EASYJET-COME ON, LETS FLY !

EasyJet's five largest bases in order of size are London-Gatwick, Milan-Malpensa, London-Luton, London-Stansted and Bristol. Newcastle airport is currently the airline's smallest base but EasyJet still offers more flights and destinations from here than all the non-base airports it serves.

 EasyJet flies in a point to point model rather than the more traditional airline hub and spoke model where the passengers have to change aircraft in transit at a major airport. EasyJet prefers to fly to larger or primary airports usually close to major cities. For example EasyJet flies to the main Düsseldorf airport, instead of Weeze, the secondary airport serving Düsseldorf. Primary airports are not always close to the city they serve and in fact can be further than the city's minor airport, this is the case at Belfast, Gothenburg and Rome and in these cases, EasyJet still prefer to serve the major airport. EasyJet does still serve some secondary airports including Belfast-City, London-Luton and Rome-Ciampino, but these cities have a major airport also served by EasyJet, so in no case does EasyJet fly to a secondary airport of a city without flying to a primary one.
EasyJet has 19 European 'bases'. Despite EasyJet being a British airline, and having a significant presence there, it has a significant presence in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and many other European countries. The United Kingdom is its biggest market, containing the airlines largest base and nine others as well as a total of six other non-base airports. Its three largest British bases in order of size are London's Gatwick, Luton and Stansted airports.

EasyJet's largest competitor is Ryanair, which unlike EasyJet has a focus on smaller or secondary airports and in recent years, has started targeting holiday makers. EasyJet focuses heavily on business passengers but operates a greater varierty of holiday destinations than Ryanair. However, EasyJet has a very low presence at holiday destinations like Greece with limted frequencies and only a small number of airports to fly from. Ryanair's is much higher, especially at all of the Canary Islands and some Greek Islands, in particular Kos and Rhodes. Ryanair often refers to EasyJet as a high fares airline but EasyJet often criticises Ryanair for its choice of airports.
EasyJet is the largest operator of the Airbus A319.Subsidiary airline EasyJet Switzerland operates 17 Airbus A319 and two Airbus A320 aircraft under Swiss registrations, in addition to the above.The average age of the EasyJet fleet, at May 2011, is 3.7 years.EasyJet initially operated Boeing 737 aircraft exclusively. In October 2002, it broke with its previous philosophy of operating just one aircraft type by ordering 120 Airbus A319 aircraft, plus 120 options, with CFM56-5B engines.

EasyJet's Airbus A319 aircraft were first introduced to EasyJet's Geneva base in October 2003.Due to toilet and galley configuration allowing the installation of more seats than a standard Airbus A319, EasyJet's Airbus A319 aircraft have two pairs of overwing exits, instead of the standard one pair configuration found on most Airbus A319 aircraft, to satisfy safety requirements. EasyJet has 33 outstanding options with Airbus valid until March 2013 and 40 outstanding options and purchase rights valid until 2015, which may be taken as any member of the Airbus A320 family.EasyJet still operates the Boeing 737-700 from its London Luton base; however, beginning in December 2006, the airline started to return the Boeing 737-700 aircraft to their lessors. The Belfast base was converted to an A319 operation; the conversion finished in March 2010 with a total of 6 A319 aircraft. EasyJet plans to dispose of their entire Boeing 737 fleet by 2011.

Through the acquisition of GB Airways, EasyJet inherited nine Airbus A320 and six Airbus A321 aircraft. This gave the airline some time to evaluate the feasibility of operating these larger gauge aircraft. Based on this evaluation, EasyJet decided to swap 25 A319 orders for A320 in July 2008 and later remove the A321 aircraft from the fleet.Easyjet's head office is Hangar 89 (H89), a building located on the grounds of London Luton Airport in Luton, Bedfordshire; the hangar, a former Britannia Airways/TUI facility, is located 150 metres (490 ft) from EasyLand, the previous headquarters of EasyJet. Hangar 89, built in 1974, has 30,000 square feet (2,800 m²) of office space and can house three aircraft the size of an Airbus A319 or Boeing 737 at one time. When EasyJet received H89, it had a 1970s style office setup. EasyJet modernised the building and painted it orange.

Initially booking was by telephone only, with all EasyJet aircraft painted with the booking telephone number. There is no incentive for travel agents to sell EasyJet bookings because there is no commission, a standard practice for the low cost carriers.
In December 1997, Russell Sheffield of Tableau, one of EasyJet's design and adverting agencies, suggested to Stelios Haji-Ioannou that he should consider trialling a website for direct bookings. Haji-Ioannou's reply was "The Internet is for nerds, it will never make money for my business!". However Tony Anderson, EasyJet's marketing director, and Michael Coltman, EasyJet's business manager, saw the potential and approved a website trial involving putting a different telephone reservations number on the website, to track success. Once Haji-Ioannou saw the results he changed his mind, and EasyJet commissioned Tableau as partners to develop an e-commerce website capable of offering real-time online booking from April 1998—the first low cost carrier to do so in Europe.In December 2001, easyJet switched from a third-party reservation system to an in-house system designed and developed for them by BulletProof Technologies, Inc.Internet bookings were priced cheaper than booking over the phone, to reflect the reduced call centre costs and the aircraft were repainted with the web address. Within a year over 50% of bookings were made using the web site; by April 2004 the figure had jumped to 98%. Now, flights can only be booked over the Internet except during the 3 months immediately before the flight when telephone booking is also available.

EasyJet's aircraft cabins are configured in a single class, high density layout.The airline's main fleet, comprising the Boeing 737-700, Airbus A319 and Airbus A320-200, carry 149, 156 and up to 180 passengers respectively, depending on layout. A typical Airbus A319 carries approximately 140 passengers in a single class configuration, but as EasyJet do not serve meals on their shorter flights, the airline opted for smaller galleys and had a lavatory installed in unused space at the rear of the aircraft. The space saved by having smaller galleys allowed for the installation of 156 seats. Due to this seating arrangement, EasyJet's Airbus A319 aircraft have two pairs of overwing exits, instead of the standard one pair configuration found on most Airbus A319 aircraft, to satisfy safety requirements.
EasyJet does not provide complimentary meals or beverages on board its flights (apart for some occasional charter flights operated by the airline). Passengers may purchase items on board from the "EasyJet Bistro" buy on board programme.Products include sandwiches, toasted sandwiches, hot meals, chocolate, snacks, hot drinks, soft drinks and alcoholic drinks. Onboard sales are an important part of the airline's ancillary revenue. EasyJet also sells gifts such as fragrances, cosmetics and EasyJet branded items onboard, as well as tickets for airport transfer services or train tickets.

EasyJet have previously provided In-Flight Entertainment (IFE) on certain aircraft, using drop down screens on some Airbus aircraft. During some of 2009 and 2010 they also provided passengers with the ability to rent portable Sony media players with movies and games on selected flights. Due to little demand and customers choosing to bring in their own entertainment on tablet computers and media devices, these services were withdrawn during 2010. EasyJet have headphones available to purchase, along with a travel pillow and eyeshades, subject to stock. EasyJet provides an in-flight magazine, published monthly, containing articles of interest to its customers and destination guides. As of May 2010, easyJet has been selling copies of Hello Magazine, Top Gear Magazine, and The Sunday Times, all at cover price. The Times is also available onboard, at a price of £1.00. Subject to stock.

This week's showcase airline is EasyJet !!

EasyJet Airline Company Limited (styled as easyJet) is a British airline headquartered at London Luton Airport. It carries more passengers than any other United Kingdom-based airline, operating domestic and international scheduled services on 500 routes between 118 European, North African, and West Asian airports. The parent company, EasyJet plc, is listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: EZJ) and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index. As at 30 September 2009, it employed 8,000 people, based throughout Europe but mainly in the UK.

EasyJet LOGO

EasyJet has seen rapid expansion since its establishment in 1995, having grown through a combination of acquisitions and base openings fuelled by consumer demand for low-cost air travel. The airline, along with subsidary airline EasyJet Switzerland, now operates over 200 aircraft, mostly Airbus A319. It has 20 bases across Europe, the most important one being London-Gatwick In 2009, EasyJet carried 45.2 million passengers and is the second-largest low-cost carrier in Europe, behind Ryanair. EasyJet was featured in Airline series broadcast on ITV which followed the airline's operations at London Luton and later at other bases. EasyJet's founder, Sir Stelios Haji-Ioannou, was featured heavily in the series.

EasyJet Aircraft

 The airline was established in 1995. It was launched by Greek-Cypriot businessman Stelios Haji-Ioannou with two wet leased Boeing 737-200 aircraft, initially operating two routes: London Luton to Glasgow and Edinburgh. In April 1996, the first wholly owned aircraft was delivered to Easyjet, enabling its first international route, to Amsterdam. Until October 1997, the aircraft were operated by GB Airways, and subsequently by Air Foyle as EasyJet had not yet received its Air Operator's Certificate 
EasyJet was floated on the London Stock Exchange on the 5th November 2000.In October 2004 the FL Group, owner of the airlines Icelandair and Sterling, purchased an 8.4% stake in EasyJet.Over the course of 2005, FL increased its share in the company periodically to 16.9%,fuelling speculation that it would mount a takeover bid for the UK carrier.However, in April 2006 the threat of takeover receded as FL sold its stake for €325 million, securing a profit of €140m on its investment.In November 2005, Ray Webster stood down after 10 years as EasyJet's chief executive officer (CEO) and was replaced by former RAC plc CEO, Andrew Harrison.

ANDREW HARRISON CEO EasyJet

 EasyJet's early marketing strategy was based on "making flying as affordable as a pair of jeans" and urged travellers to "cut out the travel agent". Its early advertising consisted of little more than the airline's telephone booking number painted in bright orange on the side of its aircraft.

The Airline TV series created by LWT and filmed between 1999 and 2007 made EasyJet a household name in the United Kingdom. The series, while not always portraying EasyJet in a positive light, did much to promote the airline during this time.EasyJet has used a number of slogans since its establishment. Its current slogan is "Come on, let's fly!", a reflection on the airline's cheeky and cheerful image. EasyJet has previously styled itself as "the web's favourite airline", a play on the British Airways slogan "the world's favourite airline".
EasyJet has expanded rapidly since its establishment in 1995, driven by base openings both in the United Kingdom and continental Europe, and by a number of acquisitions.

easyJet aircraft on the gates

 In March 1998, EasyJet purchased a 40% stake in Swiss charter airline TEA Basle for a consideration of three million Swiss francs. The airline was renamed EasyJet Switzerland and commenced franchise services on 1 April 1999, having relocated its headquarters to Geneva International Airport. This was EasyJet's first new base outside the United Kingdom.On 16 May 2002, EasyJet announced its intention to purchase rival airline, London Stansted-based Go for £374 million. EasyJet inherited three new bases from Go, at Bristol Airport, East Midlands Airport and London Stansted Airport. The acquisition of Go almost doubled the number of Boeing 737-300 aircraft in the EasyJet fleet.
n 2001, EasyJet opened its base at London Gatwick Airport, and between 2003 and 2007, EasyJet opened bases in Germany, France, Italy and Spain, establishing a sizeable presence in continental Europe.In 2007, EasyJet claimed to be operating more flights per day than any other European airline.On 25 October 2007 EasyJet announced that it had agreed to purchase the entire share capital of GB Airways from the Bland Group. The deal was worth £103.5 million and was used to expand EasyJet operations at London Gatwick Airport and also to establish a base at Manchester Airport.

CABIN CREW easyJet

In June 2007, EasyJet announced plans for construction of its own airliner, dubbed EcoJet. Featuring propfan engines, the EcoJet would feature an increase in fuel efficiency. It would be constructed with extensive use of carbon fiber composite material. The date for the first flight was given to be in 2015.
EasyJet is offering the possibility to carbon offset the CO₂ to their customers' trips for a surcharge via a calculator which calculates a passenger's carbon footprint.
In February 2011, EasyJet painted eight of its aircraft with a lightweight, thin "revolutionary nano technology coating" polymer. It works by reducing build-up of debris and reduces drag across the surface of the aircraft, thus reducing the fuel bill. It is estimated they could save 1–2% annually, equating to a £14 million reduction in fuel costs. The idea has already been used by US military aircraft and if successful EasyJet will apply the paint to its whole fleet.

SHOWCASING NORTHWEST AIRLINES !!

THIS WEEK WE INTRODUCE YOU TO A LEGENDARY AIRLINE. MOST OF YOU READING THIS MUST HAVE ALREADY TAKEN A RIDE ON THE BIG BIRD! THIS WEEK'S SHOWCASE AIRLINE IS NORTHWEST AIRLINES

Northwest Airlines, Inc. (often abbreviated NWA), was a major United States airline headquartered in Eagan, Minnesota, near Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Northwest has merged into Delta Air Lines. Northwest had three major hubs in the United States: Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, and Memphis International Airport. Northwest also operated flights from its Asian hub at Narita International Airport (Tokyo). Transatlantic flights were operated from its European hub at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in cooperation with its partner airline KLM.

NWA LOGO

 As of 2006, Northwest was the world's sixth largest airline in terms of domestic and international scheduled passenger miles flown and the U.S.'s sixth largest airline in terms of domestic passenger miles flown. In addition to operating one of the largest domestic route networks in the U.S., Northwest carried more passengers across the Pacific Ocean (5.1 million in 2004) than any other U.S. carrier, and carried more domestic air cargo than any other American passenger airline.It was the only U.S. combination carrier (passenger and cargo service) operating dedicated Boeing 747 freighters. The airline, along with its then-parent company, Northwest Airlines Corporation and subsidiaries, operated under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection which, in the United States, allows continued operation during the reorganization effort, not cessation of flights as in the case in some countries. Northwest emerged from bankruptcy protection on May 31, 2007.

NORTHWEST AIRLINE ON FINALS

 Northwest Airlines' regional flights were operated under the name Northwest Airlink by Mesaba Airlines, Pinnacle Airlines, and Compass Airlines. Northwest Airlines was a minority owner of Midwest Airlines, holding a 40% stake in the company.Its frequent flyer program was called WorldPerks, which was merged into Delta's frequent flyer program, SkyMiles on October 1, 2009, following the merger. Northwest Airlines' tagline was "Now you're flying smart."

NWA WORLDPERKS CARD

On April 14, 2008, Northwest announced it would merge with Delta Air Lines on October 29, 2008, making Delta the largest airline in the world.Northwest continued to operate as an independent carrier (as a Delta Air Lines subsidiary) for several months until the operating certificates and other factors were combined.
In February 2009, the airline began consolidating gates and ticket counters at airports served simultaneously by both Delta and Northwest. The rebranding included the changing of Northwest signs to Delta signs. The integration continued into early 2010. The airline's hubs in Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul, and Memphis were rebranded on March 31, 2009.The Tokyo hub was rebranded on August 24, 2009. In October 2009, the airline's operations center was relocated to Delta's headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia.

NWA AIRCRAFT TAXIING FOR TAKEOFF

 On December 31, 2009, Delta received a single operating certificate for the merged airline from the Federal Aviation Administration, and thus the airlines began operating under the same certificate. However, Delta continued to use Northwest's IATA and ICAO codes of NW and NWA respectively until their reservation systems were merged on January 31, 2010.
The integration of both carriers was completed on January 31, 2010, and Northwest Airlines's website nwa.com was merged into delta.com. As a result the old NWA URL now redirects to Delta and the old online booking pages are no longer accessible. On January 4, 2011, 12 months after Northwest had ceased operations, the last planes (5 McDonnell Douglas DC-9-40s) in Northwest livery were retired.

NWA DC-9

HISTORY

Northwest Airlines was founded on September 1, 1926, by Colonel Lewis Brittin, under the name Northwest Airways, a reference to the historical name for the Midwestern United States that derived from the Northwest Territory. Like other early airlines, Northwest's focus was not in hauling passengers, but in flying mail for the U.S. Post Office Department.The fledgling airline established a mail route between Minneapolis and Chicago, using open-cockpit biplanes such as the Curtiss Oriole and the Waco JYM. From 1928 the enclosed cabin six-passenger Hamilton H-45 and H-47 designs were used.Northwest Airlines began carrying passengers in 1927.

OLD TIMER!

 In 1928, Northwest started its first international route with service to Winnipeg. The airline's operations had expanded to many smaller cities in that region by the end of the 1920s. In 1931, Northwest sponsored Charles and Anne Lindbergh on a pioneering test flight to Japan, scouting what would become known as the Northwest Airlines' Great Circle route, and proving that flying via Alaska could save as much as 2,000 miles (3,000 km) on a New York City to Tokyo flight. In 1933, Northwest airlines was selected to fly the "Northern Transcontinental Route" from New York City to Seattle, Washington. It adopted the name of Northwest Airlines during the following year as a result of the Air Mail scandal. Northwest Airlines common stock began to be publicly traded in 1941.During World War II, Northwest Airlines joined the war against the Japanese Empire by flying soldiers and military necessities from the Northwestern United States to Alaska. During that time, Northwest began painting its airliners' tails bright red as a visual aid in the often harsh weather conditions. The airline's experience with the sub-arctic climate led the Federal Government to designate Northwest as the main airline over the North Pacific following the war.

NWA OLD LOGO

 During the spring of 1947, Northwest began stationing employees at Haneda Airport in Tokyo by flying them there from the United States via Alaska on its Great Circle route. On July 15, 1947, Northwest became the first airline to begin direct commercial airline service between the United States and Japan,using a Douglas DC-4 airliner named The Manila. (All of the pre-war airline service to the Orient had been via Hawaii and the Philippines.) That first flight to Japan originated at Minneapolis-Saint Paul's Wold-Chamberlain Field – which later grew to become the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport. Its route to Tokyo was via Edmonton, Anchorage (Elmendorf) and Shemya in the westmost Aleutian Islands. After arriving at Tokyo, this flight continued to Shanghai Lunghwa Airport, and then to Manila Nichols FielD.An additional service between Tokyo and Seoul (Gimpo Airport) began on October 20, 1947, and Naha Airport in Okinawa was included as a stop on the Tokyo to Manila route on November 16, 1947.

DOUGLAS..WANNA RIDE?

 Northwest Airline's service to Shanghai was suspended in May 1949 because of the civil war in China, with the Republic of China nearly ready to collapse, and its government evacuated to the island of Formosa. Northwest Airlines added Songshan Airport in Taipei, the new capital city of the Republic of China, as a stop on the Tokyo-Okinawa-Manila route on June 3, 1950, with ongoing interchange service to Hong Kong operated by Hong Kong Airways.
With its new system of transpacific flights established, Northwest began to advertise itself as the Northwest Orient Airlines, although its registered corporate name remained "Northwest Airlines".

INTRESTING BOOK ON THE HISTORY OF NWA

 On August 1, 1949 Northwest Orient Airlines accepted its first double-decker Boeing 377 "Stratocruisers" from the manufacturer, enabling them to offer more comfortable accommodations and faster service on its long flights. The Stratocruiser commenced its service from the Northwestern United States to Tokyo, via the Territory of Alaska, on September 27, 1952.
In 1954 Northwest Orient purchased a group of Douglas Aircraft Company DC-6Bs, and the airline started flying these on the northwestern U.S. to Tokyo, and U.S. to Manila, routes, beginning on April 1, 1954, via Alaska, Hawaii, and Guam.

NORTHWEST ORIENT-STRATOCRUISERS

 In 1951 Northwest Orient became involved with the founding of the Japan Air Lines company (JAL), by leasing some of its airliners, and lending some crewmembers, to the new airline to help get it off the ground. (At the time, Japan was a country that was still under American military occupation, but that ended sometime in 1952.)
In 1952 United States and Japan ratified a regional bilateral aviation treaty. Under its terms, Northwest Orient and Pan American World Airways became the two American airlines allowed to fly from West Coast to the Tokyo International Airport. They also received permission to carry passengers via and beyond Tokyo (to such destinations as South Korea, the Republic of China, Hong Kong, and the Philippines. In the jargon of the airline businesses, these flights were called "fifth freedoms of the air" or "fifth freedom" flights. At the time there were no American or Japanese flights to the Soviet Union (such as to Vladivostok) or to Red China.
For years Northwest Orient Airlines was the largest non-Japanese airline using Tokyo's Narita Airport. Besides flights to and from the United States, it flew passengers from Japan to many cities in East Asia and Southeast Asia, including Seoul and Busan, Taipei, Manila, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Singapore. It also flew passenger routes that connected Japan with Guam and Saipan, American possessions in the Western Pacific Ocean. Recall that there were no flights to Red China during those years, because the United States and that country were in a long state of Cold War, and also Red China was living in self-imposed isolation from most of the non-communist countries of the world, including the Americas, Australia, and much of Asia and Europe.

ON FINALS

Before the development of the jumbo jet, few airline flights were scheduled nonstop across the Pacific Ocean. They became feasible with the introduction of the 707-320B in 1962 (although Pan Am's timetable showed hopefully-nonstop 707-320 flights earlier, eastward only). As for the Northern Pacific, recall that there were two hubs for long-distance flights: Alaska and Hawaii.Northwest's meteorologists, led by Dan Sowa, pioneered the first clear-air turbulence forecasting system in 1957, important since the airline flew many northern routes over turbulence-prone mountain areas. Northwest remains a leader in turbulence prediction, providing TPAWS (turbulence prediction and warning services) to other airlines.On June 1, 1959, Northwest accepted its first turboprop jet aircraft, the Lockheed L-188 Electra, from its manufacturer. On July 8, 1960, Northwest placed the Douglas DC-8 jetliner into service, offering the shortest flight times on routes from the United States to East Asia. In August 1960, Northwest retired the last of its Boeing 377 Stratocruisers. The airline purchased several of the Boeing 720B airliners in 1961, and in 1963 it bought several of the new Boeing 707; for a time it adopted the slogan "Northwest Orient: The Fan-Jet Airline". Northwest Airlines started flying the three-jet Boeing 727 airliner in 1964.

B727 NWA

 Northwest Airlines bought its first Boeing 747 airliners in 1970 and soon began retiring its older and smaller Boeing 707s. (The DC-8s were long gone by then.) Besides its usefulness on transpacific flights, for a time Northwest also flew Boeing 747s on its busiest domestic routes.
Revenue passenger traffic (scheduled flights only, in millions of passenger-miles): 602 in 1951, 1017 in 1955, 1654 in 1960, 3304 in 1965, 4506 in 1970 and 9471 in 1975.

B747 NWA

 Merger with Republic and the 1990s


After airline deregulation, Northwest began nonstop flights to other Asian cities, returned to China in 1984 after a 34 year hiatus, and gradually strengthened its presence in the southern United States. It also began flying to the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, and Scandinavia. On May 21, 1984, shareholders in Northwest approved the creation of NWA Inc., a Delaware corporation that was the holding company of Northwest.On October 1, 1986, in response to United Airlines purchase of Pan Am's Pacific Division, and in order to provide the domestic feed it required to compete effectively, Northwest merged with Minneapolis-St. Paul-based Republic Airlines. NWA then adopted its three-hub network centered around Minneapolis-St. Paul, Detroit, and Memphis. Northwest dropped the word Orient from its brand name after the merger.

NORTHWEST ORIENT LOGO

 In 1989, Northwest introduced a new identity designed by Landor Associates superseding the 1970 logo and livery, which had been used since 1986, minus the word "Orient." A new livery, nicknamed the "bowling shoe" by employees, featuring colors of red, white, gray, and blue, was adopted at the same time.
The airline's ownership also had major changes in 1989. Northwest was purchased in a 1989 leveraged buyout by an investment group headed by Al Checchi, Fred Malek and Gary Wilson, with KLM, and many others. To pay off the debt incurred in their takeover, the new management sold many of the airline's aircraft to leasing companies, and sold property around the world, including land in central Tokyo. The expense of the buyout was so great that in 1993, following several years of losses due to industry overcapacity and a traffic downturn following the Gulf War, Northwest threatened bankruptcy unless its employee groups agreed to three years of wage cuts. After signing the concessionary agreements, Northwest made its first profit since 1989.

NWA PRESIDENT & CEO-DOUG STEENLAND

Also in 1993, Northwest began its strategic alliance with KLM, which was the largest airline partnership ever conceived at the time. This partnership eventually became the Wings Alliance. However, the alliance never grew beyond the two airlines, and is now obsolete from a passenger's perspective, because both airlines are part of the larger SkyTeam Alliance. (From a legal perspective, the Northwest/KLM alliance remains important: it has antitrust immunity, whereas the broader SkyTeam alliance merely has code-sharing privileges.) Northwest gradually pulled out of its minor European destinations and once more focused its attention on the domestic and Asian markets. On May 1, 1996 Northwest began its first nonstop service from the U.S. to China, on the Detroit–Beijing route. Nonstop Detroit-Shanghai service followed in April 2000. Later, these nonstop services were suspended in 2002 due to the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Northwest then served these routes via Tokyo. The airline sought government approval to restore nonstop Detroit-Shanghai service in March 2007 but lost its bid to United's Washington Dulles-Beijing route; however, before their merger with Delta Air Lines, Northwest received tentative authority to restart nonstop Detroit-Shanghai service starting March 25, 2009.

NWA-KLM COLLABORATION

 Throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s, Northwest enjoyed profits and focused on improving technology to increase convenience while reducing costs. The airline offered airport self-service check-in kiosks starting in 1997, and had more than any other airline. Northwest was also the first large U.S. airline to offer passengers internet check-in, with service from December 2000. During the early 2000s, Northwest Airlines acquired a reputation of refusing to adopt industry-wide fare increases that had been accepted by other airlines. This changed in March 2005, when Northwest adopted fare hikes in response to rising oil prices.

GETTING READY TO HIT THE SKIES !

Due to the effects of competition from low-cost carriers such as Southwest Airlines and increased labor costs resulting from a new contract with employees represented by the Aircraft Mechanics Fraternal Association (AMFA) labor union, Northwest began to make cutbacks in early 2001. Two small rounds of employee layoffs and other cutbacks were implemented in the months prior to the September 11 terrorist attacks. Following the attacks, Northwest was forced to make dramatic changes to its business structure through major employee layoffs and other cost cutting measures. The retirement of costly and aging aircraft such as the Boeing 727 and McDonnell Douglas DC-10-40 were accelerated as new aircraft went into service. In addition, the airline pursued options to reduce costs across the board, including removing pillows, peanuts, pretzels, in-flight entertainment on domestic flights, and newspapers and magazines. Over 50 McDonnell Douglas DC-9, Boeing 757, Boeing 747, and Airbus A320 family aircraft were withdrawn from use in an attempt to lower overall capacity and save money. Some of these aircraft were returned to service.
Following many years of a pioneering and close partnership with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Northwest, along with partners KLM and Continental Airlines joined SkyTeam, an airline alliance of ten airlines from around the world, on September 15, 2004. This was partially a result of Air France acquiring KLM, forming the Air France-KLM group. The airline continued to hemorrhage money, however.

NWA US CONNECTIVITY!

 Despite far-reaching money saving initiatives, Northwest was forced to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for the first time in its 79-year history. The filing took place in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York on September 14, 2005. With Northwest's filing, four of the six largest U.S. carriers were operating under bankruptcy protection. Northwest joined Delta Air Lines (which filed just minutes before), United Airlines, and US Airways in bankruptcy. All four of these carriers have since emerged from bankruptcy protection. Northwest common stock shares dropped more than 50% for the second time in three days following the news, largely because stock is generally canceled as part of the bankruptcy process. In the following weeks, Northwest Airlink carriers Mesaba Airlines and Pinnacle Airlines both announced that Northwest had missed payments to them for their Airlink flying. Northwest also announced plans to shrink its Airlink fleet by over 45 aircraft. Mesaba Aviation filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy on October 13, 2005.

NWA INTERIORS-CABIN

 Northwest announced on May 18, 2007, that shares of the company would begin to trade on the NYSE under the ticker NWA. Initial trading on a "when-issued" basis began on May 21, 2007, and regular trading began on May 31, 2007. Also on May 18, 2007, Northwest Airlines was cleared by a federal bankruptcy judge to emerge from Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection on May 31, 2007, ending Northwest's 20 months of difficulty trying to slash costs

NWA B747 FLARING FOR TOUCHDOWN

 On July 16, 2007, Northwest Airlines applied to the United States Department of Transportation for nonstop service between its WorldGateway hub at Detroit to Shanghai (beginning in 2007 on Boeing 747-400s) and to Beijing (beginning in 2010 on Boeing 787 Dreamliners). The airline faced off against Delta Air Lines (who proposed Atlanta to Shanghai and Beijing), American Airlines (Chicago/O'Hare—Beijing), Continental Airlines (Newark—Shanghai), US Airways (Philadelphia—Beijing), United Airlines (Los Angeles—Shanghai and San Francisco—Guangzhou), and MAXjet (Seattle—Shanghai) in the route competition.
On August 12, 2007, Northwest Airlines became a passive investor in the purchase of Midwest Airlines by TPG Capital. The airline stated that while it was an investor, it would not participate in any management or control of Midwest Airlines. However, on August 14, 2007, AirTran Airways raised their offer for Midwest to $16.25 a share, 25 cents more than the TPG offer.But soon after on August 17, 2007, TPG Capital raised their offer to $17.00 a share which sealed the deal. Northwest Airlines became a minority owner of Midwest Airlines in the fourth quarter of 2007.

MIDWEST AIRLINES

 On September 25, 2007, Northwest Airlines received DOT approval to begin service to Shanghai from their Detroit hub beginning March 25, 2009. American, Continental, Delta, and US Airways also received new or additional China route authority to Shanghai or Beijing, and United received authority to serve Guangzhou.

Merger with Delta Air Lines

On April 14, 2008, Northwest Airlines announced that it would be merging with Delta Air Lines to form the world's largest airline. The merger was approved on October 29, 2008. The combined airline uses the Delta name and branding. On January 31, 2010, Delta completed the merge of the reservation systems and discontinued using the Northwest name for flights. The official last Northwest flight was NW2470 from Los Angeles to Las Vegas.The last Northwest departure was actually a chartered Airbus A319 flying as Northwest Flight 9946, a flight between Washington (IAD) and Minneapolis, departed at 12:54 am EST on January 31. The last flight to land was Northwest Flight 248, a flight from Detroit to Amsterdam, landing at 5:33 am EST, 1053 Zulu.

DELTA-NWA MERGING ON THE TARMAC

FLEET

As part of a major fleet renewal program, Northwest introduced a simplified new paint scheme and logo in 2003. The airline replaced its McDonnell Douglas DC-10 airliners with the Airbus A330. Its first Airbus A330-300, used initially just on European flights, arrived on August 6, 2003. Northwest also flew the longer ranged and slightly shorter A330-200 on some trans-Pacific flights, within the Orient, and on some trans-Atlantic routes. The majority of Northwest Airlines' flights between North America and Europe were flown in Airbus A330s.

A330 NWA APPROACHING TOUCHDOWN

 (Northwest became the largest owner and flier of A330s in the world.) Northwest Airlines also possessed the youngest trans-Atlantic fleet of any North American or European airlineNorthwest Airlines also began flying reconfigured Boeing 757-200 airliners on some of its European flights carrying fewer passengers. Northwest was one of only two passenger airlines in the United States to fly the Boeing 747-400, with the only other one being United Airlines. (There are several cargo airlines in the United States flying the Boeing 747)

B747 FREIGHTER FOR NWA CARGO

 Northwest was looking for manufacturers to discuss the replacement of their 100 and 110 and 125 seat McDonnell Douglas DC-9 aircraft, with an average age of 35 years.
In January 2008, Northwest advised its pilots that the airline planned to cut its fleet of 92 DC-9s to 68 by the end of 2008. Northwest stated that pilot jobs will not be reduced, as they would hire approximately 200–250 pilots by the end of 2008.On April 23, 2008, due to soaring fuel costs from $1.85 in the first quarter of 2007 to $2.77 in the first quarter of 2008, Northwest announced that an additional 15 to 20 aircraft would be removed from its fleet by the end of 2009. The grounded aircraft included ten or so DC-9s, with the balance of the 15 to 20 being a mix of 10 757s and 4 A320s.

B787 FUTURE OF NWA

ALL NIPPON AIRWAYS-AIRLINE OF THE WEEK !

THIS WEEK WE COME UP WITH A VERY UNIQUE AIRLINE WITH A VERY STRONG AND INTRESTING STORY THAT DATES BACK TO EARLY 1950'S. ONE OF THE FINEST AIRLINERS IN ASIA AND DEFINATELY AMONGST THE BEST IN ASIA ! ITS ALL NIPPON AIRWAYS-JAPAN

ANA LOGO

 All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd. (全日本空輸株式会社, Zen Nippon Kūyu Kabushiki-gaisha TYO: 9202, LSE: ANA), also known as Zennikkū (全日空) or ANA, is the second largest airline in Japan, after Japan Airlines. It is headquartered at the Shiodome City Center in the Shiodome area in Minato, Tokyo, Japan.

SHIDOME CITY CENTRE

It operates services to 49 destinations in Japan and 35 international routes and employed over 14,000 employees as of May 2009.In May 2010, ANA’s total passenger traffic is up year-on-year by 7.8%, and its international services grow by 22% to 2.07 million passengers in the first five months of 2010.ANA's main international hubs are at Narita International Airport outside Tokyo and Kansai International Airport in Osaka. Its main domestic hubs are at Tokyo International Airport, Osaka International Airport, Chūbu Centrair International Airport (near Nagoya), and New Chitose Airport (near Sapporo).

ANA BOEING AT FINALS

 In addition to its mainline operations, ANA controls several subsidiary passenger carriers,including its regional airline, Air Nippon, charter carrier, Air Japan, and Air Next, a low-cost carrier based at Fukuoka Airport which handles flights for ANA. Additional smaller carriers include Air Nippon Network (A-net), a subsidiary of Air Nippon, Air Central, Q400-based airline based at Chūbu Centrair International Airport, and ANA & JP Express (AJV), a freighter operator. ANA also announced its intentions to create at least one low-cost carrier subsidiary with another as of yet unnamed Asian airline during fiscal 2009.

B737 ANA AT MIDFLIGHT

HISTORY


ANA's earliest ancestor was Nippon Helicopter and Aeroplane (日本ヘリコプター輸送, Nippon Herikoputā Yus), an airline company founded on 27 December 1952.Nippon Helicopter was the source of what would later be ANA's IATA airline code, NH^.
NH began helicopter services in February 1953. On 15 December 1953, it operated its first cargo flight between Osaka and Tokyo using a de Havilland Dove, JA5008.This was the first scheduled flight flown by a Japanese pilot in postwar Japan. Passenger service on the same route began on 1 February 1954, and was upgraded to a de Havilland Heron in March.In 1955, the Douglas DC-3 plane began flying for NH as well,by which time the airline's route network extended from northern Kyūshū to Sapporo.

OLD LIVERY OF ANA

ANA's other ancestor was Far East Airlines (極東航空, Kyokutō Kōkū.Although it was founded on 26 December 1952, one day before NH, it did not begin operations until 20 January 1954, when it began night cargo runs between Osaka and Tokyo, also using a de Havilland Dove. It adopted the DC-3 in early 1957, by which point its route network extended through southern Japan from Tokyo to Kagoshima.FEA merged with NH in March 1958. The combined companies had a total market capitalization of 600 million yen, and was Japan's largest private airline.The merged airline, called All Nippon Airways,received a new Japanese name (全日本空輸 Zen Nippon Kūyu; Japan Air Transport). The company logo of the larger NH was selected as the logo of the new combined airline, and the new carrier operated a route network combined from its two predecessors.

ANA grew steadily through the 1960s, adding the Vickers Viscount to the fleet in 1960 and the Fokker F27 in 1961.October 1961 marked ANA's debut at the Tokyo Stock Exchange as well as the Osaka Securities Exchange.1963 saw another merger, this one with Fujita Airlines, raising the company's capital to 4.65 billion yen.In 1965, ANA introduced jet services with Boeing 727s on the Tokyo-Sapporo route. It also introduced Japan's first homegrown turboprop airliner, the YS-11 in 1965, to replace Convair 440s on local routes.In 1969, ANA introduced Boeing 737 service.

BOEING 747 AT TOUCHDOWN

 As ANA grew, it started to contract travel companies across Japan to handle ground services in each region. Many of these companies received shares in ANA as part of their deals. Some of these relationships continue today in different forms: for instance, Nagoya Railroad, which handled ANA's operations in the Chūbu region along with other partnerships,maintains a permanent seat on ANA's board of directors.By 1974, ANA had Japan's largest domestic airline network.
While ANA's domestic operations grew, the Ministry of Transportation had granted government-owned Japan Airlines (JAL) a monopoly on international scheduled flights,which remained intact until 1986. ANA was allowed to operate international charter flights: its first was a 727 charter from Tokyo to Hong Kong on February 21, 1971.

B777 ON LIFTOFF

ANA purchased its first widebody aircraft, six Lockheed L-1011s, in November 1971, following a lengthy sales effort by Lockheed which had involved negotiations between US president Richard Nixon, Japanese premier Kakuei Tanaka and UK premier Edward Heath (lobbying in favor of engine maker Rolls-Royce). Tanaka also pressed Japanese regulators to permit ANA to operate on Asia routes as part of the package.

INTERIORS OF THE ANA

 The aircraft entered service on the Tokyo-Okinawa route in 1974. The carrier had initially ordered McDonnell Douglas DC-10s, but cancelled the order at the last minute and switched to Lockheed. It was later revealed that Lockheed had indirectly bribed Prime Minister Kakuei Tanaka to force this switch: the ensuing scandal led to the arrest of Tanaka and several managers from ANA and Lockheed sales agent Marubeni for corruption.Boeing 747-200s were introduced on the Tokyo-Sapporo and Tokyo-Fukuoka routes in 1976,and Boeing 767s were introduced in 1983 On Shikoku routes. The carrier's first 747s were the short-range SR variant, designed for Japanese domestic routes.

B747 AT THE RAMP

 In 1986, ANA began to expand beyond Japan's key domestic carrier to become a competitive international carrier as well.On 3 March 1986, ANA started scheduled international flights with a passenger service from Tokyo to Guam.Flights to Los Angeles and Washington followed by year's end, and ANA also entered a service agreement with American AirlineS to feed the US carrier's new flights to Narita.

B747 WITH POKEMON THEME

 ANA expanded its international services gradually: to Beijing, Dalian, Hong Kong and Sydney in 1987; to Seoul in 1988; to London and Saipan in 1989; to Paris in 1990 and to New York in 1991.Airbus equipment such as the A320 and A321 was added to the fleet in the early 1990s, as was the Boeing 747-481 jet. ANA joined the Star Alliance in October 1999.2004 saw ANA's profits exceed JAL's for the first time. That year, facing a surplus of slots due to the construction of new airports and the ongoing expansion of Haneda airport, ANA announced a fleet renewal plan that would replace some of its large aircraft with a greater number of smaller aircraft

ANA TURBOPROP FOR REGIONAL SERVICE

 Also in 2004, ANA set up low-cost subsidiary Air Next to operate flights from Fukuoka Airport starting in 2005, and became the majority shareholder in Nakanihon Airline Service (NAL) headquartered in Nagoya Airport.In 2005, ANA renamed NAL to Air Central, and relocated its headquarters to Chūbu Centrair International Airport.On July 12, 2005, ANA reached a deal with NYK to sell its 27.6% share in Nippon Cargo Airlines, a joint venture formed between the two companies in 1987.The sale allowed ANA to focus on developing its own cargo division. In 2006, ANA, Japan Post, Nippon Express, and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines founded ANA & JP Express (AJV), which would operate freighters. ANA is the top shareholder of AJV. It absorbed Air Japan's freighter operations.

B747 ANA

Air Transport World named ANA its 2007 "Airline of the Year." In 2006, the airline was recognized by FlightOnTime.info as the most punctual scheduled airline between London and Tokyo for the last four consecutive years, based on official British statistics.Japan Airlines took over the title in 2007. In 2009, ANA announced plans to test an idea as part of the airline's "e-flight" campaign, encouraging passengers on select flights to visit the airport restroom before they board.On November 10 of the same year, ANA also announced "Inspiration of Japan", ANA's newest international flight concept, with redesigned cabins initially launched on its 777-300ER aircraft.

B777 ANA