TJ  joined Metro in October 2015 and he has amassed 587 hours since then.  He resides is Green Bay, Wisconsin so you know he is tough.  The Q200 has always fascinated TJ so he has earned the most number of pireps in that machine.  He is also a special fan of the retro 737-200, having performed the difficult and multi-faceted Hub Crawl event in the 737-200.   During the February Hub Competition, TJ scored in the top four.

TJ is currently flying long hauls in the 777-300ER.

-Dave Nichols

BOSTON, MA – MetroAir and Fly UK are happy to announce an extension of the codeshare agreement between the two leading virtual airlines. The agreement comes with a full rework of the codeshare routes offered at each airline, including both a network extension to new destinations, as well as multiple added fleet types.

In addition to the Fly UK Boeing 737-800, Boeing 777-200LR, and Boeing 747-400 aircraft, MetroAir will now codeshare on Highland Connection flights operated by the Beechcraft B1900D, de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter.

Transatlantic flights on the Fly UK Boeing 777-200LR and Boeing 747-400 will be available from London-Heathrow to Baltimore, Dallas-Ft.Worth, New York-JFK, Chicago O’Hare, Washington-Dulles, New Delhi, Dubai, and Kuala Lumpur.

Shorthaul flights included in the codeshare operate from London-Heathrow to Aberdeen, Glasgow, Oslo, Copenhagen, Vienna, Cologne, and multiple other European cities.

The newest addition, Highland Connection, will include flights to Dundee, Islay, Kirkwall, Wick, Stornoway, Inverness, and Barra, all from the Fly UK’s Edinburgh hub.

In Boston, MetroAir continues to spread its’ wings by adding service to 6 new destinations throughout the Northeast, including Ithaca, Salisbury, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Allentown, Islip, and Madison, the first 5 of which are new stations in the MetroAir route network. Flights arriving and departing Boston were rescheduled in February to form a banked hub, allowing the airline to optimize passenger connectivity. To accomplish this, some cities lost frequencies and overall fleet utilization was decreased.

The most recent addition to MetroAir’s fleet, the Boeing 757-200, was assigned its first flights, operating to Las Vegas, Denver, and Cancun from Dallas-Ft. Worth. MetroAir’s 787 service from Kansas City to London-Heathrow will be discontinued in favor of service to Dallas-Ft. Worth.

Lastly, seasonal flights to Panama City Beach and South Padre Island will operate from various hubs,  running until April 30th.

MetroAir Virtual Airlines has agreed to help fund the renovations in Terminal E in exchange for exclusive use of 10 gates, as well as partial access to the remaining gates in Terminal E, excluding the Terminal E Satellite concourse, and facilities to build an airline club above the departures level. MetroAir currently utilizes 3 gates, E18, E20, and E21, in Terminal E.

“We’re excited to move forward with DFW Airport to turn Terminal E into a world class travel experience,” said Chief Media Officer Anders Young, “This is an incredible opportunity for our airline to take a hold of one of the largest and fastest growing metropolitan areas in the country. We believe Texas has significant potential, and extensive service already in the region does not detract from this potential.”

Last year, MetroAir experimented with significant added service to Austin, Texas, but recently cancelled flights to 9 markets from Texas’ capital city, citing fragmented market share and the inability to acquire enough gate space to operate all of their scheduled flights efficiently.

Chief Operating Officer William Hogarth did not allude to how much of the increase in DFW is being boosted by codeshare traffic and did not rule out MetroAir potentially operating a DFW-London flight on MetroAir metal.

Hub points will be tallied automatically and displayed on the Hub Page so everyone can see each hub’s progress. May the best hub win!

These aircraft will be configured in a high density 204-seat configuration and will used to help bolster domestic operations throughout the MetroAir route network.

MetroAir has also announced the beginning of nonstop service to Glasgow, Scotland, which will be served from Chicago four times weekly on a Boeing 757-200 aircraft.

MetroAir’s daily flight to New Delhi, India will now originate in Chicago instead of Boston, allowing the airline to add a nonstop flight from Boston to Shanghai, operated by a Boeing 787-8 or 777-300ER aircraft depending on day of the week.

Other noteworthy additions to the MetroAir route network are a daily flight to Munich, Germany and Medellin, Colombia, from Chicago and Fort Lauderdale, respectively.

Traditionally only accessible from Europe, MetroAir will be the first US airline to offer flights to Lapland, consisting of once weekly flights to Rovaniemi, Ivalo, and Kittilä from Boston-Logan International Airport. The flights will be operated by Boeing 757 aircraft.

The majority of the changes come in the form of seasonal flights which will bring skiers, snowboarders, and vacationers to the slopes of the Coloradan Rockies and Canadian winter resorts. Aspen, Eagle/Vail, Telluride, Montrose, Kelowna, and Kamloops will all see MetroAir service from various hubs resume throughout the winter season. New winter destinations include Castlegar, BC from Portland, OR, and Mont Tremblant, QB from Boston.

MetroAir has also decided to move two more transatlantic flights onto Airbus A319 equipment, utilizing their Boston hub as a strategic stopping point for passengers traveling to Europe. Flights from Boston to Leeds-Bradford and Belfast will be operated by the Airbus A319 beginning next month.

“Moving our hub operations to Boston has been instrumental in routing passengers efficiently across the Atlantic,” explained Chief Operating Officer William Hogarth, “Boston’s geographical location allows us to use aircraft with lower overall operating costs, which allows us to continue operating what we call long, thin routes at higher levels of profitability.”

Furthermore, the recent delivery of two new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft has allowed MetroAir to schedule a second daily flight between Los Angeles and Hong Kong, one of the airlines self-reported highest earning routes.

All schedule changes are listed below and are subject to change.

Jamie Mackay has flown a staggering 63 flights over the past 6 weeks, bringing his career total to 423 flights and 1,685 hours with MetroAir Virtual.

While the numbers speak for themselves, Jamie’s community involvement is what made him stand out. Jamie is regularly found chatting it up on TeamSpeak with other pilots and staff members, as well as offering quick help to fellow pilots in the forums.

Please join the MetroAir Virtual Staff in congratulating Jamie Mackay on his award!