Weekend Reading

Heathrow Airport's short-lived railway station
IanVisits

Airbus progresses with clearing parked A320neo backlog
FlightGlobal

Airbus CEO warns about Brexit, Trump, Protectionism
Aviation Week

Why Amazon is buying 210 acres near a Kentucky airport
CNN

The world's longest flights are making a comeback
Quartzy

Freighter conversions up 7% in 2017 on 767 strength
FlightGlobal (Analysis)

Emirates offers critical lifeline to A380
FlightGlobal

Curious things you didn't know about your flight number
The Telegraph

Airbus sets a monthly order record for December
Motley Fool

Alaska announces eight non-stop routes from Paine Field
USA Today

Talking Points

Austrian Airlines acquired a sixth 777-200ER, on lease from AerCap. The aircraft was previously operated by Aeromexico and Varig. Austrian now owns four 777s, and leases two

Emirates ordered 20 A380s, and took options for 16 more with deliveries starting in 2020. This order enables continued A380 production for the next 10 years, while Airbus can continue to seek new customers in the long term

Iberia's first A320 NEO will deliver in May, with it's first A350 following in June

Afriqiyah Airways (Libya) reported most of it's aircraft (six A319/A320, 1 A330-200) were damaged in the recent January 15th conflict at Mitiga Airport

SAS plans to finalize a large order for A320 NEO family aircraft this Spring to replace up to 70 737s

GOL (Brazil) will relaunch US services using 737 MAX 8s from November. Forteleza and Brasilia will both have daily nonstops to Miami and Orlando. GOL's first 737 MAX is expected to be delivered in June

Elevate Capital Partners (US) was established as a new San Francisco based leasing and aircraft management company

Talking Points

Flair Airlines (Canada) announced plans to become a 'premium' ultra low cost airline...it's not entirely clear yet what this concept means

Azur Air (Germany) will acquire two 737-900ERs by March. Sister carrier Azur Air (Ukraine) leased it's first last month

Belair (Switzerland), one of Air Berlin's subsidiaries, was acquired by SBC, a German investment company. The new owner plans to restore Belair to operational status as soon as possible

Fly Qeshm (Iran) ordered ten CRJ-900s for delivery starting in February

California Pacific Airlines plans to commence operations April 1st, operating six ERJ-145/E170s from Carlsbad to a variety of west coast and next-state destinations

Centurion Air Cargo (US) seeks to restart operations. The airline has until March 31st to file it's fitness paperwork, or risk losing it's AOC

Domestic Airways (Guyana) obtained it's AOC. Service plans are to be confirmed, but we assume they are domestic in nature

Ethiopian Airlines finalized an agreement with the Government of Zambia to restart Zambia Airways and develop Lusaka as a southern African regional hub. Ownership will be split between Ethiopian 45% and the Zambian Government 55%

Haifu Airlines (China) plans to launch regional operations in 2018 operating ARJ-21s, of which it has signed for 20 aircraft from COMAC

Pegasus Airlines' 737-800 accident at Trabzon becomes the 13th 737-800 written off: eight have crashed, one destroyed by fire and four damaged beyond repair in a variety of air and ground based incidents (some 4,600+ 737-800s are currently in service)

Talking Points

Airbus confirmed that absent a new and sizable A380 order from Emirates, the program will likely close

Airbus delivered 718 aircraft in 2017

Ethiopian Airlines expects it's first (of 20) 737 MAX 8s to be delivered in June

Germania to phase out it's remaining ten 737-700s throughout late 2018, and replace them with A320 family aircraft by summer 2019

Norwegian Air Argentina took delivery of it's first 737-800

A Pegasus Airlines (Turkey) 737-800 suffered a 'runway excursion', to put it mildly, upon landing at Trabzon Airport in Northern Turkey, leaving the aircraft dangling precariously off the side of a cliff, just feet from the Black Sea. All passengers were evacuated safely, and the damaged aircraft is now being recovered
The footage is somewhat surreal: IHA News

Frontier Airlines (US) and Volaris (Mexico) announced a wide ranging code share arrangement

Classic Corner

Pan Am Lockheed L-1011 TriStar-500 N501PA "Clipper Eagle" MSN 1176 F/F 11/16/79 Del 7/2/81

The image above defines an era of upcoming seismic changes within the US airline industry. Pan Am remained the de-facto US flag carrier, and at the time of this picture being taken in 1982, observers would be hard pressed to imagine this iconic airline was in it's last decade of existence, with just 9 years of existence remaining.

Pan Am DC-10-10 N65NA "Clipper Silver Star" MSN 46707 F/F 9/8/72 Delivered 10/13/72 National Airlines "Eileen"

Pan Am, the original and best known operator of Boeing's 747, had by this time, also acquired a handful of L-1011s to serve long range Pacific routes, and lower capacity transatlantic sectors. The airline also had the dubious distinction of operating the TriStar's arch competitor - the McDonnell Douglas' DC-10, having inherited a fleet of the latter in it's January 1980 takeover of National Airlines.

Both types would be gone from Pan Am's fleet by the mid-80s, replaced by more efficient twin engine A310-300s, while the aging 747s soldiered on until the end (12/4/91).

I'm privileged to have flown both tri-jet aircraft types in small numbers, although not with Pan Am (an airline I  never flew on).

July 16th 1994 - London Gatwick

Delta Air Lines, in 1994 was still largely a US domestic airline, but did operate a variety of transatlantic services to Europe, and in the UK, operated to London's secondary airport - Gatwick. Delta had, like most US majors in the early 70s, acquired 747s, but finding them too large for typical coast to coast services (New York to Los Angeles / San Francisco) disposed of it's fleet by 1975. Thereafter, until the arrival of 767s in the early 80s, Delta's only widebody in the late 70s was Lockheed's L-1011 widebody tri-jet. [For the record, a few DC-10s were also leased for a brief period of time].

Delta Air Lines Lockheed L-1011-500 TriStar N765DA MSN 1206 F/F 8/26/81 Delivered Air Canada C-GAGG 9/11/81, Delta Air Lines N765DA 8/91

The aircraft above was my ride from Gatwick that summer's day in 1994 from London to Miami (yes- Delta had a nonstop London - Miami service in those days). Note - the predominant aircraft types at New York's JFK back then was 747 classics - a type also now long gone in the long haul aircraft fleets.

This trip was only my second to the United States, the first being in November 1993 (First visit to the United States)

And this trip was a long one, 12 flights, and over two weeks of travel. My then boss dictated which airline we flew, and for this trip it was entirely on Delta (whereas my first - see blog link above - was by future STAR Alliance partners Air New Zealand and United Airlines).

Checking in at London Gatwick: I was standing in line (economy class of course), when a suited gentleman (agent) approached me and said (I quote): "how would you like to fly business class today?" Well I liked that prospect very much, but had no idea why I was picked out. I had never flown Delta before, alliances and frequent flyer programs didn't exist in the way they do now. I was however dressed very smartly - and I think that was it - there's no other explanation except I had a lengthy Delta itinerary ahead of me. I stupidly said "can I still have a smoking seat?" and almost lost this gift from the gods. I of course took the biz class seat, and ended up anyways in the smoking section. Good deal all round!

We departed a hot and humid Gatwick with a very long take off run, using the entire runway...followed by a languished climb out to cruise. Service: excellent, in an old style clubby way. Big bucket seats (flat beds not dreamed of yet on any carrier), no need to turn off electronic devises - we had none. Good steak lunch / dinner, lashings of free booze...smoking ok. You'd meet a lot of folks in those days, whenever you went to the bathroom...a smoker in the non-smoking section would 'borrow' your seat.

The prospect of arriving in Miami was tantalizing...sunny and perfect beaches, cool clubs and cool people the adverts showed. Miami Vice vibe personified. Not the case: was of course mid summer, incredibly hot and humid, an underlying menace in the air around the various off airport and unsafely located back alley car rental agencies. My first impression of Miami pretty much cemented a long term distaste for the city and state, but I nonetheless have traveled there many times and made some great friends, and had a lot of good times.

Apart from a few sales and training visits, my four days in Miami were mostly spent getting to know our Miami based sales team. Home was a roach motel just off airport, but great for plane spotting, and enjoying the company of some 'alternative' characters.

Delta MD-88 N919DE MSN 53422 L/N 2058 Delivered Delta 11/3/93 - Current

July 19th 1994: The MD-80 above was my next ride from Miami to New York (JFK). The air vents were 'smoking' as the A/C attempted to cool the aircraft. This was an early morning 7AM-ish flight, and it was already very hot in Miami. New York was equally hot when we arrived at Delta's worldport (ex-Pan Am) terminal. There followed my first mad taxi ride from JFK into Manhattan, marveling at the incredible sight of the city - an awesome and surreal experience when it's for your very first time. I kind of landed my very first american girlfriend this night...a steamy night in the city in all respects!

July 22nd 1994: After two days in the city, it was time for a day trip to Washington, DC, courtesy of the Delta Shuttle, operated from the marine air terminal at La Guardia airport. Both flights were operated by classic 727-200s, N417DA (delivered 12/8/76, broken up Opa-Locka, FL 1/01) in the morning, and back on N471DA that evening.

Delta 727-232 N471DA MSN 21259 L/N 1224 Delivered 11/15/73 Retired Victorville, CA 10/12/99

July 24th 1994: After a couple more days in New York City, and in excellent female company, it was time to move westwards, initially with a 767-300 (Non ER) flight between La Guardia and Cincinnati (at the time a major Delta hub). Departing LGA on a wide body was an interesting experience. At the time, L-1011s, DC-10s and 767s all operated out of La Guardia on US domestic routes, typically to major hubs.

Delta Boeing 767-322 N136DL MSN 25146 L/N 374 Delivered 6/15/91 Stored Marana, AZ 10/3/16

In the background no less than three Delta liveries can be seen on the tails of aircraft parked at DL's Atlanta maintenance base: Original, as in the 767 above, interim colors on the 737, and new colors on the 757. None of which of course survive today

The stop at Cincinnati was simply to change planes, with the next sector being on a 10 year old and immaculate 737-200 to Chicago O'Hare

Delta Boeing 737-232 N320DL MSN 23092 L/N 1023 Delivered 6/1/84, Sold 9/25/05

Currently in service with Northern Air Cargo, and still registered N320DL. The aircraft was converted to a freighter 11/06

July 27th 1994: after an enjoyable first visit to the windy (and very warm) city of Chicago, I headed to the west coast, observing for the first time in daylight, the incredible expanse and unbelievable enormity of the United States. A 727-200 flew us from Chicago to Salt Lake City, and an L-1011 TriStar-1 from Salt Lake City to Portland, OR

Delta Boeing 727-232 N469DA MSN 20746 L/N 981 Delivered 10/18/73 Retired Victorville, CA 10/12/99

Delta Lockheed L-1011 TriStar-1 N733DS MSN 1224 Delivered 12/11/81 Retired Victorville, CA 5/01

July 29th 1994: After a brief visit to Portland, my next destination was to San Francisco, a city I've loved ever since, and happily just a two hour drive from my current home in Sacramento, CA. Another 727-200 flight on a sparkling clear summer morning. I recall the flight was almost entirely full of Japanese tourists, all of whom clapped in appreciation upon landing at SFO. Or perhaps relief...that first landing is spectacular and slightly heart stopping, when you are so low over the water, and then suddenly the tarmac appears...and you've arrived.

August 2nd 1994: after a few magical days in San Francisco, good business and leisure time, it was time to head to Los Angeles for a few days, this time being transported by a 757-200

Delta Boeing 757-232 N637DL MSN 23760 L/N 171 Delivered 4/13/88, Retired Kansas City, MO 5/17/13

August 6th 1994: a few days in LA and Orange County passed quickly (and no, at this time it was a couple of years before I would actually live here...an unimaginable concept for me in 1994)...and it was now time to return to England, via a 757-200 Los Angeles to Cincinnati, connecting to an L-1011-500 flight to London Gatwick. No such repeat experience with an upgrade to business class...this last flight was a truly awful uncomfortable middle seat coach experience, that I was truly glad to disembark from the following morning. But, great to have enjoyed flying these classic aircraft types.

Delta Boeing 757-232 N642DL MSN 23996 L/N 205 Delivered 12/22/88 Retired Blytheville, AR 9/30/13

Seen above still in delivery colors at Atlanta in May 2001

Delta Lockheed L-1011 TriStar 500 N756DR MSN 1185 Delivered 1/85 Retired in 2001

On this trip, most aircraft I flew on were delivered new to Delta, except this L-1011 above, my last flight, along with the L-1011 that I started the trip on (ex-Air Canada). This TriStar was originally delivered to Pan Am 6/6/80 as N507PA named "Clipper Northern Eagle" before being sold to Delta five years later, as Pan Am attempted to streamline and rationalize it's diverse fleet.

This was an overall great trip with multiple Delta segments, and no problems I recall at all. Also a fascinating first visit to some amazing US cities, with New York, Chicago and San Francisco the stand outs, and a regular part of my itineraries and visits for years to come. Five weeks later, I would again be in the United States on a lengthy seven segment trip, but with a more diverse selection of airlines and aircraft types...that's for another classic corner story, on another bank holiday weekend sometime.

Talking Points

Air Zimbabwe plans to acquire three ERJ-145s, and lease two more for Southern African routes

Albanian Airways was denied an AOC by Albania's CAA

Avianca is to acquire two A330-330s (it currently operates 12 A330-200s), and two A321s, all being ex-TransAsia operated aircraft

Delta is to retain an MD-88 fleet for the foreseeable future as it works out CSeries deliveries. The latter was due from Spring 2018, but will be delayed until the existing trade dispute with Boeing is resolved

El Al Israel Airlines plan to acquire Israir is on hold for now, having received opposition to the deal by Israel's anti trust authority

Sukhoi built 34 SuperJet 100s in 2017. JetTrak shows 25 were delivered in 2017 (subject to confirmation)

Garuda Indonesia confirmed it will not take delivery of any new aircraft in 2018, although low cost subsidiary Citilink will take delivery of two A320s

Weekend Reading

Russian Jets in Mexican hangars haunt troubled airline
Bloomberg

Turboprops could face crossover narrowbody Jet challenge
Aviation Week

RIP Virgin America...
Boardingarea.com

An Appreciation: John Young, 1930-2018
Aviation Week

US Experts split on drivers of airline safety record
Aviation Week

Canada files WTO complaint vs US over Boeing CSeries trade complaint
Leeham News & Content

At this restaurant, gastronomy takes a flight of fancy
Indian Express

As Alaska Airlines cuts costs, employee discontent grows...
The Seattle Times

Delta's imminent, efficient fleet rejuvenation
Airways Magazine

The 10 busiest airline domestic routes in the world
Boardingarea.com

Talking Points

Hawaiian's first new A321 NEO route will be Honolulu - Long Beach (CA) starting June 1st

Virgin America will formally merge into Alaska Airlines from January 12th

JetBlue delayed it's strategic fleet review following the tie-up between Airbus and Bombardier, and possible Boeing - Embraer partnership - events that the airline believes may affect it's order decisions on new small aircraft

Etihad Airways ferried an A340-600 to Teruel (Spain) for storage. A record check shows the airline has now quietly retired (as of October last year) all of it's A340-500 and -600s. The airline operated four -500s and seven -600s, all of which are now stored, bar one. One -500 (MSN 748) did find a new home with the Italian Air Force, operating governmental VIP flights

China plans to order 184 Airbus A320 family aircraft for distribution to the countries airlines

Airbus is to increase A320 Tianjin, China production to six per month from 2020. The current rate is four per month

Africa World Airlines (Ghana) plans to acquire three 767s for service from Accra to London, New York, Sao Paulo and Istanbul

Express Air Cargo (Tunisia) is to acquire four 737-400Fs first half of 2018, adding to two 737-300Fs currently operated

Talking Points

Turkish Airlines signed an MOU for 25 A350-900s

Delta now has 60 MD-90s remaining in service, having retired a few examples in recent weeks

FedEx retired an A310 last week, leaving it with just five examples remaining in service (of 70 operated in total), along with 68 remaining A300-600Fs still in service

Boeing delivered a record 763 aircraft in 2017, and expects an equally robust 2018

Airwork (New Zealand) will soon take delivery of it's first 757 freighter, adding to two 737-300Fs and seven 737-400Fs currently operated

Ethiopian Cargo will lease two 737-800Fs from GECAS, one in June and the second in January 2019

Delta Air Lines was named by FlightStats as 2017's most punctual airline, with an 85.9% average on time arrival rate

Airbus rolled out the first BelugaXL super transporter (based on an A330), with first flight expected mid-year. Construction of the second has begun, with these aircraft to replace the existing A300 based Beluga platform

Weekend Reading

[Please note JetTrak added a few new links to last weekend's 'New Year Weekend Reading' post, after the original publication date]

A jumbo jet crashed 40 years ago...but no-one remembers
Times of India

Media reaction to 'safest year' for airlines is telling
Air Transport World

Janet: the top-secret US airline your not supposed to know about
The Telegraph

MC-21 narrowbody flight tests symbolize Russian sector ambitions
Aviation Week

The Soviet Union's flawed rival to Concorde
BBC

Airlines' year of zero passenger fatalities
FlightGlobal (Analysis)

Airbus rolls out higher-capacity A321 NEO
FlightGlobal

Final flight for last US passenger airline 747
CNN

Airbus CEO Tom Enders Aviation Week 2017 person of the year
Aviation Week

Talking Points

Bombardier delivered 17 CSeries aircraft in 2017, short of their revised plan to deliver 20. At the beginning of 2017 30-35 CSeries were forecast to be delivered. The company adds that is aims to deliver 40 aircraft in 2018

Aerolineas Argentinas plans to retire two (of four remaining) A340-300s by the end of 2018. Longer term plans call for either a 787/777 or A350 based long haul fleet, none of which have been ordered yet

Airbus delivered over 700 aircraft in 2017, in line with it's stated goals. A full breakdown and details will be disclosed later this month

Atlas Atlantique Airlines (France) was placed into administration by a French court. The airline has not operated since early last October

Guyana Airways plans to launch operations in 2018 with either A320s or 737-800s

El Al Israel Airlines plans to retire it's low cost brand UP, with their four 737-800s being transferred back to the mainline operation

Venezuela now has just 16 operational aircraft, of some 140 in total

CALC ordered an additional 15 A320 NEOs, now totaling 217

Talking Posts

Royal Flight (Russia) leased a 757-200, giving it a fleet total of seven. The airline also operates one 737-800 and three 767-300ERs

Austral (Argentina) is to replace it's E-190s with 737-800s starting this month (most likely transferred from parent Aerolineas Argentinas, now taking delivery of 737 MAX 8s)

Southwest exercised 40 options for 737 MAX 8 orders, while deferring 23 737 MAX 7s due between 2019 and 2021

Ryanair (Ireland) applied for a UK AOC to hedge against a 'hard brexit' and be able to continue UK domestic services beyond 2019

Royal Air Maroc ordered four 737 MAX aircraft (as part of it's recent 787-9 order announcement)

Thai AirAsia to add ten A321 NEOs in 2019

VietJetAir (Vietnam) is to convert all 42 remaining A320 NEO orders to A321 NEOs