Hawaiian Airlines has begun selling tickets for flights on its first Boeing 787 Dreamliner, set to be delivered to the Honolulu-based carrier in January. The airline said on 6 September that flights on the new type are scheduled to begin 15 April between San Francisco and Honolulu. On 14 May it will introduce the aircraft on select flights to Los Angeles, and between Los Angeles and Maui on 15 May. Hawaiian has ordered 12 examples of the 787-9 model, with deliveries of those aircraft scheduled through 2027. The airline had initially expected the first airframes to join the fleet earlier, but the delivery schedule has slipped several times due to the Covid-19 pandemic and manufacturing issues. “We’re eager to get out and it’ll be in service in the early part of next year,” CE Peter Ingram told FlightGlobal last month. “We expect to have four by the early part of 2025.” The total order of 12 “will be a combination of growth for our airline as well as starting the replacement of the A330-200s although we intend to operate them in parallel for some period of time”, he added. The carrier currently operates 24 A330s for its long-haul operations to the US mainland as well as to Asia, Australia and other destinations in the South Pacific. Hawaiian’s Dreamliners will be configured with a new business-class product featuring 34 flat beds and a main cabin with 266 seats. Revenue from Dreamliner operations is expected to pick up significantly in 2025.<br/>
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One of Canada's major airlines warned customers to expect delays due to two system outages reported on the same day. In a series of messages posted to social media Wednesday, WestJet said it was "experiencing delays network-wide" due to an issue with its booking partner, Sabre. Writing on the platform "X," formerly known as Twitter, WestJet said these delays impacted more than just its own customers, as "multiple airlines" were affected. In an email to CTV News Calgary, a spokesperson said that the outage affected several airlines that use the same service. "In addition, concurrent with this outage, we were made aware that (Canada Border Service Agency) was experiencing a system outage which compounded the delays experienced by our guests," Julia Kaiser said in an email. The Alberta-based airline did not provide details on the scope of the impact, beyond noting delays, so it was not clear how many flight delays were due to the outages. In Toronto, it appeared that at least 21 flights were delayed Wednesday, but it is unknown how many of those delays were related to the Sabre issue.<br/>
The world’s largest aircraft lessor has agreed to settle an insurance claim over Russia’s refusal to return 17 jets leased to airline Aeroflot, a landmark agreement in a dispute over 400 Western planes stranded in the wake of the Ukraine invasion. Ireland-based AerCap in a stock market filing said it had received $645m from insurance company NSK in full settlement of insurance claims in relation to 17 aircraft and five spare engines leased to state-controlled airline Aeroflot and its subsidiary Rossiya. The planes would now become the property of Russian state-owned NSK. “We have released our claims against NSK, Aeroflot, Rossiya and their international reinsurers with respect to these aircraft and engines,” said AerCap, whose shares rose around 5% in premarket trading. Before last year’s invasion of Ukraine, Russia was a major market for aircraft lessors, which bought jets from Boeing and Airbus and leased them to Russian airlines. The invasion triggered Western sanctions that forced lessors to cancel hundreds of leases. Moscow then refused to allow the planes to leave. Aeroflot said that ownership of 18 aircraft and five engines had transferred to NSK following settlement with AerCap. It was not immediately clear why the number of aircraft differed from AerCap’s statement by one. “AerCap has terminated its claims against Russian parties both under insurance policies issued by Russian insurance companies and under leasing agreements,” Aeroflot said, adding that it is in talks with other lessors about settling claims. AerCap said it had secured permission from the US Treasury and Commerce departments to complete the deal, which it said was “consistent with other applicable sanctions regimes.”<br/>
The boss of Ryanair has slammed a report on the flights chaos seen over the bank holiday as "rubbish". Michael O'Leary claimed the findings "downplay the impact on the aviation industry" and said the report was "full of excuses". The UK's air traffic control system was brought down in a "one in 15m" event, the head of air traffic services, Nats, said on Wednesday. Hundreds of flights were delayed or cancelled as a result on 28 August. Industry group Airlines UK argues that carriers incurred huge costs in providing accommodation and putting on more flights for customers who were stuck overseas. It is now calling for these costs to be covered. O'Leary told the BBC that the disruption will cost the airline between GBP15m and GBP20m in refunds for hotels, food and alternative travel arrangements. He said that "there won't be any issues" for customers claiming costs, but demanded that Nats, which controls the UK's air traffic services, "accepts responsibility for its incompetence". Marion Geoffroy, managing director at Wizz Air UK, said that it, along with its customers, had "suffered severe disruption" because of cancellations and accommodation costs. Tim Alderslade, CE of Airlines UK, said: "Airlines cannot be the insurer of a last resort. We can't have a situation whereby airlines carry the can every time we see disruption of this magnitude." The group represents the likes of British Airways, EasyJet, Jet2, Ryanair, Virgin Atlantic and Tui.<br/>
Decarbonisation efforts in the aviation sector will cost more money, but that cost should not fall to the consumer, easyJet CE Johan Lundgren said on Wednesday. He added that options to decarbonise, like creating sustainable aviation fuels, are not yet at scale and cost three to five times more than typical jet fuel. “Our goal has been ... from an easyJet perspective, we have said one of the things we want to look at, is that this should not cost more to the consumer,” Lundgren said in an interview at the Reuters IMPACT conference in London. Lundgren also said a wide range of stakeholders including governments needed to chip in to ensure decarbonisation costs remain low. He added that it was unclear whether there might have to be a period of higher prices due to sustainability costs and that it is in the interest of airlines to keep flying affordable. “It depends on how quickly you can get to these technologies at scale,” he told Reuters. “If you don’t do that you can have less revenue because you get less volume.” A lot of the cost will depend on the speed of innovation, which Lundgren is hopeful can mitigate price hikes. “New technology gives you benefits, and it burns less fuel. So I don’t think necessarily the transition will be as expensive as some of the, you know, scary numbers that are out there.” <br/>
EasyJet chief executive Johan Lundgren insists the carrier wants to be first in line for any future hydrogen-powered aircraft that long-time supplier Airbus builds. The budget carrier has a 322-strong fleet of A320-family aircraft in service, with another 160 Neo jets still to come, according to Airbus data, and is “currently discussing a new order as well”, he says. While praising the fuel-efficiency benefits of the Neo versus its predecessor, Lundgren says the airline is already looking to the future as it charts a path to net-zero operations by 2050. Airbus is developing a hydrogen-powered aircraft under its ZEROe initiative which it hopes to have in service by 2035 and Lundgren says he “hopes to be the first customer who takes [the aircraft] when it rolls off the production line”. Hydrogen power – whether through fuel cells or direct combustion –will be a “game-changer” for short-haul aviation, he said at an event to launch a new UK aviation lobby group in London on 5 September. “I’m not sure I’m going to be the one that sits there in 2035 and cuts the ribbon on that aircraft, but we’d like to spearhead and we’d like to lead this. When all the tests and certifications are in place we’ll genuinely feel very good about this,” Lundgren adds. A zero-emission aircraft would also offer the carrier a unique attraction for customers, he notes. EasyJet would likely introduce any hydrogen-powered aircraft on a small scale at first “within one base and one AOC” to mimic its wider adoption, he says. “We will set that up in a way where we are running 100% of an operation on a smaller scale. It needs to be a business where we have the network to facilitate [the operation and refueling] as well.” Although Airbus is the largest airframer to throw its weight behind hydrogen so far, others are developing smaller fuel-cell powered aircraft that are likely to enter service ahead of 2035. EasyJet is providing airline experience to at least one programme – Cranfield Aerospace Solutions’ fuel cell powertrain development – but Lundgren sees little space for regional aircraft within the carrier’s operation. “As we stand today, we don’t want to change our business model,” he says.<br/>
An Ireland-based lessor wants India's bankrupt Go First airline to replace "robbed" parts from its leased jets and allow it to appoint round the clock security to guard grounded aircraft, the latest escalation in efforts to reclaim its Airbus planes. The plea, detailed in a Sept. 1 non-public court filing at the Delhi High Court which Reuters has reviewed, comes weeks after ACG Aircraft Leasing found critical parts, including fan blades and escape slides, missing from at least two of the four planes it has leased to Go First. Go First has been locked in legal disputes with many of its foreign lessors since being granted bankruptcy protection in India in May. Bankruptcy froze its assets and has prohibited the recovery of more than 50 grounded Airbus planes. But plane parts went missing, ACG said, and lessors have so far unsuccessfully argued in Indian courts to get their planes back despite raising fears about cannibalisation of aircraft. Currently, lessors can only occasionally inspect Go planes. The lessor asked Go on Aug. 24 for a "robbery list", but Go in response said there were no court directions to provide such documentation, court papers shows. In its latest plea, court papers show ACG has asked the Delhi judge to allow it to "contract 24 hour security for all its aircraft" and "to replace all components that were robbed from the aircraft." It is also seeking recovery of an engine it alleges Go First has installed in another lessor's plane. Go First, whose lessors also include Standard Chartered's Pembroke Aircraft Leasing, SMBC Aviation and BOC Aviation, did not respond to a request for comment. The court is yet to pass an order on ACG's plea, and the case will next be heard on Sept. 13. Planes are "akin to perishable goods" and if they are not preserved properly, "they disintegrate at a rapid pace, causing huge irreparable loss," ACG's 140-page filing states. Go has previously said it aims to resume operations and raise investor funds, but the operations remain grounded.<br/>
Biman Bangladesh Airlines is seeking authorisation to open US services once it secures regulatory confirmation that its aviation oversight is compliant with ICAO standards. The airline has formally notified the US Department of Transportation that it wants to open flights from Dhaka to New York JFK, via Izmir in Turkey. Biman would operate five-times weekly on the route, using 298-seat Boeing 787-9s configured in three classes – including 30 business-class and 21 premium-economy seats. The airline acknowledges that the US FAA currently classifies Bangladesh as a ‘Category 2’ country, meaning that its regulatory oversight is not ICAO-compliant. This prevents the carrier from operating its own aircraft on US routes. But Biman’s notification adds that it believes joint work by the FAA and the Bangladeshi civil aviation authority will “soon” result in an upgrade to ‘Category 1’. “If [or] when such an upgrade does take place, Biman would be able to operate its own aircraft on flights to the [USA], assuming [the Department of Transportation] approves this request,” it states. Biman has indicated other potential future US routes including Boston, Houston, Los Angeles, Dallas, Newark and Washington. It adds that it could serve these cities through such intermediate points as Abu Dhabi, Rome, Brussels, Manchester, Birmingham, Istanbul, Amsterdam and Delhi, as well as Izmir.<br/>