MetroAir Virtual Airlines News

Looking back at 2022, boy what a year it has been at Metro. We have seen such a transformation that will set us up for a bright future. I am excited to be part of that process.

We have welcomed a couple new things at Metro that have really allowed us to grab the next generation of flight simmers and those looking for variety. We have welcomed Logistics, something that has been in the back of my mind for many years. It is not a realistic venture for a US based airline, however we wanted to expand to allow more great payware aircraft and airports to be supported. We did this with the help of Jamie Milton who planned and painted some of the aircraft. This has potential to do many things in the logistics sim world.

Newaira was introduced to get Metro in the European market. This was put together by just a few staff members, with Steve Miller & Chris Geo heading it up. I asked for something different and these guys ran with it, creating history at Metro. This expanded quick, both in aircraft and routes, most importantly pilots. It became the second most popular subsidiary at Metro.

This year Flyuk and Metro decided to end our partnership that has been great for all involved. We have been able to expand our pilot base from Flyuk members who decided to join Metro, it allowed our pilots to fly to destinations Metro did not serve and gave Flyuk members US routes to fly.

While all good things must come to an end, great opportunities can come out of them. While Metro had no real plan to expand in the UK market, I was sitting there one night, thinking how can we leverage our Newaira operation and close the gap. I came up with an airline idea that speaks to what Metro does. The livery idea encompasses Makai, Newaira and Metro. The name Prism, shows we do not only go in one direction but can bend to what the market demands. I sent the idea over to our staff and they again, impress me with how they can jump on a project, see it through and execute it flawlessly. Louis & Marek really gave great insight to how we could do this.

This is a nice segue to speak about the staff here at Metro. I want to thank everyone of them for their dedication, time, ingenuity and teamwork. I am blessed to be surrounded by such a flexible and smart group of people, not scared to try something new. Without Brandon, Steve, Chris, Louis, Jamie & Marek, we would not be where we are. And while William is still on leave, he keeps an eye on us and makes sure we are keeping on the right track. William and I have been working together at Metro for over a decade and have had the privilege to see Metro grow to where it is today.

Our pilots. Without you all, this would be a website. You all make it not only a virtual airline, but a community that collaborates & helps each other. Sitting here watching that reminds me why I do this. Thank you all for making this what it has become, the pilots are the driving force behind Metro and the virtual airline community.

Please take this time of the year and spend it with your friends & family. Enjoy the small things that bring us all joy. Thank you all for the amazing year Metro has had, thanks for being a part of our history and our future. Lets welcome 2023 with an open mind and see where the road takes MetroAir!

Kansas City KS – Metro Air Virtual announced today the opening of a new European branch of their airline, named “Prism.” We had reported earlier that spotters had noticed unusual traffic from Hamburg and Shannon. This confirms what was already suspected by industry insiders.

Metro Air Virtual Operations Analyst Marek Michalak stated, “Newaira grew quickly and built up a sizable customer base. We bought upstart EuroStar airlines that had been based in Manchester England and already had landing slots to expand our European network. We made an offer they couldn’t refuse and it was a win for us with the slots already available.”

Industry analysts have noted over the last few months since the FlyUK and Metro codeshare partnership ending, there was not much of a foothold for Metro in Europe other than in the Baltics where they have been running Newaira.

Chris Giordano, Chief Personnel Officer stated “ Post Covid recovery in Europe opens potential opportunities to enter a market Metro Air Group was not active in until now. We saw an opportunity with Newaira and we were proven correct in thinking that there was a huge opportunity in the Baltic region, and we jumped in when we saw the chance.”

“Newaria represented a new era for Metro when we began operations. It was a tongue in cheek name, but we liked it and our customers certainly seemed to,” said Steve Miller Metro’s Public Relations Director. “We want to be clear, that we will have a big presence in the Baltics still, but we are expanding into Western Europe especially England and Germany.”

Sean Mullineaux, Chief Technology Officer said, “When you look at the livery of Prism, what you will see is a blending of Metro, with a nod to the traditional Metro swoops along with the colors of Newaira and Makai. While we will not operate under the name Newaira any longer, we will have very fond memories of that brand. It was very exciting breaking into that market and Newaira performed better than even we had predicted.”

So there it is. No more speculation on what one of the major airlines is up to. Prism is scheduled to launch on 1 December 2022 with both passenger and cargo service using the Boeing 737 700 and 800.

The long-running Codeshare agreement between Fly UK and Metroair will end on November 31st 2022. Statements from both CEO’s on the decision are as follows Matt Lewis – Fly UK “I’d like to thank William, his team and the MetroAir members for all his hard work during the time I’ve been CEO of Fly UK, Both communities and VA’s have benefited greatly from the collaboration. Personally, this culminated with our joint cross the pond event we held together during the height of Covid and lockdown, an event that many joined and enabled us to share our joint passion for virtual aviation as well as bring two communities together for some laughter and discussion at a much needed time in the world. Its been a pleasure working with MetroAir and I wish them all the success in this new era of flight simulation” William Hogarth – MetroAir “It has been an honour to be affiliated with Fly UK and I believe we did set a precedent as being the first two well-established airlines to strike up a partnership in the virtual world. I do wish you all well and hope that the airlines can stay friends as we end our codeshare agreement. ” Both MetroAir and Fly UK can confirm that anyone with memberships at both VAs will not be affected by this move subject to standard policies and activity with each airline’s requirements. MetroAir members who enjoy their European adventures fear not, NewAira services continue in the Balkans area and we’ll have more news in the near future.

At Metro Air Virtual our goal is to keep our hobby interesting and fun. With the release of MSFS 2020, areas that did not have good scenery with past simulators have now become much better graphically. When meeting on the idea of new routes, we thought this would be a good region to offer flights too because we have not seen many other virtual airlines flying in this area. With this in mind, we at Metro Air would like to announce a new subsidiary airline, NewAira! NewAira will feature the Boeing 737-700, Airbus A320 and the CRJ 1000. These aircraft are available as payware with MSFS, but don’t worry, we also have added paint for XPlane and P3D too. NewAira will focus on the Baltic area of Europe with Riga (EVRA) being the hub. There is lots of freeware available, and of course payware, so take a look at the routes and get ready for NewAira which will be live July 20th.

Kansas City KS – Metro Air CEO William Hogarth announced exciting changes coming to the airline’s Makai Express branch.

In an effort to modernize and add comfort and capacity to Metro’s Makai Express routes, they will be replacing the two aircraft types currently in use. The venerable Boeing 757 will be replaced by the Boeing 737-900 ER and the De Havilland Dash 8 will be replaced by the CRJ 700.

 “We saw an opportunity to add passenger comfort with the 737-9 and we also saw a demand to increase passenger capacity on our inter-island fleet. By replacing the De Havilland Dash 8 with the Bombardier CRJ 700 we will be able to meet the market demand. In addition to passenger capacity and comfort we wanted to keep costs down and replacing these aircraft with a more modern fleet made financial sense. We know that passengers will enjoy the new, modern aircraft for their trip to Hawaii, after all, the flight is often the first step whilst on holiday” Hogarth said. “Not only that, but expect an exciting new livery to the Makai fleet”.

When asked if fans of the 757 and Q400 will be able to fly on them with Metro, Hogarth said “no need to worry, those aircraft will be back in our mainline fleet soon”.

Boston, MA- This summer, Metro Air is launching a new subsidiary, MetroAir Shuttle. MetroAir Shuttle will focus on the business commuter, hitting hot spots around the US. Featured destinations include Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Toronto.

The fleet will consist of 10 Boeing 737-600’s acquired from the former BlueSquare Airlines. The planes are currently re-fitted with all new seat-back entertainment, larger overhead bins for carry-on bags, and the industry’s fastest available in-flight WiFi to keep business travelers in the loop for the duration of their flight. The planes will have a total of 8 MetroAir Prime seats available, along with 100 Economy seats.

MetroAir Shuttle will have a total of 17 flights out of Boston Logan International (BOS), with destinations including; Chicago (ORD), New Yorks’ JFK, Toronto, Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Washington DCs’ DCA. While at MetoAir’s west coast hub, the Shuttle brand will have an additional 15 flights out of Los Angeles International (LAX), serving Las Vegas, Santa Barbra, San Francisco, San Diego, Phoenix, San Jose, Fresno, and Bakersfield. Plans are in the works to serve the state of Texas as well, with flights out of Dallas (DFW) to Houston, Austin, San Antonio and New Orleans.

MetroAir’s Sean Mullineaux had this to say. “By flying bigger jets with a signature interior that includes more premium seating, Metroair will give customers more choice when selecting their onboard experience and better meet the demand among business customers. The Embraer 170 didn’t have the space for the desired outcome”. William Hogarth added, “With MetroAir Shuttle, we are now able to increase the total number of available seats by almost 39% to our most popular and profitable destinations. While increasing passenger comfort and business accessibility.

Reposition flights will begin on August 1st, 2021, out of Phoenix where the aircraft have been stored. Scheduled service will begin August 14th.