Latvia’s flag carrier, airBaltic, has announced the addition of two new routes from its base in Vilnius. In the summer season of this year, the airline will operate flights from the Lithuanian capital to Lisbon, Portugal, and Hamburg, Germany. Both new services are part of a risk-sharing partnership between airBaltic and Lithuanian Airports.

Using an Airbus A220-300, the airline will operate two weekly flights between the abovementioned new routes. The Vilnius-Hamburg service will start on May 2, 2024, with ticket prices starting at EUR 59. Regarding the Vilnius-Lisbon route, it will go live on May 4, 2024, with ticket prices starting at EUR 129.

airBaltic also aims to add two more services for the summer season this year: Vilnius to Krakow, Poland, and Palanga, Lithuania, to Amsterdam, Netherlands. In 2024, the airline plans to connect Lithuania with 18 destinations and will continue to station two aircraft in Vilnius.

Africa’s largest carrier, Ethiopian Airlines, has ordered up to 20 widebody Boeing aircraft. The purchase agreement states a firm order for eight 777-9s and options for up to twelve additional jets. With this order, Ethiopia’s flag carrier became the first buyer of the Boeing 777X in Africa.

The Boeing 777X is based on the 777 series blended with technologies from the 787 Dreamliner family. The 777-9 features new carbon fibre composite wings. Also, it is powered by engines that help deliver 10 per cent better fuel efficiency and operating costs than the closest rival. According to Boeing, the 777-9 can fly up to 13,510km (7,295 nautical miles) nonstop.

Over half of Ethiopian Airlines’ current fleet comprises Boeing aircraft, including 29 787 Dreamliners, 20 777s, three 767s, 27 next-gen 737s and 15 737 Max jets.

Also Read: American Places Firm Order For 260 Jets

Greece’s Aegean and Germany’s Eurowings have unveiled a new bilateral codeshare partnership to boost business for both. Under the agreement, select Aegean flights will also be bookable under Eurowings flight numbers. On the other hand, some Eurowings flights will also be available under Aegean flight numbers.

To begin with, Greece’s flag carrier will assign code A3 to direct services operated by Eurowings linking Heraklion (Crete) and Thessaloniki with Eurowings bases in Germany, Austria and Czechia. The German low-cost airline will also follow the same mantra, assigning a particular code to its Aegean flights that connect Athens and Thessaloniki with its bases in Germany and Czechia. The duo aims to gradually increase codesharing further in the future.

Pratt & Whitney and Icelandair have been doing business with each other for over eight decades. Extending that relationship further is a new deal. The airline has chosen Pratt & Whitney’s GTF engines to power up to 35 new Airbus A320neo family aircraft. The count comprises a mix of leased and bought A321XLRs and A321LRs. Icelandair has also opted for an EngineWise agreement for the long-term maintenance, repair and overhaul of the new engines. With this deal, Iceland’s flag carrier becomes a new GTF customer for the RTX-owned company.

Icelandair selected the GTF engines because they will reduce carbon emissions and fuel consumption by up to 30 per cent with the Airbus aircraft compared to the Boeing 757s they will replace. The first A321LRs should join the airline’s fleet next year, while the A32XLRs will start arriving in 2029. Icelandair currently operates DHC Dash 8 aircraft with Pratt & Whitney Canada PW100 and PW150 powerplants.

During the Singapore Airshow last month, Pratt & Whitney landed GTF engine deals with Cebu Pacific, JetSmart and Vietjet.

UAE’s national carrier, Etihad Airways, has announced an expansion of its service schedule for the summer season. The list includes the addition of two new destinations and an increase in weekly flights to five.

New routes, first. From June 15, 2024, Etihad will operate three seasonal weekly flights (Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays) between Abu Dhabi, UAE, and Antalya, Turkey. The outbound service – EY 0539 – will depart from Abu Dhabi at 09:20 and arrive in Antalya at 13:00. The return flight – EY 0540 – will leave the Turkish tarmac at 14:30 and touch down in UAE’s capital at 19:45.

The other new route goes live on June 16, 2024. That’s a direct service between Abu Dhabi and Jaipur, India. Etihad will operate four weekly flights (Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays) to the capital city of Rajasthan state. Flight EY 0366 will depart from Abu Dhabi at 03:05 and land in Jaipur at 08:05. After nearly three hours, the return flight will leave Jaipur at 11:00 and arrive in Abu Dhabi at 13:00. All times mentioned for the new routes are local. An Airbus A320 will be operated for both services.

Etihad will operate three additional weekly flights to five destinations – Thiruvananthapuram, Amman, Cairo, Karachi and Colombo – from June 15, 2024. In the same order, their weekly flight count will increase to 10, 14, 24, 17 and 20. Earlier this year, the airline had announced a similar bump in weekly services to seven destinations across the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent.

Dubai-based carrier Emirates has announced that from May 1, 2024, it will restart daily flights to Cambodia’s capital – Phnom Penh. The service, with a stopover in Singapore, will use a Boeing 777-300ER in a three-class configuration. With space for 360 passengers, the aeroplane will boast 8 First Class private suites, 42 lie-flat seats in Business Class and 310 seats in Economy. And courtesy of this new service, Emirates SkyCargo will offer a freight capacity of over 300 tonnes per week.

The outbound flight – EK348 – will depart Dubai at 02:30 and land in Singapore at 14:05. After a halt of 1.5 hours, the aircraft will leave Singapore at 15:35 and arrive in Phnom Penh at 16:35. The return flight – EK349 – will leave the Cambodian tarmac at 20:50 and touch down in Singapore at 23:50. Then, at 01:40, the last leg starts and ends in Dubai at 04:55. All times mentioned above are as per the location.

Also Read: Emirates Flights To Bogota Start This June

Ontario-based Niagara Helicopters ordered six Airbus H130 choppers at the Heli-Expo 2024. The deal confirms a complete fleet renewal for the tourism company. It serves more than 100,000 customers from across the globe every year, providing a 9-minute, 27km sightseeing trip over the world-famous Niagara Falls.

The aircraft in question can seat up to seven passengers and a pilot while boasting an unobstructed cabin, large wrap-around windscreen and wide windows for good visibility. Besides sightseeing services, the single-engined helicopter is also used for charter operations and emergency medical services.

Niagara Helicopters’ COO, Denis Pilon, says:

After nearly 10 years of working with Airbus Helicopters, we are confident that the H130 continues to be the ideal aircraft for our operation. We are pleased to be working with the Airbus team again. We look forward to many more years of cooperation and collaboration.

Besides this deal, Airbus signed contracts with Bristow, HealthNet Aeromedical Services, THC and DRF Luftrettung during the Heli-Expo 2024.

At the Heli-Expo 2024, Airbus and Bristow Group signed a framework agreement for 15 H135 helicopters. The paperwork details that five of the total are part of the firm order, and the remaining ten are options. In October this year, the first chopper is expected to be delivered.

Bristow already has a fleet of 10 H135s and has operated the said type of chopper since 2006. The firm provides aviation services to various offshore energy companies and government entities. The company’s COO for Offshore Energy Services says:

The H135 has proven itself to be a very capable helicopter, both for missions offshore and overland.

Bristow recently inked a deal with Italian aviation firm Leonardo for up to 20 helicopters. On the other hand, Airbus has bagged contracts from THC, DRF Luftrettung and HealthNet Aeromedical Services at the Heli-Expo 2024.

Besides bagging an order from Bristow Group, Leonardo has also struck multiple agreements with Saudi Arabia’s The Helicopter Company (THC). At the Heli-Expo 2024, THC signed a contract for 20 Leonardo AW139 helicopters. Also, the duo inked a multiyear framework agreement for more than 130 choppers of various types.

Here are the specifics. The 20 AW139s, to be delivered between 2025 and 2026, will help strengthen THC’s emergency medical services and search and rescue operations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). By the time the delivery is complete, KSA’s Public Investment Fund-backed THC will have almost 50 AW139s in its fleet.

The Framework Agreement, on the other hand, comprises units of Leonardo’s AW109s, AW169s and AW189s. All will be used for various services. Details about the first batch will be specified before H1 2024 ends. As for the deliveries, they should be completed anywhere between five to seven years. Besides inking these deals with Leonardo, THC signed an agreement with Airbus during the Heli-Expo 2024.