 140LR (EMB-135KL) N853AE (msn 145742) MIA (Bruce Drum), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

American Eagle Airlines (2nd) (Dallas/Fort Worth) as part of an on-going reorganization, will drop the Halifax-New York (JFK) route on April 2. The company has served the Halifax market since June 2004.

Copyright Photo: Bruce Drum.

American Eagle Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Ceskoslovenske Aerolinie (CSA-Czech Airlines) Boeing 737-55S OK-XGB (msn 26540) ARN (Stefan Sjogren) (1957 retrojet), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Czech Airlines-CSA (Prague) is canceling plans to add the following routes from Prague this summer: Athens, Beirut, Larnaca, Oslo and Skopje per Airline Route.

Copyright Photo: Stefan Sjogren.

Czech Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Air One Airbus A320-215 EI-DSK (msn 3328) MXP (Richard Vandervord), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Air One (Milan-Malpensa) will add twice-weekly Venice-St. Petersburg flights starting on May 4. The new route will be operated with Airbus A320s per Airline Route.

Copyright Photo: Richard Vandervord. Please click on the photo for additional information.

Air One Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Vueling Airlines (Barcelona) is interested in acquiring MALEV Hungarian Airlines (Budapest) according to a report by business weekly Figyelo. According to the article, Vueling has concluded negotiations with the National Development Ministry. A business plan will be presented to the Vueling board of directors next month.

Read the full report by the BBJ: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems. Please click on the photo for additional information.

Vueling Slide Show: CLICK HERE

MALEV Slide Show: CLICK HERE

B&H Airlines (Saravejo) will resume twice-weekly Airbus A319 service on the Saravejo-Dusseldorf route on June 2 per Airline Route.

Copyright Photo: Stefan Sjogren. Please click on the photo for additional information.

B&H Airlines Slide Show: CLICK HERE

B&H routes from Sarajevo:

Please click on the map to enlarge.

WestJet Airlines Boeing 737-7CT WL C-FTWJ (msn 30713) YYZ (TMK Photography), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

WestJet Airlines (Calgary) has unveiled details of its scheduled service to New York’s LaGuardia airport. In November, WestJet successfully bid for eight slot pairs, bringing WestJet’s service to the slot-controlled airport preferred by business travelers.

The airline will launch seven nonstop flights each business day between Toronto and New York City starting on June 4, 2012. On July 12, WestJet will increase to eight nonstop flights each business day.

The launch of new service comes on the heels of the recently signed code-share agreement with Delta Air Lines. WestJet guests travelling between Toronto and New York will arrive into Delta’s main connection area at LaGuardia, allowing connections to Delta’s U.S. network without additional security screening.

Copyright Photo: TMK Photography.

WestJet Slide Show: CLICK HERE

USA 3000 Airlines Airbus A320-214 N264AV (msn 1867) BWI (Brian McDonough), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

USA 3000 Airlines (Philadelphia) is set to operate its last Airbus A320 flight on January 30.

In November 2011, parent Apple Vacations decided to dissolve USA 3000 Airlines. Apple Vacations will now use other carriers such as Frontier Airlines (2nd) (Denver) to fly its customers to the Caribbean.

USA 3000 has been gradually dropping the cities it serves. It is currently operating five Airbus A320s from St. Louis, Chicago (O’Hare), Cincinnati, Cleveland and Pittsburgh to vacation destinations in Florida, Mexico and the Caribbean region for Apple Vacations.

Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough. Please click on the photo for additional information.

USA 3000 Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Typical routes from Chicago (O’Hare):

Delta Air Lines Boeing 747-451 N667US (msn 24222) LAX (Brandon Farris), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Delta Air Lines (Atlanta) according to this article by the WSJ is now considering a merger option with US Airways (Phoenix) which remains opens to merger possibilities. As previously reported, DL is also considering a possible merger option with American Airlines (Dallas/Fort Worth) although this option is less likely to be approved due to the size of both carriers and competition factors.

Read the article: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Brandon Farris.

Delta Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Etihad Crystal Cargo (Etihad Airways) Airbus A330-243F A6-DCA (msn 1032) TLS (first A330-200F, now in full colors), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Etihad Airways (Abu Dhabi) has signed a firm order for two additional A330-200F freighter aircraft to meet their growth plans in the cargo market. The airline was a launch customer and the launch operator of the A330-200F, having taken delivery of its first aircraft at the Farnborough International Airshow in 2010. This new order will increase the fleet of the airline’s cargo business, Etihad Crystal Cargo, to four A330-200F freighters.

Etihad Slide Show: CLICK HERE

AirBridgeCargo Airlines Volga-Dnepr Group) (Moscow) and Boeing and AirBridgeCargo Airlines (ABC), yesterday celebrated the delivery of the first of five new Boeing 747-8 Freighters to the airline.

The new 747-8 Freighter is 250 feet, 2 inches (76.3 m) long, which is 18 feet and 4 inches (5.6 m) longer than its predecessor, the 747-400 Freighter. The stretch provides customers with 16 percent more revenue cargo volume, which translates to four additional main-deck pallets and three additional lower-hold pallets. The 747-8 Freighters are powered with GE’s GEnx-2B engines.

The addition of the 747-8 to ABC’s fleet is an important step in its long-term business strategy. The second and third Boeing 747-8s will join the fleet in March and September 2012 and the last two aircraft on order are scheduled for delivery in 2013. In addition, ABC has options for five more 747-8s. By the end of 2012, after retiring old aircraft types, ABC’s fleet will consist of three Boeing 747-8 Freighters and eight 747-400 Freighters.

Copyright Photo: Nick Dean. Please click on the photo for additional information.

ABC Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Spanair (Barcelona) is due to cease all operations tonight after Qatar Airways (Doha) declined to invest in the money-losing airline today. In addition, the regional government of Cataluna has also declined to inject any further cash into the airline.

Read the story from Reuters: CLICK HERE

Part owner, SAS Group, issued the following statement:

“The SAS Group has continuously informed that following the divestment of most of its ownership in Spanair early 2009, the SAS Group has had a remaining exposure of approximately SEK 1.8 billion.

Spanair’s Board of Directors has today decided to apply for bankruptcy. Due to the situation in Spanair, SAS has decided to make a write down of the outstanding debt and receivables on Spanair of approximately MEUR 165, as well as reserve MEUR 28 in guarantees and costs due to the bankruptcy. SAS ownership in Spanair is currently 10,9%, but the value of these shares has already been written down and are booked at 0 value. The write down will affect the SAS Group’s result as a non-recurring item and equity negatively by SEK 1.7 billion in total. As informed earlier, the effect on the SAS Group’s liquid assets is estimated to be limited to MSEK 200-300.

SAS Group will follow customary procedures as a creditor in the upcoming bankruptcy process.

As reported as of the third quarter, SAS has a financial preparedness of SEK 10.6 billion so the event will have a limited effect on SAS liquidity.

SAS will assist passengers to the extent practically possible.

SAS expects a positive result before non-recurring items for the full year 2011.”

Spanair Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Bernard Ross. Please click on the photo for information on the carrier.

Avianca (Colombia) Airbus A320-214 N446AV (msn 4046) MIA (Bruce Drum), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

AviancaTaca, which includes subsidiary AeroGal (Ecuador), has signed a purchase agreement for 33 Airbus A320neo and 18 A320 Family aircraft. The order, which is the largest from a single airline in the region in terms of number of aircraft, follows a MOU signed during the Le Bourget Air Show in Paris in June 2011.

AviancaTaca has placed firm orders for 190 Airbus aircraft (including the latest 51) and has currently in service 88 A320 Family aircraft and eight A330. AviancaTaca operates the entire A320 Family, A318, A319, A320 and A321 aircraft.

Copyright Photo: Bruce Drum.

Avianca (Colombia) Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Porter Airlines Bombardier DHC-8-402 (Q400) C-GLQB (msn 4130) YUL (Gilbert Hechema), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Porter Airlines (Toronto-City Centre Airport), not be undone by Air Canada’s announcement of new New York service, has upped the ante. Porter is adding two additional daily flights and a more convenient schedule. This increases daily roundtrip departures between Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport to as many as 13 flights each business day.

The first new flight starts on March 26, with a second flight beginning on April 16, and additional weekend options as of March 25.

Porter also launched a new nonstop service between Newark and Mt. Tremblant, Quebec this winter, a popular skiing destination.

Copyright Photo: Gilbert Hechema.

Porter Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Porter’s destinations from Toronto:

US Airways Airbus A319-112 N717UW (msn 1069) (Carolina Panthers) CLT (Jay Selman), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

US Airways (Phoenix) has announced that it has reached a tentative agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement with the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), which represents the airline’s 6,700 mainline flight attendants. Details of the agreement will be made available by AFA.

The AFA Master Executive Counsel’s (MEC’s) must first approve the tentative agreement before it can be sent to its members for consideration. This first step is expected to take place in the coming weeks. The tentative agreement would cover the airline’s 6,700 mainline flight attendants, who are based in US Airways’ three hub cities of Phoenix, Philadelphia, Charlotte, N.C., and in its Washington D.C. focus city.

Top Copyright Photo: Jay Selman. Please click on the photo for additional details.

US Airways Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Bottom Copyright Photo: Jay Selman/Graham Hitchen. N717UW flying “over” the Bank of America Stadium in downtown Charlotte. This composite photo demonstrates our abilities to produce a special need digital image for your specific needs at our very competitive rates.

Composite Photo by Jay Selman and Graham Hitchen.

Republic Airways Holdings (Indianapolis) has announced that David Siegel will become the new CEO, President, and interim Chief Operating Officer of Frontier Airlines (2nd) (Denver), a wholly owned subsidiary of Republic Airways Holdings, Inc.

Siegel’s appointment is another step towards Republic’s goal of making Frontier Airlines a viable, strong and independent business. Siegel and the entire Frontier executive team will be based at Frontier’s headquarters in Denver, Colorado.

Republic is re-inventing Frontier Airlines as an Ultra Low-Cost Carrier which it hopes to sell off.

According to the release, Siegel comes to Frontier with a wealth of relevant CEO experience. Siegel previously served as CEO of XOJET, gategroup, US Airways and Avis Budget, in addition to other key leadership roles in the airline industry.

Siegel served as lead independent director on the Republic Airways (RAH) Board of Directors and will give up that role, but will remain on the board in this new position.

Republic also announced the addition of new senior officers for Frontier’s finance and commercial team, among other changes in the executive leadership team.

Robert Ashcroft has joined Frontier as Senior Vice President, Finance. Ashcroft will work closely with Siegel and Bedford in the project of moving Frontier towards independence, as well as defining opportunities to ensure profitable growth for the Company. Ashcroft has an unusually diverse background encompassing finance, planning and IT. Most recently he was at Allegiant Travel Company overseeing network and capacity planning, scheduling, pricing and investor relations.

Daniel Shurz has been promoted to the role of Senior Vice President, Commercial for Frontier and will have responsibility for all commercial activities, including network planning, pricing and revenue management, marketing, product and brand definition. Daniel joined Frontier as Vice President of Strategy and Planning in 2009.

Greg Aretakis is assuming an expanded role as Vice President of Network and Revenue Management, adding responsibility for scheduling and planning, sales and distribution to his current portfolio. Greg previously served as the Company’s Vice President of Revenue Production.

Dan Krause has been promoted to Vice President of Marketing and Customer Experience for Frontier. Dan has been with Frontier since 2004 and most recently served as Senior Director, Commercial Strategy and Customer Experience.

Frontier Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Bruce Drum. Frontier operates mainly from Concourse A at Denver International Airport (DEN). Oddly the Airbus A318s (with their taller tails) cannot taxi under the pedestrian overpass (left) connecting the concourses with the main terminal.

The entrance to the new Boeing 777-300 ER will feature mood lighting.

In 2010, American announced plans to order the Boeing 777-300 ER, demonstrating a continuation of the airline’s efforts to enhance its fleet and become more fuel efficient.  American is the first U.S. airline to order and take delivery of the 777-300 ER.  The new aircraft is designed to enhance the customer experience and includes fully lie-flat First and Business Class seats, plus seating plans that will allow American to offer a premium product in the Main Cabin and Wi-Fi capability to keep customers connected while traveling internationally.

Copyright Photos: American Airlines. AA’s new First Class Product.

AA's new First Class on the Boeing 777-300 ER

AA's new Business Class on the Boeing 777-300 ER.

American will also increase the total number of weekly flights between DFW and Sao Paulo from seven times per week to 12 times per week beginning June 14.  Also on June 14, flights from Miami to Brasilia (BSB) and to Belo Horizonte (CNF) will increase from five and three times per week, respectively, to daily.

In addition to the increased service between DFW and Sao Paulo, American will launch new service that connects its Miami hub to Manaus, Brazil beginning in June.

Manaus will be the seventh destination served by American in Brazil.  American currently offers more routes between the two countries than any other airline.  The flight will be operated on Boeing 737-800 aircraft with 160 seats, including 16 Business Class seats and 144 seats in the Main Cabin. The 737-800 interior offers several unique features, including larger overhead bins that hold more bags than standard overhead bins.  The aircraft also includes additional features such as sculpted sidewalls providing customers a feeling of spaciousness, updated window reveals making the windows appear larger and brighter, and longer-lasting LED lighting to enhance the customer experience.  The route is currently scheduled four times per week, and customers can book travel beginning Jan. 29.  Yesterday, American filed with the U.S. Department of Transportation for authority to begin daily service in this market.

With the Chapter 11 reorganization, a new CEO, new possible suitors (US Airways) and a new type coming later this year, this would be the perfect opportunity for American Airlines to upgrade its image and brand including a new aircraft color scheme. First introduced in 1968, this well-worn livery is now the longest-running airline color scheme in the world for a major carrier.  After 44 years, it is time for a new makeover.

American's new Economy Class seat on the new Boeing 777-300 ER.

Additionally Virgin Australia has announced additional flights as part of an accelerated capacity growth plan for major corporate, resources sector and leisure routes. The airline will be introducing the following:

• From February 13, 2012, extra services between Brisbane-Melbourne, Sydney-Melbourne and Adelaide-Melbourne – and also between Brisbane-Cairns and Brisbane-Whitsunday Coast (Proserpine).
• From February 19, 2012, an additional return service will also be introduced between Brisbane and Gladstone on Sundays in response to demand.
• From February 20, 2012, extra services will also be added between Brisbane and Rockhampton.
• Adelaide-Melbourne: An additional return flight Mondays through Fridays; taking the total number of flights offered between the two cities up to 10 per day or 130 per week.
  Brisbane-Melbourne: An extra return flight seven days a week; taking the total number of flights offered on the route up to 13 daily or 174 per week.
  Melbourne-Sydney: An extra return flight seven days a week; taking the total number of flights offered between the two cities up to 31 daily or 392 per week.
• Brisbane-Gladstone: One extra return flight on Sundays (using the ATR); taking the total number of flights offered by the airline on the route to 34 per week.
  Brisbane-Rockhampton: An extra return flight, Monday to Friday; taking the total number of Virgin Australia flights between Brisbane-Rockhampton up to 78 per week.
  Brisbane-Cairns: An extra return flight will be added every day except Saturdays; taking the total number of Virgin Australia flights between Brisbane and Cairns each week to 80.
  Brisbane and Whitsunday Coast (Proserpine): An additional return service, Monday to Friday, will be introduced; taking the total number of flights offered by the airline on the route to 24 per week.

Read the full article: CLICK HERE

In other news, Virgin Australia has retired its last Embraer ERJ 170.

Copyright Photo: Ivan K. Nishimura/Blue Wave Group. Still painted in Virgin Blue’s brand, Embraer ERJ 170-100LR VH-ZHF (msn 17000255) passed through Honolulu on January 25 on its trek across the wide Pacific Ocean headed eastbound. None of the ERJ 170s were repainted in the new Virgin Australia identity.

Skywest Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Virgin Australia Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Virgin Blue Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Skywest Airlines Route Map (click to enlarge):

Click on the map to enlarge.

Fly Jamaica (Air Guyana) Boeing 757-23N N524AT (msn 30233) FLL (Mark Lawrence – Amateur Aviation Photography), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Fly Jamaica (Kingston) is still waiting for authority to operate this Boeing 757 by the Jamaica Civil Aviation Authority (JCAA). The new airline was expected to commence operations on December 1, 2011 but this remains in limbo as the government considers its application according to this article by The Gleamer.

The paper airline is proposing to fly (operated by Air Guyana) this Boeing 757-200 on a Georgetown (Guyana)-Kingston (Jamaica)-New York route and also from Kingston to Toronto (Pearson).

Read the full story: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Mark Lawrence. Please click on the photo for additional information.

Etihad Airways (Abu Dhabi) is acquiring a 40 percent interest in Air Seychelles (Male) for $20 million.

Air Seychelles recently dropped its long-haul services to Europe and retired most of its long-range Boeing 767-300 ERs.

Air Seychelles issued the following statement:

“The Government of Seychelles and Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) wherein Etihad will invest to acquire a 40 percent stake in Air Seychelles Ltd as part of a strategic partnership alliance initiative between Air Seychelles and Etihad Airways.

The deal was announced today (January 26) by Joel Morgan, Seychelles Minister of Home Affairs, Environment, Transport and Energy and James Hogan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Etihad Airways.

Etihad Airways’ investment of $20 million will be matched by an equal capital injection from the Government of Seychelles. In addition, Etihad Airways will also provide a shareholder’s loan of $25 million to meet working capital requirements and support network development.”

Copyright Photo: Paul Denton. Please click on the photo for information about this special logojet.

Etihad Airways Slide Show: CLICK HERE

QANTAS Airways Airbus A380-842 VH-OQA (msn 014) LHR (Antony J. Best) (resumes A380 operations), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Airbus (Toulouse) according to this report by Reuters has announced the recent wings crack discoveries were the result of a combination of design and manufacturing flaws. The builder also announced it has worked out a two-stage solution.

According to the report, “he cracks were caused by a combination of the choice of aluminum alloy for certain wing brackets as well as stresses imposed by two parts of the manufacturing process”.

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Antony J. Best.

Alaska Air Group (Alaska Airlines and Horizon Air) (Seattle/Tacoma) today reported fourth quarter net income, excluding special items, of $37.2 million, or $1.02 per diluted share, compared to net income of $47.4 million, or $1.28 per diluted share. This quarter’s results compare to a First Call mean estimate of $1.14 per share.

The group also reported a record full-year net income, excluding special items, of $287.4 million, or $7.83 per diluted share, compared to $262.6 million, or $7.14 per diluted share for 2010.

The group also reported net income for the fourth quarter under Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) of $64.0 million, or $1.76 per diluted share, compared to net income of $64.8 million, or $1.75 per diluted share.

For the full-year, Alaska Air Group reported GAAP net income of $244.5 million, or $6.66 per diluted share, compared to net income of $251.1 million, or $6.83 per diluted share.

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing. Please click on the photo for details on this logoplane.

United Airlines Boeing 777-222 ER N219UA (msn 30551) LAX (Michael B. Ing), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

United Continental Holdings, Inc. (Chicago) today reported full-year 2011 net income of $1.3 billion or $3.49 per diluted share, excluding $483 million of special items consisting primarily of integration-related costs. Including special items, UAL reported full-year 2011 net income of $840 million or $2.26 per diluted share. UAL reported fourth-quarter net income of $109 million or $0.30 per diluted share, excluding $247 million of special items. Including special items, UAL reported a fourth-quarter 2011 net loss of $138 million or $0.42 loss per share.

UAL 2011 consolidated passenger revenue increased 9.0 percent compared to the pro forma results for 2010. Consolidated passenger revenue per available seat mile (PRASM) increased 9.2 percent in 2011 compared to the pro forma results for 2010.

UAL consolidated passenger revenue increased 5.6 percent in the fourth quarter compared to the same period in 2010. Fourth-quarter 2011 consolidated PRASM increased 8.2 percent year-over-year.

Consolidated fuel expense for 2011, excluding the impact of hedges, increased 36.5 percent, or $3.4 billion, year-over-year on a pro forma basis.

UAL ended 2011 with $8.3 billion in unrestricted cash, cash equivalents and short term investments and undrawn lines of credit.
Co-workers earned $265 million in profit sharing for full-year 2011, which will be distributed on Feb. 14, 2012.

The consolidated network operated more than two million flights and had 142 million passengers in 2011, carrying the most traffic of any airline in the world.

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing.

United Slide Show: CLICK HERE

JetBlue Airways Airbus A320-232 N568JB (msn 2063) (Blueberries) LGB (Michael B. Ing), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

JetBlue Airways Corporation (New York) today reported its results for the fourth quarter and full year 2011:

Pre-tax income of $40 million in the fourth quarter. This compares to pre-tax income of $13 million in the year-ago period.

For the full year 2011, JetBlue reported pre-tax income of $145 million. This compares to a pre-tax income of $161 million for the full year 2010.

Net income for the fourth quarter was $23 million, or $0.08 per diluted share. This compares to JetBlue’s fourth quarter 2010 net income of $8 million, or $0.03 per diluted share.

For the full year 2011, JetBlue reported net income of $86 million, or $0.28 per diluted share. This compares to net income of $97 million, or $0.31 per diluted share, for the full year 2010.

JetBlue ended the year with $1.2 billion in cash and short term investments.

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing.

JetBlue Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Air Canada Express-Jazz Aviation Bombardier CRJ705 (CL-600-2D15) C-GOJZ (msn 15053) YYZ (TMK Photography), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Air Canada Express (Jazz Aviation) (Halifax) will launch triple-daily, nonstop flights between Toronto Pearson and New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport for Air Canada beginning on May 3, 2012. AC will also increase to hourly its flights to LaGuardia Airport. AC serves all three major New York City area airports: John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport and Newark Liberty International Airport. Air Canada, which began flying to New York 71 years ago, will operate up to 38 nonstop return flights a day between Canada and New York City this summer.

Beginning May 1, 2012, Air Canada will add an additional daily return flight between Toronto and LaGuardia, providing customers convenient hourly service each business day. The new Toronto-JFK service will be operated by Air Canada Express using 50-seat CRJ200 regional jets. The JFK flights will have early morning, afternoon and evening arrivals and departures. With the new services, Air Canada will operate a total of up to 38 return flights a day to the New York metropolitan area from Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa, Calgary and Vancouver.

Copyright Photo: TMK Photography. One of the first Jazz aircraft to be rebranded to the new Air Canada Express brand is this CRJ705.

US Airways (Phoenix) has confirmed it is considering a merger with defunct American Airlines (Dallas/Fort Worth).

Read the full full report from the Philadelphia Inquirer and Philly.com: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Bruce Drum.

US Airways Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Lufthansa Cargo McDonnell Douglas MD-11F D-ALCC (msn 48783) (100 Years Air Cargo) FRA (Ton Jochems), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Lufthansa Cargo (Frankfurt) on January 23 launched a weekly cargo flight connecting the FRA hub with Detroit per Airline Route.

Copyright Photo: Ton Jochems. Please click on this photo for the full details of this logojet.

Lufthansa Cargo Slide Show: CLICK HERE

SBA (Santa Barbara Airlines) (sbairlines.com) Boeing 767-3Y0 ER YL-LCZ (msn 25000) MAD (Ariel Shocron), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

SBA Airlines (formerly Santa Barbara Airlines) (Caracas) is planning to drop the Caracas-Madrid route on February 13 per Airline Route. The route is currently operated four days a week with Boeing 767-300s.

Copyright Photo: Ariel Shocron.

SBA Slide Show: CLICK HERE

United Airlines Airbus A319-131 N802UA (msn 690) YYZ (TMK Photography), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

United Airlines (Chicago) is planning to restore the Los Angeles-Philadelphia route on April 1. The daily route will be operated with Airbus A319s per Airline Route.

Copyright Photo: TMK Photography.

United Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Hong Kong Airlines has also taken delivery of its latest long range A330-200, featuring a new all-premium class layout. With luxurious accommodation for just 116 passengers, the aircraft will be used to launch new non-stop services to London. The delivery increases the carrier’s in-service  widebody fleet to 10 aircraft, comprising seven A330-200 passenger aircraft and three A330-200F freighters.

Copyright Photo: Airbus. The pictured A320-214 F-WWID (msn 4970) was officially handed over on January 18 as B-LPB.

Hong Kong Airlines Slide Show: CLICK HERE

Atlas Air Boeing 767-38E ER N641GT (msn 25132) FRA (Bernhard Ross) (new type), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

Atlas Air (New York) announced today it has received approval from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Commercial Airlift Review Board (CARB) to provide Boeing 767-300 ER passenger airlift service for the DoD.

The twin-jet 767 becomes the second aircraft type in the company’s history, joining a fleet of Boeing 747 freighters and passenger aircraft.

To operate the new aircraft family, Atlas Air has also achieved 180-minute Extended Twin-Engine Operations (ETOPS) certification from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, allowing for the aircraft’s optimal routing on trans-Atlantic flights. ETOPS approval requires a rigorous review of the company’s operations and successful implementation of additional operational and flight-crew procedures. Flight crews and maintenance teams operating Atlas Air’s 767s are qualified and trained for ETOPS.

The company’s 767-300ER (for Extended Range) aircraft, configured for 255 Economy Class seats, will primarily transport U.S. military personnel domestically and internationally. The aircraft, along with two company-owned passenger 747-400s, are also available for commercial charters, providing customers with flexible seating-capacity alternatives.

Atlas Air expects to place a third 767 into service during the first half of 2012.

Atlas Air initiated B747-400 passenger service for the DoD in May 2011.

With the 767, Atlas Air is the only outsource provider of aircraft and aviation operating services offering the new Boeing 747-8 freighter, 747-400 freighter and passenger versions, and the 767-300ER to its global customers.

Copyright Photo: Bernhard Ross.

Atlas Air Slide Show: CLICK HERE

SkyWest Airlines (USA) Bombardier CRJ200 (CL-600-2B19) N953SW (msn 7813) SAN (James Helbock), originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

SkyWest, Inc. (St. George) announced today that it expects its financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2011, to be lower than previously anticipated. Due primarily to the reasons outlined below, SkyWest currently estimates that its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2011 will reflect a net loss between $(17.0) million and $(18.5) million, resulting in a basic and fully-diluted loss per share between $(0.34) and $(0.37) per share. SkyWest cautioned, however, that these estimates are preliminary and are subject to modification or revision in the course of completing SkyWest’s year-end review procedures.

According to the group, there were three primary factors that contributed to SkyWest’s determination of the estimated net loss for the fourth quarter of 2011. First, SkyWest’s operating airlines have incurred additional maintenance charges due to aging aircraft issues, timing and cost of heavy airframe checks, and the timing of certain engine overhauls. These additional costs are estimated to be approximately $12.0 million (pre-tax) for the quarter ended December 31, 2011. Second, SkyWest’s operating airlines continued to experience additional crew costs estimated to be approximately $5.0 million (pre-tax) for the quarter ended December 31, 2011. SkyWest’s operating airlines have continued to incur additional pilot training costs as a result of the need for additional pilots to fly increased block hours as scheduled by our major partners and from incurring a higher level of training in off-peak times. Third, SkyWest maintains an ownership position in two international regional airlines, TRIP and Air Mekong. SkyWest management currently estimates that SkyWest will recognize losses attributable to these entities that are approximately $5.5 million (pre-tax) more than our previous estimates for the quarter ended December 31, 2011.
A more detailed explanation of the items that affected SkyWest’s financial results for the quarter ended December 31, 2011 will be provided when SkyWest announces its financial results for the quarter, which is currently estimated to occur in mid February 2012.

SkyWest is the holding company for two scheduled passenger airline operations, namely SkyWest Airlines (St. George, Utah) and ExpressJet Airlines (Atlanta, Georgia).

SkyWest Airlines operates as United Express and Delta Connection carriers under contractual agreements with United Airlines, Inc. (Chicago) and Delta Air Lines, Inc. (Atlanta). SkyWest Airlines also operates as US Airways Express under a contractual agreement with US Airways, Inc., and operates flights for Alaska Airlines under a contractual agreement. ExpressJet Airlines operates as United Express and Delta Connection carriers under contractual agreements with United and Delta. System-wide, SkyWest serves markets in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean with approximately 3,700 daily departures and a fleet of approximately 730 regional aircraft.

Atlantic Southeast Airlines has now been merged into ExpressJet Airlines.

Copyright Photo: James Helbock.

SkyWest Slide Show: CLICK HERE

SkyWest Airlines’ Delta Connection Route Map:

Click on the map to expand.