On October 26, Air Canada welcomed the 100,000th passenger on its non-stop Lyon-Montreal route. Thanks to this line, launched in June 2016 and operated up to 5 times a week, Air Canada is the only airline to offer non-stop year-round service between Lyon and North America. Lyon-Montreal flights are operated on A330-300 three-class aircraft, with 27 seats in International Business Class, 21 in Privilege Economy Class, and 244 in Economy Class. This is an increased capacity compared to previous years.
The airline KLM has just announced a non-stop Amsterdam-Las Vegas route starting next summer. From June 6, 2019, KLM will connect Amsterdam to Las Vegas twice a week (Friday and Sunday), then add a third frequency on Tuesday from July 2, 2019. The flights will be operated as a B787-9 (Dreamliner) with a capacity of 294 passengers. This new connection via Amsterdam offers the French a new opportunity to connect France to Las Vegas easily, notably via the Skyteam alliance and scheduled flights between different cities in France and Amsterdam.
A Boeing 737 from Lion Air crashed Monday morning off the Indonesian coast shortly after takeoff from Jakarta, with 189 people on board who were « probably dead », according to rescue services who were no longer hoping to find any survivors. The Indonesian company’s aircraft, a Boeing 737 MAX 8 that entered service only a few months ago, had asked to return to the capital’s airport shortly before contact with air traffic control was broken around 0630 (2330 GMT Sunday). The aircraft was destined for Pangkal Pinang, a town on Bangka Island off Sumatra. Rescuers found « human remains that were no longer intact, and it has been several hours, so it is likely that the 189 people (on board) died, » said Bambang Suryo Aji, the operational director of the Indonesian rescue services during a press briefing.
From July 2019, with its Airbus A350, Iberia will increase its capacity on the routes in Montevideo, Quito and Rio de Janeiro, offering daily flights to all three cities, while the company will serve Lima 10 times a week in July and August. On April 12, the company will resume its direct Madrid-San Francisco flights. The Spanish airline has also announced its intention to fly its new Airbus A350s in Buenos Aires and Chicago.
Aeroflot inaugurated a new route between Moscow and Dublin last Sunday, and now serves Bali in Indonesia, again from the Russian capital. Since 28 October 2018, the Russian national airline has been offering a daily flight from its base in Moscow-Sheremetyevo to Dublin airport, operated by Airbus A320 with a capacity of 20 passengers in Business class.
On October 28, the company Aigle Azur operated its very first domestic flight between Nantes and Lyon. It will now connect the 2 French urban centres with 2 flights per day, or 12 flights per week, throughout the year. These flights are operated by Airbus A320 configured as a single cabin with 180 seats. Passengers have a choice of several additional service options to enhance their trip, such as the choice of seat, the possibility of travelling with or without luggage, the « Buy on Board » option, the possibility of booking a car rental, a taxi and/or a hotel with Aigle Azur’s partners.
Vueling, the leading airline between France and Spain in terms of passengers carried, celebrates its 20 million passengers from Paris Orly. To mark the event, the low-cost company is highlighting the romanticism of the French capital and is offering a competition on the theme of Love. All those who wish to participate in this special flight, connecting Paris to Barcelona, only have to share their best kisses in the form of a story, or on their news feed via their Instagram account, between October 26 and November 5. Each post must be accompanied by the hashtag #VuelingAimeParis and mentioned @Vueling. Thus, the first flight that can be paid for with a kiss will take off from Paris Orly on November 30th for Barcelona. On board and at the moment the aircraft reaches its maximum altitude, passengers will be invited to exchange kisses. Other surprises await the passengers who will join this flight of Love.
The company Aeromexico will suspend five cross-border routes in 2019, namely those connecting its base to Mexico-Benito Juarez at Washington-Dulles (as of December 2), Boston-Logan and Portland airports (both on January 7); those between Guadalajara and San Jose in California (on January 7); and those between Monterrey and Las Vegas on the same day. Four other lines, this time internal, are also suspended (between Guadalajara and Cancun, between Monterey and Tijuana, Merida and Veracruz).
Yesterday, October 29, the Flight Crew of Air Caraïbes, a Caribbean Caribbean Caribbean airline, offered on board for sale for €2 pink satin bracelets customized by the company, all the proceeds of which will be donated to the association « Les Hôtesses de l’air contre le cancer ».
To increase the contribution to this operation, Air Caraïbes will also transfer to the Association all of the company’s profits on the sale of duty-free items on board the 12 flights operated on that day.
On the occasion of October Rose, the company is mobilizing alongside the association « Les Hôtesses de l’air contre le cancer » by offering its passengers transatlantic flights a day of awareness against the disease.
Norwegian resumes this week its seasonal flights from Guadeloupe and Martinique. The company is strengthening its presence in the French West Indies by opening new routes to Montreal and Cayenne. From Wednesday 31 October 2018, Norwegian will operate three flights a week between Fort de France and Cayenne. Norwegian is the only airline to offer direct flights three times a week between Guadeloupe and Cayenne from 1 November 2018. Tickets are sold from 109€ one-way ticket, taxes included.
For this new season, Norwegian is increasing flight frequencies between the French West Indies and Fort Lauderdale and New York-JFK. New York is now served 6 times a week from Pointe-à-Pitre and Fort-de-France. Fort Lauderdale will be accessible 3 times a week from Guadeloupe and 4 times a week from Martinique.