Airbus Updates No.3838

 

Trade Air Leases An Airbus A320 From Goshawk

Trade Air, the Croatian charter and cargo airline that also operates scheduled passenger routes under a PSO contract, has taken delivery of its seventh aircraft. The aircraft is an Airbus A320-200, and it is on lease from Goshawk, the Dublin-based aircraft lessor.

Goshawk delivers to Trade Air

Last week, on 30th March, Irish aircraft lessor Goshawk delivered an Airbus A320 aircraft to Croatian airline Trade Air. This is the fourth A320 for Trade Air but only the first one it has leased from Goshawk. The Irish lessor has called the delivery a “significant milestone” for its business.

Previously, this A320 was flying for flynas, the Saudi Arabian low-cost carrier. Its last flight with flynas was in August 2021, when it flew above the Persian Gulf for two hours from Sharjah International Airport (SHJ) and back. Flynas returned the A320 to Goshawk in October 2021.

Stephen Murphy, Head of Airline Marketing at Goshawk, commented on the launch of the lessor’s business partnership with Trade Air by saying:

“We are delighted to begin our relationship with Trade Air by delivering our first A320-200 aircraft. This placement demonstrates our continuing confidence in the aviation industry as it emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic and adapts to the rapidly evolving geopolitical situation.”

Who is Trade Air?

Trade Air is a privately-owned airline that has steadily developed its presence in the European mid-size charter market. The airline was founded in April 1994, and it is headquartered in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia.

In 1995, the airline started flying cargo flights. By 2000, it had a fleet of three L-410 Turbolet aircraft, all in ownership, to operate cargo flights.

In 2004, Trade Air expanded its fleet with two Fokker F100 aircraft. The airline used these F100s to launch its first passenger operations in 2005. This was done under a charter contract. This was the beginning of a new era for Trade Air: the airline’s business focus has since 2005 shifted completely to passenger operations.

The business has grown particularly rapidly in the last ten years. In 2011, Trade Air acquired a third Fokker F100 aircraft. It then added three A320s to its fleet: the first in 2016, the second in 2019, and the third in August 2020.

One Fokker F100 is still flying for the company. The other two were scrapped. Simple Flying visited the site of one of the scrapped Trade Air Fokker F100s last year. The aircraft is now located in a village in rural Croatia, where it has been turned into an entertainment venue.

The airline also has one Airbus A319, and one Let 410 Turbolet aircraft in its fleet. The L410 is used exclusively for PSO flights on domestic routes in Croatia, and Trade Air is wet-leasing it for this purpose.

Who is Goshawk?

Goshawk is an Irish aircraft lessor founded in November 2013 and headquartered in Dublin with offices in Hong Kong and the US. The company has a fleet of 222 Airbus, Boeing, and Embraer aircraft.

Goshawk currently has aircraft on lease to 61 airlines in 35 countries. Trade Air joined both of these lists last week.