The first A320 for start-up Canada Jetlines has rolled-out of the paintshop at Shannon. The aircraft, currently registered OE-IAV (4175) will be registered C-GCJL and is leased from Jackson Square Aviation.
Canada Jetlines will be a low-cost carrier based at Vancouver and plans to fly to destinations in the southern US, Mexico and the Caribbean. It plans to launch its flights at the start of the summer season of 2022 and hopes to operate a fleet of fifteen A320s by end 2025.
On Christmas Day 2021, Vietjet took delivery of its very first widebody aircraft. The Airbus in question is A330-300 VP-CJW (974), which was welcomed at Ho Chi Minh City by a delegation and got a water-salute by the airport fire brigade. The A330 is leased from ICBC and was previously in use with AirAsia X as 9M-XXB and will be registered VN-A811 in the coming days.
Vietjet will take delivery of at least three leased A330-300s and has announced it will first fly the type to Moscow as its new long-haul destination. The route is due to start in mid-2022.
Condor Postpones Airbus A330 Launch To February 2022
German airline Condor will delay its Airbus A330 launch due to engine cowling corrosion. The aircraft was all set to fly on Condor’s Frankfurt-Tenerife route on December 15th until a technical inspection discovered the problem. The launch date has now been set back to February 2022.
Condor was due to launch A330 operations in mid-December but has now been forced to postpone until February 2022. The decision was made after a routine C-check on one of its leased A330-200s (registration: D-AIYC) uncovered a corrosion problem.
While a Condor spokesperson declined to comment on where the corrosion was located, aeroTELEGRAPH reports that the corrosion was found on the engine cowling. The aircraft was set to enter service on December 15th to conduct Flight DE1478 from Frankfurt to Tenerife. Condor used an A321 instead to serve this route.
A C-check inspection is usually scheduled every 18-24 months and takes around three weeks to complete. The A330 in question arrived in Dusseldorf on October 30th, giving lessor Avolon six weeks to complete the inspection before its scheduled launch date.
A former Etihad A330-200
The affected aircraft is an A330-200 currently registered as OE-ISR, although under Condor it will be re-registered as D-AIYC. The plane is approaching 13 years old and served under Etihad Airways for over ten years before it was withdrawn from use in 2019.
The plane has since been in storage for two years before it was flown to Dusseldorf in October. Condor is leasing the aircraft from Irish leasing company Avolon along with three other A330-200s, two of which will come from lessor Altavair Air France. Etihad Airways previously operated all four planes.
A330neo plans disrupted?
As part of its fleet renewal, Condor placed an order for 16 A330-900neos in July. To prepare its crew for A330neo operations, the airline leased four A330-200s which it planned to use until its new A330neos arrive.
Now that the airline has to delay A330 training, Condor’s plans to introduce the A330neo could also be affected. The first A330neo is expected in Autumn 2022 and Condor expects all 16 jets to arrive by January 2024.
It is unclear whether this corrosion issue will affect the delivery of Condor’s other three A330-200s.
Earlier this month, Ralf Teckentrup, CEO of Condor, said,
“In January there will be a second, in April or May numbers three and four will follow.”
Data from ch-aviation shows that the three other A330-200s (D-AIYA, D-AIYB and D-AIYD) were all withdrawn from use in 2019 by Etihad and have been in storage ever since.
Etihad Airways (EY, Abu Dhabi Int'l) is contemplating an about-face on the future of its A380-800s, once considered permanently retired, as they may temporarily return to service in 2022, Chief Executive Tony Douglas told Business Insider.
"If the economics of it work, they're back in. The travelling public, our guests, loves them... For the last 18 months, [they were] out because the economics don't work. The market has only really come back in the past two months, it's probably too early to say," he said.
In early 2021, Douglas claimed it was "very likely" the A380s would never fly for Etihad again. Underlining that the airline was not "a charity", he pledged to focus on the B787s as the cornerstone of Etihad's fleet in the next years. However, the return in demand has apparently changed the airline's thinking.
Etihad Airways operates ten A380-800s, which are 6.4 years old on average. The ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows that six are parked in Teruel and four at Lourdes/Tarbes airport. All are owned by Etihad Airways.
The UAE flag carrier is the most reluctant to reactivate the type among its regional peers. Emirates (EK, Dubai Int'l), the most prolific A380 operator, has never entirely taken the type out of service - it currently deploys 121 A380-800s, having taken the last unit of the type to be produced, A6-EVS (msn 272), on December 16, 2021. Roughly half of the airline's A380 fleet is currently active. In turn, Qatar Airways (QR, Doha Hamad Int'l), which also operates ten A380s, reactivated the type in late 2021, despite previously claiming it would not do so. The A380s are partially covering for 21 grounded A350s.
The very first aircraft for Alitalia's successor ITA Airways has emerged from the paintshop. The aircraft in question is Airbus A320 EI-DTE (3885), which was painted at Ostrava and is due to return to Italy on 23 December.
New SAS Airbus A321LR Completes First Long Range Flight
SAS’ brand-new A321LR will complete its first-ever long-haul flight today, flying from Copenhagen to Washington. The journey comes ahead of the type’s rollout on US routes in March 2022. Here’s a look at the new aircraft.
Scandanavian Airlines plans to fly the A321LR to three destinations on the US east coast next spring. Photo: SAS
Across the pond
Later today, SAS’ A321LR will make its first long-haul journey to the United States. The aircraft is scheduled to fly from Copenhagen to Washington Dulles later today, a test flight for an eventual rollout next March. On Monday, the plane made a rotation between Oslo and Copenhagen as well.
The A321LR, a derivative of the A321neo, brings a host of benefits to carriers like SAS. In addition to the extra range, the plane offers 15-18% lesser carbon emissions and will allow the carrier to fill the cabin. The LR will take over from the A330-300 on several routes, bringing huge efficiency gains.
In a statement about the addition of the A321LR to the fleet, SAS EVP and CCO Karl Sandlund said,
“This is an entirely new aircraft type for SAS, which is incredibly well suited to the Scandinavian market and emerging travel patterns to and from the region. It gives SAS an opportunity to offer travelers more intercontinental routes, fewer stopovers, and shorter travel times to and from Scandinavia.”
Interesting
For those curious to know what the inside of the A321LR looks like, you won’t be disappointed. SAS has gone for a true three-class layout on the narrowbody jet, featuring business, premium economy, and economy class over 157 seats.
Economy comes in a standard 3-3 layout with 123 seats, featuring a large IFE screen and USB power outlets. While no details on pitch and width are available, expect to see just a little bit more than your standard A321s.
The most exciting part of SAS’ A321LR is the addition of a real premium economy class cabin. 12 seats are laid out in a 2-2 configuration, featuring a wide, recliner-style seat. This is similar to products seen in widebody aircraft flown by Virgin Atlantic or domestic first class in the US.
Economy class comes in a standard 3-3 layout with most widebody aircraft amenities. Photo: SAS
Lastly, SAS has added a lie-flat business class cabin with 22 seats. This cabin alternates between a 1-1 and 2-2 layout for seats, a layout which is quickly becoming a norm for A321LRs in Europe. The cabin offers SAS’ darker color palate and looks stunning in available photos.
Where is it going?
SAS plans to deploy the A321LR to three destinations in the US starting on 27th March 2022. These are Copenhagen to Washington, Boston, and New York. With flight times of 8+ hours, the aircraft has been optimized to be as comfortable as the A330, a staple on these routes, with Sandlund saying,
“The new aircraft [A321LR] is equipped with a service concept at par with the rest of SAS’ long-haul fleet, offering passengers all the benefits, level of comfort, and choices of our traveling classes.”
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