Amapola becomes populAir

populAir.com Fokker F.27 Mk. 050 SE-MFR (msn 20264) ARN (Stefan Sjogren). Image: 963363.

Amapola (Stockholm) has changed its operating name to populAir.

The airline announced:

After 18 years as Amapola, we got a populAir idea, a name that we believe you will remember and hopefully make you smile a little. With our green and white background, we want to symbolize the green forests and white expanses of the Nordic region.

We at populAir are proud to offer comfortable and safe flights to some of Sweden’s most exciting destinations. Discover our beautiful country from north to south with our reliable flight services. Whether you are traveling for business or pleasure, we always strive to make your domestic journey as comfortable and memorable as possible.

Fly with us and experience the difference with populAir – discover Sweden with us!

populAir is now the trading name for Amapola Flyg AB.

Top Copyright Photo: populAir.com Fokker F.27 Mk. 050 SE-MFR (msn 20264) ARN (Stefan Sjogren). Image: 963363.

Flying to Uzbekistan on Uzbekistan Airways

New video from Sam Chui:

I flew with Uzbekistan Airways across the Silk Road to discover the country and its latest aviation scenes. My trip to Uzbekistan covers 3 cities; Tashkent, Samarkand and Khiva.

My friend Charles and I flew on Uzbekistan Airways B787 Dreamliner from Dubai to Tashkent. During the flight, I discovered the service onboard. The airline serve some of the largest portion of food and even offer horse meat! After landing at Tashkent, we visited the former aircraft factory where Ilyushin IL76 was built, stayed in a soviet era iconic hotel; Hotel Uzbekistan and tried some local food such as plov.

The next day we took the Uzbek high-speed rail “Afrosiyab” to Samarkand. We visited the city sights and the new terminal of Samarkand Int’l Airport. New airlines such as Air Samarkand are based there. On the way back, we flew regional airline Silk Avia ATR72 back to Tashkent.

We also flew on Uzbekistan Airways A320neo to Urgench, in order to visit the historical city of Khiva, on the west side of the country. While the airport experiences are fairly basic and most airports have little or no jet bridges, the Uzbek hospitality is absolutely wonderful throughout our trip.

The potential in Uzbekistan is huge with over 35 million population but the aviation sector is still developing with one state-owned airline and a few privately run airlines. The challenges of these new airlines are limited funding, limited experience in aviation, and difficulty to recruit and sourcing airplanes. Uzbekistan is on the crossroads between East and West so it would be interesting to see how the aviation sector develop itself in the next 5 -10 years.

Uzbekistan Airways aircraft photo gallery:

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Bark Air launches operations

Bark Air made its first revenue flight on Thursday, May 23, between the New York area and the Los Angeles area.

Bark Air will serve the New York City metro area via Westchester County Airport (HPN) with flights to the Los Angeles area via Van Nuys (VNY) and London, England via Biggin Hill (BQH). 

The virtual airline is partnering with Talon Air, a private jet charter company that flies Gulfstream G500 jets.

BarkAir is a public charter operator. It is not a direct air carrier and does not own or operate any aircraft. 

All photos by the company.

Emirates and Viva Aerobus establish interline partnership

Emirates and Viva Aerobus have signed an interline agreement to enhance connectivity for passengers travelling to Mexico. The partnership will boost access to a host of points in Mexico, allowing Emirates customers to travel onwards from Mexico City to 21 domestic points, while enjoying the convenience of a single baggage policy utilising both airlines on a single ticket.

Photo: Emirates

The interline agreement also unlocks more international routes for Emirates customers, providing 20 convenient flight options connecting six points in Mexico and some popular American cities.

The Dubai-Mexico City route is served by the Boeing 777 aircraft in a two-class configuration. Customers with itineraries that include interline flights from the select US points can look forward to superior levels of comfort and unique features of its A380 service on flights from Dubai to Los Angeles and Houston, before connecting to Viva Aerobus for flights to their final destinations in Mexico. Viva Aerobus’ fleet is comprised of 83 Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft with an average age of 5.45 years, making it the most modern fleet in Mexico and the 5th youngest in all of Latin America.

Photo: Viva Aerobus

Mexico is an important part of the Emirates network spanning almost 140 destinations. Emirates launched its services to Mexico City in 2019 and the airline currently provides daily flights to the Mexican capital via Barcelona, utilising the Boeing 777-200LR.

Emirates currently has commercial cooperation agreements in place with 161 interline, codeshare and intermodal partners.

Viva Aerobus aircarft photo gallery:

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Spirit Airlines to open new crew base for pilots at Newark Liberty International Airport

Spirit Airlines Airbus A320-271N WL N922NK (msn 9341) FLL (Jay Selman). Image: 404278.

Spirit Airlines has announced the opening of a new crew base for pilots at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) in September 2024, furthering the airline’s investments to enhance operational reliability. Spirit expects to locate approximately 200 Pilots in Newark initially, with additional supervisors and support functions to follow.

Photo: Spirit Airlines

Crew bases are the various airport stations where flight crews typically begin and end their trips. Newark is well suited for the new Pilot crew base thanks to its strategic location within Spirit’s network and sizeable flight schedule. Spirit has grown to become the second largest carrier at EWR with up to 32 peak day departures and service to 22 destinations, including seven destinations added in the past year. The airline launched service at EWR in October 2016.

Photo: Spirit Airlines

The new EWR Pilot crew base will complement Spirit’s additional crew bases in Atlanta (ATL), Chicago (ORD), Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW), Detroit (DTW), Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood (FLL), Houston (IAH), Las Vegas (LAS), Miami (MIA) and Orlando (MCO). 

Top Copyright Photo: Spirit Airlines Airbus A320-271N WL N922NK (msn 9341) FLL (Jay Selman). Image: 404278.

Spirit Airlines aircarft photo gallery:

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Great Airlines Series of books by Brian Worthington:

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Azul and GOL announce codeshare agreement

Azul and GOL airlines announce today a commercial cooperation agreement that will connect their flight networks in Brazil through a codeshare agreement. This partnership covers all domestic routes operated exclusively, meaning rotes operated by one of the two companies but not the other.

The agreement also encompasses frequent flyer programs, allowing Azul Fidelidade and Smiles members to earn points in their preferred program when purchasing segments included in the codeshare agreement.

Photo: Azul

This agreement will bring enormous benefits to our customers. Both companies have a history of aviation development in Brazil, focused on customer service excellence. “With Azul’s highly connected network serving most cities in Braziland GOL’s strong presence in the main Brazilian markets, our complementary offerings will provide customers with the widest range of travel options,” said Abhi Shah, President of Azul.

Consumers will benefit from this commercial partnership starting at the end of June, when the offer will become available through both companies’ sales channels.

Customers will gain access to hundreds of new domestic routes, along with more convenient connection opportunities. For example, one could travel from Brasília to Tabatinga with a brief layover in Manaus, or from Rio de Janeiro to Marabá with a stop in Belém.

Azul and GOL operate approximately 1,500 daily departures. This agreement will create over 2,700 travel opportunities with just one connection.

Photo: GOL

Benefits for Azul and GOL Customers:

Customers can search for domestic segments exclusive to one airline and purchase through Azul’s and GOL’s sales channels. Routes operated by both GOL and Azul are not included in the codeshare.

Points and miles from codeshare or non-overlapping segments purchased through the other airline’s digital channels, such as a GOL flight bought on Azul’s website, can be accumulated in either the Azul Fidelidade and Smiles programs, at the customer’s discretion. This applies to both connecting flights and individual segments.

Check-in must always be completed through the digital channels or airport counters of the airline operating the flight, or in the case of connecting flights, the first segment, regardless of which company sold the ticket. For connecting flights, customers will receive all boarding passes at check-in.

Photo: GOL

Baggage check-in follows the same rule as passenger check-in. It must be done with the airline operating the flight or the first segment, and the luggage will be delivered to the final destination regardless of any connections with the other airline.

Rescheduling and cancellations of bookings should be handled by the company that sold the ticket.

Additional services and optional items, such as special seats or checked baggage, as well as loyalty program benefits and cargo transport, remain subject to the rules set by each company and must be observed by customers.

Gol aircarft photo gallery:

Spirit Airlines and San José Mineta International Airport partner in bid for new, low-fare service to Washington’s Reagan National Airport

Spirit Airlines Airbus A320-271N WL N950NK (msn 10769) SEA (Bruce Drum). Image: 106109.

Spirit Airlines in partnership with San José Mineta International Airport (SJC), has announced it will apply to the U.S. Department of Transportation to launch new, nonstop service between SJC and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). Spirit is pursuing the one round-trip for limited incumbents authorized at DCA through the passage of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act of 2024. 

If approved, the new route will provide travelers with the only nonstop, low-fare service between Silicon Valley and the nation’s capital. The service would also boost competition by introducing a low-fare competitor and offering Bay Area travelers more choices to reach the Washington, D.C. area. San José is one of the largest cities in the nation without nonstop service to Washington, D.C., and this new flight from SJC would offer a closer, more convenient option for millions of residents.

Spirit launched service at SJC in June 2023 and currently offers nonstop flights to Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW), Las Vegas(LAS) and San Diego (SAN).  

Top Copyright Photo: Spirit Airlines Airbus A320-271N WL N950NK (msn 10769) SEA (Bruce Drum). Image: 106109.

Spirit Airlines aircraft photo gallery:

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British Airways to fly next winter to Tromsø, Norway

British Airways Airbus A320-251N WL G-TTNF (msn 8408) ZRH (Rolf Wallner). Image: 963358.

British Airways will launch its first ever flight to Tromsø, Norway, this winter.

Operating from December 1, 2024, Tromsø will become the airline’s most northernly destination globally.

Return flights are available now from £153 and will run twice a week until 27 March 2025.

Tromsø Airport (TOS) from London Heathrow (LHR) – All times are local – Aircraft: A320neo
SeasonFlight numberDeparting LHRArriving TOSFlight numberDeparting TOSArrivingLHR
ThursdaysBA61208:2513:00BA61314:0016:45
SundaysBA61208:1512:50BA61313:4016:25

About British Airways’ flight network

As the UK’s national flag carrier, British Airways serves more than 190 destinations across more than 65 countries, including routes with its partnership airlines. The airline proudly offers customers flights to more destination from London than any other carrier.

Top Copyright Photo: British Airways Airbus A320-251N WL G-TTNF (msn 8408) ZRH (Rolf Wallner). Image: 963358.

British Airways aircraft photo gallery (Airbus):

T’way Air launches Zagreb-Seoul (Incheon) service

T’way Air,  a low-cost carrier based in Seoul, South Korea, has officially launched a new flight between Zagreb and Seoul on May 16, marking the airline’s first flight to Europe.

This new route between Zagreb and Seoul (Incheon) is expected to enhance convenience for tourists and business travelers in both Croatia and Korea. 

Hong-Geun Jeong, CEO of T’way Air; Sung-Hun Na, Vice Chairman of T’way Air; Damir Kusen, Croatian ambassador to Korea; and Hyung-Yi Kim, Senior Vice President of T’way Air pose at the inauguration event at Sheraton Zagreb hotel on May 17th. (PRNewsfoto/T’way Air)

The inauguration event marking this new milestone for the airline was held at Sheraton Zagreb Hotel on May 17th, attended by Sung-Hun Na, Vice Chairman of T’way Air, Hong-Geun Jeong, CEO of T’way Air; Damir Kušen, Croatian Ambassador to Korea; and Joongkeun Oh, Minister-Counselor of the Korean Embassy in Croatia, along with other guests.

The Zagreb to Seoul flight operates three times a week – every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, departing Zagreb International Airport at 9:25 PMand arriving at Seoul Incheon International Airport the next day at 3:25 PM local time, with a flight duration of approximately 11 hours.

T’way Air’s A330-300 aircraft received a water salute to commemorate its first flight at Zagreb International Airport in Zagreb, Croatia, on May 16th.

The return flight departs Seoul (Incheon) at 11:05 AM, arriving at Manas International Airport in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan at 3:50 PM for refueling, and arrives in Zagreb at 7:55 PM. The total flight duration, including the refueling stop, is approximately 15 hours and 50 minutes.

Breeze Airways to expand at Providence, Rhode Island

Breeze Airways through CEO David Neeleman announced it will significantly expand operations at Rhode Island T. F. Green International Airport (PVD) and have the airport serve as a connecting travel hub for the growing airline.

Two years ago, Breeze Airways announced a commitment to grow operations over the following five years with up to 20 nonstop routes, 44 departing flights per week, 1 west coast route, 6 based aircraft, and 200 to 250 jobs.

As Breeze Airways celebrates its third anniversary at PVD, the airline has already met or exceeded many of those goals, with 6 based aircraft, 18 nonstop routes, 2 west coast destinations, 120 flights per week, 205 jobs, and 278,000 annual passengers, all in advance of their 2027 goals.

Under a new agreement, over the next five years, Breeze Airways would offer a total of 35 underserved or unserved nonstop routes, among them seven routes to destinations west of the Mississippi and up to 12 locally-based aircraft flying 200 flights per week.

Additionally, at least three of the 35 Breeze destinations within the next five years will be international destinations. In order to provide seamless connections with other airlines, Breeze Airways will pursue “interline agreements” with international carriers over the next three years.

This development will allow PVD to become a connecting hub for the airline and their partners as domestic and international travel grows. The expansion of operations and service is expected to result in up to 1 million passengers at PVD annually and up to 400 jobs over the next ten years.

Current routes from PVD: