Airbus Updates No.4150

 

 

ITA Airways takes delivery of 1st Airbus A321neo

On 10 November 2023, ITA Airways received the keys to its first Airbus A321neo. The aircraft, A321-200NX EI-HXA (11561) was handed over at the Airbus-factory at Hamburg-Finkenwerder. It will soon be ferried to the airline's base at Rome-Fiumicino.

Originally, ITA Airways was planning to put it into service on the route to Tel Aviv but that route is currently suspended by the airline due to the war between Israel and Hamas.

ITA Airways will take delivery of at least nine leased A321-200NXs, which it will equip with twelve Business Class, twelve Premium Economy, and 141 Economy Class-seats. It's mainly planning to deploy the type across destinations in the Middle-East.

The Italian airline has been renewing its fleet with good speed. This year alone, ITA Airways will have taken delivery of 40 new aircraft. Next to the new A321neo, the fleet further consists of one A220-100, seven A220-300s, sixteen A319s, 25 A320s, thirteen A320neos, seven A330-200s, five A330-900s, and six A350-900s.

Airbus Updates No.4149

 Airbus October 2023 orders & deliveries

Last month, October 2023, Airbus could note down orders for 119 new aircraft and 26 cancellations. It was also able to deliver 71 new Airbuses to happy customers around the world. Let's have a look at the details!

Ordered were:

• 6 A220-100s by Air Niugini
• 8 A320neos by Cathay Pacific Group
• 24 A321neos by Cathay Pacific Group
• 8 A220-300s by an Undisclosed customer
• 3 A321neos by an Undisclosed customer
• 10 A350-900s by an Undisclosed customer
• 60 A321neos by United Airlines

Cancelled were:

• 5 A320neos by Aegean Airlines
• 1 A220-300 by Macquarie Financial Holdings
• 20 A321neos by NAS Aviation Services

Delivered were:

• 1 A320neo to Aer Lingus
• 1 A321neo to Air Astana
• 1 A330-200 to Airbus Defence & Space
• 1 A220-300 to Air France
• 1 A350-900 to Air France
• 2 A320neos to Air India
• 2 A350-900s to Air India
• 1 A321neo to Air New Zealand
• 1 A350-900 to Asiana Airlines
• 1 A320neo to Avianca
• 2 A220-300s to Breeze Airways
• 1 A321neo to British Airways
• 1 A320neo to Brussels Airlines
• 1 A220-300 to Bulgaria Air
• 1 A320neo to Cebu Pacific
• 1 A321neo to Chengdu Airlines
• 1 A350-900 to China Eastern Airlines
• 1 A320neo to China Southern Airlines
• 1 ACJ220-100 to Comlux
• 1 A220-300 to Delta Air Lines
• 1 A321neo to Delta Air Lines
• 1 A330-900 to Delta Air Lines
• 1 A321neo to EgyptAir
• 5 A320neos to flynas
• 1 A321neo to Frontier Airlines
• 1 A321neo to Gulf Air
• 1 A320neo to Iberia
• 1 A350-900 to Iberia
• 2 A320neos to IndiGo
• 1 A321neo to IndiGo
• 1 A220-100 to ITA Airways
• 2 A220-300s to ITA Airways
• 2 A320neos to ITA Airways
• 1 A330-900 to ITA Airways
• 2 A321neos to Jet2
• 1 A320neo to Juneyao Air
• 2 A321neos to Korean Air
• 1 A320neo to LATAM Airlines
• 1 A321neo to LATAM Airlines
• 3 A321neos to Pegasus Airlines
• 1 ACJ320neo to a Private customer
• 1 A350-900 to Sichuan Airlines
• 2 A320neos to Spirit Airlines
• 2 A321neos to Spirit Airlines
• 1 A320neo to Spring Airlines
• 1 A350-900 to Starlux Airlines
• 1 A321neo to United Airlines
• 2 A321neos to VietJet Air
• 1 A321neo to Viva Aerobus
• 1 A321neo to Volaris
• 4 A321neos to WizzAir

In 2023, Airbus has now received a total of 1,399 orders. It has also received 65 cancellations, leaving a net of 1,334 orders. The number of delivered aircraft stands at 559.

Airbus Updates No.4148

 

GLOBALX wet-leases Airbus A320 from sister carrier

GLOBALX A320-200© Howard Group/GlobalX

10.11.2023 - 13:48 UTC

GLOBALX (G6, Miami International) has wet-leased an A320-200 from its former subsidiary but now affiliate carrier Canada Jetlines (AU, Toronto Pearson) for November 2023.

C-GJLH (msn 3460) was ferried to Miami International on November 3 and has since been used for operations on behalf of Haiti's Sunrise Airways (S6, Port au Prince), a charter customer of GLOBALX.

It is one of three A320s operated by Canada Jetlines, a carrier which is currently 25%-owned by GLOBALX shareholders but operates independently, focusing on scheduled leisure flights between Canada and destinations in the Caribbean, the United States, and Central America.

GLOBALX, in turn, operates one A319-100, eight A320-200, three A321-200s, one A321-200(P2F), and two A321-200(PCF)s, according to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module.

Airbus Updates No.4147

 

Azores Airlines takes first Airbus A320neo

Grupo SATA Fleet© Grupo SATA

10.11.2023 - 11:48 UTC

Azores Airlines (S4, Ponta Delgada) took delivery of its first A320-200N on November 7, 2023. The carrier aims to replace all three A320-200s with the same number of new-generation aircraft.

CS-TSK (msn 11664) was ferried from Toulouse Blagnac to Lisbon, where it will undergo pre-induction maintenance and registration procedures. The airline said the A320neo would enter revenue service as soon as the formalities are completed, but did not give a specific timeline letalone file schedules for the type. The aircraft is configured for up to 168 passengers in a single-class layout.

The airline expecteds the second A320neo in early 2024 and the third in early 2025, although deliveries might be delayed. The first one was delivered four months behind the original deadline.

The ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows that Azores Airlines already operates two A321-200Ns and three A321-200NX(LR)s. It has no plans to resume widebody operations. Fellow Grupo SATA carrier SATA Air Acores (SP, Ponta Delgada) operates two DHC-8-Q200s and five DHC-8-Q400s on local routes connecting the Azores archipelago.

Airbus Updates No.4146

 

Pakistan's PIA close to settling A320 lease dispute

PIA - Pakistan International Airbus A320-200© PIA - Pakistan International Airlines

10.11.2023 - 01:30 UTC

PIA - Pakistan International Airlines (PK, Islamabad International) is in the final stages of settling its long-running dispute with Asia Aviation Capital Limited (AACL) concerning two A320-200s stuck at Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta. AACL, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Capital A, was claiming USD31 million from PIA. However, the two parties have reportedly agreed on a USD26 million payment.

The parties are close to formally resolving the dispute following a series of meetings in Kuala Lumpur, with a PIA spokesman telling ch-aviation that resolution of the matter was imminent. In the background, the lessor had initiated a case in the UK High Court - Asia Aviation Capital Limited v. Pakistan International Airlines Corporation Limited (case no: CL-2023-000543).

The matter centred on AP-BLY (msn 2926) and AP-BLZ (msn 2944) leased from AACL in 2015 at a per aircraft rate of USD265,000 per calendar month, plus the standard supplementary leasing costs. In 2019, with PIA in arrears, AACL started legal action in the UK, with the court later finding in favour of the lessor. In 2021, AACL ordered the aircraft be ferried to Jakarta for maintenance at the FL Technics Indonesia facility, where they have remained ever since. AACL's legal representatives declined to comment to ch-aviation.

AACL's current claim against PIA for USD31,343,641 alleges the airline failed to return the two aircraft at their lease end date and is claiming unpaid basic rent, redelivery rent, maintenance reserves, and contractual interest. Earlier efforts by PIA to resolve the matter have failed, but last month, ch-aviation reported that a delegation of PIA and Pakistani government officials were heading to Malaysia for talks. Reportedly, PIA's legal representative, Norton Rose Fulbright, advised the airline that their chances of winning the current UK court matter were slight and that they should attempt to mediate a solution.

The soon to be signed agreement will see PIA pay approximately USD26 million. In return, AACL will transfer the titles of the two planes to PIA in two instalments. The Pakistan government's Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) approved bridging finance of PKR8 billion rupees (USD28.9 million) on October 29 to cover the payments.

Airbus Updates No.4145

 

Yamato Transport welcomes 1st Airbus A321P2F

On 6 November 2023, Yamato Transport welcomed its first converted Airbus A321 in Japan. A321P2F F-WTAX (4173) arrived at Tokyo-Narita from Singapore-Seletar where the aircraft was converted. It was previously in use with Qatar Airways as A7-AIA.

It will be registered as JA81YA and will be operated by Spring Airlines, a Japan Airlines-subsidiary. In January 2022, JAL and Yamato announced the establishment of a joint-venture cargo airline to support the growing e-commerce business of Yamato. Two more A321P2Fs will follow shortly and will, initially, fly domestic services from both Tokyo-Haneda and -Narita to Chitose, Kitakyushu, Naha and Sapporo.

Airbus Updates No.4144

 

EVA Air places orders with Airbus

On 7 November 2023, Airbus announced EVA Air has selected Airbus to renew part of its fleet. In total, the Taiwanese carrier will be ordering 33 new Airbuses, consisting of eighteen A350-1000s and fifteen A321neos. No delivery timeline has been communicated yet.

EVA Air will use the new A350 and A321neos to replace older aircraft in the fleet, mainly the A321 and B777-300ER. Currently, EVA Air's fleet consists of nineteen A321s, three A330-200s, nine A330-300s, 34 B777-300ERs, eight B777Fs, four B787-9s, and nine B787-10s.

In March this year, the airline announced an order with Boeing for five additional B787-9s. It now has thirteen open orders for the Dreamliner, nine B787-9s and four B787-10s

Airbus Updates No.4143

 

AZAL Azerbaijan Airlines adds wet-leased A320 capacity

AZAL Azerbaijan Airlines A320neo© AZAL

07.11.2023 - 06:33 UTC

AZAL Azerbaijan Airlines (J2, Baku Heydar Aliev International) has signed a wet-lease agreement with Lithuania’s GetJet Airlines (GW, Vilnius) for three Airbus A320 aircraft, which it will deploy for the duration of this winter season’s operations.

ch-aviation analysis of Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows that the three GetJet A320-200s are already in or operating out of Baku Heydar Aliev International. Both LY-FAS (msn 4273) and LY-WIZ (msn 3430) were ferried there from Vilnius on October 31, and since then they have conducted flights between the Azeri capital and Antalya, Berlin Brandenburg International, Dubai International, Izmir Adnan Menderes, Istanbul Sabiha Gökcen, Milan Malpensa, Prague Václav Havel, and Vienna.

The third twinjet, LY-GYM (msn 2584), was ferried to Baku on November 2 from Malta International, where it had been stored. GetJet’s Maltese affiliate, Airhub Airlines (RE, Malta International), which operates its own fleet of five aircraft under its local 9H registration, is an occasional ACMI customer of the Lithuanian ACMI/wet-lease specialist.

In a statement, AZAL said it planned to deploy the ACMI jets on the above routes as well as to Almaty and Astana “to meet the growing needs of passengers.” GetJet separately said in its own communiqué that the new contract ensures it keeps busy “a significant number of our Airbus A320 family units for the entire winter season, which usually brings seasonal challenges for ACMI providers.”

GetJet Airlines’ chief executive, Rūta Kulvinskaitė, told ch-aviation in an interview in September that its business “was built from day one to deal with seasonality. So we believe that the fleet and company size is optimal for seasonal changes - winter doesn’t come as a surprise for us as we built the company around that.”

The GetJet fleet currently consists of five A320-200s, one A321-200, and five B737-800s, according to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module. Subsidiary GetJet Airlines Latvia (GJ, Riga) operates an additional A320-200, while Airhub Airlines operates another two A320s, one A330-200, one A330-300, and one A330-900. Customers at the moment include Air Sénégal, Air Serbia, Aruba Airlines, ASL Airlines France, Ibom Air, and Nesma Airlines.

AZAL meanwhile operates six of its own A320-200s amid a fleet of thirty-two Airbus, Boeing, and Embraer jets.

Airbus Updates No.4142

 

Malaysia Airlines' A330neo delivery timeline intact

Malaysia Airlines Airbus A330-900© Airbus

07.11.2023 - 03:53 UTC

Delivery of the first A330-900Ns to Malaysia Airlines (MH, Kuala Lumpur International) remains on track to start in September 2024, according to Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG) Managing Director Izham Ismail. He also says Malaysia Airlines will issue a request for proposal (RFP) for 20 narrowbody aircraft in the first quarter of 2024 and warns he won't necessarily stick with the carrier's long-term narrowbody aircraft manufacturer.

Speaking at an aviation conference in Kuala Lumpur last week, Ismail confirmed the delivery timelines of the twenty A330-900Ns acquired through Avolon, and first announced in August 2022, remains largely unchanged. "If we stick to our long-term business plan until 2030, we should have at least 55 widebody aircraft by 2028," he said. According to ch-aviation fleets advanced data, Malaysia Airlines' passenger-configured widebody fleet now comprises six A330-200s, fifteen A330-300s, and six A350-900s. Ismail also confirmed that Malaysia Airlines had options to order another twenty A330-900Ns and was likely to decide on that in 2024.

In the same presentation, Ismail said he would issue the narrowbody RFP early next year as part of the second stage of the airline's narrowbody fleet renewal program, with deliveries planned through 2028. In early 2022, as part of the first stage of the narrowbody renewal program, MAG ordered twenty-five B737-8s from Air Lease Corporation, with deliveries through 2026. Malaysia Airlines currently operates forty-two B737-800s, but Ismail hopes to increase the narrowbody fleet size to 60 narrowbodies by 2030.

"We’re agnostic of the aircraft type after what we have gone through in the last few months (with Boeing)," Ismail said. "We’re open to (the) A220. To a certain extent, what’s wrong with COMAC? If the fleet meets our mission, vision and aspiration and is commercially favourable to MAG, we’ll go with the aircraft type.”

Ismail's reference to Boeing concerns delays with the first B737-8s. Malaysia Airlines was expecting its first deliveries earlier this year. "I am very disappointed with the delivery progress of our B737-8 aircraft," he said. "Contractually, we were supposed to receive seven aircraft this year, but the revised contract would see four. But as we speak, I honestly don't know when the aircraft are coming. It has been delayed for the last two and a half months."

Airbus Updates No.4141

 

ITA Airways takes first A220-100

ITA Airways Airbus A220-300© ITA Airways

06.11.2023 - 11:00 UTC

ITA Airways (AZ, Rome Fiumicino) has taken delivery of its first A220-100, deploying it into commercial service on the restricted and high-yielding Milan Linate-London City route almost immediately.

EI-HLA (msn 50068) was ferried directly from Montréal Mirabel to Rome Fiumicino on October 31-November 1, 2023. Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows it was then repositioned to Linate on November 2 and operated its first revenue flight to London City on November 3. So far, the aircraft has only been used on this route. It is configured for up to 125 passengers in a single-class layout.

ITA Airways has six more A220-100s on direct order from Airbus. The airline is only the third operator of the variant globally, following Swiss and Delta Air Lines. It also operates seven A220-300s on lease from Air Lease Corporation with plans to add a further nine of the type from the same lessor. The -300 is not certified to operate at London City airport.

Prior to EI-HLA's delivery, ITA Airways had wet-leased an E190 from Eastern Airways (T3, Humberside) to operate the London City route. The up to 3x daily route can be flown with a single aircraft.

Airbus Updates No.4140

 

Uzbekistan's Air Samarkand takes first aircraft, an A330

© Tis Meyer (PlanePics.org)

06.11.2023 - 04:54 UTC

Air Samarkand (Samarkand) has taken delivery of its first aircraft, an A330-300. FlightRadar24 ADS-B data shows 2-LCCV (msn 1177), an ex-China Airlines jet configured with 277 seats in Economy Class and 36 in Business Class, ferried in to Samarkand from Taipei Taoyuan on November 3. Based on ch-aviation fleets ownership data, the aircraft is owned by Minsheng Financial Leasing special purpose vehicle Bluesky Magial 1001 Leasing Co Ltd.

The nascent Uzbek carrier said in a statement it expects to take delivery of a second aircraft, an A321-200, "in the coming days" to be configured with 169 Economy, 18 Premium Economy, and 12 Business Class seats. By the end the end of the year, it plans to have four additional A330/A320 family jets in its fleet.

An airline spokesman has since told ch-aviation the widebody will become UK 33001 on the Uzbek register once an AOC has been conferred. The A321, msn 5936, will also become UK 32120.

"As for the other aircraft, we are now in the process of signing contracts with lessors. One of them is an A321ceo, and two A321neo. We very much hope to receive them by the end of the year," he said.

While its website states that it plans to serve up to 25 destinations in Europe, Türkiye, the United Arab Emirates, Israel, China and "other Asian countries", Air Samarkand said in a press release it would initially serve Türkiye, Vietnam, Indonesia, and China. During a December 2022 press conference, it specifically mentioned Istanbul and Antalya as the initial destinations it would like to serve in Türkiye.

Bakhtiyor Fazylov, the airline's founder, put its launch in context with other investments being made in the Samarkand region saying: "Over the past year we have implemented a large-scale project to develop the Silk Road Samarkand Tourist Centre, which has already begun to bring the tourism potential of the region to a qualitatively new level, combining ancient heritage with modern infrastructure and facilities. This development will continue with the launch of Air Samarkand's services, which will soon directly connect the ancient city of Samarkand with major tourism and commercial centres."

Airbus Updates No.4139

 

Brussels Airlines takes delivery of first Airbus A320neo

A happy moment for Brussels Airlines on 1 November 2023. The airline took delivery of its first Airbus A320neo, arriving from Toulouse-Blagnac at Brussels. The aircraft, OO-SBA (11600), was welcomed with the traditional water salute and will now be prepared for entry into commercial service.

The A320neo is the first of five the airline will take delivery of between this year and end 2024. It joins a fleet of sixteen A319s, eighteen A320s, and nine A330-300s.

Airbus Updates No.4138

 Air Niugini selects Airbus A220

During a special ceremony at Port Moresby on 1 November 2023, Air Niugini announced it has selected the Airbus A220 as its choice for renewing its current fleet of narrowbody aircraft. The airline is ordering six A220-100s directly with Airbus, while it will also lease two A220-100s and three A220-300s from lessors. No delivery timeline for the eleven jets has been communicated.

Air Niugini's current narrowbody-fleet is made-up of one Boeing B737-800, six Fokker 70s (two parked), and seven Fokker 100s (four parked). Next to these, the airline also operates one DHC-8-300, three DHC-8-400s (two parked), and two B767-300ERs (one parked).

Earlier this year, Air Niugini announced an order for two B787-8s to replace its B767 with.

Airbus Updates No.4137

 Korean Air orders more Airbus A321neos

On 30 October 2023, Korean Air announced it has decided to order additional Airbus A321neos. In total, the airline is set to order 20 more aircraft. It hasn't been announced which version of the A321neo has been ordered but we do know that deliveries will run until end December 2030.

So far, Korean Air has taken delivery of eight A321-200NX out of an order of 30 A321neos. With this latest order, the total number of A321neos ordered by the company stands at 50. It started commercial flights with the type in December 2022 and is deploying it on flights from South Korea to destinations in China, Japan and South East Asia like Thailand and Vietnam.

Next to its A321neos, Korean Air has a fleet of ten A220-300s, seven A330-200s, 20 A330-300s, one Boeing B737-700BBJ, two B737-800s, nine B737-900s, six B737-900ERs, five B737-8s, four B747-400Fs, seven B747-8Fs, nine B747-8s, eight B777-200ERs, four B777-300s, 25 B777-300ERs, twelve B777Fs, one B787-8BBJ, and eleven B787-9s.

Airbus Updates No.4136

 Condor places orders for additional A330-900s

Condor has decided to order additional A330-900s with Airbus. On 26 October 2023, the airline announced it has ordered three additional aircraft, which are scheduled for delivery in 2026 and 2027.

With this latest order, Condor has now ordered and secured leases for a total of 21 A330-900s. So far, ten of these have been delivered to the airline. Next to these, Condor's fleet exists of 21 A321s, eleven A321s, five A330-200s, nine Boeing B757-300s, and four B767-300ERs.

Airbus Updates No.4135

 

US's Spirit Airlines grounds 25 A320 Family aircraft

Spirit Airlines Airbus A320-200N© Airbus

26.10.2023 - 13:32 UTC

Spirit Airlines (NK, Fort Lauderdale International) pulled 25 planes from service late last week to perform inspections, which the low-cost carrier said was happening "out of an abundance of caution." The all-Airbus operator operates 207 narrowbody aircraft.

Spirit said the checks were "necessary" and would impact its flight schedules. “While this action is being taken out of an abundance of caution, the impact to our network is expected to last several days as we complete the inspections and work to return to normal operations,” the airline's statement reads.

ADS-b data reveals that the airline cancelled 11% of its flights on October 20, 9% on October 21, and 8% on October 22. By October 23, the start of the current working week, the cancellation rate fell to 1% and was less than that the following day. While scores of Spirit's aircraft are impacted by the recall of certain Pratt & Whitney PW1100G engines, FlightGlobal reports that these aircraft went out of service to facilitate inspection of airframe brackets for possible fatigue cracks. A 2018 airworthiness directive details the issue that affects first-generation A320 Family jets but not newer A320neo types.

Spirit operates sixty-two A320-200s and thirty A321-200s among its broader fleet, which also includes twenty-three A319-100s, eight-two A320-200Ns, and eight A321-200NX. It says it will deal with any problems before returning any aircraft to service. However, the airline did not say how long it would take to complete the inspections of the 25 planes. Spirit Airlines did not respond to a request from ch-aviation for further details.

Airbus Updates No.4134

 

Germany's City Airlines confirms Summer 2024 launch

Lufthansa Airbus A319-100© Lufthansa Group

27.10.2023 - 07:02 UTC

City Airlines (VL, Munich) will commence flight operations with A319-100s in the summer of 2024, with recruitment for cockpit and cabin crews beginning in November 2023, the airline group announced.

The Lufthansa Group subsidiary, which received its air operator certificate (AOC) in June, will operate from Munich and Frankfurt International, flying alongside Lufthansa CityLine (CL, Munich) in providing short-haul feeder flights to sister carrier Lufthansa (LH, Frankfurt International). The Group said the strategy was for City Airlines to strengthen the two hubs, expand the short-haul network, and support the growth of Lufthansa's long-haul operations. "The competitive strengthening of the short-haul network is essential for the market position of Lufthansa Group and for the planned growth of the long-haul segment in the German market," the holding said in a statement.

Operations will start with A319s (presumably from Lufthansa) while considering using other similar-sized aircraft, such as A220s or Embraers. The new airline took over a single A319-100, D-AILX (msn 860), from Lufthansa CityLine to fulfil its AOC requirements.

"With City Airlines, we want to create prospects for the coming decades and secure sustainable jobs in Germany. This is the only way for us to grow and sustainably strengthen the hubs in Munich and Frankfurt," commented City Airlines Managing Director Jens Fehlinger.

Lufthansa Group CEO Carsten Spohr previously disclosed the Group ultimately looks to equip City Airlines with 40 narrowbodies of 120 to 140-seater Embraer E-jets or A220s. He said a decision would probably be made during this IATA winter.

City Airlines is to accommodate pilots from former subsidiary germanwings (4U, Cologne/Bonn), which shuttered flight operations in 2021. An initially expected launch in mid-2023 was delayed by 18 months of labour talks with trade unions over a long-term collective bargaining agreement in the Group, to avoid previous disparate pilot incomes resulting from separate labour negotiations within the respective airlines in the Group. This resulted in the Lufthansa Group Collective Bargaining Commission, which centralises collective labour negotiations.

Airbus Updates No.4133

 

US’s JetBlue inks ten more A220, A321neo sale/lease-backs

JetBlue A321neo(LR)© Sebastian White/JetBlue

26.10.2023 - 14:23 UTC

JetBlue Airways (B6, New York JFK) has entered into another sale-and-leaseback agreement with BOC Aviation, this time covering eight A220-300s and two A321neo aircraft through BOC Aviation (USA), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Singapore-based, Hong Kong-listed lessor.

A stock market filing says BOC Aviation (USA) will lease the Airbus aircraft back to the airline under finance lease transactions that are expected to close in 2023.

It is the third finance lease agreement that BOC and JetBlue have signed recently, bringing the tally to 27 aircraft. Deals inked in June and September covered two A321neo and five A220s, and five A321neo and five A220s, respectively.

According to ch-aviation fleets advanced data, JetBlue currently operates twenty A321-200NX, of which it owns 14 and leases the other six from DAE Capital. It also operates nine owned A321-200NX(LR)s. The American carrier’s fleet of A220s consists of nineteen owned aircraft. It has a further eighty-one A220s as well as thirty-four A321-200NX, nine A321-200NX(LR)s, and thirteen A321-200NY(XLR)s on firm order from the manufacturer.

Airbus Updates No.4132

 

American Airlines buys 10 Airbus A321neo from Alaska Airlines

Alaska Airlines Airbus A320-200© Alaska Airlines

23.10.2023 - 13:32 UTC

American Airlines (AA, Dallas/Fort Worth) has bought ten second-hand A321-200Ns from Alaska Airlines (AS, Seattle Tacoma International), the latter revealed in its quarterly earnings report.

Alaska Airlines retired the ten aircraft, which are just 5.6 years old on average, at the end of September 2023, as it pursues its fleet unification strategy centred on Boeing narrowbody jets. The aircraft were initially contracted by Virgin America on lease from GECAS in 2015. Only four were delivered to the low-cost carrier before its takeover by Alaska Airlines, while the other six entered into service directly with Alaska Airlines.

The ch-aviation fleets ownership module shows that Alaska Airlines owned one of the ten aircraft, while the other nine were leased - four from Jackson Square Aviation, two each from AerCap and SMBC Aviation Capital, and one from Merx Aviation Finance. The carrier recorded a USD14 million gain on the "interest expense associated with certain A321neo lease agreements which were modified as part of Alaska's fleet transition".

American Airlines already operates seventy A321-200NX and has four more on order from Airbus (as well as fifty A321-200NY(XLR)s). All of its current A321neo were delivered directly from the manufacturer.

Airbus Updates No.4131

 

Airbus A321	-212	796		F-GTAE	Air France	ferried 19oct23 CDG-LDE for part-out & scrap	ex D-AVZN
Airbus A321	-231	3458		YI-	Global	at EMA 15oct23 after paint, VP-reg prior delivery	ex VP-CGA
Airbus A321	-211	5808		C-	Air Canada	delivery 17-18oct23 TPE-CTS-ANC-MZJ, B-reg	ex B-16206
Airbus A321	-251NX	11468		TC-RDU	Pegasus Airlines	delivery 20oct23 XFW-SAW	ex D-AVZA
Airbus A321	-271NX	11500		N44501	United AIrlines	delivery 16oct23 XFW-KEF-CLE-IAH	ex D-AXXH
Airbus A321	-271NXLR	11542		EI-KGK	Air Astana	delivery 23oct23 XFW-ALA	ex D-AVYM
Airbus A321	-271NX	11607		N544DN	Delta Air Lines	delivery 19oct23 BFM-MSP	ex F-WZMW
Airbus A321	-251NX	11632		B-32F9	Chengdu Airlines	delivery 19-2oct23 XFW-NQZ-CTU	ex D-AZAT
Airbus A321	-231	6002		YR-FIC	Fly One Airlimes	ferried 18oct23 LDE-KUN, VP-reg prior delivery	ex VP-BEK
Airbus A330	-343	896		D-AIKK	Discover Airlines	ferried 19oct23 CHR-FRA after pant prior transfer	ex F-WWYX
Airbus A330	-243	1293		EC-ODB	Iberia	delivery 20oct23 ISL-MAD, 9H-reg	ex 9H-GKL
Airbus A330	-243	1306		CP-	Boliviana de Aviación	air-test at WOE 18oct23, 2-reg after paint prior delivery	ex 2-HXFD
Airbus A330	-343(F)	1378		B-	Air Hong Kong	delivery 20-21oct23 DRS-BAH-HKG, M-reg prior paint	ex M-IRTK
Airbus A330	-343	1427		2-AODZ	FPG Amentum	ferried 21oct23 LETL-CHR, all white	ex A4O-DZ
Airbus A330	-243F	1594		OO-SEA	Air Belgium	ferried 16oct23 BRU-CHR on return to lessor	ex A7-AFH
Airbus A330	-243(MRTT)	2043		T-	NATO	ferried 20oct23 TLS-LEGT for MRTT-config, EC-reg	ex EC-347
Airbus A340	-642	787		G-ECLN	European Cargo	regd 20oct23 at BOH	ex 9H-PPE
Airbus A350	-941	602		HL8522	Asiana Airlines	delivery 19oct23 TLS-ICN	ex F-WWXL
Airbus A350	-941	607		B-32FP	China Eastern	delivery 18oct23 TLS-PVG	ex F-WWIW
Airbus Canada A220	-300	55225		N225BZ	Breeze Airways	delivery 17oct23 BFM-TPA	ex C-GPCA