22 Nov 2021

North American Newsletter 22 November

Air Transat and WestJet to Cooperate on Transatlantic Codeshare Air Transat and WestJet have agreed to cooperate on a codeshare that will soon allow customers to book transatlantic travel involving both carriers on a single ticket with through-checked bags. The cooperation will bring more choice to consumers by enabling transatlantic codeshare connections above and beyond what the carriers offer with their own flights. President and CEO of Transat Annick Guérard said "We are very excited to join forces with WestJet in what I am sure will be a successful collaboration. This agreement is a first milestone in our strategy to grow and strengthen our network through alliances. It will create great opportunities for our existing and future customers, who are looking to connect between North America and Europe and will enhance our long-standing presence on the transatlantic market.” Akasa Air Orders CFM’s Advanced and Environmentally Friendly LEAP-1B engines Akasa Air announced the purchase of CFM LEAP-1B engines to power its recently announced Boeing 737 MAX airplanes. The agreement, which also includes spare engines and long-term services agreement, is valued at nearly $4.5 billion U.S. at list price. “We are proud to develop a strong relationship with Akasa and play a key role in the launch of their operations by providing them with the industry-leading asset utilization, fuel efficiency, and overall cost of ownership,” said Philippe Couteaux, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing for CFM International. “On behalf of the entire team worldwide, it will be a great honor to help launch this new airline with the industry-leading support and reliability that has become a hallmark of CFM International.” Lynx Air to launch as Canada’s newest airline Lynx Air (Lynx) announced its arrival as Canada’s newest ultra-affordable airline. The airline has selected Calgary as its headquarters and plans to announce routes and schedules soon. . The airline has firm orders and lease agreements in place for a total of 46 aircraft over the next seven years to meet anticipated demand. The first three Boeing 737s will arrive in early 2022. Mammoth Freighters Announces Launch Customer for Its 777 Freighter: Cargojet Airways Mammoth Freighters LLC announced that Cargojet Airways is the launch customer for its new 777-200LR freighter with the signing of a sales agreement for two initial 777-200LRMF freighters. Cargojet has additional options for two 300ERMFs and two additional 200LRMFs. MSN 29747, the prototype (conformity) article for certification, will be the first aircraft delivered to Cargojet. The aircraft is expected to begin the conversion process in mid-2022 with delivery to Cargojet in the second half of 2023. OGMA strengthens collaboration with Pratt & Whitney on GTF engine maintenance OGMA, an Embraer Group company, signed a new contract with Pratt & Whitney that reinforces the collaboration between the two companies, which began a year ago. This agreement, signed in the presence of the Prime Minister, António Costa, ensures that Portugal will provide maintenance for the PW1900G engine that currently powers the Embraer E190-E2 and E195-E2 aircraft. This was the culmination of a project developed by OGMA, with the support of Embraer, which allowed OGMA to expand its scope of activity in the engine maintenance area. Throughout the project, with a greater impact between 2022 and 2023, the creation of around 300 direct highly skilled jobs is expected. And with this new contract from 2027, it is expected the creation of about 200 more jobs. WestJet's global network expanding to include London Heathrow from Calgary WestJet tannounced it will add non-stop service to London's Heathrow Airport (LHR) beginning early Spring 2022. As WestJet continues to increase global connectivity from Western Canada, the addition of non-stop service between Calgary and London-Heathrow signals confidence in the recovery of business and leisure travel between both destinations. WestJet Chief Commercial Officer John Weatherill said “As the airline with the most flights from Alberta, this is an important recovery milestone as we forge new connections between Canada and one of the world's most sought after global hubs. We continue to strengthen our network, offering more options for business and leisure travellers and these investments will expedite our industry's recovery while ensuring Western Canada builds back from the pandemic more connected than ever before.” Acumen Aviation © 22 November 2021  All Rights Reserved.