Airbus Updates No.2228

Airbus A319	-112	646		D-AKNF	germanwings	ferried 22jul19 CGN-LETL, for part-out & scrap	ex D-AVYB
Airbus A319	-114	729		D-AILS	Lufthansa CityLine	transferred 19jul19	ex D-AVYF
Airbus A319	-112	2662		9H-TLS	HiFly Malta	ferried / posn 19/21jul19 CDG-FCO-TLS prior Airbus shuttle flights	ex 5B-DCU
Airbus A319	-112	3689		9H-XFW	HiFly Malta	posn 18jul19 TLS-ORY on wet-lease to Transavia France	ex D-ABGO
Airbus A319	-112	4663		LY-KIT	GetJet Airlines	posn 21jul19 VNO-MLA on new wet-lease to Air Malta	ex D-ASTA
Airbus A320	-214	2106		VP-BDK	Aeroflot	ferried 22jul19 SVO-MRV prior return to lessor	ex F-WWDR
Airbus A320	-214	2116		VP-BWD	Aeroflot	ferried 25jul19 SVO-OSR prior return to lessor	ex F-WWDY
Airbus A320	-216	5619		VT-SIN	AirAsia India	delivery / first in svc 15/22jul19 KUL-DEL-GAU-DEL, regd at DEL	ex 9M-AQV
Airbus A320	-271N	7849		B-302C	Tianjin Airlines	back in svc 19jul19 TSN-CKG-TSN after storage	ex F-WWID
Airbus A320	-251N	8949		SE-ROR	SAS	delivery 25jul19 XFW-ARN	ex D-AUAJ
Airbus A320	-251N	9018		B-309N	Zhejiang Loong Airlines	delivery 23jul19 TSN-HGH	ex B-000T
Airbus A320	-271N	9078		EC-NFH	Vueling	delivery 23jul19 TLS-BCN	ex F-WWDC
Airbus A320	-251N	9088		CS-TVF	TAP Air Portugal	delivery 23jul19 TLS-LIS, Star Alliance cs	ex F-WWIG
Airbus A320	-271N	9091		VT-IJK	IndiGo Airlines	delivery 19-20jul19 TLS-DWC-DEL	ex F-WWBE
Airbus A320	-271N	9107		XA-VIR	VivaAeroBus	delivery 25ju1l9 TLS-KEF-BGR-MTY	ex F-WWIJ
Airbus A320	-251N	9114		TC-NCD	Pegasus Airlines	delivery 23jul19 TLS-SAW	ex F-WWIX
Airbus A321	-112	765		UR-COJ	YanAir	ferried 22jul19 ZTR-KBP after storage	ex XY-AGN
Airbus A321	-211	2342		YL-LDB	smartLynx Airlines	posn 20jul10 ERF-CRL,all wite, TUI Airlines titl & logo	ex SP-HAW
Airbus A321	-272N	8753		VN-A625	Vietnam Airlines	delivery 26-27jul19 XFW-OVB-HAN	ex D-AZAI
Airbus A321	-253NX	8834		N406AN	American Airlines	delivery 20jul19 XFW-PIT	ex D-AVXT

Airbus Updates No.2227

Air Transat schedules last A310 ops for early 2Q20

Air Transat Airbus A310-300 © Tis Meyer / PlanePics.org

19.07.2019 - 08:31 UTC

Air Transat (TS, Montréal Trudeau) has scheduled the last A310-300 flights for April 27, 2020, ch-aviation schedule analysis has revealed.

As first reported by Airways Magazine, the Canadian carrier plans to operate the type for the last time on a scheduled charter flight from Roatán to Montréal Trudeau and on a regular service from Paris CDG to Québec.

According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, Air Transat currently operates six A310-300s, which are 29 years old on average. The airline owns all six units. The A310s are being replaced by A321-200neo(LR)s, of which Air Transat already operates two and has a further thirteen on order from AerCap.

The carrier's fleet also includes four A321-200s, sixteen A330-200s, four A330-300s, one B737-700, and five B737-800s.

Airbus Updates No.2226

Vietnam Airlines to lease two A320neo from ALC

Airbus A320-200N © Airbus

19.07.2019 - 13:34 UTC

Vietnam Airlines (VN, Hanoi) has secured two A320-200neo from Air Lease Corporation on longterm contracts. A press release said the jets will deliver from Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) in the autumn of 2020.

Having ended A320ceo operations back in 2013, Vietnam Airlines' mainline narrowbody fleet currently consists of fifty-three A321ceo and eleven A321neo.

As previously reported, it is currently in the process of finalising its investment plan for up to 100 more narrowbody aircraft for delivery in 2021-2025.

The proposal, which includes 50 firm aircraft and ten spare engines, is currently before the State Capital Management Committee awaiting consent. No mention of whether the order will focus on the A320neo family or B737 MAX has yet been made.

Airbus Updates No.2225

Airbus A330	-321	62		HS-TEC	Thai International	ferried 15-16jul19 DMK-NGO-SBD, for part-out & scrap	ex F-WWKR
Airbus A330	-203	900		TC-AGF	AtlasGlobal	posn / first in svc 19-20jul19 IST-AYT-KGF-AYT	ex 2-RLBA
Airbus A330	-343	1157		OE-IEZ	GKL Aircraft Ireland	ferried 17jul19 LDE-NAP prior delivery to?	ex B-22105
Airbus A330	-343	1447		9V-STW	Singapore Airlines	ferried 15jul19 SIN-QPG prior return to lessor	ex F-WWKS
Airbus A330	-941	1913		CS-TUK	TAP Air Portugal	delivery 19jul19 TLS-LIS, Star Alliance cs	ex F-WWYR
Airbus A330	-941	1926		PK-LEI	Lion Airlines	delivery 19jul19 TLS-CGK	ex F-WWYA
Airbus A340	-313	186		F-GLZJ	Air France	ferried 20jul19 CDG-DGX, for part-out & scrap
Airbus A340	-313	390		D-AIFD	Lufthansa	ferried 21jul19 DUB-FRA after paint into new cs, first A343	ex F-WWJE
Airbus A340	-313	483		9H-SOL	HiFly Malta	ferried / posn 15/18jul19 CCS-FCO-LPBJ-RBA after wet-lease to Estelar Latinoamérica / to Royal Air Maroc	ex T7-MAN
Airbus A340	-642	1030		9H-PGS	Maleth-Aero	posn / in svc 18jul19 BOH-TRN-SIN “FlyElitejets” tail titl	ex 2-FIXP
Airbus A350	-941	314		D-AIXO	Lufthansa	delivery 17jul19 TLS-MUC	ex F-WZGA
Airbus A380	-842	249		A6-EVD	Emirates	delivery 19jul19 XFW-DXB	ex F-WWSM

Airbus Updates No.2224

Airbus A300	‑203(F)	141		4L-ALI	Air Speed Charter	posn 18jul19 TBS-KHI	ex N364DH
Airbus A319	-114	729		D-AILS	Lufthansa CityLine	transferred 19jul19	ex D-AVYF
Airbus A319	-111	2283		D-ASSK	Sundair	air-test at MX 16jul19, CC-reg prior delivery	ex CC-AFX
Airbus A319	-112	2662		9H-TLS	HiFly Malta	ferried / posn 19/21jul19 CDG-FCO-TLS prior Airbus shuttle flights	ex 5B-DCU
Airbus A320	-212	466		UR-CSS	Anda Air	seen regd at IEV 09jul19, all white prior svc entry	ex ER-AXN
Airbus A320	-214	4376		9K-CAU	Jazeera Airways	delivery 17jul19 SAW-KWI, all wh, no titl	ex HZ-AS19
Airbus A320	-251N	7799		PR-YYG	Azul Linhas Aéreas	ferried 19jul19 OSR-LETL, VQ-reg after paint prior delivery	ex VQ-BXJ
Airbus A320	-271N	7849		B-302C	Tianjin Airlines	back in svc 19jul19 TSN-CKG-TSN after storage	ex F-WWID
Airbus A320	-214	8951		D-AIWI	Lufthansa	delivery 15jul19 XFW-SXF	ex D-AUAL
Airbus A320	-251N	9024		B-30A3	Spring Airlines	delivery 19jul19 TSN-PVG	ex B-000N
Airbus A320	-214	9081		JA828P	Peach Air	delivery 18-20jul19 TLS-DXB-UTP-KIX, regd F-WHIUT	ex F-WWDT
Airbus A320	-271N	9085		VT-IJM	IndiGo Airlines	delivery 16-17jul19 TLS-DWC-DEL	ex F-WWDZ
Airbus A320	-271N	9091		VT-IJK	IndiGo Airlines	delivery 19-20jul19 TLS-DWC-DEL	ex F-WWBE
Airbus A321	-211	2342		YL-LDB	smartLynx Airlines	posn 20jul10 ERF-CRL,all wite, TUI Airlines titl & logo	ex SP-HAW
Airbus A321	-211	5843		D-ATCF	Condor	regd & delivery 16jul19 ERF-HHN	ex HB-JOI
Airbus A321	-211	7237		TF-GPA	Air Lease Corp	ferried 19jul19 KEF-LJU, for Thomas Cook Airlines as G-TCDS	ex D-AZAX
Airbus A321	-251N	8288		VN-A590	Bamboo Airways	ferried by Azur Aviation 16jul19 CDG-MPL, VP-reg prior delivery	ex VP-CAE
Airbus A321	-253NX	8834		N406AN	American Airlines	delivery 20jul19 XFW-PIT	ex D-AVXT
Airbus A321	-253N	8895		B-308D	China Southern	delivery 19-20jul19 XFW-TSE-CAN	ex D-AVXF
Airbus A321	-251NX	8897		A6-ATC	Air Arabia	delivery 19jul19 XFW-SHJ	ex D-AVXG

Airbus Updates No.2223

IOM-based SPV takes Air Zimbabwe to court over A320s

© Tis Meyer (PlanePics.org)

15.07.2019 - 04:40 UTC

An Isle of Man-based special purpose vehicle (SPV) has taken Air Zimbabwe (UM, Harare Int'l) to court in Zimbabwe over its failure to pay leasing dues on two A320-200s amid a dispute over who owns the jets.

Z-WPM (msn 630) and Z-WPN (msn 1973) were part of a 2012 deal between China Sonangol International (Hong Kong Int'l) and the then Mugabe regime to help revive the debt-ridden state-owned airline. The deal was structured via a pair of IOM-based SPVs, SouthJet Two and SouthJet One. However, only one of the aircraft ever entered sustained operations - Z-WPN - while the other - Z-WPM - has languished at Johannesburg O.R. Tambo since January 2014 given a lack of funds needed to effect major repairs to its airframe and landing gear.

During a May 2016 address to parliament, then Minister of Transport Joram Gumbo explicitly stated that the aircraft had been dry-leased from the Chinese petroleum firm.

"The aircrafts[sic] were not purchased, but are being leased from China Sonangol since 2012," he said at the time. "These were part of efforts by Government to support the turnaround process of Air Zimbabwe."

However, according to Zimbabwean court documents seen by the privately-owned Zimbabwe Independent newspaper, the Zimbabwean state now claims that the two A320s were "donated" to it in 2013, a claim SouthJet has explicitly rejected.

The IOM SPV's Zimbabwean legal representative, Sawyer and Mkushi founding partner Honour Mkushi, told the paper that Air Zimbabwe had no rightful claim to the aircraft given they are still registered in his client's name.

"I represent SouthJet One, they are my clients. The two aircraft belong to SouthJet and they are not operating at the moment because there are a lot of arrears to be paid in respect of the rentals. So, in a nutshell, the aircraft belong to them. If the airplanes were theirs, how could they fail to service them?" he said.

SouthJet's stance is further reinforced by comments Joram Gumbo made later in his May 2016 parliamentary speech. At the time, the Airbus deal had generated much controversy amid claims it was a precondition for China Sonangol, a firm linked to controversial Chinese businessman Sam Pa, to gain access to a Zimbabwean diamond mining concession. In his address, Gumbo conceded that even then, Air Zimbabwe was in arrears to SouthJet.

"They [the aircraft] were not bought by diamonds money. I am 100% certain. I have got the contract and the person you are talking about, Sam Pa, did the negotiations but only on behalf of Sonangol," Gumbo said. "They are actually pestering us for the payment and I have the overdue account of the repayments that we have not been able to meet. This is why my response to Hon. [William] Mutomba was that it is either we can pull in or pull out because I know we owe the company the money payable at USD200,000 a month. So, clear your mind and believe me because I am saying the truth as it is."

Air Zimbabwe assistant administrator Tonderai Mukubvu has since acknowledged the impasse but challenged SouthJet to prove its claim.

"It is work in progress and it is not yet resolved. They (SouthJet One) are trying to prove their claim because when someone says they own something they have to prove the basis on which they are making their claim on," he told The Independent.

Given a lack of official paperwork proving the lease had indeed transmogrified into a donation as claimed, an Air Zimbabwe source told The Independent that the airline had been unable to complete maintenance to either of the A320s.

"The Airbuses were a donation which was made to the Government of Zimbabwe which then gave the planes to Air Zimbabwe. But what we have to sort out are the donation papers so that we are able to use them. They are due for tests and we cannot service them because we need access to the software and computer platform," the official said.

Loss of the aircraft and the imposition of a hefty backdated lease account would add to Air Zimbabwe's already mountainous debt pile, said to exceed USD350 million, and damage an already soiled image. As the sole owner of Air Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwean government has been looking for foreign investors to assist in the airline's relaunch, a proposal that has yet to be taken up. Aside from its debts, prospective investors are also wary about the extent of the rot within the airline.

In her 2019 report to parliament presented in June, Auditor General Mildred Chiri said that in light of a breakdown in internal controls in the 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 financial years, she had had to issue a disclaimer opinion for Air Zimbabwe's 2011 through 2014 financial years. In addition, for the 2018 financial year, she again noted gaping holes in the airline's accounts as well as evidence of poor corporate governance. The report did not specify whether this had occurred before or after Air Zimbabwe was placed under independent administration in October 2018.

"Accountability issues continued to affect Air Zimbabwe (Private) Limited," the report said. "The Company could not provide supporting documentation for operating expenses amounting to USD13,705,014 and petty cash expenditure amounting to USD654,587. The Airline also had an unexplained suspense balance of USD27,965,576. The company has not accounted for all aircraft[sic]. There were unsupported payables balances of at least USD26 million and unexplained variances of USD87 million from amounts confirmed by suppliers. No minutes of board and management meetings were available for the period under review. Cash withdrawals amounting to USD173,162 could not be traced to the books of accounts."

Notwithstanding the SouthJet suit, Chiri also highlighted that a number of court cases in which Air Zimbabwe was involved, had not been quantified and adequately disclosed due to the unavailability of lawyers’ confirmations.

Neither Air Zimbabwe nor the Zimbabwean government was immediately available for comment.

Airbus Updates No.2222

Faroe Islands' Atlantic Airways adds first A320neo

Atlantic Airways Airbus A320-200N © Airbus

15.07.2019 - 16:02 UTC

Atlantic Airways (RC, Vágar) has taken delivery of its first A320-200neo after OY-RCK (msn 8918) was ferried from Hamburg Finkenwerder to Vágar on Friday, July 12.

The new-build jet, which will replace an A319-100 later this month, is one of two A320neo to be leased from Air Lease Corporation, the second of which is due in Spring 2020.

The Faroese carrier also ordered two more A320neo from Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) during the 2019 Paris Air Show with deliveries slated for late 2023 and the first semester of 2024 respectively.

Atlantic Airways also operates one other A319 and one A320ceo. It offers scheduled passenger flights to Denmark, Iceland, the United Kingdom, Spain, France, and Norway.

Airbus Updates No.2221

Philippine Airlines exits A340 fleet

Philippine Airlines Airbus A340-300 © Tis Meyer (PlanePics.org)

16.07.2019 - 16:44 UTC

Philippine Airlines (PR, Manila Ninoy Aquino Int'l) has confirmed it has now ended all A340 operations following the disposal of its last remaining A340-300 - RP-C3441 (msn 474) - on Wednesday, July 10.

Although the Filipino carrier had withdrawn the type from regular rotation last year, it retained it to act as a spare in the event of an AOG.

According to PAL, RP-C3441 was ferried from Manila Ninoy Aquino Int'l to Orlando Int'l via San Francisco, CA on July 10. Its end-customer was not revealed.

The ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows PAL operated a total of ten A340-300s of which four were direct purchases from Airbus with the remainder ex-Iberia inventory.

PAL's widebody fleet now entails fifteen A330-300s, six A350-900s, and ten B777-300(ER)s.

Airbus Updates No.2220

EgyptAir to launch A220-300 operations in late 3Q19

EgyptAir Express Airbus A220-300 © Airbus

16.07.2019 - 22:01 UTC

EgyptAir (MS, Cairo Int'l) will launch scheduled A220-300 operations on September 6, 2019, initially using the type on domestic Egyptian routes, ch-aviation research has revealed.

The Egyptian flag carrier will initially use the new Airbus Canada jet on routes from Cairo Int'l to Aswan (weekly from September 6), Luxor (9x weekly from September 6), and Sharm el Sheikh (weekly starting from September 8).

EgyptAir's A220-300s will be equipped with 140 seats in a single-class layout and will be operated by its EgyptAir Express (MSE, Cairo Int'l) division. The airline has twelve such aircraft on order from the manufacturer.

According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, EgyptAir Express currently operates ten E170LRs on behalf of its parent. EgyptAir itself also operates four A320-200s, twenty-nine B737-800s, four A330-200s, four A330-300s, four B787-9s, and six B777-300(ER)s.