NEW AIRLINE - Céleste unveils livery

At the end of last month, French start-up Céleste unveiled its corporate image and website in preparation for its official launch. The airline also received its Air Operator's Certificate (AOC) on 24 March 2023, clearing the way for the airline to start commercial flights. It will soon take delivery of its first aircraft, CRJ1000 F-HMLA (19004), which is currently at Ljubljana for maintenance.

Céleste is based at Morlaix and is trying to jump in the gap that Hop! left behind when it left the airport. The airline is founded by a former manager of Vueling and wants to connect Bretagne with Paris-Orly. It has been started back in September 2021 but the actual launch was delayed for more than a year due to the final effects of the pandemic.
Illustration by Céleste.

Scramble

 

Boeing Expands ecoDemonstrator Flight Testing with 'Explorer' Airplanes, Announces 2023 Plan

- Accelerating technology development for sustainability with multiple airplanes
- Boeing will use first Boeing ecoDemonstrator Explorer, a 787-10 Dreamliner, to partner with four countries on operational efficiency testing
- Flagship ecoDemonstrator will test 19 new technologies in 2023

SEATTLE, April 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Boeing [NYSE: BA] is expanding its ecoDemonstrator flight-test program to further accelerate innovation for sustainability and safety. The company today announced its 2023 plan to assess 19 technologies on the Boeing 777 ecoDemonstrator, while also adding "Explorer" airplanes that will focus tests on specific technologies.
The first ecoDemonstrator Explorer, a 787-10 Dreamliner, will conduct flight tests in June from Seattle to Tokyo, Singapore and Bangkok to demonstrate how coordinating navigation across global airspace jurisdictions can improve operational efficiency, which can reduce an airplane's fuel use and emissions by up to 10%. Utilizing today's onboard capabilities, Boeing and air navigation service providers (ANSPs) in the U.S., Japan, Singapore and Thailand will collectively sequence the airplane's routes to achieve the optimal flight path across multiple regions, factoring in conditions such as weather, air traffic and airspace closures. The airplane will fly on the highest available blend of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at each location.
"To support our industry's goal for net zero carbon emissions by 2050, Boeing is expanding our ecoDemonstrator program with Explorer airplanes to test even more sustainability-focused technologies," said Stan Deal, president and CEO of Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "We continue to invest in innovation that reduces fuel use, emissions and noise on our products and to partner with governments and industry to make progress on sustainability during each phase of flight."
"The industry will need continued fleet renewal, efficiency gains, renewable energy carriers such as sustainable aviation fuel and advanced technology to meet the civil aviation industry's commitment to achieve net zero carbon emission by 2050," said Boeing Chief Sustainability Officer Chris Raymond. "Our initial Explorer testing in partnership with aviation stakeholders in four countries is a great example of how we can work together to optimize operational efficiency and reduce emissions."
In 2023, Boeing also will use its current flagship ecoDemonstrator airplane, a 777-200ER (Extended Range), to test 19 technologies including:
Sustainable wall panels in the cargo hold that are made of 40% recycled carbon fiber and 60% resin made from a bio-based feedstock
A fiber optic fuel quantity sensor compatible with 100% SAF
An Electronic Flight Bag application featuring Smart Airport Maps, a component of Jeppesen FliteDeck Pro, which reduces operational costs and supports safe taxi operations with the depiction of contextual airport data
For all flight tests, the airplane will fly on the highest available blend of SAF locally
Since its initial flights in 2012, the Boeing ecoDemonstrator program has accelerated innovation by taking new technologies out of the lab and testing them in an operational environment. Including the 2023 plan, the program will have tested about 250 technologies to help decarbonize aviation, improve operational efficiency and enhance safety and the passenger experience. Approximately a third of tested technologies have progressed onto Boeing's products and services.
More information about the 2023 ecoDemonstrator and previous ecoDemonstrator airplanes is available at boeing.com/ecoDemonstrator. Boeing's sustainability commitments, partnerships and efforts are available at https://www.boeing.com/principles/sustainability.
As a leading global aerospace company, Boeing develops, manufactures and services commercial airplanes, defense products and space systems for customers in more than 150 countries. As a top U.S. exporter, the company leverages the talents of a global supplier base to advance economic opportunity, sustainability and community impact. Boeing's diverse team is committed to innovating for the future, leading with sustainability, and cultivating a culture based on the company's core values of safety, quality and integrity. Learn more at boeing.com.

 

NEW AIRCRAFT - Romania's HiSky Europe eyes US services with A321neo(LR)s

HiSky Europe (H4, Iasi) has applied for a US Foreign Air Carrier Permit (FACP) and an exemption to launch scheduled and charter services to the United States using its recently inducted A321-200NX(LR).

The carrier did not disclose any specific plans for the United States but applied for authority to operate scheduled and charter passenger, mail, and cargo services to the country. It did not respond to ch-aviation's request for added commentary.

HiSky Europe took delivery of the first of its two A321-200NX(LR)s on lease from Air Lease Corporation in early April 2023. YR-WOW (msn 10928) is currently deployed predominantly on medium-haul services from Romania to Dublin International, Dubai World Central, Hurghada, Tel Aviv Ben Gurion, and Malaga. Sistership YR-WIN (msn 10948) is currently under pre-delivery maintenance at Ostrava.

If granted an exemption and an FACP, HiSky would become the first carrier to run direct non-stop services between Romania and the United States since Tarom (RO, Bucharest Henri Coanda) did back in the 1990s/2000s.

The ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows the Romanian carrier also operates four A320-200s. Its sister carrier, HiSky (H7, Chisinau), operates a single A319-100.

CH Aviation

 

China's Central Airlines plots US flights from 4Q23

Central Airlines (I9, Haikou) has filed an application with the US Department of Transportation (DOT) to begin operating cargo and mail flights between China and the United States (US) in November 2023. The airline says it initially wants to fly a B777-F between Shenzhen and an unspecified airport in the New York area six times a week.

The service would be the privately owned airline's first scheduled services to North America. Central Airlines' single B777F primarily flies to Paris CDG and Riyadh, while its five B737-300(F)s and four B737-800(BCF)s service ports within China as well as around Asia. In its filing, Central Airlines says it intends to induct a second B777 in August this year.

Beyond New York, the Central Airlines application states that it wants permission to operate flights from "a point or points in the People's Republic of China to any point or points in the United States open to scheduled international service." It says the application is fully consistent with the air services agreement China and the US that was signed in 1980. "Central Airlines’ proposed service would benefit shippers in both the United States and China by providing new scheduled service and would serve the public interest," the application reads.

According to ch-aviation capacities data, 11 cargo airlines presently operate on the China - US country pair with Air China accounting for 24.72% of the current weekly frequencies. The other airlines running cargo flights on the country pair and their share of total weekly frequencies are Suparna Airlines (18.08%); China Eastern Airlines (16.97%); China Cargo Airlines (15.13%); China Southern Airlines (12.18%); Polar Air Cargo (3.32%); SF Airlines (2.58%); Korean Air (2.21%); Cargolux (1.85%); Hainan Airlines (1.48%); and Qantas (1.48%).

CH Aviation

AIRPORT - EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg - 04/2023

N737GG B.737-8KT (BBJ2) Jet Stream Aviation cn.40118

A6-AAM A 318-112(CJ) Gama Aviation cn.1599 (ex.F-WWIA, D-AUAH, D-AIJA) 

Paul Bannwarth

AIRPORT - Los Angeles International Airport - 01/2023

                               

hsckcwong  

NEW AIRCRAFT - Ghadames Air Transport / A330-343 / TC-NYA - leased from Air Anka, seen here slowing down on rwy 35R after its first commercial service from Tripoli

 Photo: Bora Polater

SPECIAL LIVERY - TRANSAVIA / B737-8K2 / PH-HXA - New "SUNWEB" Livery

Photo: Joost de Wit
 

MYAirline (Malaysia) has signed a deal for 17 A320s on lease basis and aims to lease a total of 20 narrow-body aircraft by end-2023.

9M-DAF
A sixth aircraft was just added and will act as a spare

 9M-DAC 

Photo: Vicknesh PS
 

AIRPORT - Jorge Chavez International Airport - Peu - 02/2023

 Duncan Stewart

NEW AIRCRAFT - TAAG to wet-lease an A330-200 (9H-HFG) from Hi Fly to support its Luanda-Lisbon schedule

TAAG Angola Airlines, the state-owned carrier of the Republic of Angola, announced that it will be wet leasing an Airbus A330 from Portugal’s Hi Fly to support its Luanda (LAD) to Lisbon (LIS) operations.

Photo: Rui Silva - LPPT  

 

NEW AIRCRAFT - CityJet adds its first Bombardier CRJ1000

CityJet has added its first Bombardier CRJ1000 (EI-HIC), leased from Regional One.
The airliner will be operated for Lufthansa Cityline ans is based at Munich.

Photos: CITYJET 

NEW AIRCRAFT - Transavia Airlines to launch A321neo ops in late 4Q23

Transavia Airlines (HV, Amsterdam Schiphol) plans to induct its first A321-200neo into revenue service on December 15, 2023, ch-aviation schedule analysis has revealed.

The Dutch low-cost carrier, a subsidiary of Air France-KLM, will base the aircraft out of its main hub at Amsterdam Schiphol and initially deploy it to:

Malaga (starting on December 17),
Alicante (January 10, 2024),
Barcelona El Prat (December 16),
Bari (December 22),
Faro (January 9),
Ibiza (December 21),
Ljubljana (December 21),
Nice (December 15),
Porto (December 17),
Pisa (December 20),
Sevilla (January 9),
Valencia Manises (December 15), and
Verona (December 15).

The A321neo will be the first Airbus aircraft operated by Transavia the fleet of which currently comprises four B737-700s and thirty-seven B737-800s. In the past, it also operated B737-200(C)s, B737-300s, and B757-200s, the ch-aviation fleets history module shows.

The rollover to A321neo is a part of the order placed by the parent holding for ten A320neo Family aircraft with a further 60 options in December 2021. The aircraft will be allocated to Transavia Airlines, sister carrier Transavia France, and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, but not to Air France. ch-aviation understands the holding has flexibility regarding the variants.

CH Aviation