Starting in mid-January Air Canada will no longer be offering direct flights to and from Calgary for the province's two biggest airports. Travelers at the Saskatoon Airport were not happy with the announcement. “I want them to continue. There are many people in Saskatoon that go to Calgary,” said Josephine Regan. “Who wants to go to Vancouver and then fly back again,” said Anne McDonald. Air Canada passengers will now have to catch a connecting flight through Vancouver, more than tripling the time it takes to reach Calgary with a direct flight. “It was a surprise, we were not aware that this decision was going to be made,” said Vice-President of Business Development for Skyxe Airport CJ Dushinski. “It's obviously disappointing anytime a carrier decides to cease service from a market, especially when we're talking about a market like Calgary which is one of our largest markets out of Saskatoon." Saskatoon and Regina both see approximately two in-bound and out-bound flights to Calgary daily. “We know loyal Air Canada customers will be disappointed. It provides a few less options for connections through a variety of places,” said Manager of Customer Experience for Regina Airport Authority Justin Reves. The airline provider said “Air Canada has made some changes to its flights to/from Calgary. We are continuing to rebuild our business in a prudent and disciplined way and that means looking at every aspect of our network and deploying our resources where they will be most productive. After careful review, we've decided that we must continue to strategically focus on rebuilding our main hubs of Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. As a result, we have made the difficult decision to suspend a number of regional routes from Calgary effective Jan. 2023.”<br/>
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Belgian flag carrier Brussels Airlines has confirmed that five Airbus A320neos will join its fleet over the next two years. The carrier made its first order for three Airbus A320neos in June last year, with those aircraft expected to arrive in 2023. The two additional aircraft confirmed today will join the fleet in 2024. Upon delivery, the Airbus A320neos will replace some of the airline’s older Airbus A319 aircraft. According to data from ch-aviation.com, Brussels Airlines’ 15 Airbus A319s have an average age of 17.6 years. The average age of its fleet as a whole, including its 16 Airbus A320ceos and its long-haul fleet of nine Airbus A330-300s, is not much younger, at 16.7 years. Sustainability is a key area of focus for Brussels Airlines, just as it is for other members of the Lufthansa Group. The Airbus A320neo is 15-20% more fuel efficient than the Airbus A320ceo, and is 50% quieter, making it the perfect choice to complement Brussels Airlines’ green ambitions. The carrier’s CEO, Peter Gerber, outlined the importance of sustainability, saying, "In addition to fleet renewal, intermodality and alternative fuels are important pillars to achieve our climate ambitions. Connecting Brussels Airport to the high-speed train network is essential to reduce short flights. That is not the case today. In addition, most of the emissions come from long-haul flights, for which there is no suitable alternative today."<br/>
Financing models for the acquisition of six Airbus A220-300 aircraft are still under consideration, Croatia Airlines said. Delivery of the jets is due to commence in 2024. Potential financing options include an operating lease, finance lease, as well as sale and leaseback agreements. The A220-300 aircraft is valued at approximately US$91.5m per unit at list price, before the customary discounts, bringing the Croatian carrier’s order for six to over half a billion dollars at list price. The airline also has plans to lease an additional nine A220 jets in order to operate a single-type fleet by 2026. The pace of deliveries over the two-year period has not been made public. The exact details of Croatia Airlines’ contract with Airbus remain largely unknown after the order was firmed up in Zagreb last week without the presence of any members of the press. However, it is believed the Croatian carrier received extremely favourable terms from Airbus.<br/>
Boeing announced on Wednesday that the company and Ethiopian Airlines have partnered to transport more than 12,000 pounds of humanitarian aid supplies to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, using the airline's three recently delivered 737-8 airplanes. "Ethiopian Airlines has a long history of collaborating with Boeing on humanitarian flights," said Mesfin Tasew, Group CEO of Ethiopian Airlines. "This is our 43rd humanitarian delivery with Boeing, and we are proud to partner with their team to once again bring this support home to Addis Ababa." The humanitarian delivery flights departed Boeing's Everett and Seattle Delivery Centers on Nov. 24, Nov. 26 and Dec. 4 and contained medical supplies, books and school supplies for those in need. Boeing's Humanitarian Delivery Flight Program was launched in 1992 as a collaboration between the company and its customers to help transport humanitarian aid supplies on newly delivered airplanes with otherwise empty cargo holds.<br/>
Air New Zealand Thursday increased its earnings forecast for the first half of fiscal 2023, helped by strong travel demand across its domestic and international networks and a decline in jet fuel prices. The increased profit outlook follows a moderation in fuel prices in recent weeks and assumes that the airline will fly about 75% of its pre-COVID capacity levels across the network in December, according to Air New Zealand. The company now expects earnings before tax and other significant items between NZ$295m ($187.5m) and NZ$325m for the first half ending Dec. 31, compared with its previous outlook of NZ$200m to NZ$275m. The airline's ticket sales for the past two months have remained robust as international destinations reopen for travel, the country's flagship carrier said. Air New Zealand, however, added that capacity was still constrained and would continue to impact pricing.<br/>
The Gulf Air Group Holding board yesterday (December 5) announced the appointment of Jeffrey Goh as its group CEO, a Gulf Daily News report said. Goh, who is currently CEO at Star Alliance, will take up his new role on January 1. The Gulf Air Group Holding comprises national carrier Gulf Air, Bahrain Airport Company, BAC Jet Fuel Company, and Gulf Aviation Academy. The group is also a substantial shareholder in Bahrain Airport Services Company and Bahrain Duty Free Company.<br/>