Airline News March 2005

Airguide Online, March 30, 2005

Mar 28, 2005

Boeing

The first Boeing 777-200LR Worldliner, the world's longest range commercial airplane, completed its first flight on March 8 2005 and began a test program that will lead to its first delivery in January 2006. The newest 777 took off from Everett, Wash., Paine Field at 10 a.m. local time. After approximately three hours, it landed at 1:02 p.m. at Seattle's Boeing Field. Capts. Suzanna Darcy-Hennemann and Frank Santoni flew the airplane, which carries the distinctive new blue Boeing livery. Darcy-Hennemann is the 777-200LR project pilot and Santoni is the chief 777 program pilot for Boeing Commercial Airplanes.

Mar 8, 2005

Boeing

Boeing to overhaul 737 with new technologies in next decade. A Boeing executive said the company will overhaul its family of 737 narrowbody jets during the next decade. Randy Baseler, vice president of Boeing's Commercial Airplanes unit, said the company will apply the new technologies of its 787 to its single-aisle planes. There is no firm launch date for the new 737.

Mar 2, 2005

British Airways

British Airways has switched over to a summer schedule and has added 13 new European flights for the summer. It will be operating an average of 631 daily flights between Britain and the Continent, as well as 372 daily flights within the UK and 60 across the Irish Sea. It is awaiting approval for London-Heathrow to Shanghai flights to operate five times a week. It has instituted new flights from London-Gatwick to Salonika, Greece; Split, Croatia; and Vilnius, Lithuania. On May 1 it will begin flying to Bucharest, Romania, and on June 2 to Sofia, Bulgaria. BA's CitiExpress will launch two new flights from Bristol daily to Milan and six per week to Zurich. Its franchise partner GB Airways starts new flights from London-Gatwick to Heraklion, Crete, on May 3 and from Manchester to Dubrovnik, Malta, Paphos and Tenerife May 16 2005.

Mar 30, 2005

British Airways

British Airways was perhaps a little undiplomatic to invite Liverpool's Spanish star Josemi to a reception at Manchester Airport! However the airline wanted to make the headlines for the introduction of flights to Malaga (and Malta, Dubrovnik, Paphos plus Tenerife). BA franchise GB has established a base at Manchester and will use two class Airbus A320 aircraft on all services. On the website you can see Josemi joining BA girls Natalia Hockings (left) and Laura Cave with a traditional Spanish panata. http://www.ba.com

Mar 21, 2005

British Airways

Rod Eddington, who retires as British Airways chief executive at the end of September, has been asked by the UK government to advise on the long- term impact of transport decisions on the country's productivity, stability and growth. The announcement was made during the Budget speech last week and was perhaps the only item in the whole financial treatise not to involve money. Rod will be unpaid. It's fine news for the air transport industry who nove has someone on the "inside" regarding government. It can only be a good thing. http://www.ba.com