A few days ago I wrote about how Air Italy rebranded their loyalty program. They changed the name of their program from Air Italy Club to @MyAirItalyClub. Not much changed in terms of the program benefits, though they did add customer support via a dedicated…
In May 2017, WestJet placed an order for up to 20 Boeing 787-9s (10 firm orders and 10 options), which was a huge move for the Canadian carrier. Historically WestJet primarily had 737s, along with a few 767s that they used for a few international routes.…
Air Italy has today revealed the details of their revamped loyalty program. Until last year, Air Italy was known as Meridiana, and the loyalty program was called Meridiana Club. Then when the airline was rebranded, the frequent flyer program was as well,…
This is turning into quite a week for Canadian aviation. At the beginning of the week it was announced that WestJet is being acquired by a private equity firm in a $5 billion deal. Now there's further airline activity, this time in the form of consolidation…
It has just been announced that WestJet is being acquired by Onex Corporation, which is a massive private equity firm. The transaction value is approximately $5 billion, including assumed debt. This is an all-cash transaction, and under the terms, Onex…
Air Italy is the controversial Italian airline that Qatar Airways has a 49% stake in. The airline used to be known as Meridiana, but with funding from Qatar Airways the airline has launched new routes and updated their onboard product. The airline has…
If Lufthansa has their way, they'll soon own German leisure airline Condor... again. Condor is a German leisure airline founded in 1955. The airline operates a fleet of 41 planes, including A320s, 757s, and 767s. As you'd expect, they fly to vacation…
Bahrain-based Gulf Air used to be the biggest and most global airline in the Gulf region. This was when politics in the region were different, and before we saw the development of airlines in the UAE, Qatar, etc. Over the past decade Gulf Air has largely…
Hello from Miami! After flying WestJet's 787-9 business class from Calgary to London, and then Air Europa's 737-800 business class from London to Madrid, it was time to fly home on Air Europa's 787-8 in business class for the nine hour flight from Madrid…
After flying WestJet's 787-9 from Calgary to London, I made my way back to Miami on Air Europa, flying from London to Madrid to Miami (I booked this using Flying Blue miles). Here's the thing about Air Europa: -- Seemingly almost no one outside of Spain…
Our boarding gate was close to the lounge, and as we had checked our bags we were in no particular rush. I also suspected we'd be at a remote stand, so we did a bit of shopping on our way in hopes of avoiding lengthy bus queues. We arrived at the gate…
Hello from London! Last night I took a flight I was really excited about. Within the past few days WestJet launched 787-9 service between Calgary and London, which represents an exciting new phase for the airline. The 787-9 is brand new for them, and…
I don’t want to say “I told you so,” but… Kenya Airways’ Nairobi to New York flight Kenya Airways launched a daily nonstop flight between New York and Nairobi in late October 2018 (I reviewed the inaugural flight from New…
For quite a while I've been intrigued by Air Tanzania's Boeing 787. The airline previously only flew turboprops, but last July they took delivery of a Boeing 787-8. Yes, just one of them, and that's all they had on order at the time (in the meantime…
I love a good start-up airline, whether we're talking about Baltia, Global Ghana Airlines, or Air Belgium. Some start-up airlines are clearly legitimate and stand a good chance or survival. Some start-up airlines are legitimate but have no chance of…
In September 2017 I first wrote about Global Ghana Airlines, a new startup airline that intended to operate nonstop flights between Chicago and Accra. At the time the airline announced that they’d begin operating flights within weeks. There was only…
Update: Air Italy has issued the below statement in response to this post. “Air Italy would like to clarify that with respect to our Winter 2019/20 schedule, our new services have always been planned as seasonal operations. The average Toronto…
Hello from Beirut! After flying from Detroit to Paris on the Air France 787-9, I connected from Paris to Beirut on a Middle East Airlines A330. This was booked as part of the same award ticket using Flying Blue Miles, given that both airlines belong…
This sure is interesting. Hi Fly is the first charter airline to have an A380, as they're operating the plane on behalf of other airlines. Hi Fly took over this A380 from Singapore Airlines, as the airline chose not to renew their 10 year lease on the…
On my recent trip to Europe I decided to do what I could to add a segment on Croatia Airlines to my ticket. Why? Because they're one of the last Star Alliance airlines I haven't flown. After two flights on Adria Airways I had low expectations of some…
Several days ago I shared my experience flying Adria Airways from Munich to Ljubljana. Even though intra-Europe business class is nothing to get excited about, I was looking forward to flying with them, given that they were one of the last Star Alliance…
