SKY express Takes Delivery Of 1st A320neo Aircraft
On November 27th, Greek regional carrier SKY express took delivery of its first Airbus A320neo. The aircraft took off from Airbus facilities in Toulouse, heading to the SKY express hub of Athens, Greece. Ordered only in October, the airline expects to take delivery of five more A320neo jets.
“Our cooperation with Airbus, through the acquisition of six brand new Α320neo aircrafts, meets our ambition to modernize our fleet and have our company transition to a new era.” – Ioannis Grylos, Owner of SKY express and Head of IOGR Group of Companies
https://twitter.com/skylinerav/status/1332735164330467328
Flight details
According to data from FlightRadar24.com, on November 27th, SKY express’ first Airbus A320neo, registered as SX-IOG, departed Toulouse at 09:13, en route to Athens, Greece as flight SXIOG (a flight number identical to its registration).
After a flight time of just over three hours, the aircraft landed in Athens at 13:26. All times listed are local.
According to an airline press release, the inaugural service for the brand new jet will take place on December 14th, flying from Athens to Thessaloniki.
“With competitive fares and flexible personalized services, the airline offers new, attractive options to the residents of Thessaloniki and Northern Greece as a whole. Gradually, in the coming months, the company’s flight operation with the Airbus fleet type will expand, adding the Athens – Rhodes route, as well as other direct connections in Greece and abroad.” – SKY express
The Airbus A320neo and SKY express
Perhaps most interesting about this delivery is the fact that the initial order for the jets was only made on October 14th, 2020, meaning that it took just over a month between an order announcement and delivery of a brand new aircraft. Considering Airbus’ A320 family backlog goes into the thousands, one has to wonder how the carrier could acquire brand new jets so quickly?
In our initial article about this order, we wrote that the initial aircraft would come from ACG Aviation Capital Group. However, looking at data from AIB Family Flights, aircraft from SKY express and ACG Capital do not appear to be completed just yet.
It is believed that the six A320NEO's for SKY Express are the six white tail aircraft that Airbus announced earlier this week had been sold after Air Asia's cancelled order
credit : simpleflying.com
