Southwest Adds to Summer Schedule
Southwest Airlines announced several new routes to bulk up its summer schedule as it looks to finalize its plans.
Beginning June 6, Southwest will return to Costa Rica with daily nonstop flights from Houston/Hobby to both Liberia (LIR) and San José (SJO) along with Saturday-only seasonal service from Baltimore to LIR beginning June 12. The airline will also soak up the sun with increased frequencies to Cancun, Los Cabos, and Montego Bay. Pittsburgh to Cancun service starts on Saturdays during the summer, giving it 22 departures to and from Cancun on Saturdays this summer, just in time for hurricane season.
Domestically, Southwest is bulking up flying from several cities primarily in the middle. Denver will see flights to three new cities for the summer: Midland, TX (MAF), Savannah, GA (SAV), and Sarasota (SRQ). St. Louis will see new service to Savannah, Sarasota, and Destin/Fort Walton Beach (VPS); while its neighbor across the state, Kansas City will get new flights to Miami, Sarasota, and Destin/Fort Walton. The airline is also doubling up on the Windy City, adding Fort Lauderdale and Austin from Chicago/O’Hare while its hub at Midway will resume flying to Boise and Spokane.
London/City ATC Goes Remote
London’s City Airport (LCY) is now the first major international airport to use a fully remote and digital air traffic control tower. All flights in and out of the airport are now being guided by an ATC staff located about 75 miles away at an air traffic control center in Swanwick.
Sixteen HD cameras and sensors were placed around the former ATC building on the airport’s grounds creating a 360-degree view of the airfield and the surrounding skies which is then relayed to the remote ATC location. The live footage is then displayed on 14 screens for the ATC staff along with a live audio feed from the airport and radar information.
The cameras can be tilted and zoomed, while information on each aircraft including call signs, altitude, and speed can be displayed on a single display. The CPUs managing the displays are blocked from downloading Microsoft Flight Simulator to ensure that ATC staff are always looking at actual footage from the airfield and not mistakenly landing planes from the game.
Eurowings Eyes Expansion
Eurowings CEO Jans Bischof is exploring expansion plans for the airline to add new bases beyond its current strongholds in Germany and neighboring countries, because it can’t be considered an official Lufthansa Group airline unless it has big reorganization plans at all times.
Eurowings is looking towards the entire continent, having engaged in talks with airports from the Nordics and Eastern Europe. The airline is satisfied with how it’s defended the German market from LCC competition such as easyJet, Ryanair, and Wizz Air, giving it the confidence in growing its presence across the continent.
The airline currently has three bases outside of Germany, in Salzburg (SZG), Palma de Mallorca (PMI), and Pristina, Kosovo (PRN). Bischof expects the airline to open the new bases before the end of the year, with some coming online in as little as three months. He feels strongly that no expansion will take place outside of Europe, as the airline is not interested in changing its name.
Pakistani Government Approves PIA Restructuring
Pakistan’s Federal Cabinet approved a restructuring plan for Pakistan International Airlines to make the state’s flag carrier profitable by 2023. PIA, of course, is the airline that offered pilot jobs to the highest bidders regardless of whether or not they were qualified – meaning it’ll need to find a new path to profitability if it’s no longer going to be on the take when it comes to hiring pilots.
The government says that the airline’s current workforce of 14,000 gives it an employee-to-aircraft ratio that is triple that of Air France or Singapore Airlines. Roughly 2,000 staff have accepted buyouts with a goal of eliminating another 7,000 jobs. PIA currently has 32 aircraft in its fleet, but the government wants that dropped below 30. 14 of the 32 are owned by the airline with the rest being leased from various lessors.
The airline lost $225 million which was an improvement from a $341 million loss in 2019. The airline’s books were helped by the fact it was shut down for several months due to the fake pilot scandal which allowed it to not fly money-losing routes during the pandemic.
AA AAdds Four Routes, One New Destination
American Airlines announced four new routes that will begin late this summer, two of which will operate to a new city for the airline.
Service from two AA hubs – Charlotte and Dallas Ft. Worth – will begin on August 17 to Columbus, Georgia (CSG). Regional jets will operate both routes, a CRJ-700 from Charlotte and a CRJ-900 from Dallas. Delta had been the lone carrier operating to Columbus with its multiple daily flights to Atlanta since American left the airport in 2013.
Other new service for American will include a daily flight from Charlotte to El Paso, making Charlotte the 5th AA destination from the west Texas airport. Dallas/Ft. Worth will add a daily nonstop to Syracuse. American will resume the route for the first time since 2008, and it’ll be American Eagle’s longest flight from DFW until a regional partner finally adds that Dallas to Singapore CRJ that everyone has been hoping for.
- Air Madagascar has ended its B737-800 operations. Bet you didn’t know the airline had even started them.
- ASKY Airlines is still hoping for ACASH infusion from the Togolese government or the World Bank or a sick uncle in Nigeria to ensure its ability to remain operational.
- Eastar Jet has postponed its plan to open bids for stakes in the airline. Westjet patiently awaits its chance to take down its rival.
- Etihad sold its 40% stake in Air Seychelles back to the Seychelles government for just $1 in exchange for the government writing off $60 million in debt and promising never to mention the word Alitalia again.
- Finnair flew to Pittsburgh for the first time, operating a cargo flight from Helsinki. The airline will continue to fly the route through the end of May.
- Interjet shareholders have approved the airline’s bankruptcy plan.
- JAL is going to acquire Spring Airlines Japan. It expects to make a run for Summer Airlines Japan in a couple months.
- Oman Air and Egyptair have signed a codeshare agreement on each other’s flights between Muscat and Cairo.
- Virgin Australia has opened a pop-up lounge in Melbourne to alleviate overcrowding in its primary club.
- Volotea announced new routes from three of its Italian bases: Genoa (GOA), Lamezia Terme (SUF), and Milan/Linate (LIN).
I went to the store to buy some candleholders, but they didn’t have any, so I bought a cake.