United Bulks Up With New Latin Routes
1 United Airlines announced it is adding eight new routes to sun-splashed destinations in Mexico and Central America from several of its U.S. gateways. It is also bulking up flights on several other existing routes.
With Americans limited in where they can travel internationally, these new routes from United will connect U.S. passengers to warm-weather destinations currently accessible with an American passport. In this vein, we can undoubtedly look forward to new Newark – Kabul, Dulles – Sana’a, and Houston – Nouakchott flights soon.
The actual new routes for United are:
- From Denver: Service begins December 19 to Belize City, Belize (BZE) and San Jose, Costa Rica (SJO)
- From Los Angeles: Service begins December 17 to San Pedro Sula, Honduras (SAP), December 19 to San Jose, Costa Rica and January 8 to Liberia, Costa Rica (LIR)
- From San Francisco: Service begins January 9 to Liberia, Costa Rica
- From Washington/Dulles: Service begins December 17 to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (SDQ)
United is also restarting two routes that had been suspended – service from Cleveland to Cancun and Houston/Bush to Mazatlan, Mexico (MZT) both will resume on December 19.
American Prepares to Add HEPA Filters to Small Regional Jets
2 American Airlines made the bold decision that passengers traveling on small regional jets have the right to breathe Coronavirus-free air just as much as those on larger regionals and mainline AA aircraft. To ensure that happens, AA is installing HEPA filters on 50-seat Embraer jets operated by its wholly-owned subsidiary Piedmont Airlines.
The ERJ-145s operated by Piedmont were said to have enough fresh air coming in and out that the aircraft didn’t need extra filtration from the HEPA filters. But due safety concerns during the pandemic, AA was able to fast-track the installation project, now expecting all 59 ERJ-145 to have the filters installed by the end of the year.
The lack of a first class cabin on AA’s ERJ-145 aircraft give the HEPA filters an extra chance of success on the small 50-seat aircraft due to the lack of hot air being bellowed from elite members complaining about not being upgraded on their 40 minute flight. The aircraft only have Main Cabin, lacking Main Cabin Extra as well. An AA spokesman might have said “can’t miss out on an upgrade that was never available in the first place!”
Europe’s Top Safety Expert Declares Boeing MAX Safe — He Pinky Swears
3 Patrick Ky, the executive director of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, says he is satisfied that changes to the 737 MAX aircraft have made the plane safe enough to be operated in Europe before the end of 2020.
The Agency plans to issue an airworthiness directive next week which will be followed by four weeks of public comment that will surely be grounded and rational at all times.
The FAA is making progress in its own review of the airplane’s safety, but it is not yet ready to make a statement. FAA chief Steve Dickson flew the MAX last month (literally, he’s a pilot) and declared it comfortable but also said his organization is not complete with its entire review process.
Wizz Air Reverses Course in Norway
4 Wizz Air, which earlier this month announced plans to launch a domestic operation in Norway based in Oslo, said today that it will comply with Norwegian law, allowing its employees to organize.
The low cost carrier has always taken an anti-union position, as most LCCs do, in order to keep costs as low as possible. Current laws in Norway make it illegal for employers to deny workers the right to unionize. Initially, Wizz had planned to ignore the law and maintain its non-union stance, challenging the Norwegians to boycott or attempt to stop them in court.
The airline has relented from its original position, saying that it will comply with all Norwegian regulations. The reversal comes just days after Wizz Air CEO József Váradim stated that Wizz Air is “an airline without unions.”
That might be the case, but if it remains true, it’ll also be an airline that doesn’t operate a domestic operation based in Norway. With Wizz relenting in Norway and cracking the door open for unionized employees, it’ll be interesting to see if Wizz employees based elsewhere in Europe start to get the idea to organize as well.
Lufthansa Schedules Final Flight into Berlin/Tegel
5 With the closure of Berlin/Tegel rapidly approaching, Lufthansa has filed the its final flight into the airport — scheduled to operate on November 7 — operated by an A350.
Lufthansa 1954 will depart at 7 p.m. from Munich to Berlin/Tegel, followed by Lufthansa 1955, returning to Munich at 9:10 p.m. The flight is available at a discounted rate to anyone who can show that they attended Wheneverfest, the 2020-themed German drinking celebration.
Lufthansa has served Tegel for decades, resuming service on October 28, 1990, 25 days after German reunification.
Both Lufthansa and Easyjet will open the new Berlin/Brandenburg Airport on October 31 with simultaneous, parallel arrivals early that morning.
Airline Potpourri
- American has renewed its long-term worldwide distribution agreement with Sabre.
- California Pacific Airlines had its certificate of authority revoked by the DOT, not that it was using it.
- Qantas will operate eight flights from London/Heathrow, Delhi, and Johannesburg in the next few weeks to help return Australian citizens home who are stuck abroad.
- Silver has delayed the launch of its new service to Charleston, SC to November 23.
- TAP Air Portugal has secured a loan guarantee of about $580 million from the Portuguese government.
- Vistara is upping its frequency between Delhi and Heathrow to 5x-weekly beginning November 21, and will increase further to daily service beginning December 1.
Andrew’s Moment of Levity
Someone dropped a tub of margarine on my foot two weeks ago. I can’t believe it’s not better.