Airplanes

Alaska Airlines announces plans for Virgin America

Photo by Harriet Baskas

It comes as no surprise, but Alaska Airlines announced its plans for the Virgin America name and brand and has decided that it’s going to keep the Alaska’s name and logo and retire the Virgin America name “likely sometime in 2019,” according to a company statement.

That’s bad news for those who love the Virgin America overall brand, vibe and amenities. But the good news is that Alaska Airlines is keeping its word and bringing some of the best Virgin America amenities forward.

Alaska says it will adopt “enhanced in-flight entertainment, mood lighting, music and the relentless desire to make flying a different experience for guests” as part of an overall goal to create “a warm and welcoming West Coast-inspired vibe.”

Alaska says it will adopt some other Virgin America touches including introducing music by new artists  on planes, in airport lobbies and at gates (2017); redesigning the cabin with new seats and amenities (2018) and introducing new uniforms by fashion designer Luly Yang (mid-2019) for flight attendants, customer service agents, pilots, mechanics and ground crew.

Alaska also promises to upgrade the Wi-Fi connectivity fleet-wide, add more premium seats, expand the lounge network and offer other new amenities you can read about here.

What do you think?

Special livery and new tailfin design for JetBlue

Check out the special livery JetBlue just rolled out on an Embraer 190, one the 100-seat airplanes the carrier uses to serve key cities such as Boston, Washington, D.C. and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The “Blueprint” paint scheme is designed to showcase the “bones” of the 100-seat aircraft and according to JetBlue draws on the styles of various aviation, nautical and space exploration vehicle cut-away diagrams.

“Mechanical features like the nose gear, jet engine and yoke were among the more obvious design elements to include,” JetBlue said in a statement, “But for the onboard features, JetBlue designers drew upon their own travel experiences, crewmember tales, and the airline’s loyal customers for inspiration, even creating fictional characters to compile a list of the items they might be traveling with. Plane spotters are encouraged to give the overhead bins, under-seat storage areas, and the luggage holds a closer look to see if they can spot the nearly 50 items these “Blueprint” customers are traveling with.”

 

The special – and first – JetBlue E190 special livery debuted at Boston’s Logan International Airport and will operate on routes served by the E190 throughout the JetBlue network.

But wait, there’s more!

As part of its 17th anniversary celebrations, JetBlue also introduced a new tailfin design that will appear on multiple aircraft this year. The design is the airline’s take on the iconic NY skyline.

“The design, which depicts the image of bright lights through window panes of city high-rises, is meant to reflect JetBlue’s growth and New York’s perpetual desire to reach for the sky. Four of JetBlue’s signature colors are reflected in “Highrise” and the illuminated windows can be rearranged creating a slightly different pattern on different aircraft tailfins,” JetBlue said in a statement.

The “Highrise” pattern debuted at JFK airport and will be added to additional aircraft this year.

Airbus delivers 10,000th aircraft. Singapore Airlines got it.

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Courtesy Airbus

I was in Toulouse, France last week for my first visit the Airbus factory and the celebrations surrounding the delivery of the company’s 10,000 aircraft, which just happened to be Singapore Airline’s sixth Airbus A350-900 – and the plane the carrier will use to launch non-stop flights between Singapore and San Francisco next week.

Here are some snaps from the adventure. More details later as I put together a fact-filled slide-show on this event for CNBC.

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Cake celebrating the delivery of the 10,000th plane by Airbus. Photo: Harriet Baskas

Cake celebrating the delivery of the 10,000th plane by Airbus. Photo: Harriet Baskas

Sadly, I couldn’t fly on the delivery flight to Singapore from Toulouse, but I did show up to wave goodbye…

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Airbus getting ready to deliver its 10,000th aircraft

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On Friday, Oct 14, Airbus will deliver its 10,000th aircraft – the A350 XWB pictured above – to Singapore Airlines at the Airbus factory in Toulouse, France. On Saturday, this A350 delivery flight – SQ8895 – will take off for Singapore.

Airbus bills the A350 XWB mid-size, long range aircraft family as “the world’s most modern and efficient aircraft family” with an “all-new efficient design” that includes “the latest and unique technologies improving performance in operation,” and making it competitive with the 787 and the 777 (made by, you know, Boeing).

Stay tuned for more details as I’m in Toulouse for a tour of the factory and for the delivery ceremony of the plane. Lots to learn!

Pretty darn exciting..

Friday photos: snaps from Oshkosh air show

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Earlier this week I was honored to join Alaska Airlines on a special charter flight from Seattle to Oshkosh, Wisconsin for a one-day fly-in at the massive EAA AirVenture air show. The flight was on the carrier’s new 737 airplane bearing a paint scheme honoring Boeing’s centennial year.

Alaska Airline's Boeing Centennial-liveried 737 on the ground at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh2016_Harriet Baskas

The flight had an all-female crew and most all the passengers were women executives and women holding key positions at Alaska Airlines, Horizon Air, Boeing and Virgin America (which will soon become part of Alaska Airlines). Young women (and some young men) from aviation-oriented groups in the Seattle area were also on board – as the plane was headed for Oshkosh to be part of Women in Aviation Day.

I’ve got a story on the day post over at USA TODAY but in the meantime, here are some of my snaps from the day:

Aerobatics during the air show were a hit with the teens who joined Alaska Airlines for a special flight to EAA AirVenuture Oshkosh on July 27, 2017. Harriet Baskas

During the weeklong EAA Airventure Oshkosh, the Wittman Regional Airport air traffic control towere is the busiest in the world.

Some of the 10,000 planes on display at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2016

WomenVenture events at  EAA AirVenture Oshkosh celebrate women's role in aviaton. Harriet Baskas

Showing off his ride.. This tyke attending the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh may have a bright future in the aviation industry_ Harriet Baskas