Canadian Xpress March 2014 Challenge – Diamonds Are Forever
The Canadian North produces some of the finest diamonds in the world. Working underground and in the Canadian North can be very problematic for personal and equipment. The diamond mines of the North are only accessible by ice road during the winter months. During this short 10 week period, hundreds of trucks pull thousands of tons of equipment out to these remote locations. However it’s still a year round operation, so in the months when there is no ice road, the only way to get in to these mines is by air. The ice roads are gone but there is still a lot of small equipment that needs to be moved.
This month, your job is to load up the DeHavilland Dash 7-Q101F or the Hawker Siddeley HS.748 which are available to all pilots regardless of rank but only for the challenge in Yellowknife (CYZF) and fly a Continue reading
Canadian Xpress February Fly-In – Farewell Sochi
The 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi Russia are into its final days and final preparations for the closing ceremonies are being completed, getting ready to close off another historical event in Olympic history. The flags and well wishes are ready to be passed on to the next host city Pyeongchang South Korea, host of the 2018 winter games.
Canadian Xpress® would like to invite all pilots & virtual airlines to join on Saturday, February 22nd at 21h00est (Sunday 02h00z) for our February 2014 fly-in and the final day of the winter games, as we move our fleet from Istanbul (LTBA) to Sochi (URSS).
This is an open invitation to all pilots no matter what your flying experience to Continue reading
MetroAir Virtual Adds Charter Flights to Sochi for the 2014 Winter Olympics
KANSAS CITY, MO – MetroAir Virtual has announced today the addition of a daily charter flight to Sochi, Russia in coincidence with the 2014 Winter Olympic Games. MetroAir will operate an Airbus A330-200 aircraft to Sochi from their eastern hub in Baltimore. These flights will serve as the only direct connection from the United States to Sochi during the Winter Olympics and will provide over 12,000 total available seats.
Sochi International Airport is located 14 miles outside of Sochi (pronounced SO-chee) and is bordered on two sides by mountainous terrain. Approaches into Sochi can only be made from the west, over the Black Sea, and care must be taken in the event of a go around. Similar to Aspen Airport in Colorado, Sochi is a “one way in, one way out” airport, meaning aircraft will be taking off and landing in opposite directions due to the surrounding terrain.
| Flt. Number | Origin | Destination | ETE | Distance (NM) | Departure (Local) | Arrival (Local) |
| 8214 | KBWI | URSS | 660 | 4785 | 1555 | 1145 |
| 8215 | URSS | KBWI | 690 | 4785 | 1240 | 1500 |
Visit MetroAir Virtual online @: http://metroairvirtual.com
Platinum Airways Visits Winter Olympics of Past and Present
Platinum Airways, the very virtual Open Skies airline, has embarked on a visit to past and present Winter Olympics venues. In February, Destination of the Week visits the Winter Games of Lake Placid (1932 and 1980), Nagano (1996), Turin (2006) and Sochi (2014).
As the Opening Ceremony at 2014 Winter Olympics at Sochi is about to draw millions of TV viewers, Platinum Airways is paying tribute to four Winter Games venues. The first venue, Lake Placid, hosted two Winter Olympics: 1932 and 1996. It is served by Adirondack Regional Airport (KSLK). The second Winter Olympics destination takes us to Nagano, Japan and to Shinshu-Matsumoto Airport (RJAF) at a 50 minutes train ride from the venue. From Japan, we travel to Turin, Italy, where the 2006 Winter Games were held. Turin-Caselle Airport (LIMF) is, therefore, the third Winter Olympics DOTW. And we end Winter Olympics just in time for the Closing Ceremony at the 2014 Sochi Games with Sochi International Airport (URSS).
Winter Olympics will present an overview of the Games and their locations. In addition, DOTW offers charts to be downloaded and links to scenery files. A selection of YouTube videos usually contains flight deck and ground views with landings and departures.
About Platinum Airways:
Keen to deliver on its mission to Continue reading
Virtual OneWorld Re-launches
It’s here at last. Something we’ve all waited for a long time, the very thing that is taking us to higher heights. An alliance is reborn. vOne World, after months of hard work as relaunched and hit the skies, with a better, cleaner, and newer look. One that will differentiate us from all the other alliances, and truly make us the #1 alliance. Unique in every way, holding some of the biggest names in the virtual aviation world, and with one of the most active pilot bases vOne World is about to show the world why we’re not just another alliance but the premiere virtual airline alliance of virtual aviation.
Members of Virtual OneWorld Include
Cathay Pacific Virtual: http://www.cathaypacificva.com/
Japan Airlines Virtual: http://jalvirtual.org
Malaysia Virtual Airlines: http://malaysiava.org/
Qantas Virtual: http://qantasvirtual.com/
Skyjet Virtual Airlines (LAN): http://www.skyjetvirtual.com/
Virtual OneWorld | An alliance reborn
freshJet Announces S14 Expansion Plans
New Routes Announced
May 2014 will see the launch of services to five new destinations in Europe and North America. Flights to Ibiza, Lanzarote, Dalaman, Las Vegas and Cancun are expected to be launched later this year from Glasgow and Manchester.
London/Gatwick Hub Announced
Last year, freshJet asked the public to decide where their new UK base should be located, to which the majority responded London/Gatwick. It has since been decided that freshJet will establish a new base there in May 2014. Initially, 2 Airbus A320s will be based at Gatwick, and will operate to Glasgow, Belfast, Manchester, Amsterdam, Alicante, Palma, Malaga and Tenerife South. Long-haul operations are expected to begin in July, using Airbus A330-300 aircraft to Orlando.
Belfast International Hub to Close
Despite its initial success, our Belfast base has declined rapidly in recent years and has since become our smallest hub, with only one aircraft based there. freshJet management have concluded that the Belfast hub will be officially closed in May 2014. Belfast will however continue to be served from other UK bases on domestic services, which remain popular at Belfast.
Additional Airbus A320 Order
Last month we placed an order for an additional 3 Airbus A320 aircraft, bringing the total A320 family fleet size to 11. The aircraft will be deployed alongside the existing fleet on routes from the UK to a variety of destinations.
In addition, we expect to take delivery of our second A330 prior to the S14 season.
Canadian Xpress February 2014 Challenge – Olympic Spirit Part II
With the start of the New Year, it also brings the hype of the final countdown to the 22nd Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.
To celebrate and support the athletes that will be heading to Sochi in the next few weeks, Canadian Xpress® will be visiting North American Winter Olympic sites. The event will be a 2 part Challenge.
In January, Part 1, started in Lake Placid NY home of the 3rd (1928) and 13th (1980) winter games. From there we visited Calgary and Banff host of the 15th (1988).
This month, Part 2 of the event will take us from Banff, to Salt Lake City host of the 19th (2002) winter games, before heading for Vancouver / Whistler home of the Continue reading
