 Name this airline – answer in 'Terry's Trivia' below. |
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Toronto-based Porter Airlines has placed a firm order for 30 Embraer E195-E2 passenger jets with options for an additional 50 aircraft. Porter, the North American launch customer for the E195-E2, is expected to begin taking deliveries in the second half of 2022. The deal is worth an estimated $5.82 billion. “With this order for up to 80 of our largest aircraft, the E2 is making a stunning North American debut,” said Embraer Commercial Aviation CEO Arjan Meijer. “As the quietest and most fuel-efficient aircraft in the segment, the E195-E2 also delivers excellent economic performance that shines through.” Source: |
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COVID-19 during 2020/1 was not a good period for airlines. Here is information on some of those failures – Air Italy was forced to suspend operations after its Italian co-owners pulled the plug on further funding and Taiwan’s Far Eastern Air Transport - which had abruptly ceased operations in The most high profile pre-crisis failure was UK regional carrier Flybe, which lost its long battle for survival in early March 2020. Another tipping point for Flybe appeared to be the UK government resisting appeals to directly bail out the carrier. The plug was pulled on the likes of AirAsia Japan, Cathay Dragon, NokScoot, LATAM Airlines Argentina, Level Europe, SunExpress Germany and Tigerair Australia during 2020, as their shareholder airlines focused on dealing with challenges to the core business. In the USA, the pain was predominantly felt by regional operators – mostly the impact of consolidation in feeder flights for the majors. Trans States Holdings operators Compass Air and Trans States Airlines were the first to go in April, followed at the end of September 2020 by ExpressJet Airlines after United Airlines consolidated Embraer ERJ-145 feeder flights around CommutAir. Start-up moves. In December 2020 Canadian airline OWG carried out its inaugural scheduled revenue flight, from Toronto’s Pearson International airport to Santa Clara Abel Santamaria airport in Cuba. The airline is a project of Canadian passenger and freight charter carrier Nolinor Aviation. China Eastern Airlines subsidiary OTT Airlines carried out its maiden flight on 28 December, 2020. A new South African start-up Lift Airlines also carried out its first flight in December 2020. One of the first new operations to launch in 2020 after the pandemic struck was the Abu Dhabi joint venture carrier between Air Arabia and Etihad Airways. The carrier, Air Arabia Abu Dhabi, started operations in July 2020 on routes to Egypt. European low-cost carrier Wizz Air had hoped to launch flights during 2020 with its own Abu Dhabi operation, a joint venture with Abu Dhabi state holding company ADQ. However, the launch was pushed back. The carrier operated its first flight on January 15, 2021. South Korean start-up Aero K - which has been in the works for several years - took a step towards getting airborne when it was granted its operating licence in late December 2020. Also in December, 2020, Brazilian start-up Voe Nella disclosed plans to launch passenger and cargo flights by the end of the first quarter 2021 with ATR and Boeing aircraft. Plans for a new Ukraine carrier called Bees Airline emerged in November 2020, when Swiss Aviation Software disclosed its AMOS package’s selection by the start-up to manage maintenance processes. Hong Kong start-up, Greater Bay Airlines, moved closer to launch with the South China Morning Post reporting in late December 2020, that the carrier has recruited Cathay Dragon’s departing chief Algernon Yau to head the airline. In December ‘Flyr’ was revealed as the brand name for the new Norwegian airline which aims to commence services in the first half of 2021. Original source: flightglobal.com |
