Aer Arann, of the Republic of Ireland, has announced it intends to grow and become one of Europe’s top regional airlines.

It will extend its agreement to operate Aer Lingus Regional flights to 2022, following a growth in passenger numbers on the flights of 16% over the past two years.

For these flights, its aircraft wear Aer Lingus colours and operate links mainly from Dublin to the UK. Two new services will be added to the franchise, from Dublin to both Birmingham and Manchester. Frequencies will also increase on routes to Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Eight new ATR 72-600 aircraft are expected to be delivered between May and Summer 2014, replacing older ATR 72-200s operated by the airline.

Aer Arann has undergone significant restructuring since it got close to financial bankruptcy. It has closed a number of routes, and sees this expansion of services with Aer Lingus to signify a brighter future for the airline.

Interim CEO of Aer Arann, Steve Brogan, says: ”Our extended franchise agreement with Aer Lingus to 2022 gives us a firm foundation for growth, and the fleet renewal programme allows us to enhance the passenger offering further.”

Doha’s new Hamad International Airport will open its gates for the first time on 1 April.

Replacing the cramped and outdated Doha International Airport which suffers from limited space and a single runway, the new facility will gradually be expanded as more phases of construction are worked on.

When it opens in April, 12 international airlines will transfer to the new airport.

Qatar Airways will transfer its entire operation to the new Doha airport in the second half of 2013 once extra terminal facilities such as lounges have been completed.

Hamad International Airport has two parallel runways, and a central terminal with various concourses. It will eventually have a capacity for 50 million passengers per year.

It’s been a long time in discussion, but it looks like the next big US airline merger will be announced next week between American Airlines and US Airways.

US Airways itself was the subject of a ‘reverse takeover’ recently, when it merged with America West Airlines. More recently, Northwest and Delta merged, and United and Continental merged.

A merger between American and US Airways will likely see the American name and brand retained, with its Dallas/Ft Worth headquarters running the company. However, US Airways’ CEO Doug Parker (formerly CEO of America West) will likely run the new airline, which will be owned by AMR Corp.

The airlines have made no secret about holding discussions and sharing financial information in a bid to pave a way forward to create better revenues and save costs. American Airlines is currently reorganising under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection; this will likely play an important part in the negotiations.

It remains to be seen what will happen to the various hubs operated around the country by each airline, however Dallas/Ft. Worth will no doubt remain the principal hub.

Transaero Airlines has announced a further mutual partnership with Moscow Vnukovo Airport.

The airport recently opened its new Terminal A, which is one of the most modern and advanced terminals in Russia.

Transaero already operates to 11 destinations from Vnukovo, and will add 17 new routes from the airport this year, including Miami, New York, Frankfurt, London, and Tel Aviv.

A maintenance facility was opened by Transaero for its Boeing 747 and 777 aircraft at Vnukovo last year, and it plans a new transfer centre for its passengers to connect between flights.

Vnukovo claims to be one of the easiest of the city’s airports to get to due to its close proximity to the main ring road and railway system.

One for the photographers and old jet fans, the Congolese Government Boeing 707-138B, 9Q-CLK, is back in service following extensive work in Miami.

The aircraft is painted in a pseudo-Boeing Dreamliner colour scheme of blues and whites, with ’707′ titles on the tail.

Originally flown by QANTAS and delivered in 1959, this is one of the few original Boeing 707s still operating today (John Travolta’s aircraft is another example).

Democratic Republic of Congo’s President, Joseph Kabila, uses the aircraft a few times a year for long-haul visits. He also has a Boeing 727 for intra-African flights.

Malaysia Airlines yesterday rolled out its first aircraft painted in the oneworld livery.

The Airbus A330-300, seen here, was revealed at a ceremony at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, as Malaysia Airlines joined the alliance.

Other airlines in oneworld include airberlin, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Finnair, Iberia, Japan Airlines, LAN, Qantas, Royal Jordanian and S7 Airlines, and around 30 affiliates.  Malaysia Airlines will join on 1 February 2013 with SriLankan Airlines and Qatar Airways on track to join soon.

The aircraft will make its first commercial flight in its new look today, operating as flight MH129 from Kuala Lumpur to Melbourne, departing at 10.15 am. Another two aircraft in its fleet will be decorated in this alliance livery in the coming months.

The sad news has been announced that Chathams Pacific is to cancel its domestic services in Tonga from 3 March 2013 following the announcement that the Tonga Government are to create a new airline in direct competition.

In a press release on the Chathams website, its owner explains how there is not enough of a market to support two airlines, and so with regret he will close his operation’s domestic services.

Chathams Pacific was founded to help provide such services, and operates a fleet including the Douglas DC-3, Convair 580, Fairchild Metro, and Beech Queen Air. The airline gets a mention in our Last Chance to Fly book because it is amongst the last operators of passenger DC-3s and CV-580s anywhere in the world.

The new airline is being sponsored by the Chinese Government, who are providing crew training and MA-60 and Y-12 turboprop aircraft for the operation.

It is unclear whether international links to New Zealand will still be flown by Chathams.

Air France has announced a new brand that will cover its regional services, named HOP!

HOP will be based at Paris Orly and bring existing airlines Airlinair, Brit Air, and Regional under one identity.

530 daily flights will be operated by HOP! across 136 of Air France’s domestic and regional destinations, including two links to the UK (Aberdeen and Bristol), and some flights from Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport.

This announcement comes hot on the heels of Lufthansa’s recent adaptation of

Germanwings to cover its own regional flying with low cost pricing. HOP will have a similar fare structure, which will offer basic snacks and charge for bringing hold baggage.

Air France CEO Alexandre de Juniac said, “Our new regional airline will be a real asset to better serve all customer segments, in France and in Europe.”

HOP! will begin flying from the Summer 2013 timetable. You can visit its website at www.hop.fr

I’m always fascinated by reminders of the past, and by knowing the former purpose of a historic site. Over the years many airports have been superseded by newer sites and closed down, and naturally many are redeveloped and lost for good.

But it’s surprising how many little hints of these airports you can still see if you look hard enough. Here are five examples in Europe:

Croydon Airport
Formerly the main airport for London, UK. Croydon is a town to the south of the city, and in the early days of air travel it became a busy hub for some of the classic airlines and their early aircraft. But space became a problem, and pretty soon the new London Airport (what we know today as Heathrow) was opened. With other London airports also at Blackbushe, Gatwick and Northolt, Croydon closed in 1959.

Today, the original art deco terminal building and control tower survive in the middle of an urban landscape. Outside, a preserved DH Heron aircraft is a reminder of its former purpose.

Oslo Fornebu
Formerly the main gateway to Norway’s capital, Oslo. Fornebu was located much closer to the city than the current Gardemoen airport which replaced it in 1998. Fornebu was built on an area of land surrounded by water. It had two runways and a single terminal with three satellites. Due to constraints in expansion, it was decided to close Fornebu. Today the site has been redeveloped, but there are a couple of buildings remaining from the old airport.

Munich Riem
The main airport at Munich, Germany, was opened near the village of Riem in 1939. It had one main runway and a shorter runway for smaller aircraft; its single passenger terminal had been extended to cope with growth. Riem was also the location of the famous Munich Air Disaster in 1958 which claimed the lives of a number of Manchester United’s players when their Airspeed Ambassador crashed on takeoff.

In 1992, Riem was replaced by the much larger new Munich Airport, which has grown to become Germany’s second largest. The old airport was gradually transformed into a Convention City Riem development. Today, the control tower, original terminal building, and a small section of runway are all that remain.

Berlin Tempelhof
Another example in Germany, Tempelhof is the most recent airport in our list to have closed, with its final flights on 30 October 2008. It is also one of Europe’s most significant airports, with its unique Nazi-era design, and the part it played in the Berlin Airlift.

The airport still exists pretty much intact, with its huge terminal and hangars building which allowed aircraft to park under cover. The runways have been turned into public spaces which you’re able to walk along. There are also a few aircraft still present on the site, used in various memorials and training roles.

Nicosia
The capital of Cyprus had the island’s main international airport, handling flights from all over Europe and the Middle East, until its dramatic closure in July 1974. Following years of tension between Turkey and Greece, Turkish troops invaded the island and focussed on the airport as one of its targets, bombing it heavily. A number of aircraft were caught on the ground, including Cyprus Airways’ fleet of Tridents. One was destroyed, another later repaired and flown to the UK, and another is still on the ground today.

Nicosia is a fascinating ghost of an airport trapped in time. Today it sits in the UN exclusion zone which divides the island. Its runway, hangars and terminal building still standing – with slowly decaying interiors – as a testament to the past.

Work is to begin on a new airport to serve Istanbul which will grow to accommodate up to 150 million passengers per year.

Despite already being served by Ataturk and Sabiha Gokcen airport, the infrastructure at both is not capable of expanding meeting future demand, and so it has been decided to build the new facility on a former mine site on the Black Sea coast near the city.

The airport will initially open in 2017, capable of handling 90 million passengers.

By the time all phases are complete, it will have six runways, and be capable of handling 150 million passengers, putting it ahead of Atlanta Airport, which is currently the world’s largest in terms of passengers.

Istanbul is expecting huge demand in its airport services as national carrier Turkish Airlines expands at a great pace, turning the city into an east-west transfer point. The city is also due to host the Summer Olympics in 2020.