At the Airbus-plant at Mirabel near Montréal, Canada, the first Airbus A220 for Cyprus Airways has emerged. The aircraft is currently registered C-FOWY (55203) and will become 5B-DEA. A second one, which will be 5B-DEB, is also in final stages for delivery. That one is now registered as C-FPBZ (55208). Both A220-300s were originally destined for Air Senegal but not taken-up.
During this years' Paris Air Show, the airline signed a lease-agreement for the two aircraft with Air Lease Corporation. The introduction of the A220 is part of Cyprus Airways' fleet renewal strategy, which aims to grow the fleet to twelve A220s by 2028. According to Aviation Week, the airline has secured leases for A220s with delivery in 2024 and 2025, and is in negotiations with lessors for A220s for delivery in 2026. The remaining A220s would then be ordered directly with Airbus with an expected delivery in 2027 and 2028.
Today, Cyprus Airways is operating a fleet of three A320s out of its base at Larnaca. From there, it flies to Athens, Basel, Beirut, Cairo, Dubai, Heraklion, Milan-Malpensa, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Preveza, Rhodes, Rome-Fiumicino, Santorini, Skiathos, Thessaloniki, Yerevan, and Zürich. With the grown fleet, the airline is also planning to increase its destinations as well as frequencies to current ones.
According to Italian aviation news site ItaliaVola, Air Senegal has decided to cancel its lease-agreement with Macquarie AirFinance for five Airbus A220-300s. The reason for the cancellation is the continuous grounding of its single A220 and the late delivery of two new A220-300s, which were scheduled to occur in December last year. The late delivery and grounding of its single aircraft of the type is due to issues with the Pratt & Whitney PW1100 Geard Turbo Fan-engines.
Although issues with the engines have been resolved according to Pratt & Whitney, supply chain restraints prevent a quick upgrade to already produced engines. Air Senegal is not the only customer impacted by these engine issues. KLM cityhopper, for instance, has seven of its fifteen Embraer E195-E2s grounded, which use the same type of engines as the Airbus.
Air Senegal took delivery of its first, and now most likely, A220-300 on 27 December 2021. Now, the aircraft, registered 6V-AOA (55089), has been parked at the airline's base at Dakar since 19 November of last year.
The airline is now considering its options and is actively considering the Embraer E195-E2, although is wary of this option due to the similar engines, as well as that it has less range than the A220-300.
Air Senegal to take batch of A220s from Macquarie backlog
Air Senegal is to acquire five Airbus A220-300s under a lease agreement with a division of Macquarie AirFinance.
Deliveries of the twinjets – powered by Pratt & Whitney PW1500G engines – is set to begin in 2023, under the deal disclosed during the Dubai air show.
The African carrier had previously unveiled an agreement at the previous Dubai show in 2019 through which it planned to take eight A220s.
Macquarie has reduced its orders for the A220-300 from 40 aircraft – prior to Bombardier’s sale of the then-CSeries programme to Airbus – to 29.
The Air Senegal aircraft will come from this 29-aircraft backlog, the lessor states.
Air Senegal chief Ibrahima Kane says: “Addition of this aircraft will be a game-changer in the West African landscape.
“It will provide our customers with an exceptional experience in terms of comfort and connectivity. This new aircraft generation will also create substantial maintenance and fuel savings and improve our financial results.”
Air Senegal will use the twinjets to open services from its Dakar base to European and African regional cities.
Relatively young, having started commercial services in May 2018, the carrier operates Airbus A330-900s, A321s and A319s, plus a pair of ATR 72-600s.
Hi Fly Malta is a Maltese subsidiary of Portuguese charter airline Hi Fly. The carrier is known for having operated an Airbus A380 in a striking ‘Save The Coral Reefs’ livery. This paint scheme raised environmental awareness, warning against coral reef destruction on its travels.
Amid falling demand, Hi Fly Malta withdrew the aircraft from service in December 2020. Photo: Getty Images
As a charter aircraft, it was able to spread this message all over the world. But which airlines leased 9H-MIP during the ex-Singapore Airlines A380’s time at Hi Fly Malta? Let’s have a look at some examples.
Norwegian
Low-cost carrier Norwegian was one of 9H-MIP’s more prominent users between 2018 and 2020. One of the reasons it leased the aircraft was to clear a backlog of delayed passengers caused by the London Gatwick drone incident in December 2018. The A380’s extra capacity over Norwegian’s Boeing 787s was crucial in getting transatlantic passengers home for Christmas.
The A380 offered extra capacity over Norwegian’s Boeing 787 fleet. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying
Air Madagascar
Summer 2019 also marked an aviation milestone for the African island nation of Madagascar. Its flag carrier leased 9H-MIP to temporarily replace an Airbus A340, which required engine work. In doing so, the aircraft became the first A380 to land in Madagascar, when it arrived in Antananarivo on a scheduled flight from Paris on June 30th, 2019. Curiously, a Wamos Air Boeing 747 operated the return leg to Paris instead of Hi Fly Malta’s superjumbo.
Air Senegal
Senegal represents another African nation that saw a flight land from Paris operated by 9H-MIP in 2019. Technical difficulties with the Airbus A330-900 that typically operated this route brought Hi Fly Malta’s A380 into play for flight HC404 on April 19th, 2019.
9H-MIP spent just over a month in storage in Toulouse following its withdrawal. It had its livery removed during this time, and it has since transferred to Abu Dhabi. Photo: Anna Zvereva via Flickr
Air Austral
In August 2018, Air Austral flew 9H-MIP to one of its most remote destinations. Again, the flight departed from Paris, which was evidently the place to go if you wanted to catch a glimpse of this rare aircraft! It flew thrice-weekly in late-August and early September 2018 to Saint-Denis on the Indian Ocean island and French overseas department of Réunion.
Estelar Airlines
Venezuelan carrier Estelar Airlines had not been explicitly looking to lease 9H-MIP in July 2019. Indeed, it was already leasing another Hi Fly aircraft, namely an Airbus A340, at the time. However, when this plane needed to be sent for repairs, the A380 stepped in to fill the gap for two weeks. It operated Estelar’s scheduled services between Madrid and Caracas in this spell.
A charter for football fans
In each of the previous instances, airlines leased the A380 to provide cover or extra capacity on scheduled services. However, it has also seen action on one-off charters for sporting events, for which thousands of fans need transporting in a short period of time.
Hi Fly Malta’s A380 initially belonged to Singapore Airlines. The Singaporean flag carrier received the aircraft in March 2008. Photo: Vincenzo Pace | Simple Flying
One of these was the 2019 Europa League final, which took place between British clubs Arsenal and Chelsea in Baku, Azerbaijan. With limited scheduled flights between the UK and Baku, several charters were operated before the game in May 2019.
The one that provoked the most interest from an avgeek’s perspective had to be that involving 9H-MIP. This represented the first-ever A380 flight out of London Stansted, which has limited facilities for handling such large aircraft. Chelsea ended up winning the match by a score of 4-1, capping off a great few days for anyone in the middle ring of the Chelsea fans/A380 fans Venn diagram!
According to the ch-aviation schedules module, Air Senegal plans to debut the A321 on its daily route from Dakar to Conakry on December 21, 2020.
The aircraft will join Air Senegal's existing narrowbody fleet of two A319-100s. The carrier also operates two ATR72-600s, one A330-900 and although it owns the aircraft, it wet-leases a further A330-900 from Hi Fly Malta (HFM, Malta Int'l).
Dakar, Senegal - Air Senegal has received its second Airbus A330-900. The aircraft will arrive in Dakar today (Nov. 4), nine months after the arrival of the first A330neo.
It took delivery of the first aircraft in March this year. The new aircraft with registration 6V-ANB will be welcomed at the Dakar International Airport with a special ceremony.
Macky Sall, President of Senegal will be present at the ceremony.
Air Senegal's A330-900s are powered by the Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines. The African carrier placed the order for two A330neo in December 2017.
The airline deployed its first A330-900 on Dakar - Paris route on a daily basis. The second aircraft will fly to the destinations in North America and South America from 2020.
The government of Senegal aims to set the Dakar International Airport as an international hub for Western African states.
Alongside with its A330neos, the Senegalese flag carrier currently operates two Airbus A319-100, two ATR 72-600, and two Boeing 737-500.
The state-run company has recently signed a Letter of Intent with the European planemaker for the acquisition of eight A220-300 jets.
"These new A220 aircraft will contribute to developing our long-haul network to Europe and our regional network in Africa. Combined with our recent A330-900 aircraft, this new Airbus fleet reveals Air Senegal's ambition to offer the best travel experience for our passengers," Chief Executive Ibrahima Kane said.
The airline currently operates two A319-100s and two ATR72-600s. It also has one A330-900, which is operated on its behalf by Hi Fly Malta (HFM, Malta Int'l) due to the fact that the Senegalese carrier did not hold an EU Third Country Operator (TCO) certificate when taking delivery of the aircraft. Air Sénégal has another A330-900 on order from Airbus and plans to operate it in-house given it now possesses said TCO approval.
As previously reported, Hi Fly Malta (HFM, Malta Int'l) is operating the jet on Air Sénégal's behalf given it does not currently possess the IOSA or European TCO authorizations needed to serve the European Union. As part of plans to develop Dakar Blaise Diagne Int'l into an intercontinental connecting hub, the Senegalese carrier also plans to open up service to Brazil and the United States.
Aside from the A330neo, Air Sénégal also operates two A319-100s (of which one is leased from Air Côte d'Ivoire) and two ATR72-600s. It had also wet-leased an A340-300 from Hi Fly Malta prior to the A330neo's arrival.
Air Senegal’s first A330neo arrives in Dakar ahead of delivery
Air Senegal’s first A330neo has touched down at Blaise-Diagne International Airport in Dakar. The A330neo, painted in the livery of Air Senegal and named “Casamance,” was presented during a ceremony attended by His Excellency Macky Sall, President of the Republic of Senegal, and Philippe Bohn, Chief Executive Officer Air Senegal.
Air Senegal, which started operations in 2018, is set to receive its first A330neo in the coming weeks making it the first African airline to receive and operate the newest member of the leading Airbus widebody family. Fitted with a three-class cabin comprising 32 Business class, 21 Premium Plus and 237 Economy class seats, Air Senegal plans to operate its first A330neo on the soon to be opened Dakar-Paris route and develop its medium and long-haul network.
The A330neo is a true new generation aircraft building on the A330’s success and leveraging on A350 XWB technology. It incorporates highly efficient new generation Rolls-Royce Trent 7000 engines, and a new greater span 3D optimised wing with new Sharklets. Together, these advances bring a significant reduction in fuel consumption of 25% compared with older generation competitor aircraft of a similar size. The A330 is one of the most popular widebody families ever, having received over 1,700 orders from 120 customers.
DUBAI – Air Senegal and Airbus have signed a deal for two Airbus A330neos at the Dubai Air Show. This Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will make the carrier the first African airline to use the new-engined aircraft type.
Grande annonce ! Air Sénégal confirme l’achat de 2 Airbus A330-900 NEO au Dubaï Airshow. Une démonstration de force qui prouve l’ambition de Air Sénégal, qui devient la première compagnie africaine à acquérir le tout dernier gros-porteur ! #kebetu#team221#Senegal#Africa
The agreement was announced during a signing ceremony at the Dubai Airshow in the presence of Maimouna Ndoye Seck, Minister of Air Transport and Development of Airport Infrastructure, Senegal. Air Senegal is to launch in 2018 properly.
Philippe Bohn, CEO Air Sénégal said, “Aviation is a catalyst for economic development and this purchase demonstrates Senegal’s ambitions for economic growth in line with the country’s strategy to accelerate progress towards emergence (Plan Emerging Senegal). The A330neo has proven itself to be the right aircraft, combining low operating costs, long range flying capability and high levels of comfort. We are looking forward to launching operations and offer our customers best-in-class service.”
‘’We are very pleased to welcome Air Sénégal among our A330neo customers. The A330neo offers the latest in fuel saving technologies combined with best-in-class comfort, reliability, and operational efficiency. The A330 is the ideal choice for Air Sénégal to build its network and become West Africa’s fastest growing airline,’’ said John Leahy, Chief Operating Officer Customers, Airbus Commercial Aircraft.
The A330neo is going to be useful to Air Senegal for the boosting of medium-long-haul operations within Africa as a whole. This is a market that still requires active competition within the domestic market as such.
Internationally, this base is covered with airlines operating Kenya, South Africa and many more popular African destinations of interest.
With Air Senegal also launching operations, they will be able to streamline their costs from day one due to the efficiency savings that the A330neo will generate for the airline.
These efficiency savings are generated by the Trent 7000 engines from Rolls Royce as well as the new Wingtip design that is on the A330neo.
In terms of operations for the carrier, Air Senegal will see their long-haul expanding to as far as Paris, Milan, and Brussels, which will cover the bases for mainland Europe to start with.
They will have a series of domestic routes around mainland Africa, with Johannesburg being the further southern destination of their portfolio.
