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.
The airline did not reveal a timeline for the induction of the A330 into service. The aircraft seats up to 275 passengers, including 20 in business class.
The delivery took place amidst a shortage of hard currency in the country which forced the government to curb the outflow of US Dollars from Bolivia and thus made it difficult for the airline to pay the lessor. The delayed delivery prompted a Member of Parliament, Marcelo Pedrazas, from the main opposition party Comunidad Ciudadana to request a written explanation to the Minister of Public Works, Edgar Montaño.
BoA's current widebody fleet comprises four B767-300ERs, of which only two are currently active. The four Boeing widebodies are 28.3 years old on average. The airline also wet-leases an A330-200 from Wamos Air (EB, Madrid Barajas) to operate its route to Madrid Barajas, on which the in-house A330 is poised to debut.
Last year, BoA chose to dry-lease three A330-200s to replace the B767-300(ER)s. However, the delivery for the remaining two remains unclear, as Montaño only spoke about one unit during the recent press conference. BoA did not respond to ch-aviation's request for comment.
Air Belgium's passenger fleet also comprises two A330-900s. It also operates four A330-200Fs under a CMI deal with French logistics firm CMA CGM, as well as two B747-8Fs and one (with two more on the way) A330-200(P2F) on behalf of its 49%-owner, Hongyuan Group.
The First Airbus A330 For Startup Hans Airways Arrives In Birmingham
Passengers seeking direct flights between the UK and India will soon have another choice. Hans Airways, a new long-haul startup airline, plans to start flights soon, as it celebrates the arrival of its first Airbus A330-200 on British soil. The aircraft departed Palma Airport and touched down at Birmingham International Airport, meeting with the airline's management team for official viewing.
The first bird in Hans Airways' fleet
Prior to arriving in Palma, the Airbus A330-200 underwent a thorough 200-hour inspection in Abu Dhabi by Etihad Engineering. The inspection work was required as previously contracted by its former airline operator, Air Europa, as the aircraft is just over 14 years old. Once it touched down in Birmingham, the aircraft was welcomed by Hans Airways Chief Executive Officer Satnam Saini, Chief Operating Officer Nathan Burkitt, and Chief Commercial Officer Martin Dunn.
The welcoming by the airline's management team was ahead of the formal technical handover and technical acceptance signing with the lessor. And in celebration of its first fleet addition, Saini commented:
“Our first widebody Airbus arriving into the UK is a big and significant milestone on Hans Airways’ journey to launch. These past 12 months, we are pleased to have added a wealth of competence and experience to our leadership and management team. We also recruited and trained a full complement of exceptional pilots and cabin crew who will be ready to fly as soon as the airline’s AOC is awarded."
Preparing for the proving flight
However, the aircraft's stay in Birmingham will be short for now, as it is required to return to Spain, its original country of registration, for final contractual, administration, financial transfer, and customs clearance. The works include a final internal inspection of the engines and rectification of any identified defect. STS Aviation Services will handle the required assignments, which Hans Airways has partnered with to ensure the aircraft is ready for its essential route-proving flight for the UK Civil Aviation Authority.
The Airbus A330-200 is currently registered as EC-KTG and had its last commercial flight in 2020, just as the pandemic began to creep in worldwide. Once STS Aviation Services has completed the required modifications, the aircraft will fly as a newly registered G-KJAS. Head of Sales for STS Aviation Services, Colby Payne, said:
"We are delighted STS has been selected as a long-term key maintenance supplier to support Hans Airways’ Airbus A330. As a result of this partnership, we have accepted the first aircraft for a maintenance visit at our state-of-the-art, widebody aircraft MRO facility in Birmingham and look forward to supporting Hans Airways with further projects as its growth continues.”
First route: Birmingham to Amritsar
After passing its route-proving flight, Hans Airways intends to utilize the Airbus A330-200 on its first route from Birmingham to Amritsar. The long-haul airline is initially planning a four-times-weekly service to the Northern Indian city, a major commercial and cultural center in the heart of Punjab. The city is also the spiritual and cultural center of the Sikh religion and home to the Harmandir Sahib, famously known as the Golden Temple.
Direct flights between the two cities are only flown by Air India on the airline's Boeing 787 Dreamliner once a week. However, the Indian carrier consider increasing its frequency given that it saw good load factor pre-pandemic and growing demands from local groups and politicians. If Air India does opt to increase flights, the startup could be in for some heavy competition on its first route.
Yemenia (IY, Aden) took delivery of A330-200 7O-AFE (msn 883) on February 4, marking the carrier's resumption of both widebody and A330 operations.
Formerly 3B-NBM with Air Mauritius (MK, Mauritius), the 14-year-old jet was acquired by Aircraft Finance Germany GmbH from Doric Flugzeugfonds Zweite GmbH & Co earlier this year. It features General Electric CF6-80E1A4 motors and is equipped with 18 premium and 259 economy-class seats. Airline board chairman Ahmed Masoud Al-Alwani said in a statement that the widebody would help ease capacity and cargo constraints on key routes.
The ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows Yemenia last operated widebody jets when it retired the last of four A310-300s in 2019 following an incident at Cairo Int'l. It last operated A330s in 2015 when the intensification of the civil war forced the retirement of its final two remaining A330-200s.
VP-BUM (msn 1361) was operated through April 2019 by Jet Airways (JAI, Mumbai Int'l) and has remained in storage since the collapse of the Indian airline. Nordwind Airlines is currently using the 8.6-year-old widebody, owned by CDB Aviation, to connect various Russian cities (Kazan Int'l, Moscow Sheremetyevo, and Samara Kurumoch) with Antalya in Turkey.
The A330-300 is the second new type in Nordwind Airlines' fleet in recent weks, after the induction of the airline's first A321-200N in early June 2021. The leisure specialist had originally hoped to induct the A330-300 in May 2020, but border closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic delayed the plan. Nordwind Airlines is expecting a second A330-300 shortly.
9H-SMD (msn 1382) is an 8.3-year-old aircraft owned by CDB Aviation. It was ferried from Birmingham Int'l to Malta Int'l on May 31 but has yet to be inducted into service. The ex-Singapore Airlines and Evelop AirlinesAirbus widebody will be operated in a makeshift freighter configuration for the time being. However, SmartLynx Airlines said earlier this year that as passenger demand returns, it would eventually return the jet to its original passenger configuration.
Aer Lingus Airbus A330 Registered In Qatar delivered to Dublin
An Airbus A330-300 was flown on a Qatari registration yesterday from France to Ireland. Bedecked in a gleaming green coat of paint, the widebody has finished its service with Qatar Airways and is off to a new home with Irish IAG airline, Aer Lingus.
The A330, still on a Qatar registration, landed in Dublin yesterday evening. Photo: Luka Cvetkovic
Aer Lingus welcomes a new widebody
The latest addition to the Aer Lingus fleet arrived yesterday in Dublin. Flying on Qatari registration, it flew in from Chateauroux in France in gleaming green paint, ready to begin its new life with the Irish airline.
A7-AEM is a 13-year-old A330-300, which had been with Qatar Airways since January 2008. It was withdrawn from us on March 10th last year and has remained at Doha parked up since then. In December, it was moved over to Doha’s old International Airport, which hasn’t served commercial flights since May 2014.
On February 26th, the A330 took a long trip from the Middle East over to France, landing at Chateauroux in the early hours of the following day. It’s been there since then, but last night took off for its final destination and a new home in Dublin.
Still flying under its Qatari registration, A7-AEM, the aircraft now sports a glorious coat of green paint. Fully decked out in Aer Lingus livery, the A330 is set to take on a new registration – EI-EIL – as it joins the fleet and will be christened by the airline St. MacDara.
This latest addition will bring the Aer Lingus fleet of A330-300s to a total of 12. Currently, nine of the fleet are back in service, while two remain parked. According to sources, this A330 will join its sisters in being stored for the time being, and is likely to head to Shannon for storage in the coming days.
Qatar’s A330 phase-out
Qatar Airways is gradually shedding its Airbus A330s in favor of newer, more efficient planes. Since the start of COVID, three A330-300s have left the fleet, with two finding new homes with Aer Lingus. A7-AEH became EI-EIK back in May last year, although it remains stored at Ciudad Real in Spain at present.
A7-AEB is the other A330-300 to have left the fleet. This aircraft hasn’t found a new home as yet, but has gone into deep storage at Roswell in the USA.
Qatar had already been phasing out its A330-200s since 2015, but began removing the type in earnest over the course of 2020. Since last July, nine A330-200s have left the fleet, most going back to leasing companies. Three freighter A330s have headed to Air Belgium.
Now, just six A330-200 and 10 A330-300 remain at the airline. All have been parked up and are not expected to return to service. The airline is also retiring its fleet of A320ceo family aircraft over the next few years, in favor of newer, more efficient aircraft. The Airbus widebodies will be superseded by Dreamliners and A350s, while the ceos will see neos coming in to replace them.
flyCAA (BU, Kinshasa N'Djili) took delivery of 9S-PSJ (msn 505) on January 13 marking the privately-owned carrier's entry into the widebody market.
At 18 years old and on lease from Carlyle Aviation Partners, the A330-200 will be deployed on trunk domestic routes connecting Kinshasa N'Djili with Lubumbashi and other major settlements throughout the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). As previously noted, flyCAA has denied any plans to use the aircraft in starting longhaul flights to Brussels National.
Air Atlanta Icelandic's Vice President (Sales & Marketing), Unndór Jónsson, told ch-aviation in January last year that the ACMI/charter specialist was looking at acquiring both the B777 and A330 to replace its ageing B747 fleet.
"The B777 and the A330 would be a good strategic fit to Air Atlanta Icelandic’s B747-400 aircraft, initially to supplement the existing fleet and as a replacement in coming years.
At this stage, I, however, cannot confirm any specific," Jónsson added in an e-mailed statement.
Earlier this month, it started advertising for B777 type-rated flightcrew to be based out of Jeddah effective immediately.
Saudia does not have any in-house A330-200s but already wet-leases seven such aircraft from Onur Air (8Q, Istanbul New). The Saudi flag carrier also operates forty-six A320-200s, fifteen A321-200s, thirty-two A330-300s (including twenty Regionals), two B747-8(F)s, four B777-Fs, thirty-five B777-300(ER)s, three B787-10s, and thirteen B787-9s. It also wet-leases four B747-400(F)s from AirACT (9T, Istanbul Atatürk).
N819CA (msn 1016), a 10.7-year-old twinjet previously operated by Thomas Cook Airlines UK, was ferried from storage at Amarillo to Miami Opa-Locka on December 23, 2019, Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows. Following the collapse of the British carrier, it was previously stored at Shannon and Lake City. The aircraft is owned and managed by Air Lease Corporation.
"National has plans to introduce two additional Airbus A330 family aircraft into its fleet by early 2021. Fleet improvements are continuously evaluated, and the demand for the passenger business drove us to the decision to acquire the Airbus A330-200, based on its proven history of providing the highest level of safety and performance," Chairman of parent firm National Air Cargo Holdings Chris Alf said.
The aircraft has yet to be deployed into commercial service.
According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, National Airlines' fleet also includes five B747-400(F)s and two B757-200s. It specialises in charter flights for the US military among other organisations.
The twinjet will be joined by a second of the type, 9N-ALZ (msn 1878), which will arrive in-country in four weeks' time.
Both aircraft have been procured from Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) via a consortium of three firms that include Portuguese ACMI/charter specialists Hi Fly, AAR Aircraft Sales & Leasing, and the German Aviation Capital Corporation (GACC).
According to Aviation Nepal, the Rolls-Royce Trent 700 jets will feature a two-class cabin configuration of 274 seats with 18 in business class and 256 in economy class. They will initially be deployed on flights to Dubai Int'l before opening up new services for the Nepali carrier.
Nepal Airlines' fleet also includes two A320-200s, one B757-200, three DHC-6-300s, two MA-60s, and four Y12s.
