• Colombia Increase --the airline applied to the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA) to amend their current license limiting the airline to three flights per week between Toronto and Bogota to now indicate five flights per week on the route.  No startup date for the extra flights has been announced as yet.

• Tel Aviv Increase --for the peak summer period the airline will increase service to daily frequency between Toronto and Tel Aviv.  Eastbound flights currently depart at 2355hrs, but for the peak summer will depart at 1705hrs arriving in Tel Aviv at 1100hrs the next day.  The daily service will start on 01June and terminate on the 27September.  Boeing 767-300ER aircraft are used on the route.

• Aveos Re-Financing --Aveos Fleet Performance Inc., formerly named Air Canada Technical Services has been facing a cash crunch.  The company owed at least $715 million to a loan consortium last year.  Aveos said that its debt will be chopped to $75 million from $800 million as part of the recapitalization plan with 11 lenders. Certain lenders will provide $75 million in working capital in the arrangement set to close by the end of the first quarter, when Air Canada will acquire a minority interest in Aveos and the lenders become majority shareholders. "We have recapitalized the company without having to go through bankruptcy protection," Aveos chief executive officer Chahram Bolouri said in an interview.  "We've positioned Aveos to be in good shape." 

• Route Expansion ---announced the start up of a daily service linking Toronto City Centre Airport (YTZ) with Sudbury Ontario effective March 31st.  Northbound flight will depart at 1230hrs and the southbound flight will arrive back at 1455hrs

• Winnipeg Service ---this newer Icelandic airline is planning to fly twice weekly this summer between Keflavik and Winnipeg with Boeing 737-700 aircraft.  Flight will arrive in Winnipeg at 1740hrs on Wednesdays and Saturdays and depart at 1840hrs.

• More DC-10s ---Kelowna Flightcraft recently purchased two ex-World Airlines DC-10-30Fs from Aerolease Aviation in Florida.  The two aircraft are ex N304WL (already delivered to Hamilton Airport) (msn 47928) and ex N303WL (msn 46917).   This brings their fleet total to four DC-10s, however there have been suggestions that one of these aircraft may be used for spare parts and not actually flown.  

• New Routes ---announced that effective June 5, will begin a weekly non-stop service linking Toronto with Samana in the Dominica Republic.  This is in addition to current services to Punta Cana, Puerto Plata and La Romana.  The flight will operate every Saturday departing at 1000hrs southbound and arriving back at 1908hrs. The airline also announced that it will begin a new Montreal-Punta Cana weekly service on June 5th departing Montreal at 0700hrs and returning at 1635hrs.  The airline also announced that its new Toronto-Bermuda route will commence on May 3rd with daily flights departing at 1020hrs and returning at 1655hrs.  

• US Expansion in Jeopardy ---WestJet says a proposed rule by the National Mediation Board (NMB) to change the way unions are elected in the U.S. would negatively impact any future decisions it makes to expand in the U.S. market "including the potential employment of a U.S. work force."  In comments that were filed to the NMB, WestJet argued that only a minority of workers who choose to participate in a union election could decide the outcome for the majority if the rules is adopted.  "From a financial standpoint, the likelihood of immediate unionization without support from a true majority of employees represents a substantial cost increase that WestJet could not ignore when making a decision to employ U.S. workers.  This is not because of an increase in wages...rather, it would be the immediate costs associated with union elections, negotiations and grievances and arbitrations," it said.  

• New Routes Announced ---the airline is planning to bolster its hub at Toronto airport by adding seven new routes to/from the U.S.A. this summer.  Effective April 6th a new daily A319 service will link Toronto with Orange County airport (SNA) in California.  Effective on May 17th Jazz CRJs will startup new twice-daily service between Toronto and Memphis TN and Cincinnati OH.  On the same date Air Georgian Beech 1900Ds will be used to begin twice daily service between Toronto and Portland ME (PWM) and Syracuse NY.  On June 17th the airline will re-instate their non-stop service between Toronto and San Diego with a daily A319 and on the same date begin a new non-stop service to Portland OR (PDX) using an Embraer E190 jet.  With the launch of these seven new routes Air Canada now offers up to 142 scheduled flights each day to 51 U.S. destinations from its hub in Toronto.  

• Olympic Charters ---Aeroflot will be operating three special charter flights into Vancouver from Moscow on February 11, February 20th and March 1st.  Airbus A330-200 equipment is planned to be used.  The 11Feb flight will arrive at 1100hrs and ferry out later, the 20February flight will arrive at 1000hrs and depart 1130hrs.  The March 1st flight will arrive at 0130hrs and depart at 0300hrs.

• Summer 2010 Schedule --effective May 13th Lufthansa will re-instate non-stop service between Dusseldorf and Toronto with an A330-300 aircraft five days per week.  It operated except on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  

• Field Aviation --has an Avitrade of Belgium contract to produce and install VIP interiors for two Q400s for undisclosed operator, aircraft will be reconfigured from 62-pax layout to 28-pax with a 4-pax VIP cabin, 8-pax first class cabin, and 16-pax economy cabin.  

• CAE Inc. ---has received an order from the Gulf Aviation Academy for E170/190 full flight simulator for 2010, which will replace the order for A330/340 FFS.  Gulf Air is downsizing its fleet.

• CAE Flightscape ---has been selected by Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to supply flight recorder playback and analysis laboratory.

• Expansion Plans ---the low-cost Colombian airline has announced plans to expand its route network this year by adding services to New York and Toronto by the end 2010 and south towards Buenos Aires Argentina.  The airline just started service into Ft. Lauderdale International airport and wants to further expand its reach as it takes delivery of new Boeing 737-700 jets over the next two years.  Aires is partially owned by COPA Panama and is considered to be Columbia's "low-cost" carrier.  

• Resuming Toronto Route ---Aerosvit will resume service to Toronto effective April 19th for the "summer" schedule period.  Two flights per week will be offered on Tuesdays and Sundays arriving at 1650 and departing at 1850hrs with their Boeing 767-300s.  A third weekly flight will be added on Fridays from June 20th to September 14th.  The flights are timed to connect with flights between Kiev and Delhi to try and capture some of that market as well.

• New Contract ---CAE has sold two full flight simulators to the training subsidiary of China Eastern Airlines.  The Montreal-based maker of training equipment says the new contract is worth $30 million at list prices.  The airline's subsidiary, Shanghai Eastern Flight Training Company, has ordered an Airbus A320 and an Airbus A330 flight simulator.  The equipment will be delivered to Shanghai Eastern next year.  CAE also announced the cancellation of one simulator that was sold during a prior financial year but no details provided.  

• Night Flight Ban? --an article in "The Richmond Review" reports that one of the 22 recommendations to curb noise that was drafted by the Richmond Airport Nose Citizens Advisory Task Force suggests imposing a night flight ban at YVR.  "The task force believes that the surrounding community need for an uninterrupted quiet time at night to allow for a reasonable period of sleep far outweighs the relatively minor benefits of permitting night operations at YVR," said the task force in its report.  The nine-member group suggests banning all aircraft movements at Vancouver International from midnight to 6.30am, except for modern jets with a so-called Chapter 4 noise designation.  Those jets, like the Airbus A380 are at least one-third quieter than other jet aircraft.  The suggested two-year trial would allow officials to assess whether the restriction would improve noise conditions on the ground, the task force said.  Even if city council agreed to restrictions on night flights, they must be supported by the Vancouver Airport Authority.  

• Schedule Adjustments --effective January 21st have officially dropped Toronto from the Thursday routing and replaced it with a stop at Chicago O'Hare airport.  So the Thursday morning arrival at New York's JFK will continue via Chicago and then back to Milan.  This will leave Toronto with a once-weekly flight on Sundays only.

• North American Service ---Network Cargo Systems Intl. has been named General Sales & Service Agent for AirBridge Cargo Airlines for U.S.A. and Canada.  Network Cargo Systems was founded in 1992 and now has offices in New York, Atlanta, Houston, Orlando, Denver, Los Angeles and Chicago in the USA, and in Montreal, Toronto, Calgary, and Vancouver in Canada.  "As a result of the cooperation agreement with AirBridgeCargo, we are able to offer our customers reliable services to the Russian market with its strong economic growth.  We can provide an excellent product using the non-stop cargo flights operated by AirBridgeCargo to Moscow Sheremetyevo and services in domestic Russia as well as excellent timings to Central Asia," says Howard Jones, President of NCS. "We look forward to a smooth transition and launch of the AirBridgeCargo product in North America.  No specific schedule details or cities to be servied were provided at this time

• Coming to Toronto ---TUI Travel Group, which owns Dutch-based leisure carrier Arkefly has revealed that it will begin serving the North American market for the first time this summer.  A new charter service between Amsterdam and Toronto is proposed, using a Boeing 767-300ER in a 3-class configuration (Economy, Comfort and Star Class), with a total capacity of 272 seats.  Arkefly operate six aircraft from Amsterdam including three Boeing 737-300s as well as three 767-300s.  The new service is expected to operate during the peak summer months only but detailed schedules are not available yet.  

• Cargo Deal Struck ---announced that it has signed an agreement with EXP-AIR Cargo, marking the beginning of a cargo sales and service relationship that offers an expanded range of services and products for cargo customers throughout Canada, the U.S., Mexico, and the Caribbean.  Duncan Bureau, VP of Sales said "with their vast experience in the cargo industry, their global reach and their relationships with international carriers, EXP-AIR fits extremely well into WestJet's growth strategies.  We anticipate even greater opportunities for our WestJet cargo product to be available throughout our entire network."  WestJet's network is continuously growing.  With 30 cities in Canada, and an additional 37 cities in the U.S., Mexico and Caribbean network, providing cargo service that reaches all points is a vital step in the airline's success.  For EXP-AIR, adding one of North America's most profitable airlines to their expansive list of carriers is a significant achievement in its 19-year history.

************************************************************************************** 

     ADVERTISING

                       This space available for advertising.  Inquire by e-mail to
                 info@yyznews.com  for rate information.

                   Note:  We are also now offering "classified" ad space. ***********************************************************************

• Schedule Details --an official press release from EVA Air outlines their plan for the new Toronto route commencing on March 29, 2010.  There will be three flights per week using Boeing 777-300ERs.  The eastbound flight will depart Taipei at 1845hrs (local time) on Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays and arrive at Toronto Intl. Airport at 2055hrs on the same day.  This will be known as flight "BR36".   The westbound flight will depart Toronto as "BR35" at 2340hrs on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays arriving in Taipei after a re-fuelling stop at Anchorage. EVA Air is expected to use Terminal 3 at Toronto for their passenger processing.  

• New Aircraft Purchased ---after months of shopping, the Whitehorse-based airline has announced it is buying a used Boeing 737-400.  Airline president and CEO Joe Sparling declined to give the price.  "Delivery of the aircraft will probably be in February sometime and the target to have it in service will be by May," he said.  Sparling said the jet will undergo a thorough mechanical checkup, and will get a paint job and new upholstery to make it match Air North's colours.  Air North's fleet currently consists of two Boeing 737-200 jets and four HS.748 turboprops.  The new 737-400 will carry 150 passengers, or 30 more than the existing jets.