EUROPEAN AIRLINE SCENE - WEEK ENDING 14-11-09
Aer Lingus. The Irish Times reports that the airline is considering offers for four A320s, three A321s & four A330s in order to cut its cost base & inject some much-needed capital into the company. These are understood to be some of the older aircraft in the fleet.
Aeroflot A321 VQ-BEA (4058) was actually delivered from Finkenwerder to Moscow/Sheremetyevo on 6/11 as AFL1826 & not on 5/11 as I reported last week. Sister ship VQ-BED (4074) was also delivered on the same day as AFL1830. VQ-BEE (4099) made its first flight on 9/11 as D-AZAA. A333 VQ-BCU (1065) made its first flight on 6/11 as F-WWYJ.
Air Atlanta B743 TF-AMJ (23030) emerged from storage at Marana/Pinal Air Park on 7/11 & was ferried to Manston in an all white scheme. It was subsequently flown to Dakar on 10/11 as ABD013P for Hajj operations.
Air Berlin A320 D-ABFA (4101) made its first flight on 6/11 as D-AVVK. D-ABDH (2846) was ferried from Eindhoven to Nuremberg on 7/11 all white prior to sale to Azerbaijan A/L & D-ABDI (2853) flew from Hannover to Eindhoven for the same treatment & has also been sold to Azerbaijan A/L. D-ABDS (3289) was ferried from Vienna to Berlin/Tegel on 31/10 following summer lease to Niki. B733 D-ADIJ (25041) left Munich on 12/11 on delivery to Boliviana de Aviacion, with whom it will become CP-2552.
Air Contractors ATR42 EI-SLC (82) was ferried from Shannon to Rome/Fiumicino on 8/11 after painting for Mistral Air. It will be operated by Air Contractors.
Air France A320 F-GKXV (4084) was delivered from Finkenwerder to Paris/CDG as AFR383V on 10/11.
Air Mauritius. Having been in store since 18/4, A343 3B-NAV (094) was ferried from Mauritius to Brussels in an all white scheme on 11/11.
Air Slovakia B752 OM-ASG (24544) was ferried from Bratislava to Southend on 9/11 & then returned to Bratislava on 12/11 now sporting Albanian A/L titles prior to lease. It has since continued its journey to Tirana & has already entered service. Also on lease to Albanian A/L is B733 OM-ASE (23545), which was ferried from Ostrava to Tirana on 12/11 after decals had been applied.
Air Transat A313 C-GTSI (595) was cancelled from the Canadian register on 10/11 prior to ferrying from Montreal to Chateauroux for painting for an operator in Armenia.
Albanian A/L. See under Air Slovakia & Eagle Aviation.
Alitalia A320 EI-DTM (4119) made its first flight on 9/11 as F-WWIE in full scheme. It was ferried from Toulouse to Finkenwerder the same day.
American Trans Air B753 N560TZ (33525) has found a new home & is to become N57870 with Continental A/L. It left Victorville, CA on 5/11 en route to Hong Kong for maintenance & painting prior to delivery.
ANA is to withdraw its last three international B744s next year. The ten domestic B744Ds will remain in service until replaced by B787s.
AnadoluJet. Former Aeromexico B737 N298MD (34298 ex EI-DMY, XA-ZIM) is yet another aircraft due to go to this carrier. It was ferried from Howard AFB to Shannon via Bermuda on 12/11 & still wears basic Aeromexico scheme.
Astraeus. See under Seagle Air.
Augsburg A/W DHC-8 D-BDTM (545) was ferried from Munich to Oberfaffenhoffen on 8/11 for painting for a Gabonaise operator.
Azerbaijan A/L A320 4K-AZ54 (0331) was ferried from Baku to Malta on 10/11 prior to return to the lessor.
B&H A/L is to acquire a pair of B737s next year, one in January & the other in March.
BMI. Desperate for cash, the airline has confirmed that negotiations to sell some of its Heathrow slots to other carriers are well advanced.
British A/W has at last reached a preliminary agreement with Iberia for a merger between the two carriers, though the deal will not be finalised before late 2010. A new holding company, called TopCo, will be created in which BA will have a 55% stake with Iberia holding the other 45%. The airlines will retain their separate brands & the merger will create the third largest airline in the world, with 419 aircraft flying to 205 destinations. B735 G-GFFH (27354) was cancelled from the UK register on 10/11 & is to be delivered from LHR to Air Midwest as 5N-PVA.
Centurion Air Cargo MD-11F N985AR (48430) was ferried from Acadiana, LA to Miami, FL on 7/11 after painting.
Contactair Fk100 D-AFKE (11505) was ferried from Woensdrecht to Stuttgart on 11/11 after repairs following its wheels-up landing on 14/9.
Corendon Air B734 TC-TJD (25375) was ferried from Antalya to Khartoum on 10/11 on winter lease to Sun Air.
Corsair B744 F-HSUN (26880) is currently operating Hajj flights on behalf of Garuda & wearing a hybrid scheme.
Cyprus A/W A320 5B-DAV (0037) left Larnaca on 9/11 en route to Walnut Ridge, AR for scrapping.
Eagle Aviation. Following a period of storage, B752 F-GTIP (25624) was ferried from Tirana to Pristina on 12/11 on lease to Albanian A/L, probably for Hajj operations.
EasyJet A319 G-EZFO (4080) was due for delivery to Stansted on 13/11. B737 G-EZJC (30237) flew its last revenue service on 11/11 as EZY176L from Dortmund to Luton & was ferried to Southend as EZY8003 on 12/11 for preparation for Aerolineas Argentinas.
Emirates is currently considering ordering further aircraft from Airbus & Boeing. Its next two A388s are due for delivery next month, with a further eight between January & November 2010 (a slight delay as all of these had been due by June).
Euro Atlantic A/W B763 CS-TFT (26208) was ferried from Lisbon to Mitiga, Libya on 8/11 for Hajj operations.
Eurowings B462 D-AEWD (E2069) was ferried from Exeter to Southend as DLH9920 on 11/11 for further storage.
EVA Air B773 B-16716 (32642) made its first flight on 9/11.
Flybe DHC-8 G-JECK (4113) was ferried from Southampton to Athens on 4/11 as a short-term replacement for G-ECOE (4212), which was undergoing repairs following a lightning strike. G-JECK was flown back from Athens to Exeter on 12/11. Also see under Wideroe
FlyLAL Charters took delivery of former British A/W B733 LY-AWH (23924) on 9/11 when it was ferried from Bournemouth to Vilnius.
Garuda intends to return to Europe with A332 flights to Amsterdam from 1/6 next year. The airline hopes to follow this with services to Frankfurt, Paris & London.
Iberia. See under British A/W.
Lufthansa A321 D-AIZA (4097) made its first flight on 10/11 as D-AVVF.
Lufthansa Cityline EMB195 D-AEBC (19000320) arrived at Munich on delivery on 10/11.
Luxair. See under TUIfly Germany.
Mexicana officially joined the OneWorld Alliance on 9/11. Slightly prematurely, A320 XA-MXK (3304) was rolled out at Mexico City in OneWorld scheme on 7/11.
Mistral Air B462QT I-MSAA (E2109) was restored to TNT as G-TNTD at Norwich on 10/11. Also see under Air Contractors.
Monarch B763 G-DIMB (28865) has been subleased to Air Mediterannee from 9/11 until early March 2010, when it will be replaced on lease by an A332 until early May 2010. A300 G-OJMR (605) left Manchester on 11/11 as MON999P on lease to Egypt Air for Hajj operations until mid December.
Niki. See under Air Berlin.
Olympic Air DHC-8 SX-OBC (4276 ex G-PTHC) left Exeter on 7/11 on delivery to Athens. SX-BIR (365) was ferried from Athens to Exeter on 12/11 via Rome/Fiumicino & Toulouse for overhaul & painting. A320 SX-OAS (4094) was ferried from Finkenwerder to Bordeaux on 12/11 for painting.
Pegasus A/L has announced that it is in talks with Boeing concerning the purchase of a further twenty-three B738s by 2012, virtually doubling its fleet.
Qantas B744 VH-OEC (24836) was ferried from Los Angeles, CA to Victorville, CA for storage on 9/11.
Qatar A/W B772LR A7-BBC (36015) left Paine Field, WA on delivery to Doha on 10/11, while A7-BBD (6016) made its first flight on 9/11.
Ryanair B738 EI-EFY (35020) was delivered to Dublin on 7/11. EI-EFV (35017) arrived at Dublin on 11/11. This was delivered out-of-sequence as it had been used by Boeing for tests.
S7 A/L A310 VP-BSZ (468) left Moscow/Domodedovo on 13/11 bound for Orlando/Sanford & a meeting with the scrapman.
SAS DHC-8 LN-RDB (4018), now 5Y-VVX for Blue Bird aviation, left Eindhoven on 7/11, routing via Maastricht, Heraklion & Khartoum on its delivery flight to Kenya. Also see under Spanair.
Seagle Air B733 OM-HLA (23773) has become N773KR with CIT Aerospace & left Bucharest on 10/11 en route to Goodyear, AZ. OM-HLB (25011) was restored to Astraeus as G-STRI at Bournemouth on 10/11.
Spanair MD-87 EC-JYD (49605) was ferried from Palma to Lourdes as JKK8702 on 8/11 for storage on return to SAS.
TAP A320 CS-TNT (4095) was delivered to Lisbon on 6/11. CS-TNU (4106) was ferried back from Finkenwerder to Toulouse on 10/11 & should be delivered shortly.
TMA is to restart operations with B733F & A336F freighters.
TNT. See under Mistral Air.
Transavia B738 PH-HZA (28373) was ferried back from Prague to Amsterdam on 12/11 after painting all white prior to return to the lessor.
TUIfly Germany B738 D-AHFN (28228), which entered the paint shop at Shannon on 4/11, is to become LX-LGT with Luxair. It was rolled out on 10/11 in full scheme, but with the German registration taped on. D-AHFL (27985) was ferried from Hannover to Shannon on 12/11 in Travel Service colours for painting prior to lease to CanJet. B733 D-AGEE (24238), due for operations on behalf of Air Berlin, was ferried from Berlin/Tegel to Woensdrecht on 7/11.
Vietnam A/L has signed a MoU with Airbus for the purchase of four A380s.
Wideroe is due to return LN-WDU (4197 ex G-ECOC) to Flybe on 1/12. LN-WDH (4273) arrived at Oslo/Sandefjord on delivery from Canada on 10/11.
XL A/W Germany B738 D-AXLE (30724) was ferried from Frankfurt to Munich as GXL050T on 5/11 prior to wet-lease to Sunwing A/L, while D-AXLF (28218) was noted at Frankfurt in full Air Namibia scheme on 6/11 prior to winter lease.