Delta Commits to an Additional 30 A321neos
Delta Air Lines converted purchase rights for 30 additional A321neo aircraft into a firm order. This gives the airline a total of 155 on order over the next few years.
Delta will take delivery of the first neos early in 2022, adding to its current fleet of 120 A321s flying for the airline today. Many of the new planes headed Delta’s way are being delivered from Airbus’s manufacturing facility in Mobile, Alabama because Airbus saw what Delta was charging for a SkyMiles redemption from Toulouse to Atlanta and decided MOB-ATL would be far cheaper.
The aircraft will come with 194 seats in three classes – 20 in first, 42 in Comfort+, and 132 in the main cabin. The planes will be used by Delta to replace older, less efficient aircraft in its fleet because using them to replace newer, more efficient aircraft doesn’t make sense.
Where There’s Smoke There’s an Overheated Cell Phone
Passengers on Alaska Airlines flight 751 were forced to deplane via emergency slides shortly after landing in Seattle Monday when a passenger’s cellphone caught on fire and a hazy smoke filled the cabin.
While a haze from smoke is not an unusual thing for Seattle, it’s still frowned upon in airplanes, and the captain made the decision to evacuate the aircraft instead of waiting to get to a gate. The flight attendants used fire extinguishers to put the flames out while putting the phone in a fire containment bag.
Some passengers did experience “minor bumps and bruises” from the evacuation, exposing which passengers had spent time on rusty jungle gyms as a kid and which had not.
A Nation Rejoices: American to Reopen FlAAgship Lounges
American Airlines is reopening its Flagship Lounges this fall, along with its Flagship First dining program where first-class passengers on three-class AA flights can enjoy a mediocre meal of less quality than is available at several eateries in the airport but feel important because it’s served on a white tablecloth.
The first Flagship Lounge to reopen will be New York/JFK on September 14, as the airline is currently working to evict the rats and other small animals who have made the lounge their home since it was shuttered a year and a half ago. The JFK lounge staff will need two days to prepare the meals for Flagship First dining, as it will return two days later on September 16. Miami will follow later in the month, with the lounge opening on September 28 and dining on the 30th.
American is expected to open its Flagship locations in Los Angeles, Dallas/Ft. Worth, and Chicago/O’Hare later this fall. The airline is partnering with the James Beard Foundation to serve curated menus inspired by the foundation’s chefs.
Other lounge upgrades include fancy new soap in the restrooms and Dyson Supersonic hair dryers in the shower suites. Travelers can expect an increased level of service in the shower suites as well, as the airline is forcing all Basic Economy passengers to work a shift in the shower suites prior to being given permission to board.
Flair Continues to Grow
Flair Airlines is opening a new base in Edmonton and expanding its network at the airport by four cities in the United States and adding flights to two Canadian destinations.
Flair will offer seasonal service to Burbank, Las Vegas, Palm Springs, and Phoenix/Mesa beginning December 16. The snowbird flights for Canadians will operate twice weekly with the exception of Las Vegas. The airline spun a roulette wheel and it landed on three, meaning it will operate three weekly flights to LAS. All things considered, that worked out well because Flair doesn’t have the demand to support 36 weekly flights had the wheel landed on 36 or a similarly high number.
In Canada, the airline will extend its summer service to Kelowna (YLW) and Victoria (YYJ) through the winter season as well. The extensions will compliment the airline’s current service to four domestic destinations from Edmonton: Abbotsford (YXX), Kitchener/Waterloo (YKF), Toronto, and Vancouver. It’ll base one B737-8 at the airport and keep two others at the local Tim Horton’s for coffee runs.
Starlux Hopes to be Wooed by an Alliance
Taiwanese startup Starlux Airlines is swooning over the idea of joining one of the big three alliances as it builds out its fleet and route network across the world.
The airline started flying the busy Taiwan-Singapore route from its launch, and finds itself competing with China Airlines, Eva Air, and Singapore Airlines on the route. The airline positioned itself as a “detail-oriented leisure airline,” which is a fancy way of saying low-cost carrier.
It was founded in 2018 and began flying in early 2020 – not the best time to begin a new Asian airline, it turned out. It currently operates a fleet of single-aisle A321neo aircraft with just eight seats up front, but beginning in 2022 the airline is adding eight A330s and A350s – the A350s will feature three classes of service including first and business.
With SkyTeam and Star already having a Taiwanese airline in their portfolios with China Airlines and Eva Air respectively, it would seem that oneworld is the most logical landing spot for Starlux. Upon hearing the news that Starlux is a future potential member a spokesperson from Alaska was seen rolling their eyes and saying “We don’t need any new members. New alliance members are the worst. A total drain on everyone’s time and energy. Just no.”
- AeroSucre added a sweet B737-300 freighter, its first.
- Air Canada‘s Aeroplan introduced Gulf Air as its 42nd airline partner.
- AirTaxi took delivery of its first CRJ900. Delivery was slightly delayed so the aircraft could be painted yellow and outfitted with a beaded seat cover for the cockpit.
- Alitalia will stop selling tickets for flights beyond October 15 tonight at midnight. It’ll probably forget tomorrow and put them back on sale until someone notices and takes them off sale again.
- Avianca returned its final two A321neos to their lessor. The two aircraft had been in storage since March 2020.
- Cathay Pacific is closing The Bridge lounge in Hong Kong, a blow to The Trolls which hung out below the lounge.
- Delta is testing an option to allow passengers to upload their vaccine cards prior to travel, piloting the program on flights to Ireland and Greece.
- Emirates plans on operating up to 77 weekly flights to the United Kingdom by the end of October. Service will include six daily flights to Heathrow, twice daily to Manchester, 10x-weekly to Birmingham, daily service to Glasgow and 4x-weekly to Newcastle.
- Lufthansa Cargo is about to retire its last remaining MD-11 aircraft. Once the plane is retired, the airline can focus on retiring its pet rocks and legwarmers as well.
- Qatar is considering purchasing a stake in Air Côte d’Ivoire.
- SAS will have resumed all domestic operations in Norway and Sweden from prior to the pandemic by next month.
- Sky Alps is beginning service to four new cities this winter: Amsterdam, Brussels, Copenhagen, and London. No one told the airline London has five airports, so it will need to pick one at some point or its pilots are going to have an awkward first flight.
- SWISS is mandating all pilots and cabin crew be fully vaccinated.
- United‘s vaccine mandate will now take effect on September 27 since the Pfizer vaccine has received full approval from the FDA.
- WestJet resumed once-weekly flights from Calgary to Paris/CDG last Saturday.
When going to a trampoline park, what’s the appropriate attire?
A jumpsuit.