Airbus Updates No.2166

Delta takes delivery of first A330-900

Delta Air Lines Airbus A330-900N © Airbus

28.05.2019 - 16:03 UTC

Delta Air Lines (DL, Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson) has taken delivery of its first of thirty-five A330-900s on order from Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac).

N401DZ (msn 1915) was ferried from Toulouse Blagnac to Detroit Metropolitan via Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson on May 23/24 ahead of its commercial debut on July 15 on flights from Seattle Tacoma Int'l to Shanghai Pudong, China. This will be followed by service to Seoul Incheon on August 1 and Tokyo Narita on August 31.

"This aircraft will join our fleet this summer, enabling more efficient flying in the Pacific with a best-in-class product that is expected to generate a 5-point to 10-point margin improvement versus the aircraft that it's replacing," Delta said in a financial statement.

Powered by the Rolls-Royce Trent 7000-72, Delta's A330-900s feature a total of 281 seats of which 29 are in business class, 28 are in Premium Economy, 56 are in Economy Plus, and 168 are in Economy.

Delta is an existing operator of the A330 Family of jets employing eleven A330-200s and thirty-one A330-300s.

Airbus Updates No.2165

Airbus A320	-251N	8944		B-307Z	China Eastern	delivery 24may19 TSN-PVG	ex B-007E
Airbus A321	-211	2330		UR-CSU	Jonika	delivery 23may19 ARN-HRK	ex SE-RAH
Airbus A321	-272N	8769		VN-A503	Vietnam Airlines	delivery 24-25may18 XFW-RKT-HAN	ex D-AZAT
Airbus A321	-271N	8790		VN-A607	VietJet Air	delivery 24-25may19 XFW-AZI-SGN	ex D-AVZC
Airbus A321	-271NX	8816		HA-LVC	Wizz Air	delivery 24may19 XFW-BUD	ex D-AZAS
Airbus A321	-271N	8872		N220HA	Hawaiian Airlines	delivery 24may19 XFW-BOS-PAE	ex D-AVZQ
Airbus A330	-243	286		A9C-KC	Gulf Air	ferried 27may19 BAH-AMM	ex A4O-KC
Airbus A330	-343	1006		C-GEGC	Air Canada	regd & delivery 23may19 LIS-YVR	ex CS-TOV
Airbus A330	-243MRTT	1601		G-VYGM	Air Tanker	posn 21may19 BZZ-MAN on summer-lease to Jet2	ex EC-332
Airbus A330	-243CJ	1751		VP-BHD	?	delivery 22may19 BSL-HKG after ACJ config	ex F-WWYU
Airbus A330	-243F	1772		D-ALEJ	EAT Leipzig	delivery 28may19 AUH-LEJ, DHL cs	ex A6-DCE
Airbus A330	-343	1912		B-308F	Sichuan Airlines	delivery 24may19 TSN-CTU after cabin config	ex B-005F
Airbus A330	-941	1915		N401DZ	Delta Air Lines	delivery 23may19 TLS-ATL	ex F-WWKF
Airbus A340	-642	1030		9H-PGS	Maleth-Aero	posn / in svc 28may19 BOH-STN-GYD	ex 2-FIXP
Airbus A350	-941	310		ET-AWN	Ethiopian Airlines	delivery 24may19 TLS-ADD	ex F-WZFA
Airbus A400M	-180	90		54+29	Luftwaffe	delivery 23may19 SVQ-ETNW	ex A4M090
Airbus Canada A220	-371	55054		YL-AAS	Air Baltic	delivery 25may19 YMX-RIX	ex C-FPBZ

Airbus Updates No.2164

Airbus A300	B4‑203(F)	261		YV560T	Transcarga International Airways	ferried 25may19 MEX-CCS after mx	ex N261AX
Airbus A310	-304	498		F-WNOV	SA Novespace	ferried 28may19 BOD-SNN for paint into new Zero G cs	ex 10+21
Airbus A319	-132	2032		YU-APK	Air Serbia	delivery 24may19 SNN-BEG	ex OE-IAN
Airbus A319	-111	2497		JY-AYZ	Royal Jordanian	delivery 27may19 WOE-ATH-AMM	ex EI-EYM
Airbus A319	-111	3078		6V-AMB	Air Sénégal	delivery 25may19 MAD-DSS	ex EC-KBX
Airbus A320	-232	1407		SX-ORG	orange2fly	posn 24may19 CRA-PRN after storage	ex XY-AGS
Airbus A320	-232	2085		LY-NVV	Avion Express	first in svc 24may19 AYT-ZRH-AYT, Sun Express cs after wet-lease to Norwegian	ex F-WTDG
Airbus A320	-232	2663		TC-ODE	Onur Air	delivery by Azur Aviation 24-26may19 CHC-ADL-KUL-AMD-ISL, basic ANZ cs	ex ZK-OJO
Airbus A320	-214	3123		C-GFCP	Air Canada rouge	ferried 22may19 MLB-LCQ for paint prior deivery	ex XA-ILY
Airbus A320	-214	3131		OE-LOQ	LaudaMotion	delivery 25may19 TNA-OMS-VIE	ex B-6312
Airbus A320	-214	3160		C-GFCH	Air Canada rouge	delivery 22may19 LCQ-YYZ	ex XA-VAI
Airbus A320	-232	3524		ER-00004	Fly One	delivery 25-26may19 SAL-YQX-KIV	ex XA-VOV
Airbus A320	-232	3543		ER-00005	Fly One	ferried 24may19 SAL-MEX, XA-reg prior delivery	ex XA-VOW
Airbus A320	-214	4161		D-AEUE	germanwings	onward delivery 25may19 KUN-CGN	ex OE-LOC
Airbus A320	-214	4269		OO-SNN	Brussels Airlines	ferried 24may19 BRU-EMA for paint	ex OE-LOE
Airbus A320	-214	4658		TC-FBV	FreeBird Airlines	ferried 20may19 HAN-ALA-AYT after wet-lease to Bamboo Airways (+ 4207 TC-FBH)	ex F-WWIM
Airbus A320	-214	6626		9N-ALM	Himalaya Airways	posn 17may19 KTM-HAN on wet-lease to Bamboo Airways	ex B-1682
Airbus A320	-271N	8777		B-MCL	Air Macau	delivery 24-25nmay19 TLS-DWC-MFM	ex F-WTBS
Airbus A320	-251N	8797		9M-RAN	AirAsia	delivery 23-24may19 XFW-DWC-KUL	ex D-AUBT
Airbus A320	-271N	8901		VT-IZY	IndiGo Airlines	delivery 24-25may19 XFW-DWC-DEL	ex D-AVVL

Airbus Updates No.2163

Oman's SalamAir mulls order for A321neo(LR)s or A220s

Illustration of SalamAir Airbus A320-200N © Airbus

23.05.2019 - 23:48 UTC

SalamAir (OV, Muscat) is considering an order for up to 12 Airbus aircraft, either A321-200neo(LR) or A220s, CEO Mohamed Ahmed told The National.

"We’re evaluating all the options. There’s an advantage to sticking to one plane type that fits all, but if business plans prove that having smaller capacity or longer range would bring additional revenue then, of course, we’d look at it," Ahmed said.

The Omani LCC plans to make a decision by the end of 2019, after it obtains traffic rights and charter contracts necessary for its further development. SalamAir is looking to triple its size before its Initial Public Offering (IPO) tentatively scheduled for 2024.

By 2024, the carrier plans to operate 20 aircraft, up from the current four (three A320-200s and one A320-200neo). It intends to take deliveries of five more A320neo by the end of 2019 already.

"We had even more aggressive plans but Airbus delayed most of the aircraft. We should have received all six A320neo aircraft before this summer, but we're only receiving three before summer and three are coming post-summer, so once those aircraft come we'll add more destinations and increase frequencies," Ahmed said, adding that SalamAir was in talks with the manufacturer regarding compensation.

In order to facilitate its growth plans, SalamAir is also considering establishing a base in Salalah in addition to its main gateway at Muscat. The former city is a fast-growing tourist destination but currently, no airline has a crew base there. Salalah presently sees 109 weekly scheduled departures with 63 of them operated by flag carrier Oman Air (WY, Muscat).

Ahmed also said that SalamAir will focus on destinations within the six-hour flight range and had no plans to enter the long-haul low-cost market. He listed Damascus as an attractive destination once the situation in Syria stabilises.

Airbus Updates No.2162

Viet Nam's Bamboo Airways wet-leases Nepalese A320

Himalaya Airlines Airbus A320-200 © Himalaya Airlines

23.05.2019 - 22:53 UTC

Bamboo Airways (QH, Hanoi) has wet-leased an A320-200 from Nepal's Himalaya Airlines (H9, Kathmandu) for one year, Aviation Nepal has reported.

The 4-year-old Airbus narrowbody 9N-ALM (msn 6626) was ferried from Kathmandu to Hanoi on May 17, 2019, and has been operating on behalf of the Vietnamese carrier since May 20, Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows.

The aircraft is currently based out of Ho Chi Minh City and operates daily from the southern Vietnamese gateway to Hanoi and Quang Ninh, as well as from Hanoi to Da Nang.

Bamboo Airways also wet-leases an A320 each from Cambodia's Sky Angkor Airlines (ZA, Phnom Penh) and Turkey's Freebird Airlines (FH, Istanbul New). The carrier's in-house fleet includes one A319-100, two A320-200s, and three A321-200neo. It is also in the process of adding a further two A320s and one A321neo. Bamboo Airways also has ten B787-9s on order from Boeing.

For its part, Himalaya Airlines operates a further two A320s on its own network.

Airbus Updates No.2161

SAS, Airbus to research electric and hybrid aircraft

SAS Scandinavian Airlines Airbus A320-200 © Tis Meyer / PlanePics.org

23.05.2019 - 21:58 UTC

SAS Scandinavian Airlines (SK, Copenhagen Kastrup) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) to jointly research hybrid and electric aircraft and infrastructure requirements for such aircraft.

"We are proud of our ambitious sustainability work and are now pleased that Airbus has chosen SAS to partner up with us for this future project. If this becomes a reality, it will revolutionize emissions," SAS CEO Rickard Gustafson said.

The partnership will in the future also involve a renewable energy supplier to ensure zero emissions on the entire supply chain.

Other airlines involved in research related to the deployment of electric aircraft, albeit on a smaller scale, are Canada's Harbour Air Seaplanes (Vancouver Coal Harbour), which plans to convert all its seaplanes into electric aircraft, and Mokulele Airlines (MW, Kona), which plans to test such aircraft on its Hawaiian network. Air New Zealand (NZ, Auckland Int'l) has also partnered with Zephyr Airworks regarding the deployment of electric air taxis. Airbus SE (Toulouse Blagnac) itself is currently testing an electric powerplant on an ARJ-100 aircraft.

SAS currently operates a sizeable Airbus fleet which includes four A319-100s, eleven A320-200s, fifteen A320-200neo, eight A321-200s, eight A330-300s, eight A340-300s, as well as nine A320neo operated by its subsidiary SAS Scandinavian Airlines Ireland. It has a further forty-one A320neo, one A330-300, and eight A350-900s on order with the European manufacturer.

Airbus Updates No.2160

Canada's Jetlines secures A320s for 4Q19 launch

Illustration of Jetlines Airbus A320-200 © Jetlines

17.05.2019 - 16:37 UTC

Jetlines (CJL, Vancouver Int'l) says it has entered into definitive lease agreement with SmartLynx Airlines (6Y, Riga) for the lease of two A320-200s that will deliver by November 5 of this year as part of the carrier's AOC certification drive.

The start-up ULCC plans to launch commercial services on December 17, 2019 using Vancouver Int'l as its home base.

The commitment came after Jetlines was able to align the terms of its escrow release conditions with both Smartlynx (for CAD7.5 million (USD5.57 million)) and South Korean fund, InHarv Partners (for CAD7 million (USD5.2 million)).

Under the revised terms with SmartLynx, CAD5.25 million (70%) of the proceeds shall be released once Jetlines meets its Funding Milestone by June 30. The milestone is calculated by adding the CAD3.85 million realised through the exercise of previously issued warrants since November 1, 2018, and the final amount committed under the InHarv financing at closing, and subtracting that total number from CAD40 million.

In addition, Jetlines must also secure the go-ahead from the Canada Transportation Agency (CTA) allowing it to sell tickets for airline travel. Jetlines intends to apply for this order in time to receive it in September 2019, approximately three months ahead of its first flight. The remaining CAD2.25 million (30%) of the proceeds will be released once Jetlines secures its AOC.

Under the revised terms with InHarv Partners, CAD4.9 million (70%) will be released once the CTA okays ticket sales and Jetlines has completed additional financings for gross proceeds of CAD33 million. The remaining CAD2.1 million (30%) will be released on the granting of its AOC.

Airbus Updates No.2159

Airbus A350	-941	309		9V-SHG	Singapore Airlines	delivery 18may19 TLS-SIN	ex F-WZNR
Airbus A380	-841	263		JA382A	ANA All Nippon	delivery 17may19 TLS NRT	ex F-WWAF
Airbus Canada A220	-371	55053		YL-AAR	Air Baltic	delivery 17may19 YMX-RIX	ex C-FOVP

National Airline Airbus A330 N819CA in full colours after painting at Malta