United Airlines expects its first Dreamliner this year - NewsOK.com

CHICAGO — United Airlines reportedly expects to take delivery of its first Boeing 787 Dreamliner airplane in September.

United, which will be the first North American airline to receive the long-awaited and highly anticipated plane, has long said it expects to take delivery in the second half of 2012. A spokeswoman on Friday repeated that statement.

However, a Seattle Post-Intelligencer newspaper blog on Friday cited internal communications at United specifying September as the anticipated delivery month. United and Boeing are both headquartered in Chicago.

The Dreamliner, the first of which was delivered last fall to Japanese carrier All Nippon Airways, is a twin-aisle plane that offers the best fuel economy and range for a craft its size and offers passengers greater comfort while flying. The plane is also well known for incurring lengthy production delays. Boeing delivered its first 787 about three years late because of design and construction problems.

United, the most dominant airline at Chicago O’Hare and in the region, has said in the past that it would “likely” use a 787 on routes through Chicago, possibly as soon as the fourth quarter of this year. However, it hasn’t announced a flight schedule for the aircraft.

LOT Polish Airlines was the first airline to officially announce that it will offer a Chicago O’Hare flight aboard a 787. LOT will begin service in January 2013 between Chicago and Warsaw, Poland.

Distributed by MCT Information Services

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Singapore Airlines Cargo to Add Frankfurt to Network

Singapore Airlines Cargo is to launch twice-weekly Boeing 747-400 freighter services to Frankfurt in Germany from 2 November 2011.

The freighter services will complement the cargo capacity available on Singapore Airlines? twice-daily passenger flights between Singapore and Frankfurt.

Frankfurt is a major manufacturing and air transportation hub. Its major exports include machinery and automobile parts.

Mr Tan Tiow Kor, Senior Vice President Sales and Marketing, said, ?These services are in line with our policy of matching capacity with demand. The freighter services to Frankfurt will give our customers more choice of flights to choose from and will play an important role in expanding two-way trade links with key markets in Asia and Europe.?

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Singapore and Ethiopian Airlines to Codeshare

From 1 November 2011, Singapore Airlines? customers will have the option of flying to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia?s capital city, through a codeshare agreement with future Star Alliance partner Ethiopian Airlines.

Under the agreement, SIA will add its ?SQ? code to Ethiopian-operated flights operating daily between Dubai and Addis Ababa. On a reciprocal basis, Ethiopian Airlines will add its ?ET? code to seven SIA-operated flights per week between Singapore and Dubai. SIA serves Dubai with 11 flights per week.

Ethiopian Airlines is currently working towards membership in the Star Alliance, which will enable Singapore Airlines? KrisFlyer members to accrue frequent flyer miles when travelling on Ethiopian?s flights. Ethiopian?s Sheba Miles members will also be able to accrue miles when travelling on SIA?s flights.

Tickets for the codeshare flights are now open for sale for travel from 1 November 2011.

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Singapore Airlines to Increase Beijing Flights

Singapore Airlines is to launch a fourth daily flight between Singapore and Beijing from 16 December 2011.

With the additional service, the airline will operate a total of 28 weekly services to and from the Chinese capital.

The new service, SQ806, operated with Airbus A330 aircraft, will depart Singapore Changi Airport at 19:10 and arrive at Beijing Capital International Airport the following day at 01:05.

The return flight, SQ807, will depart Beijing at 02:15 and arrive in Singapore at 08:55.

Executive Vice President Commercial, Mr Mak Swee Wah, said, ?We thank our customers for their continued support for our services on this popular route. This has encouraged us to add a fourth daily service to Beijing, providing travellers more options with flight timings to better suit their travel needs.? 

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China Southern Airlines Takes Delivery of First Airbus A380

China Southern Airlines has become the first airline company operating A380 in China and the 7th in the world.

The brand new A380 today embarks on its first flight between Beijing and Guangzhou. October 15, 2011 10:25AM, the first A380 in China as coded B6136 smoothly landed at Capital International Airport, Beijing. CSN has ordered 5 A380s, and the second is expected to be delivered at end of this year.

As one of China?s largest airlines, China Southern Airlines operates more than 430 planes, and in 2010 it carried 76.46 million passengers.

Mr. Si Xianmin , General Manager of China Southern Air Holding Company said, ?We have confidence, capability and strength to achieve safe and effective operation of A380. The arrival of A380 will inevitably form a huge push strength, which will drive China Southern Airlines to speed up internationalization and provide a strong support for CSN to achieve its strategic development objects.?

China Airlines A380 has a classic three-cabin layout with 506 seats. There are 8 private first-class rooms with horizontal massage seats located at the front of the main cabin, 70 business-class flat-bed seats at the front and the middle part of the upper cabin as well as 428 economy-class seats at the main cabin and the back of the upper cabin.

 Many elements of Chinese characteristics will be seen in the cabins. For example, passengers will be able to enjoy Chinese cuisine and Chinese traditional tea culture, tea etiquettes, etc. served by professional tea specialists.

The A380 will fly on the route of Beijing ? Guangzhou ? Beijing for its virgin flight on 17 October, start its formal commercial flight on the Beijing ? Guangzhou ? Beijing route on 18-26 October and shift to Beijing ? Pudong, Shanghai ? Beijing on 27-29 October.

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