Big Fat Airline Wrap

Big Fat Airline Wrap

We hate to break it to you, but this is the last airline wrap of the year! Which means if you haven’t got your Christmas shopping done by now, you might be in trouble (we definitely are).

Air Astana celebrates delivery of first Embraer E190-E2

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Air Astana celebrated the delivery of its first Embraer E190-E2 at a ceremony held in the carrier’s Aviation Technical Center hangar at Astana airport today. The aircraft is the first of five ordered under a leasing agreement signed with AerCap in 2017, with the remaining four aircraft scheduled for delivery in 2019.

The aircraft is also the first E2 to be delivered to an airline in the CIS. The new generation Embraer E190-E2 aircraft will replace older Embraer E190s in the fleet, which have operated with Air Astana since 2011. All aircraft delivered directly from the manufacturer’s factory in Brazil.

The new aircraft features a special Snow Leopard livery, which is intended to draw global attention to the threat of extinction faced by this large wild cat, which is a native to the mountain ranges of southern Kazakhstan.

Air Astana will operate the Embraer 190-E2 on domestic services across Kazakhstan, as well as to destinations in Russia, Central Asia, the Caucasus and China. The inaugural E2 commercial service from Astana to Almaty in scheduled for the 19th December 2018.

British Airways’ in-flight enter-sleigh-ment given Christmas makeover

LONDON, UK: World Traveller Plus cabin on a British Airways Boeing 777 at London Gatwick on 04 March 2018 (Picture by Nick Morrish/British Airways)

To help customers get in the festive spirit at 38,000 feet British Airways has added a selection of Christmas treats to its in-flight entertainment system.
Up to 40 new films, TV show episodes, audiobooks and music CDs have been introduced under the ‘Festive Cheer’ category.

‘The Holiday’ and ‘Elf’, last year’s two most popular Christmas films on board return, alongside ‘Gremlins’, ‘Home Alone 2: Lost in New York’, ‘Scrooged’ and ‘Miracle on 34th Street’.

In terms of television, customers can relive classics like ‘The Vicar of Dibley Christmas Special’ or hone their lunch preparation with ‘Nigella: At My Table Christmas Special 2017’. And for those who prefer to listen to tree-mendous music, there are carols from The Choir of King’s College Cambridge.

To accompany the festive inflight entertainment, British Airways will also be serving Christmas meals on flights as the day approaches.

Emirates takes delivery of its last Boeing 777-300ER aircraft

A6-EQP arrives in Dubai

Emirates celebrated an important fleet milestone with the delivery of the final Boeing 777-300ER aircraft on its order books. A6-EQP is the 190th Boeing 777 aircraft to be delivered to Emirates, the world’s largest operator of Boeing 777 aircraft and also the only airline in the world to have operated all the six variants of the Boeing 777 family.

One of out every eight 777 aircraft ever manufactured by Boeing has been delivered to Emirates. Emirates will also be one of the first airlines in the world to fly the two next-generation models- the Boeing 777-8 and 777-9.

It was also the 146th delivery of a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft to Emirates. The airline welcomed the first Boeing 777-300ER aircraft into its fleet in March 2005 and over the last 13 years, the 777-300ER has become the backbone of Emirates’ fleet operating currently to over 119 destinations across the airline’s global network.

Emirates has operated one out of every five Boeing 777-300ER aircraft produced to date and the average age of a Boeing 777-3000ER in Emirates’ fleet is a mere 6.5 years.

Cathay Pacific expands its Japan network with new route to Ishikawa Prefecture from April 2019

Cathay Pacific is introducing a new scheduled seasonal service to Komatsu next spring, making the beautiful natural landscapes and rich cultural attractions of Japan’s Ishikawa Prefecture more easily accessible to travellers.

The new two-times-weekly service will be operated on Wednesdays and Saturdays between 3 April 2019 and 26 October 2019 using Airbus A330-300 aircraft featuring both Business and Economy Class cabins.

Cathay Pacific has operated charter flights to Komatsu, the gateway to Ishikawa, in central Honshu, at peak holiday periods over the past two years, and the introduction of the new scheduled service underlines the airline’s commitment to its key Japanese market.

With the addition of Komatsu to the network, Cathay Pacific and its regional airline Cathay Dragon will soon fly to a total of nine airports in eight cities across Japan – including Tokushima, which will be inaugurated on 19 December 2018. Together, the two airlines operate more than 150 services per week between Hong Kong and Japan during the summer months, providing unrivalled convenience to passengers.

New daily direct Qantas service from Sydney to open-up Sunshine Coast to the world

QF plane arrives at Sunshione Coast

Qantas today announced a second direct service between Sydney and the Sunshine Coast. The new service will build on the growing demand for Sydney and is well timed to take advantage of international connections.

The new daily Qantas service is expected to begin in March 2019 and has been timed to connect the Sunshine Coast to the extensive Qantas international network over Sydney to Europe, America, Asia and the Pacific.

The new service adds further choice to the very popular early morning Sydney business service and builds on Sunshine Coast Airport’s record passenger growth, recently released by the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE).

The BITRE report for September 2018, Sunshine Coast Airport recorded a 7.2 per cent increase in passenger movements compared to September 2017. Hobart was the second fastest growing with a 4.9 per cent increase. For the year to the end of September 2018, Sunshine Coast Airport recorded 12.3 per cent growth in passenger movements, comprising a 12.4 per cent increase in domestic travellers and 10 per cent growth in international passenger movements.

ANA’s first A380 exits the Airbus Paintshop with special “Honu” livery meant to bring good luck and prosperity

ANA A380 Paint Roll-Out 2-1280x1280

All Nippon Airways (ANA), Japan’s largest and five-star airline for six consecutive years, is proud to announce that its first Airbus A380 has rolled out of the Airbus Paintshop in Hamburg, Germany. The new plane is Japan’s first Airbus A380 and sports a Hawaiian green sea turtle, known as “Honu” in the Hawaiian language, which symbolizes good luck and prosperity.

Each of ANA’s three Airbus A380s will feature livery in different colours and with different designs. The blue livery of the first aircraft connects ANA’s corporate colour scheme with Hawaii’s blue skies. The second aircraft, planned to start operation in July 2019, will have an emerald green livery that is inspired by the crystal clear waters of Hawaii while the third will be orange in reference to the beautiful Hawaiian sunset.

ANA is set to receive the new A380 jet, nicknamed FLYING HONU, in March 2019, with the inaugural flight scheduled to depart from Tokyo Narita Airport and travel to Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu on May 24, 2019.

This new aircraft is a reflection of ANA’s continual efforts to improve the travel experience while helping passengers reach the world’s premier tourist destinations. The Flying Honu theme shows the airline’s commitment to getting every detail right on every flight.

A very cherry Christmas for Air New Zealand Cargo

Air New Zealand is helping Kiwi exporters to serve up Christmas dinner to people around the world this holiday season.

The airline will work with meat processors and exporters from around the country to move more than 700 tonnes of lamb to the United Kingdom in the lead up to Christmas. More than 1000 tonnes of Central Otago cherries will also be sent to Asia and the United States over the summer season – that’s more than 65 million individual cherries!

Capsicums, crayfish and salmon are other in demand export items at this time of year which Air New Zealand carries around the world.

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