Airways Magazine May 2018

YOUR AIRWAYS crew never quits and, while Enrique, our Editor-in-Chief, takes some days of well-deserved rest, it’s my time to jump in and talk to you. I am sure that most of you have flown the Boeing 737 and, in some cases, that’s how your love for aviation started. This narrow-body is among the most popular jetliners ever produced. Boeing just delivered the 10,000th built to Southwest Airlines (WN). And now, over half a century since the rollout of the first variant, the 737-100, the MAX program is progressively taking the reins. Just this month, Boeing celebrated the first flight of the 737 MAX 7 and delivered the first MAX 9 to its launch customer Lion Air (JT). While we are sure that the MAX will be under the spotlight in many…

Dear Airways, Sadly, I learned about John Wegg’s passing thru Enrique Perrella’s column in the March issue. I couldn’t agree more with him about what a great guy he was. Although I never met John personally, emails we exchanged about a multi-page article I had provided him for the January 2004 issue “Around the world by BBJ.” It felt like we were talking sitting next to each other. John also had a great sense of humor. We exchanged a few emails occasionally. I think John and Seiija did an excellent job while they published Airways until Enrique and his team took over. At this point let me congratulate you all on a beautiful job with the magazine since the takeover. It is just flourishing with fantastic content each issue. Also, I’m…

1 SOUTHWEST AIRLINES BOEING 737-7H4(WL) N946WN (MSN 36918 · LN 3251) Southwest Airlines (WN) has unveiled its latest state-themed livery, this one dedicated to Louisiana. The color scheme recalls the state’s flag, complete with a large mother pelican and her trio of hungry young. The special livery joins 11 others based on states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Texas, Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, and Tennessee. 2 ALASKA AIRLINES AIRBUS A321-253N N924VA (MSN 7942) As the official airline of the San Francisco Giants, Alaska Airlines (AS) has painted a new Airbus A321neo in a livery celebrating the Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Virgin America (VX) originally established the partnership with the organization in 2008. 3 FEDEX BOEING 777-FS2 N878FD (MSN 40684 · LN 1524) Boeing and FedEx (FX) have teamed up on the latest ecoDemonstrator, which is intended to develop new…

4 INTERJET AIRBUS A321-271N D-AVYM (MSN 7986) Interjet (4O) has added the first of eight Airbus A321neos expected to join the fleet this year. The 192-seat jetliner—along with 47 A320-200s, three A320neo, six A321-200s and 21 SSJ100s—serves 4O’s 54 destinations across Mexico, the United States, Colombia, Cuba, Canada, and Guatemala. 5 FLYEST BOMBARDIER CRJ200(LR) LV-HQU (MSN 7200) Argentina’s regional carrier Flyest (8R) has applied the carrier’s full livery to one of its CRJ200s—its other aircraft wear hybrid Austral colors. So far, Flyest is operating sporadic charter flights. It is not expected to start regular services anytime soon. 6 AVIANCA BRASIL AIRBUS A320-51N F-WWIM (MSN 8084) Avianca Brasil (O6) is about to take delivery of its latest A320neo. The airline was the first operator in the Americas to take delivery of the type, in 2016. To date, it has eight A320neos in…

7 FRENCH BEE AIRBUS A350-941 F-WZGX (MSN 193) Ahead of its first flight to San Francisco (SFO), set to take place in May, French Blue (BF) has been renamed as French Bee, to avoid a potential legal claim by New York-based JetBlue (B6). The livery and logo of BF remain unchanged, but the name ‘Blue’ is gone. 8 ICELANDAIR BOEING 737 MAX 8 TF-ICE (MSN 44353 · LN 6792) Icelandair (FI) has taken delivery of a Boeing 737 MAX, the first of 16 on order. The airline is scheduled to receive three more this year, and a further three in 2019, when it will also take delivery of its first three MAX 9s. The remaining seven aircraft are expected to arrive between 2020 and 2021. Airways will cover the inaugural flight of Icelandair’s first 737 MAX. Stay…

13 CEBU PACIFIC AIRBUS A321-211(WL) D-AVZQ (MSN 8190) Cebu Pacific (5J) has taken delivery of its first Airbus A321. The jetliner, registered as RP-C4111, is fitted with 230 seats, all Economy Class. The Philippine low-cost carrier expects to add seven A321s in 2018 and its first A321neo by the end of the year. 14 VIETNAM AIRLINES AIRBUS A350-941 F-WZFN (MSN 197) Vietnam Airlines (VN) is set to take delivery of its 12th Airbus A350-900, the first to sport the SkyTeam alliance livery. The carrier is expected to receive a total of 24 A350-900s, which will be deployed in VN’s premium routes out of its two hubs in Hanoi-Noi Bai (HAN) and Ho Chi Minh City-Tan Son Nhat (SGN). 15 9 AIR BOEING 737-86X(WL) B-1233 (MSN 61315 · LN 6832) Chinese low-cost carrier 9 Air (AQ) has received its 15th 737-800. Established…