EUROPEAN AIRLINE SCENE - WEEK ENDING 22-08-09
The information in this blog comes from a variety of sources, though particular credit must be given to the following sites, both of which are very highly recommended.
Chris Witt/Skyliner
http://www.skyliner-aviation.de/
Jethro/UK & Ireland Airline Fleet Listings
http://jethros.eu/
Aegean. See under Swiftair.
Air Berlin A320 D-ABDX (3995) was delivered from Toulouse to Berlin/Tegel on 18/8.
Air Comet A343 EC-KAJ (15), which was reregistered as F-WBSR late last month, was ferried from Madrid to Bordeaux for storage on 18/8.
Air France Regional EMB170 F-HBXF (17000292) arrived at Clermont-Ferrand on delivery on 20/8.
Aurigny ATR72 G-BWDA (444) was allocated the test registration F-WKVD & delivered to Casablanca as CN-COB on 20/8.
Aviastar reportedly placed an order at MAKS 2009 for a further two Tu-204s to be delivered in November & December this year. The airline currently has four Tu-204s in service & hopes to have between fifteen & seventeen in its fleet within five years.
Belle Air ATR72 F-ORAA (879) was delivered from Toulouse to Tirana on 21/8.
British A/W A318 G-EUNA (4007) made its first flight at Finkenwerder on 19/8 in full scheme as D-AUAC & is due to be delivered to Gatwick on 31/8. Catching up with one piece of news that I missed, the six B773s on order will be registered G-STBA to G-STBF, with deliveries scheduled between June 2010 & February 2012.
Cathay Pacific A343 B-HXN (126) left Hong Kong on 20/8 destined for storage at Victorville, CA.
Contactair Fk100 D-AFKE (11505) has been painted with Lufthansa Regional tail markings & Contactair titles, unlike the airline's other Fk100s, which are in Star Alliance scheme. It was reported at Amsterdam on 19/8.
DHL B763F G-DHLE (37805) was registered on 18/8 & was promptly ferried from Paine Field, WA to Greensboro, NC for winglet installation the same day. It is expected to be delivered to East Midlands on or around 8/9 & will operate between Leipzig & Cincinatti. G-DHLF (37806) made its first flight on 20/8.
EasyJet A320 G-EZTM (4014) was delivered from Finkenwerder to Gatwick on 20/8. B737 G-EZJF (30243) was ferried from Southend to Stansted on 19/8 as EZY31M in full Aerolineas Argentinas scheme (it is reported that the airline will also be taking G-EZJA/B/C). G-EZJR (32413) was rolled out at Southend on 19/8 in full Eastar colours & ferried from Southend to Stansted as EZY30M on 21/8. A321 G-TTIG (3382) was cancelled from the UK register on 20/8 & became TC-JML for THY, with delivery from Shannon to Istanbul due to take place on 21/8. This aircraft had been at Shannon since 22/6 & had originally been destined for Monarch before that deal was cancelled.
EgyptAir B738 SU-GDB (35567) made its first flight on 20/8.
Emerald A/W former HS748 G-SOEI (1689) was registered to Aerospace Trust Management back on 21/7 as N748D & was ferried from Blackpool to Southend for scrapping on 17/8.
Estonian Air's first two CRJ-900s of three on order are being used for flight training from Montreal/Dorval. Currently carrying the test registrations C-GZQI/J, they are expected to become ES-ACA/B & should be delivered to Tallinn in the near future.
Etihad A346 A6-EHK (1030) was delivered from Toulouse to Paris/Le Bourget on 17/8 & then continued to Abu Dhabi the following day.
Eurowings CRJ-900 D-ACNE (15241) left Canada on delivery to Nuremberg on 21/8. It wears Lufthansa Regional scheme.
Farnair Europe ATR72 HB-AFS (198) was ferried from Eindhoven to Basel on 17/8 following painting into full scheme.
Flybe will lease a fourth DHC-8 to Olympic Air. This is to be G-ECOF (4216), which is currently flying for Wideroe as LN-WDW & is expected to return from Norway next month. G-FLBD (4259) was ferried back from Norwich to Birmingham in full Olympic Air scheme on 15/8 & delivered to Athens the following day. Also see under Olympic Air.
Gulf Air B763 A9C-GZ (26237) was registered to Southern Aircraft Consultancy as N90GZ on 18/8 & ferried from Bournemouth to Luton on 20/8. Bizarrely, it used N90763 (a cancelled Firefly balloon) as its callsign. Sister ship A9C-GV became N90GV with the same owner on 18/8 & is expected to make the journey from Bournemouth to Luton on 27/8.
Hellenic Imperial B742 SX-TID (23502) was ferried to Casablanca on 16/8 on lease to RAM.
Lufthansa A321 D-AIST (4005) was delivered from Finkenwerder to Frankfurt on 20/8.
Lufthansa Cargo MD-11F D-ALCP (48414) performed its last service on 17/8 from Frankfurt to Viracopos (Brazil) & was then ferried to Victorville, CA for storage.
Lufthansa Regional. See under Contactair & Eurowings.
Mistral Air. Catching up on some older news, this operator has retired its two B462s, I-MSAA (E2109) & I-TNTC (E2078), & both are now stored at Norwich.
Norwegian Air Shuttle B738 LN-NOH (36814) made its first flight on 19/8.
Olympic Air DHC-8 G-PTHA (4267) was registered to MIG Aviation on 14/8 & arrived at Birmingham the following day. This was to have been G-FLBF with Flybe. It was cancelled from the UK register on 19/8 & ferried to Norwich as SX-OBA the same day for painting into Olympic Air scheme. Similarly, G-FLBG (4268) will be ntu & is to become G-PTHB/SX-OBB & G-FLBH (4276) will now be G-PTHC/SX-OBC. Flybe will take three slots further down the production line that were originally allotted to Olympic. Also see under Flybe.
Primera Air B738 TF-JXI (30664) had been reregistered OY-PSE by 18/8.
RAM B763 CN-RNT (30843), which suffered a hard landing at New York/JFK back on 20th April, is nearly ready to take to the air again following an $11 million repair job on site. There was severe damage to the undercarriage & the fuselage was cracked & buckled. For further details of the incident, see http://avherald.com/h?article=418b9b6f&opt=0
Also see under Hellenic Imperial.
RAM Express. See under Aurigny.
Ryanair B738 EI-EFR (37541) made its first flight on 19/8.
SAS CRJ-900 OY-KFK (15244) is due to be delivered to the airline on 22/8.
SATA A320 CS-TKO (3891) will be out of action until some time next month following a very heavy landing at Lisbon back on 5/8. The aircraft suffered substantial damage to the landing gear & one wing, where several rivets separated from the structure. The Aviation Herald reports that the aircraft experienced a vertical acceleration of 4.6g on touchdown.
Southern Air B742F N761SA (21832) has emerged from storage at Mojave, CA & was ferried to Los Angeles, CA on 11/8.
Spanair will withdraw a further ten MD-80s from service this winter, replacing them with Airbus narrow-bodies from late spring 2010. The remaining MD-80s will also be withdrawn next year.
Swiftair ATR72s EC-KUL (809) & EC-KVC (824) arrived at Athens in full Aegean scheme on 18/8 & 19/8 respectively.
THY. See under easyJet.
Transaero B735 VP-BYT (28928) arrived at Belgrade on delivery from the USA on 19/8. This aircraft was previously with Continental as N14668.
Turkmenistan A/L B737s EZ-A006 (37236) & EZ-A008 (37237) made their first flights on 28/7 & 29/7 respectively, while EZ-A009 (37235) had also made its first flight by 11/8. Two are to be delivered next month & the third in October. EZ-A007 (37234) is currently as San Antonio, TX for VIP outfitting until next March. These four aircraft were originally destined for Sky Europe.
UPS B763F N335UP (37856) was delivered to Louisville, KY on 18/8.
UT Air B735 VP-BXV (27322) arrived at Khanty-Mansiysk on delivery on 19/8. This aircraft was formerly with Continental as N14609. A further ex Continental B735, VP-BXO (27314 ex N14601), left Rome, NY on 20/8 & is due to arrive at Khanty-Mansiysk on 22/8.
Volga-Dnepr reportedly ordered an undisclosed number of An-70Ts during MAKS 2009. Deliveries are due to start in 2013.