Ethiopian Airlines will offer advanced, high-speed inflight broadband to passengers onboard its upcoming Airbus A350-1000 aircraft, with GX Aviation provided by Inmarsat, recently acquired by Viasat, and selected through the Airbus Airspace Link HBCplus program.
As one of the launching airlines for inflight connectivity (IFC) through Airbus’ HBCplus program, Ethiopian Airlines will benefit from a more streamlined, efficient order process that will ensure its latest aircraft meet the rapidly growing passenger demand to stay connected while flying.
Inmarsat’s latest Passenger Experience Survey found out that 97% of respondents use their personal devices on flights for entertainment, such as streaming movies and TV shows, keeping up with work, and to stay in touch with family and friends. In addition, 82% of passengers are more likely to rebook with an airline that offers quality inflight Wi-Fi.
The first of Ethiopian Airlines’ Airbus A350-1000 aircraft is set to be delivered in the Third Quarter (Q3) of 2024, with passengers able to benefit from GX Aviation’s world-class connectivity technology. This supports the airline’s Vision 2035 Strategy which focuses on expanding its fleets, enhancing its passenger experience and maintaining its leading position in the airline industry.
Air Algérie, the national airline of Algeria, has signed a firm order for seven widebody aircraft to support its commercial development.
This order will allow Air Algérie to take full advantage of the flexibility of the Airbus product range, strengthen its regional services and offer an ambitious plan for transcontinental destinations. By operating the A330neo alongside the A350-1000, Air Algérie will also benefit from operational savings such as a 25 percent lower fuel burn per seat and greater flexibility resulting from the unique commonality between members of the Airbus aircraft Family.
Qatar Airways is re-introducing a direct Doha to Auckland flight, which commences on September 1, 2023 and will operate seven times a week/departing daily at 01:50 local time.
Qatar Airways will be operating an Airbus A350-1000 on the route with 46 Business Class and 281 Economy Class seats. A key feature of the service is the Qsuite, which is available to Business Class passengers.
Daily Flight Schedule:
Doha (DOH) to Auckland (AKL) QR920 departs at 01:50 and arrives at 02:45 (+1) local time.
Auckland (AKL) to Doha (DOH) QR921 departs at 15:00 and arrives at 23:15 local time.
From September 24, 2023, due to daylight saving time changes in Auckland, both QR920 and QR921 will arrive and depart one hour later, respectively.
Philippine Airlines (PAL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Airbus for the purchase of nine A350-1000s.
The A350-1000 will be operated on nonstop services from Manila to North America, including to the East Coast of the US and Canada.
The new aircraft will join two A350-900s already in service at the airline and currently flying to destinations in North America, Asia and Australia. As with the A350-900, the PAL A350-1000s will be configured in a premium layout with separate Business Class, Premium Economy and Economy Class cabins.
Captain Stanley K. Ng, President and Chief Operating Officer of Philippine Airlines, said that the range of the A350-1000 would enable the airline to fly nonstop transpacific and transpolar routes in both directions all year. These will include some of the longest commercial flights in the world, such as those linking the Philippines with New York and Toronto. With an expanded A350 fleet, PAL will have the ability to once again provide a direct link from the Philippines to Europe.
The Lufthansa Group is purchasing more state-of-the-art long-haul aircraft. The Group Executive Board has resolved to order
ten Airbus A350-1000 passenger aircraft
five Airbus A350-900 passenger aircraft
seven Boeing 787-9 ‘Dreamliner’ passenger aircraft
The orders were approved today by the Supervisory Board of parent company Deutsche Lufthansa AG. The aircraft concerned will be delivered to the Lufthansa Group from the mid-2020s onwards. Based on list prices, the order is worth a total of about 7.5 billion US dollars and is in line with Group’s mid-term financial planning.
The Lufthansa Group is also in advanced negotiations to acquire further long-haul aircraft which could be made available at shorter notice.
With today’s orders included, the Lufthansa Group will take delivery of 108 state-of-the-art long-haul aircraft such as the Airbus A350-1000, the Airbus A350-900, the Boeing 787-9 and the Boeing 777-9 over the next few years. In doing so, the Group will operate the quietest, most profitable and most economical long-haul aircraft that are currently in service. On average the new aircraft consume just 2.5 liters of fuel per passenger per 100 kilometers – some 30 percent less than their predecessor aircraft types.
The new long-haul aircraft will also replace older aircraft types. In the medium-term future, six such subfleets will be taken out of service: the four-engined Boeing 747-400s, Airbus A340-600s and Airbus A340-300s and the two-engined Boeing 777-200s, Boeing 767-300s and Airbus A330-200s. This will reduce the quadjet contingent within the Lufthansa Group fleet to under 15 percent: prior to the pandemic, quadjets made up some 50 percent of the groupwide aircraft fleet.
In addition to the agreement on the purchase of the new aircraft, Airbus and Lufthansa have also signed a ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ to further strengthen their cooperation in the field of sustainability and future technologies. This includes the intensified use of sustainable aviation fuels, the further optimization of operations through a more efficient flight management and exploration into the use of hydrogen.
In total, and including the advanced short- and medium-haul aircraft of the Airbus A320neo family, the Lufthansa Group currently has over 200 firm orders for new aircraft of the latest generation which will be delivered over the next few years.
Lufthansa Airbus A350-1000
The Airbus A350-1000
The Airbus A350-1000 will be a new addition to the Lufthansa Group fleet. The aircraft is 73.8 meters long and offers some 15 percent more capacity than the Airbus A350-900. The ten A350-1000s on order should primarily be deployed in premium-heavy markets. Therefore all these aircraft will be equipped with a First Class cabin.
The Airbus A350-900
Lufthansa already operates 21 of these aircraft with sizeable success. With the five aircraft ordered today, the Lufthansa Group will now take delivery of 33 further transports of this long-haul aircraft type.
The Boeing 787-9
Three Boeing 787-9s are presently in Lufthansa Group service. With today’s order included, 36 further Boeing 787-9s will join the Group fleet over the next few years.
The Tata Group-owned Air India has announced its commitment to order 250 Airbus aircraft to boost its domestic and international operations.
The commitment includes 140 A320neo and 70 A321neo single-aisle aircraft as well as 34 A350-1000 and six A350-900 wide-body jets that will mark a new era for the country as the all-new, long-range aircraft celebrates its debut in the Indian market.
Image: Airbus
The order aims to both modernize and expand the airline’s fleet with the objective of creating a larger and premium full-service carrier that will cater to the growing travel demand in the region. Deliveries are set to commence with the first A350-900 arriving by late-2023.
Virgin Atlantic Airways announced today that it will be suspending services between London Heathrow and Lahore and Islamabad.
A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said: “As we continue to ramp up our flying program in 2023, we’ve taken the opportunity to review our entire network and decided to make a few changes.”
“Following this review, it is with regret that we’ve taken the difficult decision to suspend our services between London Heathrow and Pakistan. Since commencing operations in December 2020, we have been proud to offer choice for customers travelling between London and Manchester in the UK, and Islamabad and Lahore in Pakistan. During that time, we have also provided important cargo capacity, as well as delivering vital medical supplies.”
Virgin Atlantic will continue to operate services between London and Lahore until May 1, 2023 and between London and Islamabad until July 9, 2023.
Background
Virgin Atlantic launched flights from London Heathrow to Islamabad and Lahore and Manchester to Islamabad in the height of the pandemic in December 2020
The routes were launched when many destinations, including the US, were closed for travel. Our Pakistan routes were targeted to capture the visiting friends and relatives (VFR) market which was one of the first sectors to recover.
As Virgin Atlantic ramps up its flying programme for 2023, the airline is reviewing its network and ensuring resources are utilised in the most optimal way to achieve operational resilience.
The final Pakistan flight dates are:
LHR-LHE VS364 departs 30th April 2023 at 21:55
LHE-LHR VS365 departs 1st May 2023 at 12:25
LHR-ISB VS378 departs 8th July 2023 at 21:55
ISB-LHR VS379 departs 9th July 2023 at 12:40
Our teams will communicate with any affected customers due to travel after these dates to share their options which include rebooking (if applicable) or a full refund. Customers who have booked with a third party travel agent should contact them to discuss their options.
Top Copyright Photo: Virgin Atlantic Airways Airbus A350-1041 G-VLUX (msn 274) LHR (Keith Burton). Image: 960046.
