EUROPEAN AIRLINE SCENE - WEEK ENDING 24-10-09
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/
Aer Lingus. See under Vladivostok Avia.
Aeroflot A333 VP-BCQ (1058), currently flying as F-WWYX, is painted in Sky Team colours & should be delivered to the carrier in the near future.
AeroSur. See under Virgin Atlantic.
Aerolineas Argentinas' business plan calls for the resumption of several international routes that it has abandoned over the past few years, including European destinations such as Paris & London. To this end the airline is considering buying or leasing six A330s & seven A340s.
Air Alps. See under Welcome Air.
Air Berlin. See under Belair.
Air France A320 F-GFKK (0100) left Paris/CDG on 22/10 as AFR384V bound for Orlando/Sanford, FL, possibly for scrapping.
Air Transat A332 C-GITS (271) left Montreal as TSC1001 on 18/10 en route to Hasanudin (Indonesia) on lease to Garuda for Hajj duties, with C-GGTS (250) following as TSC1002 two days later.
Alitalia has disposed of a second B763 to Omni Air International. I-DEIL (28147) was registered as N378AX on 14/10 & was ferried from Rome/Fiumicino to Tel Aviv on 18/10 for maintenance & painting.
Astraeus B752 G-OJIB arrived back at Gatwick from Norwich on 18/10 as AEU008P all white with Saudi Arabian titles. It then left for Jeddah later that day as AEU108 bound for Hajj operations. G-STRX (25621), which was already in a similar scheme, arrived at Gatwick from RAF Brize Norton the same day as AEU737P, before also departing for Jeddah as AEU004P.
Belair A320 HB-IOU (3006 ex D-ABDM) was delivered from Dusseldorf to Zurich as BER444P on 17/10 still sporting the old Air Berlin scheme. B763 HB-ISE (27600) positioned from Zurich to Gatwick as BHP116F on 23/10 to operate a flight to New York/JFK as BHP1142. It is understood that the aircraft is to be returned to the lessor on its arrival back at Zurich.
Belle Air. See under Bulgaria Air.
Bellview had hoped to resume its Heathrow service on 1/11, but this looks increasingly unlikely since it has now also cancelled all regional operations & IATA has suspended its B3 code.
BMI Baby B733 G-TOYB (26311) flew its last revenue service from Paris/CDG to East Midlands on 13/10 as BMI5254 & was then ferried to Sofia the following day as BMI9411 for, it is thought, end-of-lease maintenance.
Bulgaria Air B463 LZ-HBF (E3159) was ferried back from Tirana to Sofia on 21/10 following lease to Belle Air.
Cathay Pacific B773 B-KPL (36161) left Paine Field, WA on delivery on 17/10. It sports One World scheme.
CSA B734 OK-WGX (25349) returned to Prague on 18/10 following lease to Nayzak Air. OK-FGS (28478) was ferried to Norwich as CSA9360 on 18/10 for maintenance.
DHL B763F G-DHLG (37807) arrived at East Midlands on delivery from Greensboro, NC on 19/10 as DHK973.
EasyJet former B737 G-EZJA (30235), now N384DF for Aerolineas Argentinas, left Southend on its delivery flight on 20/10. G-EZJB (30236) performed its last revenue flight on 23/10 as EZY2284 from Milan/Malpensa to Luton & was then ferried to Southend as EZY8001, also for preparation for Aerolineas Argentinas.
EgyptAir B738 SU-GDD (35566) arrived at Cairo on delivery on 21/10.
Emirates B773 A6-ECV (35594) made its first flight on 19/10.
Ethiopian A/L has leased a second MD-11F. ET-AND (48780) was originally operated by Citybird & Sabena as OO-CTC before joining Finnair as OH-LGE & then being registered to Boeing Aircraft as N588BC.
Euro Atlantic A/W L-1011 CS-TEB (1240) & B763 CS-TLO (24318) left Lisbon on 23/10 destined for Ilorin & Lagos respectively to undertake Hajj operations on behalf of Med-View A/L.
Eurowings B463 D-AEWN (E3158) left Exeter on 15/10 routing via Nuremberg to Bacau, where it arrived on 19/10 for further storage. D-AEWM (3125) was ferried from Frankfurt to Exeter as DLH9920 on 23/10 prior to return to the lessor.
Flyglobespan B738 G-CDEG (33022) was ferried from Glasgow to Lasham as GSM738P on 19/10 prior to lease to a new operator, while G-CEJP (29646) was relocated from Lasham to Norwich the same day as GSM733P for painting into Ethiopian A/L scheme. B763s G-CDPT (29388) & G-CEOD (30586) left Glasgow on 19/10 en route to Jeddah for Hajj duties on behalf of Nas Air. The former displayed no callsign, but the latter used GSM802P.
HiFly A332 CS-TFZ (1008) left Lisbon on 20/10 for Palembang (Indonesia) & Hajj duties on behalf of Garuda.
Korean Air B772 HL7733 (34206) has been painted in Sky Team scheme.
Lufthansa. Having been expected to go to Pinal Air Park/Marana, AZ, B744 D-ABTA (24285) was ferried from Frankfurt to Hamburg on 20/10 for long-term storage. A321 D-AISW (4054) was delivered from Finkenwerder to Frankfurt on 23/10.
Lufthansa Cargo MD-11F D-ALCE (48785) was ferried from Leipzig to Frankfurt on 17/10 following a period of storage.
Luzair B763 CS-TQI (25221) left Lisbon on 18/10 bound for Jeddah & Hajj operations.
Northwest Cargo B742F N640US (23888) left Los Angeles on 22/10 destined for storage at Pinal Air Park/Marana, AZ.
Norwegian Air Shuttle confirmed an order for a further six B738s on 23/10. This takes the airline's total order book for new B738s to forty-eight.
Olympic Air A320 SX-OAP (4065) was delivered from Toulouse to Chateauroux for painting on 21/10.
Pullmantur Air B744s EC-KQC (26549) & EC-KSM (27178) left Madrid on 19/10 as PLM620P & PLM200P respectively, bound for Jakarta & Hajj operations on behalf of Garuda.
Qantas B744 VH-OJS (25564) now sports a special "Socceroos" scheme.
Qatar A/W B772LR A7-BBC (36015) made its first flight on 19/10. B773 A7-BAG (36014) left Paine Field, WA on 20/10 on delivery to Doha.
Ryanair B738 EI-EFW (35018) & EI-EFX (35019) made their first flights on 19/10 & were followed on 22/10 by EI-EFY (35020).
SAS CRJ9 OY-KFL (15246) left Montreal/Mirabel on 18/10 on its delivery flight to Copenhagen.
SATA ATP CS-TGX (2025) was ferried from Oporto to Norwich on 19/10 for painting.
Swiss International A332s HB-IQJ (294) & HB-IQK (299) were noted at Zurich on 20/10 in full Vietnam A/L scheme wearing VN-A372 & VN-A374 respectively. The latter also still carried its Swiss registration.
Tailwind A/L is to lease a further two ex Alaskan A/L B734s to add to the three already in service. These are due to be N784AS (28199) & N785AS (27628) with deliveries scheduled for January & May respectively.
Thomas Cook A332 G-MLJL (254) was ferried from Manchester to Stockholm/Arlanda on 18/10 as TCX360P on winter lease to Thomas Cook Scandinavia & G-OMYT (301) also left Manchester the same day for Oslo as TCX32P also on lease to the Scandinavian subsidiary. A320 G-TCAC (1411), which left Manchester on 15/10 on winter lease to Skyservice, became C-FRAA again the following day.
Thomas Cook Scandinavia A333s OY-VKH (356) & OY-VKI (357) arrived at Manchester on 19/10 as VKG9997 & VKG9995 respectively for preparation for lease to Garuda for Hajj operations. OY-VKI was then flown to Bahrain as TCX333P on 19/10, followed by OY-VKH as TCX398P the next day.
Thomson A/W G-OBYF (28208) left Greensboro, NC on 19/10 destined for Stockholm/Arlanda as TOM9208P following winglet installation, while G-OBYD (28042) arrived back at Manchester from Greensboro, NC on 21/10 now also sporting winglets. Heading in the other direction, G-OBYH (28883) left Luton on 21/10 bound for winglet fitting. G-OBYE (28979) left Luton on 20/10 as TOM9801 en route to Al Ain for Hajj operations. B733 G-THOE (26313), which is due to become OD-HAJ with Wings of Lebanon, made a test flight from Bournemouth as TOM9030 on 19/10.
TMA reportedly intends to resume flying from Beirut. The airline suspended operations four years ago & its last two airworthy B707s, OD-AGO (19269) & OD-AGP (19274) were put into storage there. Whether the airline will attempt to revive these old machines, or whether it will acquire new aircraft, remains to be seen.
United A/L is in discussions with both Airbus & Boeing regarding placing an order for replacements for its B747/757/767/777 fleet. A decision is expected before year-end.
Virgin Atlantic B744 G-VROM (32339) flew its last revenue service on 16/10 as VIR70 from Kingston, Jamaica to Gatwick. It was then ferried to Amsterdam the following day as VIR811 & is destined for delivery to AeroSur next month.
Vladivostok Avia A333 VQ-BEQ (86) left Shannon as VLK1777 on delivery to Moscow/Vnukovo on 16/10. The airline's A333s are to be used mainly on domestic services, though one international destination will be Tianjin, China.
Welcome Air is believed to be in negotiations to take over Air Alps.