EUROPEAN AIRLINE SCENE - WEEK ENDING 03-07-10
The information in this blog comes from a variety of sources, though particular credit must be given to the following sites, which are very highly recommended.
Chris Witt/Skyliner
http://www.skyliner-aviation.de/
Jethro/UK & Ireland Airline Fleet Listings
http://jethros.eu/
Drewski/737NG Line Number list
http://drewski2112.livejournal.com/
PLEASE NOTE THAT NEXT WEEK'S BLOG WILL BE POSTED ON THURSDAY 8th JULY PRIOR TO MY DEPARTURE TO THE USA. THE NEXT BLOG AFTER THAT WILL BE POSTED ON FRIDAY 23rd JULY
Aegean A/L B463 SX-DVE (E3374) was flown from Athens to Southend on 28/6, possibly on return to the lessor. The carrier joined the Star Alliance on 30/6 & A320 SX-DVQ (3526) has already been painted in that scheme (see Skyliner for photo).
Aeroflot-Nord took delivery of former British A/W B735 VP-BXN (24754 ex SE-DNC, G-OBMZ, G-GFFF) on 29/6 when it was ferried from Bournemouth to Arkhangelsk.
Aerologic B77F D-AALF (36201) made its first flight on 28/6.
Afriqiyah A320 5A-ONK (4330) was delivered from Toulouse to Tripoli on 28/6 (not 25/6 as stated last week).
Air Atlanta B742F TF-ARP (23348) was ferried from Jeddah to Tel Aviv on 1/7 following lease to Saudi Arabian.
Air Contractors. See under Alitalia Express.
Air France A320 F-HBNA (4335) was delivered from Toulouse to Paris/Orly on 1/7. Also see under Regional.
Air France Cargo B742F F-GCBL (24735) was temporarily registered F-WCZX before being delivered from Amsterdam to Al Ain on 30/6 as A6-MDH for MidEx A/L.
Air India B773 VT-ALU (36319) made its first flight on 28/6.
Air Sweden A320 SE-RJN (0169) was ferried all white from Stockholm/Arlanda to Prague on 29/6 for wet-lease to Travel Service.
Alitalia is, it appears, to be a Sukhoi Superjet operator, with a previously undisclosed order for 20 aircraft appearing in Sukhoi's annual report for 2009. Another already-known Italian customer is ItAli A/L, which has placed a firm order for 10 Superjets. A332 EI-EJG (1123) was delivered from Toulouse to Rome/Fiumicino on 2/7 & EI-EJH (1135) made its first flight on 1/7 as F-WWYU in full scheme.
Alitalia Express E145 I-EXMM (145738) received the temporary registration F-WKXF prior to ferrying from Clermont Ferrand to Chateauroux for painting for Dniproavia. AT72 I-ATRO (423) was ferried from Brindisi to Cologne on 1/7 & may be for Air Contractors.
Athens A/W E145 SX-CMC (145177), which has been stored at Exeter, recently underwent a short check & may be on its way to a new customer.
Atlantic A/W B462 OY-RCA (E2045) was ferried from storage at Southend to Vagar on 30/6 & from there to Reykjavik on delivery to DAP A/L in Chile.
Aurela. See under Thomas Cook.
BA Cityflyer. The carrier's last 146, G-LCYB (E2383), is due to be withdrawn from service on 13/7.
Blue1. See under Non-airline.
British A/W B752 G-BPEC (24882) was cancelled from the UK register on 29/6, becoming N947FD & left Gatwick as FDX9087 on 1/7 routing to Victorville, CA via Bangor, ME. G-CPEO (28667) flew its final revenue service on 30/6 as BAW481 from Barcelona to LHR where it is now stored. B773 G-STBA (40542) failed its customer acceptance flight, so delivery to Cardiff is now expected on 9/7, with its in-service date slipping to late August. The first four routes for the B773 will be Delhi, Mumbai, Dubai & Chicago. Also see under Aeroflot-Nord.
Brussels A/L A333 OO-SFV (095 ex 9M-MKR) arrived at Brussels on delivery on 29/6. Also see under JetTime.
Cathay Pacific B773 B-KPR (36163) was delivered from Paine Field, WA to Hong Kong on 26/6.
Central Charter A/L B733 OM-CCA (28333) was delivered from Ostrava to Bratislava on 28/6.
Croatia A/L A320 9A-CTM (0671) has become YA-TTC for Safi A/W & left Hamburg on 26/6 on delivery to Kabul routing via Trabzon (Turkey).
Cyprus Turkish. No sooner had I reported that AtlasJet had purchased a 50.1% share in the carrier than I heard that the deal fell through on 24/6, with AtlasJet citing a lack of cooperation from staff & administrators. The talks are described as "suspended", so I suppose that there is a chance that the bid may be resurrected.
Denim Air F100 PH-LNE (11322) is now devoid of titles & was noted all white at Maastricht on 25/6.
Dniproavia. See under Alitalia Express.
Elite A/L. Having been parked unused since its arrival at Athens, the carrier's B74SRF SX-DCB (22711 ex JA8158, N146RF) has become EK74711 for Vertir A/L Cargo & left Athens on 2/7 on delivery to Fujairah.
Euro Atlantic A/W B763 CS-TFS (25411) was ferried from Lisbon to Tunis on 2/7 on wet-lease to Tunisair.
Eurowings B463 D-AEWQ (E3203) was ferried from Nuremberg to Exeter on 28/6 prior to return to the lessor. It carried a number of temporary decals signed by some of the Eurowings staff, including one that said "thanks for almost 15 years of service".
Flybe DH8D G-ECOE (4212) arrived back at Exeter on 1/7 after repainting back into Flybe scheme at Norwich following its spell with Olympic Air.
HiFly A343 CS-TQM (117) left Santiago on 29/6 on return to Lisbon following lease to PAL Principal A/L & was promptly ferried to Paris/CDG on 1/7 for lease to Gabon A/L.
Iberia A346 EC-LFS (1122) made its first flight on 25/6 as F-WWCF in full Iberia scheme.
Israir A320 4X-ABF (4354) was ferried back from Finkenwerder to Toulouse on 30/6 still as F-WWDC.
ItAli A/L. See under Alitalia.
JAL B773s JA788A (40686) & JA789A (40687) were both delivered from Paine Field, WA to Tokyo/Narita on 2/7.
JetTime received its first B734 on 1/7 with the delivery of former Brussels A/L example EI-ELU (24314 ex OO-VBR) from Bournemouth to Copenhagen.
Korean Air B773 HL8210 (40377) made its first flight on 30/6 as N5016R & was flown as such to Portland, OR for painting the following day.
LOT is expected to be the first airline in Europe to operate the B787 when it receives the first of eight aircraft next year.
Lufthansa A320 D-AIZH (4363) made its first flight on 23/6 as D-AXAW & was delivered from Finkenwerder to Frankfurt on 2/7. A321 D-AIDA (4360) made its first flight on 25/6 as D-AVZM in full scheme & was delivered from Finkenwerder to Munich on 2/7.
Lufthansa Cityline. See under UT Air.
Lufthansa Cargo MD11F D-ALCS (48630) left storage at Victorville, CA on 2/7 heading for Xiamen.
Meridiana Fly MD83 I-SMED (53182) became EC-LEY with Swiftair & was noted in service on 26/6 all white.
MyAir CRJ9 EI-DUX (15110) arrived at Exeter from Dublin on 30/6 after painting into Air Mekong scheme.
Niki A320 OE-LEF (4368) made its first flight on 1/7 as D-AXAY.
Non-airline
G-CGFV B737 (34759 ex OM-NGN), registered to the Bank of Scotland, was ferried from Paris/Orly to Istanbul for THY on 29/6.
SE-DUU F100 (11286) of Mass Holding was rolled out in full IRS A/L scheme as 5N-SIK at Norwich on 25/6.
SE-REO B712 (55060), currently registered to Pembroke Alpha Ltd, was ferried left Palma on 26/6 routing to Miami, FL via Prestwick, Keflavik & Bangor, ME & is for Blue1.
Nouvelair A320 TS-ING (4347) was delivered from Finkenwerder to Monastir on 29/6.
OpenSkies B752 G-BPEJ (25807) will not join the French register until it undergoes some maintenance at Gatwick on 15/8 & will become F-GPEJ not F-HPEJ, as previously thought.
Pegasus B738 TC-AAY (40874) arrived at Istanbul on delivery on 26/6, with both TC-AAZ (40875) & TC-ABP (40876) following on 30/6.
Polet added a pair of former American Eagle SF340Bs to its fleet on 2/7 with the delivery of VQ-BGC (232 ex N232AE) & VQ-BGD (250 ex N250AE) from Oslo to Helsinki.
Qantas A388 VH-OQH (050) was ferried from Finkenwerder to Toulouse as F-WWAE on 1/7 in primer & with white tail.
Regional E170 F-HBXJ (17000312) arrived at Clermont Ferrand on delivery on 30/6 in Air France scheme.
Ryanair B738 EI-EMO (40283) arrived at Dublin on delivery on 26/6, with EI-EMP (40285) & EI-EMR (40284) following on 1/7.
Saga A/L A333 TC-SGJ (407) was ferried from Istanbul to Ulan Bator on 30/6 on lease to Mongolian A/L until September & entered service on 1/7 (see Skyliner for photo).
Saicus Air B733F EC-KDJ (23743) was ferried from storage at Dinard to Madrid on 2/7.
Saudi Arabian. See under Air Atlanta.
Scot A/W D328 G-BWIR (3023) flew its last revenue service on 15/5.
Sky Wings MD82 SX-BTL (53232 ex I-DATP, HK-4399X, HK-4399, N598BC) was ferried from Istanbul to Athens on 25/6, still as N598BC.
SmartLynx will soon add a further A320 to its fleet. N754US (0283 ex C-FLSI, N754US, TC-FBY) was cancelled from the US register on 1/7 & should leave Oscodo/Wurtsmith, MI on delivery in the near future.
Sun Express B738 TC-SNP (40777) arrived at Istanbul on delivery on 30/6.
Swiftair MD83 EC-JUG (49847) was noted at Madrid on 2/7 sporting Wimbi Dira A/W titles & tail logo. Also see under Meridiana Fly.
Thomas Cook has leased Aurela B733 LY-SKW (25162) & it operated its first service on 25/6. B752 LY-SKJ (30735) arrived at Gatwick on 28/6 on summer lease to Thomas Cook.
THY. See under Non-airline.
Transavia. The B738 leased from Gol until 23/9, PR-GGW (35831), underwent a minimal registration change on 25/6 when it became PH-GGW.
Travel Service. See under Air Sweden.
TUIfly B738 D-AHFE (27979) has become HL8232 for Jeju Air & left Hannover all white on delivery on 27/6, routing to Seoul via Vostochny (Tashkent).
Tunisair. See under Euro Atlantic A/W.
UPS B763F N340UP (37860) left Paine Field, WA on 30/6 on delivery to Louisville, KY.
UT Air took delivery of former Lufthansa Cityline CRJ2s VQ-BGJ (7121 ex D-ACLZ, C-GFNF) & VQ-BGL (7128 ex D-ACJB, C-GFNJ) at Khanty-Mansiysk on 2/7 following work at Bradley, CT.
VLM A/L F50 OO-VLK (20122) was ferried from Antwerp to Maastricht on 2/7 on return to the lessor.
Wizz Air A320 HA-LWD (4351) was delivered from Toulouse to Budapest on 2/7.