Airbus Updates No.3343

 

UK's Titan Airways retires only A318

Titan Airways Airbus A318-100© Rowen Aquilina

23.04.2021 - 00:04 UTC

Titan Airways (ZT, London Stansted) has retired its only A318-100, having ferried the 11.6-year-old G-EUNB (msn 4039) reportedly for part-out on April 13, 2021.

The all-business-class Airbus narrowbody with 32 lie-flat passenger seats was previously operated by British Airways as one of a pair of aircraft used on the premium London City-New York JFK route. The flag carrier sold the aircraft in 2017 (the other unit, G-EUNA (msn 4007), was ferried to Enschede for part-out in February 2021 once British Airways cancelled the route).

Flightradar24 ADS-B data indicate that Titan Airways used its A318 on a commercial service for the last time on March 11, 2021, flying from London Stansted to Hassi Messaoud in Algeria and return. Since then, the aircraft has been stored at Stansted. On April 13, Titan ferried it to St. Athan. It is owned by Fuyo General Lease and managed by ALM - Aircraft Leasing & Management, the ch-aviation fleets ownership module indicates. According to the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), an aircraft registration case was opened on March 26, 2021, indicating potential deregistration in progress.

Titan Airways did not respond to ch-aviation's request for confirmation that the aircraft will indeed be parted out.

The carrier's fleet currently comprises two A320-200s, four A321-200s, two A321-200(P2F)s, two A321-200NX(LR)s, two B737-400(SF)s, and two B757-200s, the ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows.

The A318s, excluding the ACJ318-100 variant, remain in operation with just two carriers in the world: Air France with 18 units and Tarom with four.

Airbus Updates No.3329

 

Tarom puts 14 aircraft up for sale including all 4 Airbus A318's

Tarom Airbus A318-100© Tis Meyer / PlanePics.org

12.04.2021 - 16:55 UTC

Tarom (RO, Bucharest Otopeni) has set in motion previously announced plans to dispose of 14 ageing aircraft deemed surplus to future requirements.

A Request For Proposals (RFP) said the aircraft are offered on a voetstoots basis (as-is, where-is) with indicative starting prices offered as a guide.

A318-100s:

• YR-ASA (msn 2931) - 14 years old - USD6,518,617;
• YR-ASB (msn 2955) - 14 years old - USD6,527,075;
• YR-ASC (msn 3220) - 13 years old - USD6,859,032;
• YR-ASD (msn 3225) - 13 years old - USD6,868,546;

Airbus Updates No.3047

 British Airways A318 Baby Bus Embarks On One Final Flight

British Airways has sent its Airbus A318 Baby Bus to Twente Airport in the Netherlands. The aircraft was retired by the airline last year, after its only route from London City (LCY) to New York City (JFK) was suspended, meaning that it was no longer needed.

BA’s Baby Bus has completed its final flight. Photo: Vincenzo Pace – Simple Flying

Many aircraft have been stored or retired as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The impacts of the situation have primarily been felt by widebody aircraft types, particularly those with four engines such as the A380 and Boeing 747. Some smaller aircraft, particularly those getting a little older, have also found themselves facing a sudden retirement.

Farewell G-EUNA

At one point in time, British Airways had two Airbus A318 aircraft. Both were used to service the airline’s all-business service connecting London’s heart with New York City. The second aircraft, G-EUNB, was transferred to Titan Airways in 2017, leaving British Airways with just G-EUNA.

In late March, British Airways decided to suspend its transatlantic route from London City Airport, BA1. This also saw G-EUNA repositioned to Madrid in Spain for an extended stay in the sun. At the end of July, IAG, British Airways’ owner, revealed that it would retire its fleet of just one Airbus A318.

The airline’s final flight took over three hours. Photo: RadarBox.com

It seems that yesterday was G-EUNA’s final flight. The aircraft flew from Madrid to Twente Airport in Enschede. While some of Lufthansa’s now-retired Boeing 747-400s left the airport after brief talk of legal action, many aircraft do not leave the facility.

G-EUNA took a particularly interesting route to reach Enschede. One would expect the aircraft to route directly over France to get to the Netherlands. Instead, the A318 initially flew North West before flying north up the Bay of Biscay. This allowed the aircraft to pass overhead the United Kingdom one last time. It’s unclear exactly why this route was chosen, and a British Airways spokesperson declined to comment. Excluding this flight, G-EUNA clocked 38075 flight hours during its life, according to data from the Civil Aviation Authority.

Looking back at BA001

The British Airways A318 flew exclusively between London City Airport during its time in service. However, unlike British Airways’ other long-haul aircraft, this baby bus was more akin to a private jet. That’s because the aircraft had just 32 lie-flat business class seats in a 2-2 configuration.

Given the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for the service plummeted, especially from business travelers, who were the primary target market. BA001, the callsign formerly used by the New York Concorde service, could not take off from City with enough fuel to cross the Atlantic due to the short runway. As a result, it would stop in Shannon to fully refuel. As a US Preclearance Facility, BA passengers would clear immigration procedures in Ireland, landing in New York as a domestic arrival.

Airbus Updates No.2812

FAA Issues Airbus A320 Family Airworthiness Directive For Over 1200 Planes

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced that it is adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Airbus A320 family aircraft. The group estimates that the notification affects 1,203 planes of United States registry.

The FAA is issuing this directive due to concerns over safety regarding specific aircraft. Photo: Getty Images

The concern

An AD is a notification to owners and operators that there is a safety deficiency with a specific model of aircraft or a system part of it. Moreover, the holder must address the issue. According to an FAA document, this directive impacts jets across A318, A319, A320, and A321 models.

The directive mentions the following planes:

• A318-111, -112, -121, and -122
• A319-111, -112, -113, -114, -115, -131, -132, and -133
• A320-211, -212, -214, -216, -231, -232, and -233
• A321-111, -112, -131, -211, -212, -213, -231, and -232

The FAA said that there were reports of fatigue cracks on continuity fittings at the lower framing of the front windshield on aircraft that had a certain production modification. Furthermore, following analysis, it is evident that specific certification requirements for damage tolerance and fatigue are not met on planes in a particular post-production modification configuration.

Altogether, this airworthiness directive impacts aircraft across the Airbus A320 family. Photo: Airbus

Fixing the issue

The FAA says that the AD requires repetitive high frequency eddy current (HFEC) inspections of the central node windshield area for cracking. Moreover, if operators do find cracking, they have to perform the necessary corrective measures.

These actions are specified in a European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) AD. The FAA incorporated these details into the document for reference. Overall, the government body is sharing this directive due to the unsafe condition on these units

“The FAA is issuing this AD to address fatigue cracks on continuity fittings at the lower framing of the front windshield on airplanes on which Airbus Production Modification 22058 (which is included in Airbus Modification 21999) has been embodied,” the FAA said in the document.

“Additional analysis showed that certain certification requirements for damage tolerance and fatigue are not met on airplanes in a post-production Modification 22058 configuration. The FAA is issuing this AD to address this condition, which could lead to failure of the continuity fittings at the lower node of the windshield central frame, possibly resulting in decompression of the airplane and injury to occupants.”

Inspections across the nation

Most major US carriers presently have several A320 family aircraft within their fleets. Therefore, across the country, there will be some busy workers addressing these concerns in the directive.

Earlier this month, the FAA shared a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) for an airworthiness directive on the Boeing 737 MAX. This release is just one of many steps in getting jet in the skies for passenger operations. The type has been on the ground since March 2019.

Nonetheless, airlines will be taking any of these airworthiness directives seriously. Undoubtedly, they will be ensuring that they exercise the right course of action as soon as possible.

Airbus Updates No.2634

Air France to Sell and Lease Back 16 Airbus Single-Aisle Aircraft

May 04, 2020   

Paris, France - Air France has reached an agreement with the US investing group FTAI Aviation for the sale and leaseback of sixteen Airbus A318 and A319 jets. 

The lessor said in a statement the transaction covers six A319-100s and ten A318-100s. All planes are powered by CFM International CFM56-5B engines. The deal is expected to close later this month and involves an average lease duration of 34 months.

Air France currently operates eighteen A318-100s. All of them are owned by the airline. In turn, the carrier owns twenty out of thirty-three A319-100s in its fleet. The remaining 13 units are dry-leased from various lessors.

Airbus Updates No.2230

Avianca Holdings to dispose of 14 A320 Family jets to FTAI

Avianca Airbus A320-200 © Avianca

26.07.2019 - 14:57 UTC

Avianca Holdings will further reduce its overall fleet through the end of this year following the decision to sell 14 aircraft.

In a stock market filing, the Panama-based holding firm said it had reached an agreement to sell ten A318-100s and four A320ceo to New York-based Fortress Transportation and Infrastructure Investors LLC (FTAI Aviation), for an estimated aggregate price of approximately USD160 million. The sale is expected to close by year-end.

“We are excited to execute a flexible phase-out plan that maximizes our fleet value. It has been terrific working with FTAI – we look forward to exploring new opportunities across our fleet with FTAI and continuing to build our relationship with them," Anko van der Werff, Avianca’s Chief Executive Officer, said.

According to ch-aviation fleets advanced, Avianca Holdings' ten A318s operate for its Avianca Airlines (AV, Bogotá) subsidiary alongside the four A320ceo.

As part of its Avianca 2021 turnaround strategy, Avianca Holdings, in March, succeeded in cutting seventeen A320neo from its 128-strong order with Airbus. In addition, it also deferred deliveries of another 35 aircraft of the type to between 2019-2022 thus saving the firm financial commitments of more than USD2.6 billion.

It also retired its fleet of ten E190s in late June.