Smartwings is strengthening its fleet as it approaches what is expected to be its strongest summer season. Boeing 737-800 aircraft are gradually returning from Canada (Sunwing Airlines). On Tuesday, May 14th, OK-TSU arrived, followed by OK-TVH on Wednesday, May 15th. On Saturday, the first two Canadian Boeing 737-800 aircraft that Smartwings plans to lease until mid-October (including flight crews), landed at the main base in Prague. These were C-GFEH from Sunwing Airlines (serial number 41608, year of manufacture 2015) and C-FJVE also from Sunwing Airlines (serial number 34596, year of manufacture 2006). Both arrived already in modified Smartwings livery.
The Smartwings Group fleet has now reached 48 aircraft, including leased planes: 3 Airbus A320s, 2 B737-700s, 31 B737-800s, 2 B737-900ERs, and 10 Boeing 737 MAX 8s. This count does not include Cessna aircraft from the sister airline UGJet.
Smartwings still has several aircraft on winter lease in Canada with Sunwing A...
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- 2024-05-20 06:18
- Changes in routes
Ryanair plans to remove Bordeaux Airport from its network. The decision comes after disagreements with the airport's management. This decision also affects the Prague-Bordeaux route, which will operate for the last time on October 25, 2024. Currently, the route runs twice a week (every Monday and Friday).
Ryanair holds a monopoly on this route. Starting from winter, Prague will lose its connection to Bordeaux.
Prepared By: Martin Bernict
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- 2024-05-20 06:18
- Changes in routes
Ryanair plánuje vyřadit ze své sítě letiště ve francouzském Bordeaux. Rozhodnutí přichází po neshodách s vedením tamního letiště. Rozhodnutí se týká také linky Praha – Bordeaux. Ta poletí naposled 25. října 2024. Momentálně je v provozu 2x týdně (každé pondělí a pátek).
Na trase má Ryanair monopol. Praha od zimy o spojení s městem přijde.
Připravil: Martin Bernict
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LOT Polish Airlines took delivery of its new Boeing 737 MAX 8 at the Boeing factory in Seattle on Tuesday, May 14th. The aircraft with registration SP-LVN headed to Warsaw with a stopover in Keflavik, Iceland. This is the twelfth 737 MAX in the Polish carrier's fleet. In recent years, their aircraft fleet has been bolstered by both a freshly manufactured MAX, which was not taken over by Romanian Blue Air, and five other Boeing 737 MAX aircraft that the Romanian carrier retired from service and returned to the lessor. The aircraft delivered this week is brand new and manufactured for the Polish carrier.
The delivery of new aircraft is part of an ambitious modernization program, under which LOT acquires approximately 110 new aircraft. More than eighty of them will be regional aircraft. Last week, through the leasing company Azorra, LOT acquired the first three units of the E195-E2. The first one will be delivered in July, and the remaining two by the end of October....
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Ryanair began preparing to launch its standalone charter branch in Poland in spring 2017. Ryanair Sun commenced operations in summer 2018 with five Boeing 737-800 aircraft. In autumn 2019, rebranding took place, and the carrier adopted the name Buzz. Today, its fleet consists of 73 aircraft: 1x B737-700, 59x B737-800, and 13x B737-8200. The latter, with a capacity for 197 passengers and based on the 737 MAX 8 type, saw Ryanair distancing them from the MAX name several years ago. Until recently, these aircraft were exclusively used on regular flights by the parent company. Charter flights were served only by Boeing 737NG aircraft.
This unwritten rule ceased to apply on Wednesday, May 15th. On that day, Buzz deployed its first delivered Boeing 737-8200, registered as SP-RZA (serial number 62314, manufactured in 2021), on the rotation of charter flights from Poznan to Antalya, Bydhost, Antalya and back to Poznan.
Buzz flies clients of travel agenc...
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On May 15, 2004, at 5:45 PM, an Airbus A330-200 registered HL7538 landed at Prague Airport from Seoul, marking the opening of regular connections between the capital cities of the Czech Republic and South Korea under the wings of Korean Air. The route celebrated its 20th year of operation this Wednesday. From 2013 to 2020, Czech Airlines also operated on the same route. During that time, they used an Airbus A330-300 leased from the Korean carrier. The pandemic permanently halted Czech Airlines' operations on the Prague – Seoul route, while Korean Air's operations were only temporarily suspended. Over 1.5 million passengers have utilized the route during its existence.
Currently, Korean Air operates Boeing 787-9 aircraft on the route. Dreamliners accommodate only 269 passengers in two travel classes, compared to the Boeing 777-300ERs that served the route in the previous flight schedule. Consequently, the number of available seats has decreased. This is a surprising change in aircraft...
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Another Boeing 737-800 for Smartwings arrived in Ostrava at 09:35 in the morning. The delivery flight from Bratislava took place on Wednesday morning. Its home base will be Mošnov Airport. Last summer, it was also leased to this Czech carrier, but its base was in Brno. The aircraft, registered as OM-GTF (manufacturing number 28070, manufactured in 1998), is operated by the Slovak carrier Go2Sky. The Smartwings group's fleet now comprises 46 aircraft, including leased ones: 3 Airbus A320s, 2 B737-700s, 29 B737-800s, 2 B737-900ERs, and 10 Boeing 737 MAX 8s. Cessna aircraft from the sister carrier UGJet are not included in this count.
Earlier this week, summer assistance from Africa arrived at the Brno base. Smartwings initiated collaboration with the South African carrier Lift, leasing an Airbus A320. The aircraft, registered as ZS-GAC (manufacturing number 2496, manufactured in 2005), arrived in Tuřan from Johannesburg on Tuesday, May 14. The delivery flight, TVS106...
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- 2024-05-13 06:46
- Changes in routes
The Airport Express (AE) bus line connecting Prague Airport and the Main Train Station will run twice as often. And now, it will also operate all night.
Starting from May 10th, the interval of the AE buses from the Main Train Station to the Airport will be shortened from 30 to 15 minutes. Additionally, the service will now operate continuously – with a 60-minute interval during the night.
Night services will also stop at Náměstí Republiky (in the direction of the airport for boarding only, and in the opposite direction for alighting only). The basic fare for a single ride is 100 CZK.
Prague Airport still lacks direct train connections. The only Czech airport from which passengers can depart by train is in Ostrava – Mošnov. Prague Airport anticipates welcoming the first train in 2030, operating from Masaryk Station as well as the main train station.
Prepared By: Martin Bernict
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Last summer, the Czech carrier Smartwings established a seasonal base in Porto, Portugal. From the coastal city, it operates charter flights primarily to Tunisia and the Cape Verde Islands. Czech aircraft also transport passengers to the Cape Verde Islands from Lisbon. EasyJet is also gearing up to expand into this market with its regular flights.
easyJet will be the first European low-cost carrier to start serving the Cape Verde Islands. Starting from the winter schedule of 2024/25, it will open the following routes: Lisbon – Sal, Porto – Sal.
easyJet's entry into the market could influence air ticket prices between the European mainland and the Cape Verde Islands.
Prepared By: Martin Bernict
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- 2024-05-08 08:05
- Changes in routes
According to novinky.cz, Uzbekistan Airways will connect Tashkent with Karlovy Vary starting Thursday, May 23rd. These will be charter flights operating until October. Due to the length of the runway in Karlovy Vary, the aircraft's capacity will only be partially filled. Uzbek carrier's charter flights last landed in Olšová Vrata in the summer of 2019.
This season, charter flights from Karlovy Vary International Airport will be heading to eight destinations. After the winter break, Smartwings charters return to Antalya, Heraklion, and Varna. New additions include charter flights to Greek Rhodes (Smartwings), Tunisian Monastir (Smartwings), Bulgarian Burgas (Smartwings and Fly Lili), and Tel Aviv in Israel (Corendon Airlines).
Prepared By: Martin Bernict
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