Delta has signed on to bring in eleven 777-200ERs, formerly operated by Singapore/Scoot. This adds to the 18 current 777-200ER/LRs in the Delta fleet. A largely unnoticed but significant fleet addition.
Tie this to Delta’s mentioned intention to feed China Eastern’s hub at Shanghai, along with their recent request to get back an Haneda slot recently released to American, and there is no question that Delta is going to continue to double-down on Asian growth. Given the expected growth – particularly in China-US traffic – it’s solid strategy.
Delta’s fleet planning bears watching. They have 12 remaining 747-400s, which is a number similar to the 777s just acquired. There’s a good chance that within the next 18 months, there will no longer be any 747s in US scheduled passenger fleets. United is the only other operator, and neither it nor Delta have shown any public interest in the 747-8.
Unlike American and United, Delta apparently is not a big proponent of the 787. It still has 20 787-8s on the books at Boeing, but given that the deliveries are not scheduled for another 4-5 years, it’s not real likely that these may see Delta colors. Certainly, it’s not likely that -8s are in the cards.
On the other hand Delta may be waiting to get performance numbers from the 787-10 and could switch orders. Or, it’s possible that Airbus has already filled that need with the A-350s that Delta has coming.
Boyd Group Internationam
Air India launches New Delhi – San Fransisco
New Delhi: Air India today announced the launch of a non-stop flight to San Francisco from December 2, fulfilling a long-pending demand of Indian IT professionals on a day Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting the Silicon Valley.
“We are launching a direct non-stop flight to the San Francisco on December 2 as there was a demand for it,” Air India CMD Ashwani Lohani announced at an event to celebrate the World Tourism Day in Delhi.
San Francisco will be the national carrier’s fourth destination in the United States after New York, Newark and Chicago where it operates daily non-stop flights.
The Boeing 777-200 LR (Long Range) flight, to be operated on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, will have a convenient early morning departure and arrival. Similarly, the return flight would depart early morning departure from San Francisco and arrive in Delhi in the afternoon.
Air India officials said the flight will be a boon to the Indian diaspora on the US West Coast as it will make travel easy and convenient for students, NRIs and business travelers looking for direct options to connect with India.
The new flight would connect passengers from Indian cities of Bengaluru, Mumbai, Chennai, Kochi, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Pune and Bhubaneswar.
Referring to Air India’s Discover India scheme, Mr Lohani also said there was a deep connect between tourism and civil aviation sectors and the airline was in discussion with Tourism Ministry to launching various schemes in this regard.
Effective today, Air India announced the Discover India scheme under which customers will have an option of buying a maximum of 5 or 10 coupons on its economy class.
The scheme for 5 coupons will cost Rs. 32,500 and can be availed within validity of 15 days, while the second scheme for 10 coupons would be available for Rs. 60,000 and valid for 30 days.
Mr Lohani said Air India will launch Incredible Air India Holiday packages from December 1, in association with the State Tourism Development Corporations.
The packages are being worked out it will be competitive and inclusive with the objective to help the tourists savour the sights and sounds of India in a comfortable, economical and enjoyable manner.
NDTV
American Airlines flies Pope Francis
American Airlines (and previously TWA) has the honor for the seventh time of transporting Pope Francis from Washington D.C. to New York City, Philadelphia and back to Rome.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops chartered the airliner to American Airlines to carry the Pointiff to the different destinations in the U.S. The aircraft selected is a Boeing 777-200ER (Registration N776AN / MSN 29582 / LN 215) to carry the pontiff.
The Vatican City State does not have a specific airplane designated for the Pope, neither operates a special jet specifically earmarked for the Pope. Instead, often relies on Italy’s flag carrier Alitalia, which takes an aircraft out of its normal passenger operations schedule for this purpose. The selected aircraft is a common passenger airliner and does not have any special VIP fitting. Once concluded the journey, the aircraft returns to its normal operations.
The Pope’s flight is often nicknamed Shepherd One by the media, while the actual callsign is Volo Papale (papal flight in Italian), followed by a flight number.
According to American Airlines, employees often cite the papal flight as a career highlight. The airline selected the crew of Shepherd One from different locations (including Miami, Dallas / Ft. Worth, Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Tulsa and Raleigh / Durham), representing different faiths and persuasions.
Pope Francis is the fourth pope to visit the United States. The first was Pope Paul VI, who visited United Nations Headquarters in New York on October 4, 1965, 50 years ago, while the Pope who logged more visits to the U.S. was John Paul II with seven times. According to AA, this is the 7th time the company (including TWA) has carried the Pope.
2015: American Airlines: ADW-JFK-PHL-Rome (Pope Francis) – 777-200
1999: TWA: STL-Rome (Pope John Paul II) – 767-300
1995: TWA: EWR-BWI-Rome (Pope John Paul II) – 767-300
1993: American Airlines: DEN-Rome (Pope John Paul II) – 767-300ER
1987: TWA: Eleven-day, nine-city tour (Pope John Paul II) – 727 & 747
1979: TWA: Six-day, six-city tour and ADW back to Rome (Pope John Paul II) – 727
1965: TWA: Rome-JFK-Rome (Pope Paul VI) – 707
Airways News