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Soar to the last day of the week with ease, it’s your airline wrap!

NSW Northwest gets Schwartz revival

Airspeed Northwest has added leading hotel and tourism entrepreneur, Dr Jerry Schwartz, as an investor in the air services group, with the prospect of establishing a regional airline to service the NSW north-west and Hunter areas.

Airspeed Northwest is currently tendering for services from Narrabri Airport, where they propose to operate a 19 seater Beech 1900 aircraft on the Narrabri-Sydney-Narrabri route.

Narrabri has been without regular air services since the collapse of Brindabella Airlines in 2013, which has meant long drives to Moree or Tamworth for residents of North West NSW travelling to Sydney.

The service would be operated by experienced regional aviation company Airspeed Aviation, and would be focussed on regional investment, regional development and regional employment.

The potential for expansion of the operation has increased significantly with the addition of Dr Jerry Schwartz as an investor in the airline.

Cathay adds extra Adelaide service

Cathay Pacific Airways is adding a fifth weekly flight to Adelaide from 2 December 2015. The move will see the airline increase its capacity on the route by 25 per cent and brings the weekly number of seats to 2,500.

Nelson Chin, General Manager, Cathay Pacific Airways Southwest Pacific, said the increase is a direct response to high demand from both inbound and outbound passengers.

“The fifth flight will depart Hong Kong on Wednesday night and depart Adelaide on Thursday morning, making Adelaide departures available on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday, giving South Australian passengers more flexibility in their travel plans,” Chin said.

Finnair looking fine

Finnair will welcome its first Airbus A350 WXB aircraft from Airbus in a delivery ceremony to be arranged on October 7, 2015. Finnair has 19 Airbus A350 XWB aircraft on order, to be received in 2015-2023.

Finnair’s first Airbus A350 XWB enters into long-haul service on November 21, when the aircraft flies from Helsinki to Shanghai. The next A350 long haul destinations include Beijing, Bangkok, Hong Kong and Singapore as previously announced. Finnair will also take the aircraft to New York later this year, becoming the first airline in the world to fly to the US with this new aircraft type.

”Introducing 19 new aircraft into our fleet over a period of eight years is a major program for Finnair. We have built the necessary flexibility into our preparedness plans and our A340 exit plan to adjust to any changes that may arise over the course of this massive program, ensuring a smooth introduction of the new aircraft into our fleet,” Finnair Chief Operating Officer Ville Iho said.

Etihad rolling in dough

Etihad Airways and its equity partner airlines have increased the funds raised from their unique platform financing transaction to US$ 700 million following a surge in demand from international financial institutions.

Etihad Airways, Etihad Airport Services, airberlin, Air Serbia, Air Seychelles, Aliltalia and Jet Airways announced on Tuesday they had successfully raised US$ 500 million through the transaction, which followed roadshows in Abu Dhabi, Dubai and London.

After unprecedented increased demand from financial institutions in a range of markets, the airlines re-opened the transaction and have raised an additional US$ 200 million, bringing the total to US$ 700 million.

The funds, which will be split across the seven businesses, will be used for a mixture of capital expenditure and investment in fleet, as well as for refinancing, depending on each airline’s individual needs.

New Swiss CEO

Thomas Klühr is to succeed Harry Hohmeister as CEO of SWISS in February 2016, as part of a broader realignment of the Lufthansa Group. The new group organization is designed to provide a more functional alignment and thrust, along with flatter hierarchies.

Harry Hohmeister, who is already a member of the Lufthansa Group Executive Board, will take charge of the newly-created position of Hub Management thereon in January 2016. The position of Chief Operating Officer Rainer Hiltebrand is to be integrated into the CEO’s remit.

Hiltebrand will in future be responsible for developing the groupwide training of flying personnel.