Israir has announced it has acquired two Airbus A330-200s, which are scheduled for delivery in the coming weeks. The airline plans to use its new widebody-aircraft on new long-haul flights. The first destination announced is New York (NY), with flights starting the latest in September 2026.
The two aircraft involved were previously operated by American Airlines and have been stored since February and March 2020. They will be registered 4X-BAK (1095) and 4X-BAL (1100). Both are currently being prepared at Marana-Pinal Air Park (AZ).
It's not the first time the airline used an Airbus A330. Between April and December 2008, it wet-leased an A330-200 from Eurofly. The two new A330-200s will join Israir's-fleet that is currently made-up of eight A320s.
Competitor Arkia has also began operating the A330, wet-leasing two A330-200s from HiFly since November 2025.
SAS is celebrating its 80th birthday with a special livery on its Airbus A330-300 LN-RKR (1660). The aircraft was repainted between 14 and 30 March 2026 at Shannon.
On 31 March 2026, the Airbus conducted its first commercial flight in the special dark blue livery. It flew from Copenhagen to New York-JFK, commemorating the importance of this route for the early international expansion of the airline in 1946.
SAS, which is getting majority owned by the AF-KLM Group, is currently operating a fleet that is consisting of seven ATR72-600s (operated by BRA), four A319s, three A320s, 80 A320neos, three A321neos, eight A330-300s, five A350-900s, one B737-700, thirteen CRJ900s (operated by CityJet), and fifteen ERJ195s.
Discover Airlines to retrofit A330 cabins by mid-2028
Discover Airlines (4Y, Frankfurt International) will retrofit the cabins of its long-haul A330-300s by mid-2028, unveiling an "ocean blue" interior, costing a "three-digit million euro sum", in what it calls the biggest investment in its five-year history. All sixteen A330s will begin receiving the new cabins from April 2027. After the refit, each aircraft will feature 288 seats: 227 in economy, 31 in premium economy, and 30 in business. There will be two front-row business class suites, a redesigned "hard-shell" premium economy seat, upgraded economy seating, touchscreens with Bluetooth, and free high-speed Starlink internet in all classes.
Delta Air Lines is continuing its widebody-fleet renewal plans and has placed a firm order with Airbus for 31 additional widebody-aircraft. Ten of the order are firming options but the deal also includes twenty new options. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2029.
Specifically, the airline is ordering sixteen A330-900s and fifteen A350-900s. Once delivered, Delta Air Lines will have a widebody Airbus-fleet of 55 A330-900s, 59 A350-900s, and 20 A350-1000s.
South African Airways' added leases delayed to 2026
South African Airways' network rebuilding strategy has been set back, as an A320-200 and two A330-200s originally scheduled for delivery in 2025 from various lessors are now expected only in 2026, after their current operators chose to retain the aircraft longer, according to CCO Tebogo Tsimane.
He told Aviation Week at the recent 57th annual general assembly of the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) in Luanda, Angola, that the setback has "put our plan behind. This capacity is important to improve our codeshares and our connectivity because we are a network carrier and we are building a connecting schedule around Johannesburg O.R. Tambo, and then secondarily around Cape Town International."
SAA is looking for additional leased A330s to enter service in the second half of 2026, Tsimane said.
Group CEO John Lamola recently told ch-aviation that two A330-300s from flynas (XY, Riyadh), which were awaiting cabin modifications at Istanbul Airport, are no longer being taken due to high modification costs. He said replacements had been identified but declined to elaborate.
Lamola confirmed to ch-aviation at the AFRAA event that SAA is poised to issue a request for proposals (RFP) for its long-term fleet requirements before the end of 2025. The news was broken by ch-aviation in an earlier interview with Lamola, where he disclosed that SAA plans to purchase 28 new-generation airframes plus accompanying engines to be delivered from 2032 as part of its long-term fleet plan.
The airline is looking to acquire up to 16 widebodies for long-haul routes to be delivered in tranches of five from 2032, plus 12 new-generation narrowbodies, also to be delivered from 2032, to replace the airline’s A320-200s, whose leases are expiring.
Codeshare partnerships
In the meantime, SAA is accelerating its partnership growth, having signed new codeshare agreements with TAAG Angola Airlines in Luanda on December 1. SAA will add its flight code to TAAG-operated flights from Johannesburg and Cape Town to Luanda Dr António Agostinho Neto and onward connections to Lisbon and São Paulo Guarulhos.
This was followed by a codeshare agreement between SAA and Turkish Airlines on December 4, signed alongside a Star Alliance Chief Executive Board meeting in Geneva. SAA will codeshare on Turkish-operated flights from Istanbul to Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban King Shaka, Frankfurt International, Paris CDG, and London Heathrow.
SAA currently operates an in-house fleet of 18 aircraft, including fourteen leased A320-200s, two leased A330-300s, and two company-owned A340-300s. In addition, it wet-leases one A330-300 from Hi Fly Malta for added capacity regionally to Accra and Abidjan and intercontinentally to Brazil; and two B737-800s from SunExpress to boost domestic capacity over the December peak summer holiday season in South Africa.
South Korea's Parata Air operates first commercial flight
Start-up carrier Parata Air (WE, Yangyang) commenced scheduled operations on September 30, with its first commercial flight operated with A330-200 HL8709 (msn 1016), from Seoul Gimpo to Yangyang.
The flight marked the resumption of commercial air services at Yangyang following the sudden closure of Fly Gangwon, the airline's precursor, in May 2023.
Initially, Parata Air will operate domestic flights from Jeju to Seoul Gimpo (6x weekly) and Yangyang (daily). At the start of the winter 2025/2026 schedule, the airline's A320-200, HL8742 (msn 3978), will enter into service to add more flights on its existing network.
Sanctioned Belavia Acquires A330s Smuggled By Fake Gambian Airline
Belarusian national carrier Belavia is expanding its fleet with Airbus A330s, despite sanctions. How did the airline do this? Well, it bought planes from a Jordanian-Syrian businessman, from an airline registered in Gambia, which purchased the planes in a Turkish bankruptcy sale several years ago… as one does.
Belavia expanding fleet with three Airbus A330s
To start, let me explain that Belavia is the national airline of Belarus, and Belarus is Russia’s closest alley. So just as Russia has been subject to sanctions, Belarus has been as well. Currently, Belavia has a fleet of roughly 15 aircraft, consisting primarily of Boeing 737s and Embraer E-jets.
Much like Russian carriers, Belavia has been struggling with its fleet in recent years, given that the airline hasn’t been able to access Airbus and Boeing aircraft or parts. For example, the carrier’s fleet has shrunk by roughly half, as some leasing companies have repossessed their aircraft, in line with sanctions. Belavia has been looking for creative ways to grow its fleet, and it looks like the airline has accomplished exactly that.
Belavia is currently in the process of taking delivery of three Airbus A330-200s. The three frames are an average of 23 years old, and they’ll have the registration codes EW-587PD, EW-588PD, and EW-589PD. The planes all originally flew for Emirates, back in the day.
Two of the planes are expected to start flying later in 2025, while the third is expected to start flying in 2026. The aircraft apparently aren’t in good condition, both in terms of maintenance and passenger experience, so we’ll see how that works out, given the lack of access to parts.
It remains to be seen what exactly Belavia will do with these aircraft. Presumably we’ll only see service to “friendly” countries, like China, Russia, etc. I’m not sure if the airline really needs the range of these A330s, or if it’s just about offering higher capacity aircraft.
Belavia is expanding with three Airbus A330s
Fake Gambian airline Magic Air helped Belavia
The concept of aircraft being smuggled to sanctioned countries is nothing new. Russia, Iran, Syria, etc., have a lot of experience with this. As you’d expect, no reputable leasing company would send planes to a sanctioned country, since it would impact their ability to do business elsewhere.
Unsurprisingly, the story here is quite interesting. Roughly five years ago, a Jordanian businessman of Syrian origin purchased three Airbus A330s from the bankruptcy estate of Onur Air, a Turkish airline that went out of business. He then started Magic Air, an “airline” based in Gambia.
In reality, it wasn’t much of an “airline” at all, and never operated any flights with passengers. There’s very little information about the company online. In August 2024, the Gambian Civil Aviation Authority disclosed that the aircraft were sold to a buyer from the United Arab Emirates, and were taken off the Gambian register.
Despite the claim that the planes were being sold to a buyer from the UAE, in reality the planes were flown to Minsk, Belarus (MSQ), where they’ve been since that time, and have been prepared for entry into service. This wasn’t the guy’s first time assisting airlines with acquiring planes despite sanctions. The same person helped Syria’s Cham Wings acquire aircraft in the past.
Bottom line
Belavia is expanding its fleet with wide body aircraft, as the airline is expected to soon start flying three Airbus A330-200s. These planes were acquired from Gambia’s Magic Air, a suspicious airline based in Gambia, run by a Jordanian businessman. The world of smuggling aircraft to avoid sanctions is hardly new, though the process sure is fascinating.
The Belarusian flag carrier tentatively plans to induct the aircraft into service during the Summer 2025 season.
C5-TAB (msn 525), C5-TAC (msn 509), and C5-TAD (msn 491) were ferried from their previous storage locations at Muscat and Cairo International to Minsk National on August 19, 2024. They reportedly arrived in a decrepit state, requiring extensive maintenance. Neither has been active since the ferry flight to Minsk.
The three aircraft are of 2002-2003 vintage and were first delivered to Emirates. Onur Air took them over in 2017-2018 and was the aircraft's last commercial operator. They were subsequently re-registered in the Cayman Islands as VP-CBE, VP-CBD, and VP-CBB, respectively.
In 2024, Magic Air ferried A320 C5-TAA (msn 2600) from Istanbul Atatürk via Minsk to Damascus. The aircraft subsequently entered the fleet of Cham Wings as YK-BAC and continues to serve with the Syrian airline.
Belavia did not respond to ch-aviation's request for comment.
If confirmed, the transaction would represent the single largest addition of new aircraft to either the Russian- or Belarusian-registered fleet since the imposition of Western sanctions on the countries in early 2022.
Korean Air (KE, Seoul Incheon) has signed a dry-lease agreement with CALC for one A330-200, returning to the type's operations less than half a year after it was retired. The widebody was delivered to Korean Air in March 2025, added to cover for the delayed deliveries of new aircraft.
Although the airline did not announce which aircraft would join its fleet, but ch-aviation research revealed that B-6135 (msn 1096) flew from Guangzhou and Busan on March 12. It has not been active since. The 15.1 year-old jet is powered by Pratt & Whitney PW4000 engines and is outfitted with 242 economy class seats and 18 in business class. It was last operated by China Southern Airlines, but the ferry flight to Korea was not under that airline's code. It will likely become HL8707 once registered in Korea.
The Korean-language news site The Guru reported, citing an unnamed Korean Air official, that the carrier had decided to dry-lease the aircraft amid delivery delays of factory-new jets. "Nothing has been specifically decided on routes or the timing of the deployment," he added.
ch-aviation asked Korean Air for comment on the new lease deal.
The carrier previously operated eight A330-200s but retired the last of the type in October 2024. It still operates twenty A330-300s, according to ch-aviation fleets data.
Korean Air's chief executive, Won-Tae Cho, said that the airline was "short by about 20 aircraft per manufacturer" which is why it is forced to prolong the service of its A380-800s and B747-8s. Korean is set to receive forty-one A321-200NX, four A350-900s, twenty-seven A350-1000s, nineteen B737-8s, nine B787-10s, and six B787-9s.
Saudi low-cost carrier flyadeal (F3, Jeddah International) will soon place an order for ten A330-900N aircraft, according to Reuters. As previously reported in ch-aviation, the airline had decided to place a widebody order but was undecided about the type. Aside from a single wet-leased A330-200, flyadeal has exclusively relied on Airbus narrowbodies to date.
flyadeal is expected to place the order within weeks, which will also include options for another ten A330s. If placed, the order represents another blow for Boeing, whose B787-9 type was under consideration but reportedly ultimately dropped.
In September 2024, Ibrahim Al Omar, director general of Saudia Group, which operates Saudia (SV, Jeddah International) and flyadeal, discussed expansion plans and said the group hoped to have 300 aircraft at its two carriers by 2032. Aside from the A330-200, wet leased from Jordan Aviation, flyadeal currently operates eleven A320-200s and twenty-five A320-200Ns. According to ch-aviation fleets data, it also has orders for eighteen A320-200N and thirty-nine A321-200N.
Meanwhile, local low-cost competitor flynas (XY, Riyadh) signed a memorandum of understanding with Airbus in July 2024 for fifteen A330neo and 75 incremental A320neo family aircraft. The MOU also included options for 15 more A330neo and 55 more A320neo aircraft.
Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 goals include increasing the number of airline passengers moving through the country to 300 million annually, including 100 million inbound tourists, and expanding connectivity to over 250 destinations from Saudi Arabia's 29 commercial airports.
The ch-aviation fleets module shows the airline currently operates seventeen A340-300s, seventeen A340-600s, and eight B747-400s. It owns all of these aircraft. It also operates nine A330-300s, and while it no longer operates any A330-200s, having retired all five as of 2006, its leisure-focused Discover Airlines (4Y, Frankfurt International) subsidiary operates three.
Lufthansa did not respond to ch-aviation's request for confirmation that the announced plan pertains to the Discover-operated A330-200s.
Lufthansa's quadjet fleet also comprises eight A380-800s (of which five are currently active) and nineteen B747-8s.
Lufthansa Group conceded in its quarterly earnings release that it was becoming "increasingly challenging" for its mainline to hope to break even in 2024. The holding posted a EUR212 million euro (USD229 million) operating loss for the first half of 2024, while Lufthansa itself recorded a EUR442 million (USD478 million) operating loss.
The holding blamed late aircraft deliveries as one of the causes of its current headaches. On a group level, it took 41 fewer B787-9s and B777-9s between 2019 and now than it had planned. It compensated for the delays by extending the service lives of twenty-three A340-300s and B747-400s. This only partially offset the delays, with 18 aircraft still missing, while at the same time there were rising fuel and operating costs. The changes also increase "irregularity costs" and lower crew productivity. As a result, Lufthansa Group estimates the cost of delayed widebody deliveries to be in triple-digit millions of euros.
Lufthansa has twenty-one B777-9s, seven B777-8Fs, and thirty-four B787-9s remaining on orders from Boeing.
The holding identified a host of other issues affecting its mainline carrier, such as "negative market development in the key Asia-Pacific traffic region, inefficiencies in its Lufthansa and Lufthansa CityLine flight operations", and "the disproportionately high increase in location cost in Germany and new collective labour agreements".
The newly launched turnaround programme, which aims to make Lufthansa "fit for the future" and "the Group's flagship again", will also tighten the focus on its premium product, more seasonal network, an increase in Lufthansa City Airlines and Discover operations, and other improvements. Lufthansa Group noted that its other carriers "remain on course in line with market developments". Nonetheless, Swiss was the only one to post an operating profit in the first half of the year. Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, and Eurowings all posted small operating losses not exceeding EUR100 million (USD108 million).
N873CA (msn 1348) was sold to National and registered in the United States on May 28, ch-aviation research has revealed. However, the airframe has not been moved out of storage from Châteauroux Déols Marcel Dassault, according to ADS-B data.
“As part of our recent fleet modernisation and expansion plan, we are delighted to welcome another Airbus 330 into our fleet this week,” said Christopher Alf, chairman of National Airlines, adding that bringing this widebody to the fleet is “an encouraging response” to the rise in customer charter requests.
The airframe, formerly D-AAAS, is an 11.76-year-old A330-300 formerly employed solely by Thai Airways International (TG, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi), according to the ch-aviation fleets module. This carrier operated it between October 2012 and April 2022, and Stratos acquired the aircraft off lease on behalf of an investor and undertook an MRO project on it before delivery to National Airlines.
On 9 February 2024, US-Bangla Airlines welcomed its very first widebody aircraft. As we previously reported in July 2023, the carrier from Bangladesh is set to expand with two Airbus A330-300s. The first one, currently registered 9H-POP (1445), was welcomed with a traditional water salute and will become S2-ALA soon. The second A330-300 will become S2-ALB (1527) and will be following soon.
US-Bangla Airlines will utilize the duo to expand with new destinations in the Middle-East. Being mentioned are Bahrain, Dammam, Dubai, Jeddah, Kuwait City, and Riyadh. Both A330s are equipped with an all economy lay-out of 436 seats.
On 19 December 2023, HiSky Europe welcomed its first Airbus A330. The airline announced in September 2023 that it planned to expand the fleet with the type, and now it has taken delivery of A330-243 YR-KID (1138). The Airbus was previously flying passengers for Sichuan Airlines and has been retired by that airline in March 2022.
Next to utilizing the A330 for charters, HiSky is planning to launch direct Bucharest-New York (NY) as of 7 June 2024. It will fly the route four times a week, making it the only Romanian airline to fly the route.
HiSky Europe also operates four A320s, and two A321neos. Subsidiary HiSky from Moldavia has a single A319.
"As Air New Zealand prepares some of its fleet to undergo maintenance next year due to global engine maintenance issues, which several airlines around the world are facing, the airline will be re-entering a temporary lease agreement with Wamos Air to help get customers to where they need to be," reads a statement issued by the airline this week. "Enlisting the help of Wamos Air will ensure that there’s extra flexibility in the operation due to the extra maintenance requirements and for any unexpected challenges or other disruptions beyond the airline’s control. This is a temporary, proactive measure to help protect our customers’ travel plans."
Under the current schedule, it takes almost 16 hours to work the 10,700-kilometre roundtrip flight to Perth, including two hours on the ground at that airport. Wamos had operated the A330-200 on the sector across the 12 months to October 28, 2023, when Air New Zealand redeployed one of its B787-9s back onto the route. That decision followed the induction of a B777-300ER from Air Lease Corporation on a three-year operating lease. However, the airline continues to experience a shortage of widebody capacity while it awaits the delivery of two more B787-9s and six B787-10s from Boeing (BOE, Washington National).
Exacerbating the capacity problem, Air New Zealand also expects several of its A320neo to temporarily cease operations over the coming months for engine removals and inspections following Pratt & Whitney's worldwide geared turbofan engine recall notice. Air New Zealand CEO Greg Foran has previously said the carrier would need to adjust schedules and potentially put some widebodies onto routes normally operated by A320neo Family aircraft. Foran said Air New Zealand is also looking to lease additional aircraft to provide certainty around
On 10 November 2023, ITA Airways received the keys to its first Airbus A321neo. The aircraft, A321-200NX EI-HXA (11561) was handed over at the Airbus-factory at Hamburg-Finkenwerder. It will soon be ferried to the airline's base at Rome-Fiumicino.
Originally, ITA Airways was planning to put it into service on the route to Tel Aviv but that route is currently suspended by the airline due to the war between Israel and Hamas.
ITA Airways will take delivery of at least nine leased A321-200NXs, which it will equip with twelve Business Class, twelve Premium Economy, and 141 Economy Class-seats. It's mainly planning to deploy the type across destinations in the Middle-East.
The Italian airline has been renewing its fleet with good speed. This year alone, ITA Airways will have taken delivery of 40 new aircraft. Next to the new A321neo, the fleet further consists of one A220-100, seven A220-300s, sixteen A319s, 25 A320s, thirteen A320neos, seven A330-200s, five A330-900s, and six A350-900s.
Due to safety concerns, MEA has announced it has decided to park part of its fleet in Istanbul. The aircraft were already not in use daily due to the summer season being over. The airline did also communicate it will continue to operate all of its scheduled flights as planned.
According to the airline's statement, MEA will park at lease four A321neos and one A330 in Istanbul. So far the following aircraft have now been put into temporary storage:
A321-271NX T7-ME3 (10000), arrived in Istanbul 15 October 2023
A321-271NX T7-ME4 (10068), arrived in Istanbul 13 October 2023
A321-271NX T7-ME5 (10147), arrived in Istanbul 15 October 2023
A330-243 OD-MEB (998), arrived in Istanbul 13 October 2023
MEA's active fleet now consists of nine Airbus A320s, six A321neos,
HiSky from Romania announced on 19 September 2023 that it will expand the fleet with its first widebody-aircraft. The airline has signed a lease-agreement with Air Lease Corporation for the lease of a first Airbus A330-200. The aircraft is expected for delivery later this year. It's currently unclear which airframe is involved and which route(s) it will serve.
HiSky was launched as a low-cost airline in 2021 and is flying regular and charter passenger flights. It has a fleet of four A320s, and two A321-200NXs. It also has a subsidiary in Moldova which operates a single A319.
