Airbus Updates No.3898

 

Condor Takes Delivery Of Its 2nd Airbus A330neo

Condor has welcomed its second Airbus A330neo following the arrival of its first earlier this month. The latest A330neo to arrive is part of a deal for six of the next-generation aircraft with lessor AerCap.

Another A330neo for Condor

The German carrier's second Airbus A330-900 (registration: D-ANRH) touched down in Frankfurt (FRA) on Thursday following an 85-minute flight from Toulouse. The brand-new Airbus A330neo, acquired on lease from Irish firm AerCap, departed Toulouse at 15:31 before arriving in Frankfurt at 16:56.

The aircraft has been painted in Condor's eye-catching new livery - unlike its first A33neo sporting its 'Island' green, D-ANRH has been decorated with the 'Beach' beige design. The new aircraft is scheduled to enter service in mid-January.

Peter Anderson, Chief Commercial Officer of AerCap, said,

"We are delighted to announce the delivery of the first of six new Airbus A330-900neo aircraft to Condor, and to see the aircraft painted in their distinctive new striped livery design. The A330neo aircraft is the perfect choice for Condor and will enable them to expand their network using the most modern, fuel-efficient technology while supporting their sustainability commitments. We wish the team every success and we look forward to continuing to build our partnership in the years to come."

More to arrive from next summer

Condor will induct five more A330neos as part of its leasing agreement with AerCap. The next plane is scheduled to arrive in the summer of 2023, with the final delivery taking place in 2024.

Björn Walther, Chief Financial Officer of Condor, said,

"With AerCap as our very experienced and supportive partner, we are looking forward to welcoming the next A330-900neo within the upcoming months. Thanks to the great cooperation we are able to take an important step towards a successful future."

 

In fact, Condor will eventually have 16 Airbus A330-900s in its fleet as the German launch customer of the type - the jet is powered by two Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines and offers around a 25% reduction in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions​​​​​​. As reported by Aviacionline, Condor plans to fly its A330neos to Male, Maldives (MLE), Varadero, Cuba (VRA) and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic (PUJ).

First A330neo flight was a success

Following the delayed arrival of its first A330neo on December 19th, Condor has now successfully operated its first commercial flight with the efficient aircraft. On December 27th, the airline flew its first A330neo (registration: D-ANRA) from Frankfurt to Mauritius, departing FRA at 16:26 and landing at Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam International Airport (MRU) at 06:13+1.

The airline made headlines earlier this month after its first A330neo collided with a building in Toulouse, delaying its delivery and entry into service. Fortunately, the plane completed a Customer Acceptance Flight a few days later and has now entered service.

Condor's A330neos can carry up to 310 passengers - 30 in business, 64 in premium economy, and 216 in economy. Simple Flying took a closer look inside Condor's A330neo interior, boasting lie-flat seats in business class, Bluetooth connectivity and high-speed internet access.

Airbus Updates No.3897

 

Airbus A321	-251N	8014		SX-	Sky Express	ferried 30dec22 MPL-MAN, N-reg after paint prior delivery	ex N814AG
Airbus A321	-271NX	10434		VN-A526	VietJet Air	delivery 30-31dec22 XFW-DXB-SGN	ex D-AVYC
Airbus A321	-271NX	10960		B-32CJ	Juneyao Airlines	delivery 28-29dec22 XFW-NQZ-PVG	ex D-AZAH
Airbus A321	-271NX	11062		B-32D9	Juneyao Airlines	delivery 30-31dec22 XFW-NQZ-PVG	ex D-AYAD
Airbus A321	-251NX	11100		TC-RDB	Pegasus Airlines	delivery 27dec22 XFW-SAW	ex D-AXXV
Airbus A321	-271NX	11122		N518DQ	Delta Air Lines	delivery 31dec22 XFW-BGR-MSP	ex D-AXXQ
Airbus A321	-271NX	11141		N515DE	Delta Air Lines	delivery 30dec22 XFW-BGR-MSP	ex D-AVZE
Airbus A321	-253NX	11153		N465AN	Amrican AIrlines	delivery 29dec22 BFM-SAT	ex F-WZMU
Airbus A321	-251NX	11190		B-32CU	Xiamen Airlines	delivery 31dex22-01jan23 XFW-TAS-XMN	ex D-AZWD
Airbus A330	-343	642		D-AIKF	Eurowings Discover	ferried 30dec22 DUB-FRA after paint prior transfer	ex F-WWKV
Airbus A330	-343	1453		M-DMMR	ASL Airlines	ferried 28dec22 DRS-DUB for paint into DHL cs	ex 9H-TAJ
Airbus A330	-941	2024		D-ANRH	Condor	delivery 29dec22 TLS-FRA	ex F-WWCQ
Airbus Canada A220	-300	55154		N218BZ	Breeze Airways	delivery 30dec22 BFM-TPA	ex C-GPOK
Airbus Canada A220	-300	55186		N3118J	jetBlue Airways	delivery 28dec22 BFM-VQQ	ex C-GPRL
Airbus Canada A220	-300	55195		N315DU	Delta Air Lines	delivery 30dec22 BFM-ATL	ex C-GPNO
Airbus Canada A320	-300	55191		YL-ABM	airBaltic	delivery 30ddc22 YMX-RIX	ex C-FOUY

Airbus Updates No.3896

 

Airbus A319	-112	3346		OE-IGY	DCAL Leasing	regd 27dec22, parked at CQM (+ 3586 OE-IGZ at CDT ex V5-ANK)	ex V5-ANL
Airbus A320	-232	2430		CS-	White	delivery 28dec22 CDT-LPBJ, EI-reg	ex EI-HJB
Airbus A320	-214	3374		HB-JOP	CH Air	OE-reg canx 29dec22 prior delivery ex EMA	ex OEILE
Airbus A320	-233	3418		5A-EMA	FlyOya	delivery28ec22 CAI-MJI	ex YR-ADB
Airbus A320	-214	4421		9H-AMX	Avion Express Malta	at CDT 28dec22 with Flynas titl and tail cs prior wet-lease	ex OE-LCW
Airbus A320	-251N	10570		HK-5378	Viva Air Colombia	ferried 27dec22 BOG-TUS on return to lessor	ex F-WWIZ
Airbus A320	-251N	11019		HK-5410	Avianca Colombia	posn 27dec22 MDE-BOG	ex VP-BGA
Airbus A320	-251N	11140		N965AV	Avianca Colombia	delivery 30dec22 TLS-YYR-MDE	ex F-WWIX
Airbus A320	-271N	11143		RP-C4134	Cebu Pacific Airlines	deliveey 31dec22-01jan23 XW-MCT-MNL	ex D-AVVO
Airbus A320	-271N	11181		VP-BTF	AZAL Azerbaijan Airlines	delivery 20ec22 TLS-GYD, all white (- 11265 VP-BTN x F-WWB)	ex F-WWIC
Airbus A320	-251N	11216		VT-IPN	IndiGo Airlines	delivery 29dec22 TLS-DEL	ex F-WWBK
Airbus A320	-251N	11224		VT-IPO	Indigo Airlines	delivery 28dec22 TLS-DEL	ex F-WWBO
Airbus A320	-251N	11254		SU-BUS	Air Cairo	delivery 31ddec22 TLS-CAI	ex F-WWIS
Airbus A320	-271N	11261		OE-IDK	Avolon Aerospace	delivery 28dec22 TLS-SNN, for paintm for ITA Airways	ex F-WWIK
Airbus A320	-271N	11293		PR-XBL	Latam Brasil	delivery 29-30dec22 TLS-FOR-CNF	ex F-WWDO
Airbus A320	-251N	11ß33		VT-TQO	Visatara	delivery 31dec22 XFW-DEL	ex D-AVVI
Airbus A320	-216	VBN-A5264070		9M-DAF	MyAirline	seen re-regd 27dec22 at KUL, still in inverted cs	ex 9M-RCE
Airbus A321	-231	1926		N1926B	AerCap	ferried 27-31dec22 GYR-BOS-PIK-TAS	ex B-MAQ
Airbus A321	-232	3322		SX-DGQ	Aegean Airlines	ferried 28dec22 OSR-ATH after paint into all white prior return to lessor	ex OE-ICM
Airbus A321	-231	5774		SU-TCM	Almasria Universal Airlines	delivery 27dec22 LFBF-CAI	ex D-AABF

credit : Skyliner Aviation News

Airbus Updates No.3895

Four ex Turkish Airlines Airbus A340s arrive in Iran

On 23 December 2022, a day the world was busy with Christmas preparations, four ex Turkish Airlines’ Airbus A340-300s, which had been stored at Johannesburg since spring 2019 were ferried to Tehran (Iran).

The four aircraft were withdrawn from use by Turkish Airlines in late 2018/early 2019. After a few months of storage at Istanbul, they were ferried to Johannesburg in March and April 2019 and all four were registered in the Guernsey (2-REG) register on behalf of a company based in Hong Kong, called AVRO Global Limited.

On the afternoon of 23 December all four aircraft left Johannesburg at almost the same time with Burkino Faso registrations XT-AKA, XT-AKB, XT-AKK and XT-ALM. Scramble Magazine does not know which XT-registration belongs to which MSN. If you have more information, please let us know at social@scramble.nl

The four aircraft involved are:

msn 115, 2-AVRA, ex TC-JDM
msn 180, 2-AVRB, ex TC-JDN
msn 270, 2-AVRC, ex TC-JIH
msn 331, 2-AVRD, ex TC-JII

In the original flightplan Uzbekistan was mentioned as the final destination, but once in Iranian airspace, the aircraft diverted to Tehran where they landed.

The flight numbers used for this flight used a MAN airline code. This code does not exist, but given the aircraft final destination, we assume this is a hint to its new owner ... Mahan Air. So despite the sanctions against Iran, it looks like some clandestine transaction took place and these four ex Turkish A340-300s will call Tehran home for the rest of their operational life.

Fo

Airbus Updates No.3894

 

Atlantic Airways retires last Airbus A319

Atlantic Airways Airbus A319-100© Airbus Industrie

27.12.2022 - 10:36 UTC

Atlantic Airways (RC, Vágar) retired its only A319-100 on December 10, 2022, thus completing its transition to an all-A320 fleet.

At just 10.8 years old, OY-RCG (msn 5079) operated its last revenue flight on the carrier's core route from Copenhagen Kastrup to Vágar. After short maintenance in the Faroese capital, it was ferried via Bangor to Greenwood, MS on December 15, 2022, Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows. The aircraft is owned by the airline and had been operated by Atlantic Airways since its delivery in 2012 when it became the airline's first narrowbody aircraft. Between July 2021 and June 2022, it was dry-leased to Spain's One Airways (OEW, Madrid Barajas) to operate under the Lattitude Hub (Tenerife Sur) brand, the ch-aviation fleets history module shows. While the dry lease was initially signed for four years, Lattitude Hub folded after just a week of operations in 2021.

Atlantic Airways transitioned fully from its legacy fleet of ARJ-85s and ARJ-100s to A319s by 2014. At that time, infrastructure at Vágar, the only airport in the Faroe Islands, could not accommodate larger aircraft types. Atlantic Airways operated up to three A319s at the same time. In 2016, following runway extension works, it added its first A320-200, which was joined by a first A320-200N in 2019 followed by a second in 2020. The ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows the Faroese carrier continues to operate one owned A320ceo and two A320neo leased from Air Lease Corporation. Atlantic Airways has a further two A320-200Ns on a direct order from Airbus and are currently expected to deliver in 2027-2028.

AIRBUS UPDATES NO.3893

 

Photo Credit: Jetstar

Santa delivers two A321neo’s to Jetstar for Christmas

• 
  

Christmas has seen the delivery of two new Airbus A321neo aircraft for Australian low-cost carrier Jetstar.

The two A321neos or specifically the A321-251NXs with the registration of VH-OFP and VH-OFQ landed at Perth on Christmas eve.

VH-OFP landed in Perth at 10:58 PM and VH-OFQ landed at 11:08 PM respectively according to Flightradar24, with both then continuing to Melbourne afterwards for final delivery.

Both aircraft came in from Bangalore (BLR), departing from Hamburg on the 23rd of December as flight numbers: JQ8996 and JQ8998.

The two airliners are the ‘LR’ version or the Long Range of the Airbus A320 NEO family, which carries an extra duel in three additional centre tanks, which enables the aircraft to fly up to 4,000 nautical miles with 206 passengers. 

Airbus Updates No.3892

 

Air China Takes Two More Airbus A350-900s

On December 22nd, Air China simultaneously took delivery of two Airbus A350-900s. The addition of the two widebodies brings the airline's total A350 count to 22. The airline has had a busy December thus far, accepting three A321neos in a single day at the start of the month.

New aircraft details

According to AIB Family Flights, the details of the two new A350s are as follows:

• Registration: B-32AS (MSN 570)
• Registration: B-32CA (MSN 572)

Data indicates that the aircraft now registered B-32AS was first spotted on June 3rd, 2022 fully painted in its Air China livery. As for B-32CA, this aircraft was first spotted on June 23rd, painted in its full colour scheme but without its engines installed.

When it comes to first flights, B-32AS had its first test flight on June 9th while B-32CA had its initial take-off on August 29th. In total, B-32AS logged 11 hours and 27 minutes of pre-delivery/test-flight time over nine separate flights, while B-32CA spent just nine hours and 46 minutes in the air over the course of four flights.

AIB Family Flights data indicates that the aircraft departed Airbus facilities at Toulouse (TLS) at approximately 10:30 UTC destined for Air China's main hub at Beijing Capital Airport (PEK).

22 A350-900s in the Air China fleet

Having first accepted the A350 into its fleet back in August 2018, Air China has had a fairly constant stream of deliveries from Airbus over the years. In 2018, the carrier took a total of five A350s, followed by another four in 2019. Despite the global health crisis in 2020, Air China still accepted two in December of that year. This was followed by four in 2021, and now six in 2022. Having ordered a total of 30 of the type, Air China is now expecting to take delivery of eight more A350-900s.

All Airbus A350-900 aircraft in the Air China fleet have an identical configuration of 32 seats in business class, 24 in premium economy, and 256 in economy.

Triple delivery of A321neos

While the most recent delivery for Air China consisted of this shiny new pair of A350 aircraft, the carrier also accepted three A321neos at the start of December. Again, AIB Family Flights data provides us with details of the brand-new aircraft:

• Registration: B-32CD (MSN 10888)
• Registration: B-32C9 (MSN 11042)
• Registration: B-32CC (MSN 10862)

Apparently, all three aircraft were delivered on December 1st. With all three having been assembled at Airbus' Hamburg Finkenwerder facilities, the first aircraft (B-32CC) departed at 09:53 UTC, while the second took off at 10:45. The third then took off at 11:03 UTC.

All three aircraft flew from Hamburg to Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport (NQZ) in Kazakhstan, presumably to refuel. These narrowbodies then flew to their final destination of Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport (CTU) - one of Air China's bases.

Airbus Updates No.3891

 

New German Airbus A340-operator: USC

AeroTelegraph is reporting that a new Airbus A340-operator is in the works in Germany called USC. The company, which was officially founded in November 2020 as Universal Sky Carrier, is planning to offer Aircraft, Crew, Maintenance, and Insurance (ACMI)-services with a fleet of two A340s. The new airline will operate out of Frankfurt and will offer passenger- and cargo-flights to customers.

According to the article on the German aviation news site, USC has acquired one Airbus A340-300, which will be registered D-AUSC (646), and one A340-600, which will become D-AUSZ (557). Both A340s are former South African Airways-aircraft and currently parked at Johannesburg.

Illustration by USC. 

Airbus Updates No.3890

 

Malaysia Airlines says goodbye to its A380s

On 19 December 2022, Malaysia Airlines officially said goodbye to the Airbus A380 by flying its last one from Kuala Lumpur to Tarbes-Lourdes for storage. The A380 in question was 9M-MNF (114), which had its titles and logos removed, expect for the "100th A380" stickers.

Malaysia Airlines has traded-in its Airbus A380s as part of a deal it signed with Airbus for new A330-900s. In total, the airline operated six A380s between 2012 and 2020:

• 9M-MNA (078), delivered on 29 May 2012, retired on 7 February 2020 and flown to Tarbes-Lourdes on 12 December 2022.
• 9M-MNB (081), delivered on 10 August 2012, retired on 7 March 2020 and flown to Tarbes-Lourdes on 28 November 2022.
• 9M-MNC (084), delivered on 26 October 2012, retired on 26 February 2020 and flown to Tarbes-Lourdes on 14 November 2022.
• 9M-MND (089), delivered on 31 October 2012, retired on 20 April 2020 and ferried to Tarbes-Lourdes on 21 November 2022.
• 9M-MNE (094), delivered on 7 February 2013, retired on 11 February 2020 and arrived at Tarbes-Lourdes on 5 December 2022.
• 9M-MNF (114), delivered on 13 March 2013, retired on 30 April 2020 and ferried to Tarbes-Lourdes on 19 December 2022.

With the departure of the A380, Malaysia Airlines' fleet now consists of nine A330-200s, fifteen A330-300s, six A350-900s, and 43 Boeing B737-800s.

Airbus Updates No.3889

Condor welcomes first Airbus A330-900

On 19 December 2022, Condor took delivery of its first Airbus A330-900. The aircraft is registered D-ANRA (1966) and arrived at the airline's base at Frankfurt late in the evening.

Airbus engineers worked really hard to deliver the aircraft on time as earlier, on 12 December 2022, the aircraft sustainted damage to its right wing when colliding with a building while being towed at Toulouse-Blagnac. As the damage was minimal, Condor was able to conduct the final acceptance flight on 16 December 2022, clearing the aircraft for delivery.

The A330-900 is the first of a total of eighteen Condor has on order. Its first commercial flight is scheduled to take place in the coming week and will bring it from Frankfurt to Mauritius. Later, the A330-900 will also be deployed to the Maldives and Punta Cana. The airline is using its new A330s to replace its ageing Boeing B767-300ERs.

Condor's current fleet consists of twelve A320-200s, eleven A321-200s, four A330-200s, two A330-300s, thirteen Boeing B757-300s, and nine B767-300ERs.

Airbus Updates No.3888

 

Turkish Air Force extricates A400Ms from Kyiv Boryspil

Airbus A400M© Airbus

23.12.2022 - 10:52 UTC

The Turkish Air Force/Türk Hava Kuvvetleri has successfully repatriated both of its A400Ms that were stuck at Kyiv Boryspil since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in late February 2022.

The Turkish Ministry of National Defence said the two military transports departed Kyiv on December 20 and arrived safely at Kayseri airport. It did not provide any further details as to how the ferry flights were arranged.

17-0080 (msn 80) and 18-0093 (msn 93) flew to the Ukrainian capital during the night of February 23/24, 2022. According to the Turkish Ministry of Defence, the aircraft were delivering humanitarian aid to Ukraine and were due to evacuate Turkish citizens on the return leg, given the risk of hostilities. However, once Russia's incursion unfurled in the early hours of February 24, Ukrainian airspace was closed to all flights, including government and non-combat-related military operations. The two Airbus Defence and Space turboprops were put in storage as Ankara attempted, without success, to negotiate their safe passage with the Kremlin.

The ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows that the Turkish Air Force operates ten A400Ms in total.

The A400Ms' evacuation mark's the third such instance that non-combat aircraft have managed to leave Ukraine since February 24, but the first from Kyiv. In early April, Windrose Airlines (7W, Kyiv Boryspil) ferried out one of its ATR72-600s, while in September, Wizz Air (W6, Budapest) managed to extricate one of its A320-200s. Both aircraft were evacuated from Lviv to Poland. Lviv is located in western Ukraine, considerably closer to Polish airspace.

According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, there are currently 52 aircraft stored at Kyiv Boryspil airport. While most of them have been grounded there since well before the invasion, 15 were active through February 2022 (including six aircraft operated by Ukraine International Airlines, three each by Windrose and Azur Air Ukraine, and one by each of SkyUp Airlines, AeroJet (Ukraine), and Ukraina Air Enterprise). A further five have been stranded since February at Kyiv Igor Sikorsky, including three A320s operated by Wizz Air and one B737-400 each operated by Jonika Airlines and Tarco Aviation.

Airbus Updates No.3887

 

Airbus A321	-271NX	11069		N512DE	Delta Air Lines	delivery 21dec22 XFW-BGR-MSP	ex D-AVXP
Airbus A321	-251NX	11086		N604FR	Frontier Airlines	delivery 24dec22 XFW-YQX-TPA “Maria the Bald Eagle”	ex D-AZAZ
Airbus A321	-251NX	11102		VH-OFP	Jetstar Airways	delivery 23-25dec22 XFW-BLR-PER-MEL (+ 11189 VH-OFQ D-AZVS)	ex D-AXXT
Airbus A321	-271NX	11126		N514DE	Delta Air Lines	delivery 23dec22 XFW-BGR-MSP	ex D-AXXP
Airbus A321	-271NX	11174		N526DE	Delta Air Lines	delivery 22dec22 BFM-MSP	ex F-WZMZ
Airbus A321	-253NX	11175		N466AN	American Airlines	delivery 21ec22 BFM-SAT	ex F-WZMA
Airbus A321	-271NX	11178		XA-VSY	Volaris	delivery 21dec22 XFW-KEF-YQX-MEX	ex D-AZAA
Airbus A32ß	-232	5365		PK-SJM	Super Air Jet	delivery 21dec22 VO95-HYD	ex VP-COU
Airbus A330	-343	1348		D-AAAS	Lufthansa Technik	ferried 21-22dec22 HKG-DMK-MCT-AMS	ex HS-TBE
Airbus A330	-343(F)	1453		M-DMMR	ASL Airlnes	air-test at DRS 20dec22 prior delivery	ex 9H-TAJ
Airbus A330	-941	2021		N420DX	Delta Air Lines	delivery 21dec22 TLS-NRT	ex F-WWYB
Airbus A3302	-243	293		EI-FSE	DAE Leasing	ferried 23dec22 PVG-TUS	ex A6-EKT
Airbus A340	-311	115		XT-AKA?	?	ferried 23dec22 JNB-THR (+ XT-AKB/-AKX/-ALM c/n 180/270/331 ex 2-AVRB/AVRC-/AVRD - all four assignments unclear)	ex 2-AVTA
Airbus A350	-941	355		HS-	Thai International	ferried 15/22dec22 LDE-BOD-SNN for interim storage prior paint, OE-reg	ex OE-IBV
Airbus A350	-941	556		EC-NXC	Iberia	delivery 22dc2 TLS-MAD	ex F-WZFG
Airbus A350	-941	568		B-32CQ	China Southern	onward delivery 23dec22 TSN-CAN after cabin completion	ex B-005R
Airbus A350	-941	570		B-32AS	Air China	delivery 22dec22 TLS-PEK (+ 572 B-32CA ex F-WZGX)	ex F-WZFC
Airbus A350	-941	573		B-32D0	China Eastern	onward delivery 22dec22 TSN-PVG after cabin completion	ex F-WZHE
Airbus A350	-941	574		B-32CE	Air China	delivery 24dec22 TLS-PEK	ex F-WZHG
Airbus A380	-841	88		B-6139	China Southern	ferried 21dec22 CAN-VCV-MHV, for part-out & scrap (+ 120 B-6140)	ex F-WWAR