SPAIN:American Travelers Enjoy Free Stopovers In Madrid All On Iberia

Iberia customers in the United States are now able to stopover for free in Madrid while traveling to or from any of the airline’s 108 European, African and Middle Eastern destinations through their hub in the city.

The “Stopover Hola Madrid” program allows American passengers to stay up to six nights in the Spanish capital and can help travelers plan their visit with discounts for hotels, airport transfers, restaurants, museums and other experiences.

Joining the trend of European airlines allowing complimentary stopovers at their hubs including Icelandair, Swiss International Airlines and TAP Air Portugal, Iberia customers can choose to make the stopover either on the outbound portion or return segments of their itineraries.

One major difference from other European airlines, however, is that Iberia’s program is only available for passengers with itineraries from the U.S.

Moreover, Iberia doesn’t just stop with its country’s capital. The airline is also offering 25 percent discounts on domestic Iberia, Iberia Express or Iberia Regional flights to allow travelers to explore more of Spain. Spain’s national carrier, Iberia serves 32 Spanish destinations.

The program, dubbed Madrid a la carte, will also give a free two-day public transport card to those who sign up.

Customers will also be given a special discount to hire a car from Avis and to stay in a hotel ran by the Meliá chain.

Iberia Plus cardholders will also receive more special benefits.

Special discounts will also be given to Hola Madrid customers on select experiences such as to visit top art museums such as the Prado and Reina Sofia, as well as discounts at the museums’ restaurants.

Viator-arranged sightseeing, dining and flamenco tours are also discounted on the program, as well as longer excursions operated by Alsa.

BRAZIL: Alitalia And Azul Ink Codeshare

Azul and Alitalia have signed a codeshare agreement which will significantly increase route options for both airlines’ customers. The agreement will be particularly important for Alitalia, which continues to struggle financially.

The codeshare deal will provide both airlines access to each other’s route network, which will particularly important for Alitalia. The Italian flag carrier hasn’t been profitable for a while now, and efforts to get it back on its feet have hit a number of hurdles.

Codeshare deals are signed between airlines all the time. Most of the time they’re signed by airlines located in neighboring regions.

A codeshare agreement allows one airline to sell seats on another airline’s routes as if they were their own. Gaining access to routes outside of their normal operating area is the main objective.

In the case of Azul and Alitalia, the new codeshare deal will allow them to offer a number of new routes on the other side of the Atlantic.

Alitalia will immediately gain access to the huge number of domestic destinations served by Azul.

According to Abhi Shah, Azul’s vice president of revenue, Alitalia customers will be able to connect to Azul’s more than 100 domestic destinations, more than half of which are exclusively served by Azul.

This could be a lucrative prospect for Alitalia, as it will allow it to connect Brazil’s large Italian/Italian heritage population with Italy itself.

On the other hand, Azul will be able to increase its trans-Atlantic presence, a key objective the airline has publicly stated it is aiming towards.

Azul also announced plans for a joint venture with TAP Air Portugal earlier this month. As the largest operator of scheduled trans-Atlantic flights between Europe and South America, TAP Air Portugal will be a key strategic partner for Azul.

Although the codeshare agreement with Azul will offer Alitalia customers many new South American destinations, Alitalia itself isn’t doing so well.

This year it seems there have been reports of new parties showing interest in an Alitalia acquisition every other week. But none of the rumors have amounted to much so far.

From easyJet and China Eastern in March to Lufthansa and even the owner of Rome’s S.S. Lazio, Alitalia has struggled to find investors to keep it afloat.

It seems Delta Air Lines has come the closest to signing an investment deal with Alitalia, but recent news of a larger bid from Lufthansa may have scared the American airline away.

Regardless of who invests in Alitalia, the airline still needs to sort out a new business plan for its relaunch.

While it seems the news of a codeshare agreement with Azul will be seen as a positive, there are a number of other much bigger issues to sort out before Alitalia can become a success again.

GAMBIA: TAP Air Portugal Starts Three Flights A Week To Banjul

TAP Air Portugal has launched flights to Banjul, capital of the Gambia.

A regular operation is now offering three flights a week, departing from Lisbon.

Flights between Lisbon and Banjul are being operated by Airbus A320.

The service departs on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 20:55 and arrives in Banjul at 00:10 the next day.

The return leg departs at 01:05 on Wednesday, Fridays and Sundays, to land at Humberto Delgado Airport at 06:05.

The beach, nature and adventure are Banjul’s hallmarks that give the African city life: the colourful and lively markets contrast with the white sand of the beaches and the lush green nature that characterizes Banjul.

On a cruise across the Gambia River, you can see hippos, monkeys and more than 500 bird species.

With this new route, TAP has once again expanded its operation to Africa, adding one more country and one capital to its network of destinations on the African continent.

In 2018, TAP carried more than 1.1 million passengers on African routes, a growth of 11.3 per cent over the previous year.

TAP Air Portugal is the flag carrier airline of Portugal, headquartered at Lisbon Airport which also serves as its hub.

TAP – Transportes Aéreos Portugueses – has been a member of the Star Alliance since 2005 and operates on average 2,500 flights a week to 87 destinations in 34 countries worldwide.

TAP – Transportes Aéreos Portugueses – has been a member of the Star Alliance since 2005 and operates on average 2,500 flights a week to 87 destinations in 34 countries worldwide.

The company has a fleet of 88 airplanes, and all of which were manufactured by Airbus and the remaining 22 by Embraer and ATR, operating on behalf of the regional airline TAP Express.

In June 2015 the company was semi-privatised and became majority-owned by the Atlantic Gateway Consortium, led by David Neeleman, who founded JetBlue and Azul Brazilian Airlines and co-founded WestJet, together with Portuguese entrepreneur Humberto Pedrosa.

The Atlantic Gateway Consortium purchased 61% of the carrier from the government of Portugal on 24 June 2015, with an option to buy the Portuguese government's remaining 34 percent stake in 2018.

This deal has been surrounded in controversy because it was completed at the end of the center-right government's mandate with wide opposition from TAP employees.

On October 2015, a new left-wing government has sought to return majority control of the airline to the state, having signed in February 2016 a deal with the private consortium.

This indicates that the company is 50% owned by the Portuguese state, 45% by the Atlantic Gateway Consortium and 5% available shareholder to collaborators and employees of TAP Air Portugal.

According to the JACDEC Airliner Safety Report released in January 2011, TAP Air Portugal was rated Western Europe's safest airline and tied for fourth worldwide with three other airlines - Qantas, Air New Zealand, and Finnair.

The JADEC report rates TAP Air Portugal well above any of its competitors in its prime geographic operating areas: Europe, Atlantic Islands, Africa, North America and South America.

TAP Air Portugal Flight 425: the crash of Flight 425 at Madeira Airport on 19 November 1977 remains TAP Air Portugal's only fatal accident.

Flight 425 was flying to Madeira Airport from Brussels via Lisbon. The Boeing 727 crashed while landing on runway 24 in heavy rain. Before the crash, the pilot had made two unsuccessful attempts to land and had decided to make one more attempt.

The plane touched down too late and overran the runway which was, at the time, only 1,600 metres (5,200 ft) long. The plane crashed onto a beach at the end of the runway, splitting into two pieces and bursting into flames.

Of the 164 people aboard, 131 were killed and 33 survived. It is the second-deadliest aeroplane accident in Portugal after Independent Air Flight 1851.

The crash prompted officials to explore ways of extending the short runway on Madeira. Because of the height of the runway relative to the beach below, an extension was very difficult and too expensive to perform.

A 200 m (656 ft) extension was built between 1983 and 1986. In 2000 the runway was extended to 2,781 m (9,124 ft) length and became capable of handling wide-body commercial jets such as the Boeing 747 or Airbus A340.

USA: Moxy A New Airline Orders 60 Airbus A220-300s

The start-up U.S. airline code-named “Moxy” has signed a firm order with Airbus to purchase 60 A220-300 aircraft.

Moxy is the new airline venture led by David Neeleman, one of the industry’s most innovative entrepreneurs and founder of JetBlue Airways. In addition to JetBlue, Neeleman also founded Azul Brazilian Airlines and is the controlling investor in the revitalization of TAP Air Portugal.

Plans for Moxy, a low-cost airline, were unveiled at the Farnborough International Air Show in July.

The A220-300 is the right airplane for a new airline that will be focused on passenger service and satisfaction, said Neeleman.

With a low cost of operation and spacious cabin, the A220 will allow us to provide passengers with lower fares and a high quality, comfortable flying experience. The A220’s ability to operate profitably in thin, under served markets across a broad spectrum of ranges is unique.

Moxy has its sights set on the future, so I can’t think of a better aircraft to put into their fleet than the A220, said Christian Scherer, Airbus Chief Commercial Officer.

We believe the A220 really is the future of this segment of the market, and the flying public will know from the minute they set foot on board that they’re experiencing the best our industry has to offer.

The order was completed the final week of December. Airbus will produce the A220-300 at a new U.S. assembly facility in Mobile, Alabama. Construction of that plant, to be located adjacent to the existing Airbus A320 assembly facility, will begin later this month.

The A220 is the only aircraft purpose-built for the 100-150 seat market; it delivers unbeatable fuel efficiency and true wide body comfort in a single-aisle aircraft.

The A220 brings together state-of-the-art aerodynamics, advanced materials and Pratt & Whitney’s latest-generation PW1500G geared turbofan engines to offer at least 20 percent lower fuel burn per seat compared to previous generation aircraft.

With a range of up to 3,200 nm (5,020 km), the A220 offers the performance of larger single-aisle aircraft.

With an order book of more than 500 aircraft to date, the A220 has all the credentials to win the lion’s share of the 100- to 150-seat aircraft market estimated to represent at least 7,000 aircraft over the next 20 years.


Tourism Observer

PORTUGAL: TAP Portugal And airBaltic Sign Codeshare Deal

Riga based carrier airBaltic and TAP Air Portugal have signed a codesharing agreement between the two airlines.

This partnership will enable airBaltic passengers through to TAP’s extensive network of international destinations such as Brazil and Africa with TAP benefiting more on flights to the Baltics, Scandinavia and other areas of Eastern Europe.

Martin Gauss, Chief Executive Officer of airBaltic said that TAP Air Portugal is already our 21st codeshare partner, thus we are further extending the impressive portfolio of partner airlines that ensures smooth and seamless travel for airBaltic customers around the world.

The CEO added that airBaltic will sell flights between Riga, Vilnius and Tallinn and TAP Air Portugal domestic network via Lisbon, as well to Lisbon via common gateways, better connecting Baltics to the world.

Antonoaldo Neves, Chief Executive Officer of TAP, said that this newest partnership with airBaltic will allow TAP Air Portugal customers to take advantage of new direct flights to Latvia and connecting services to the Baltic countries.

Thereby adding convenience and travel options to Northern Europe, in complementarity with TAP direct services to Scandinavia and Finland, he stated.

As part of the agreement, TAP will place its TP flight code on direct flights between Riga and Lisbon that are already operated by airBaltic as well as via common gateways between the Portuguese carrier’s network and Riga.

With TAP operating to 83 destinations across 35 countries, this is a big boost for airBaltic to get their name out further across the international industry.


Tourism Observer