Although a busy time of year for the leisure market, it hasn’t stopped announcements regarding routes and aircraft…
DUB – slot restrictions will continue into 2025 so there’s much speculation about who will be operating what and where. One talking point is the allocation of A321XLR within IAG. It seems that now the Aer Lingus pilots have resolved their pay dispute, the next A321XLR will be delivered to the Irish carrier. It’s already been seen at Hamburg, already painted up. Currently carrying the registration D-AZXY. These aircraft are needed for DUB-MSP and DUB-BNA. It’s anticipated that further A321XLR deliveries will free up another A330 to operate from MAN.
MAN – after announcing introduction of B787-9, EgyptAir has reverted to A321 for some flights in November. Another disappointment for spotters, although they could change their mind again!
For December and January, Swiss will add another ZRH-MAN rotation, making it their 16th weekly, with 3 x daily M and Tu, Either A220 or A320.
Starting November, Eurowings will use A321 on 4 of its 14 weekly DUS-MAN flights, including its new A321neo on Wednesdays. It will also use the A320 instead of A319 on 2 of its 4 weekly HAM-MAN flights.
For the next 3 weeks, Thu and Sa Gulf Air flights have been timed to arrive MAN 1320 and depart 1520. Better chance for photographers to catch at least its landings.
In handing back its second daily slot, Etihad seems unable to compete with QR, EK and GF on the lucrative ME routes. With just 2 months before the winter schedules start, Air India has still not decided to launch BOM-MAN. A “will they, won’t they” that’s being going on for a while…
Jet2 – took delivery of their latest A321neo on 22 August. Registration G-SUNL, the aircraft is now undergoing checks before entering service. As usual, its livery is unfinished. Currently located outside the company hangar at MAN, it can only be seen from Southside. The next one to arrive soon is G-SUNK, despite speculation that this registration will frighten passengers!
Still no confirmation from the airline that they’re allowing Airbus to allocate the next 6 A321neos to other customers. It was suggested by aviation media sources that there’s a training backlog at their Cheadle centre, easing the pressure on their Training Captains!
Boeing – yet more problems, this time with 777X. Test schedule has been suspended due to problems with the engine mounting structure. These faults discovered during a post flight inspection.
More news…
Royal Air Maroc – had a large stowaway problem last week. On arrival at MAN, the hold contained not only passengers’ bags but also a large family of cockroaches. Once passengers had disembarked, the aircraft was closed up and flown back to CMN. Wonder how many of the MAN passengers have declined the return of their bags?!
Emirates – did you know that their simulators operate 24/7, 365 days per year? Referred to as “The Box”, it’s essential that pilots remain current. The least popular time 0215-0515 is referred to as the “graveyard slot”, as the sun is coming up when they emerge…
Channel 5 - the UK based television channel is currently airing “Terror at 30,000 feet” at 2100hours on Friday evenings. Opinion is divided on the quality of this series, with its computer-generated graphics and passenger interviews. This week goes back to 1990 and the events onboard BA5390. Having seen several reconstructions of this accident, it will be an interesting watch!
And finally…
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Information courtesy of SPD Travels, Emirates, Channel 5
Images courtesy of Planespotter.net, Frontier Africa Reports
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