Most popular posts April 2020

1.) Coulson's Boeing 737 goes into firefighting service this year - Coulson Aviation USA has been awarded a multi-year contract with the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service for Next Generation Large Air Tanker Services throughout the United States. [Full story] 

2.) Boeing's first COVID-19 mission lands in New Hampshire - Boeing completed its first COVID-19 transport mission on Saturday, using a 737-700 aircraft from its corporate fleet to bring personal protective equipment from China to the United States. [Full story] 

3.) Video: Blue Angels and Thunderbirds aim for flyover of Baltimore, Atlanta and DC this weekend - The U.S. Navy Blue Angels and U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds performed a very rare joint flyover above New York City, Trenton, Newark, and Philadelphia on Tuesday to honor health care and essential workers fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. [Full story]

4.) Air Canada reconfigures three Boeing 777s to transport COVID-19 supplies - Air Canada is reconfiguring the cabins of three of its Boeing 777-300ER aircraft to give them additional cargo capacity to combat the COVID-19 crisis, the company announced on Saturday. [Full story]

5.) Marines first operational flight of MQ-9A Reaper in Middle East - On March 20, U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) pilots and sensor operators from Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 1 (VMU-1) conducted their first operational flight of an MQ-9A Reaper Unmanned Aircraft System in the Middle East. [Full story]

Air Canada launches the only non-stop flights linking Alberta to the Bay Area

Air Canada inaugurated non-stop daily flights between Edmonton and San Francisco on Tuesday, one of 25 new routes being inaugurated this summer.

Air Canada's Edmonton-San Francisco daily non-stop, year-round flights are operated onboard Bombardier CRJ 900 jets offering a choice of 12 Business Class seats and 64 Economy Class seats, wi-fi, and features Air Canada's in-flight entertainment on personal touch-screens at every seat.

Flights have been timed to connect conveniently with Air Canada's regional flight network in Edmonton and with Star Alliance partner United Airlines in San Francisco.

Most popular posts February 2017

1.) Air Canada flight runs through grass during landing - On Feb. 25, Air Canada Flight 623 was traveling from Halifax to Toronto/Lester B. Pearson airport with 118 persons on board. [Full story]

2.) 10th annual Routes Americas conference to plan new flights in North and South America - The aviation industry came together last month in Las Vegas at the 10th annual Routes Americas conference to plan new flights in North and South America. [Full story]

3.) EarnHoney.com issues millions of bonuses to members due to crediting issues - EarnHoney.com, an online rewards website, paid out millions of bonuses to users in February due to “crediting issues,” the company said in an announcement on their website. [Full story]

4.) Virginia is the most romantic state, according to Ibotta - Virginia really is for lovers. [Full story]

5.) Video: Coast Guard overflight of New Orleans tornado damage - An MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrew from Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans conducted an overflight in eastern New Orleans to assess the damage caused by tornadoes in February. [Full story]

Air Canada flight runs through grass during landing

On Saturday, Air Canada Flight 623 was traveling from Halifax to Toronto/Lester B. Pearson airport with 118 persons on board. Towards the end of the flight, the aircraft (an Airbus A320) was flying an Instrument Landing System approach to runway 15R. Just after midnight, during the landing sequence, the aircraft traveled through the grass on the western side of the runway, eventually coming to a stop on the runway centerline. The passengers were deplaned on the runway and transported by bus to the terminal. There were no reported injuries, and apparent damage to the aircraft at this point is minor. The aircraft will be thoroughly examined to further determine the extent of the damage. Five runway edge lights were also damaged.

Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) investigators were deployed in the early morning to Pearson Airport to examine the aircraft and gather information. The TSB is an independent agency that investigates marine, pipeline, railway and aviation transportation occurrences. To date, TSB have:

• Taken possession of the CVR and FDR. These will be sent to the TSB Lab in Ottawa for further analysis.
• Gathered airborne radar, ground radar and audio data from air traffic control.
• Gathered the initial weather information.
• Examined and took measurements of the occurrence site.
• Conducted preliminary examination of the aircraft.

Next steps

The investigation is ongoing and the next steps include the following:

• Interviewing the flight crew, air traffic control and other witnesses.
• Gathering all information surrounding this flight, such as: weather, the approach, navigation systems, communications, the crew, training, the organization.
• Analyzing data from FDR/CVR.
• TSB investigators have to examine all the information before drawing any conclusions. It is too early to say what the causes and contributing factors of this occurrence might be.

10th annual Routes Americas conference to plan new flights in North and South America

The aviation industry will gather in Las Vegas next week (Feb. 14-16) at the 10th annual Routes Americas conference to plan new flights in North and South America.

Routes Americas brings together airlines, airports and tourism authorities to develop new air services. It moves to a new city every year to highlight the diverse aviation markets across the Americas. The Las Vegas event will be the largest to date with 820 delegates taking part in 2,700 meetings.

Nearly half of Las Vegas' 42.9 million annual visitors travel by air and the airport generates $30 billion in local economic impact. The city held more than 21,000 meetings, trade shows and conventions in 2016 which supported 65,000 jobs.

McCarran International Airport and Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) will host Routes Americas 2017. The leading airlines that will attend include American Airlines, Air Canada, Aeromexico, Delta Air Lines, jetBlue, Latam and United Airlines. Around 100 airlines, 260 airports and 40 tourism authorities are expected in total.

The latest issues and challenges facing the aviation industry will be debated at the event's Strategy Summit. The high profile speakers include Brian Hedberg, director of the Office of International Aviation at the U.S. Department of Transport; Roger Dow, president and CEO of U.S. Travel Association; and Peter Cerdá, regional vice president of International Air Transport Association.

This will be the second time that LVCVA and McCarran International Airport have brought a Routes event to the city. Las Vegas gained more than 120 weekly flights with an estimated annual economic impact of $440 million in direct visitor spending in the year after the event.

"The U.S. aviation market is the busiest in the world and it is expected to grow to 904 million passengers a year by 2025," said Steven Small, brand director of Routes.

The conference will be held at ARIA Resort and Casino, Las Vegas, Nev.

Air Canada adds six new destinations to its international network

Air Canada announced the addition of six new destinations to its international network Wednesday, including year-round Boeing 787-9 service between Toronto and Mumbai and between Vancouver and Taipei. The new services will launch for summer 2017, with the Montreal-Algiers and the Vancouver-Taipei routes subject to government approvals.

"Air Canada is pleased to offer customers these new non-stop routes," said Benjamin Smith, president, Passenger Airlines at Air Canada.

"Toronto-Mumbai is our third route between Canada and India starting with the launch of Toronto-Delhi service last fall, and Nagoya will be our fourth airport in Japan. With these new services, we will now operate 21 routes between Canada and Asia, including the Middle East. Berlin and Marseille will bring the number of European routes we serve to 44 next summer, including four cities in France. Algiers will be our second destination in Africa, which makes Air Canada one of only a small number of global carriers flying to all six inhabited continents," said Smith.

Air Canada will be the only carrier to offer non-stop service between Canada and Mumbai and the only Canadian carrier to operate non-stop service to Taipei. These routes will operate year-round aboard Air Canada's Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. The aircraft feature 30 International Business Class suites, 21 Premium Economy and 247 Economy Class seats.

The new seasonal routes to Berlin and Nagoya will be the only non-stop services between these cities and Canada. The service to Algiers will be the only non-stop flight by a Canadian carrier between Montreal and the North African city and the Marseille service will be the only non-stop flight operated by a network carrier between Marseille and North America. All will be operated with an Air Canada Rouge Boeing 767-300ER aircraft.

Air Canada non-stop flights from Vancouver to Dallas-Fort Worth

Air Canada announced Wednesday the introduction of new daily year-round non-stop service between Vancouver and Dallas-Fort Worth beginning Feb. 5, 2017.

"Air Canada is pleased to link Vancouver and Dallas-Fort Worth with non-stop flights, complementing our existing service from Toronto. We continue to strategically expand our Vancouver hub, and our newest transborder flights to the fourth most populous metropolitan area in the USA offer local business travelers non-stop service, as well as improved access for customers in British Columbia and Alberta via convenient connections in Vancouver," said Benjamin Smith, president, Passenger Airlines at Air Canada. "Travelers from the U.S. will also enjoy seamless connections to Beijing, Shanghai, Seoul, Tokyo (Narita) and Hong Kong."

Air Canada's Vancouver-Dallas-Fort Worth flights will be operated by Jazz Aviation LP under the Air Canada Express brand with 75-seat, wi-fi equipped CRJ-705 aircraft, offering both Business and Economy cabins of service as well as in-flight entertainment at every seat.

This year from Vancouver, Air Canada has launched new international services to Brisbane and to Dublin, with new flights launching to Delhi in October. Air Canada has also launched new U.S. transborder flights from Vancouver this year to Chicago, San Jose, and San Diego.

Air Canada brings Olympic athletes home

Air Canada will begin flying members of Canada's Olympic team back to Canada on Monday from the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, with flights arriving at Toronto Pearson airport early Tuesday morning.

The athletes will return to Toronto on Tuesday on flight Air Canada AC091 from Sao Paulo due to arrive at 5:40 a.m. and Air Canada AC1099 due to arrive at 5:15 a.m. from Rio de Janeiro. More athletes and team members will arrive on Wednesday with Air Canada flight AC091 due to land at 5:00 a.m. and Air Canada flight AC099 from Rio de Janeiro at 5:15 a.m.

In total, Air Canada transported approximately 690 athletes, coaches and support staff with the Canadian Team to Rio.

Another day of delays and cancellations for Air Canada

Although Air Canada ground handling employees at Toronto and Montreal international airports have returned to work following an illegal work stoppage this morning, delays and cancellations of Air Canada-operated flights primarily to Canadian and U.S. destinations are expected for the remainder of the day, the airline said in a press statement on Friday.

"We recognize that many customers are being inconvenienced and our focus right now is on getting them to their destination safely, and as quickly as we can," said Duncan Dee, Air Canada’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. "We thank our customers for their patience and loyalty as we work doubly hard to restore their confidence in Air Canada. We would also like to thank those employees who worked tirelessly throughout the night to minimize impact on our customers."

Air Canada is the country's largest domestic and international full-service airline providing scheduled and charter air transportation for passengers and cargo to more than 180 destinations on five continents.

Customers are requested to check the status of their flight at aircanada.com before leaving for the airport.

On Sunday, a fire at Lester B. Pearson International Airport in Toronto caused major flight delays and cancellations in the morning for Air Canada and other air traffic. The fire disabled the lights on runway 05/23 and reduced the airport's operating capacity, airport officials said.