EUROPEAN AIRLINE SCENE - WEEK ENDING 02-10-10
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 THERE WILL BE NO BLOG NEXT WEEK AS I WILL BE OUT OF THE COUNTRY AGAIN. THE NEXT BLOG WILL BE POSTED ON 15/10
With the blog now running for 18 months, I have decided to expand coverage slightly to include all "heavies", irrespective of theatre of operation, & all Middle Eastern & North African carriers.
Aerologic B777F D-AALG (36199) left Paine Field, WA on 25/9 on delivery to Leipzig.
Air Algerie B738 7T-VKD (40858) arrived at Algiers on delivery on 30/9. Also see under Calima & Saga A/L.
Air Alps D328 OE-LKE (3063) has become CC-ACG for Aerocardal & left Innsbruck on delivery on 26/9.
Air Berlin A320 D-ABFL (4463) made its first flight on 30/9 in full scheme as D-AXAC.
Air Contractors AT72 EI-SLN (405) was ferried from Edinburgh to Shannon on 25/9 where it was painted all white & has been parked since then.
Air Finland. See under easyJet.
Air Italy. See under Livingston.
Air Moldova A320 ER-AXT (0249) was ferried from Chisinau to Frankfurt on 28/9 prior to return to the lessor.
Air Transat has leased both the A332s formerly operated by Mexicana & they were reregistered on 30/9 with XA-MXP (966) becoming C-GTSR & XA-MXQ (971) as C-GTSZ.
Alitalia Express E145 I-EXMO (145299) was ferried from Lille to Clermont-Ferrand on 27/9 for painting for Dniproavia.
Asiana A333 HL7794 (1151) was delivered from Toulouse to Seoul on 27/9.
Astraeus B752 G-STRX (25621) was ferried from Gatwick to Jeddah on 29/9 for Hajj operations with Saudi Arabian. B733 G-STRJ (25119) has been leased to British A/W from 30/9 to 3/10.
BA Cityflyer. With its fifth & final E190 due for delivery in November, BA is contemplating exercising its option for a further three examples due to high demand on its routes out of London City Airport.
Bluebird A/W will soon add a B734 to its single leased MD80. The aircraft in question is N744VA (24704 ex 9M-MJB, N405KW, SX-BKI), which made an acceptance flight from/to Miami, FL on 23/9 (see Skyliner for photo).
Blue1 MD90 OH-BLU (53458) was noted at Stockholm/Arlanda in basic scheme on 24/9 on return to SAS prior to lease (probably to Delta).
BMI A321 G-MIDL (1174) was cancelled from the UK register on 24/9 & registered to WFBN the same day as N174AG. It had recently been stored all white at East Midlands. It was then ferried to Mitiga on 29/9.
British A/W will reportedly return to service two of its B744s stored at Victorville, CA. B752 G-BPEE (25060) was noted outside the BA hangar at Gatwick on 1/10 carrying N949FD for FedEx, though this has not yet been officially registered. Also see under Astraeus.
Brussels A/L B462 OO-DJG (E2180) was ferried from Bacau to Brussels on 1/10 for preparation for Avia Traffic Co of Kyrgyzstan.
Calima B734 EC-LDN (24474) was ferried from Algiers to Palma on 26/9 following lease to Air Algerie.
Continental A/L. See under United A/L.
Dniproavia. See under Alitalia Express.
EasyJet A319 G-EZGD (4451) was delivered from Finkenwerder to Gatwick on 30/9. An interesting period in the carrier's history came to an end this week with the ferrying of the remaining three leased B752s to Norwich for repainting into their previous colours. Details as follows:
G-ZAPX (29309) flew its last revenue service on 27/9 as EZY3120 from Malaga to Luton & was then flown to Norwich on 30/9 as EZY8001.
OH-AFI (26330) flew its last revenue service on 27/9 as EZY878C from Chania to Gatwick & was then flown to Norwich on 27/9 as EZY8001.
OH-AFJ (26269) flew its last revenue service on 26/9 as EZY5088 from Athens to Gatwick & was then flown to Norwich on 27/9 as EZY8002.
Edelweiss. See under Swiss International.
Egypt Air B773 SU-GDN (38288) made its first flight on 28/9.
Emirates A388 A6-EDM (042) was delivered from Finkenwerder to Dubai on 28/9. A6-EDN (056) is due in October, with A6-EDO (057) to follow in November.
Euro Atlantic A/W. See under Livingston.
FedEx. See under Finnair.
Finnair MD11 OH-LGD (48513) was ferried from Helsinki to Paya Lebar on 19/9 for freighter conversion & registered to WFBN as N513AY two days later. Sister ship OH-LGG (48753), which was registered N785BC on 28/9, is also at Paya Lebar & is destined for FedEx (that carrier's 60th MD-11).
Germania F100 D-AGPL (11314) has become VH-WXS for Air Alliance & left Woensdrecht on delivery on 1/10.
Hainan A/L A332 B-6519 (1159) made its first flight on 29/9 in full scheme as F-WWKF.
Hello. Having disposed of three of its six MD90s earlier this year, the carrier is preparing to re-equip with A320s. HB-JIZ (0936 ex N101UW, RP-C3229) was noted at Manila on 28/9 in full scheme awaiting delivery. This is due to be followed by RP-C3230 (1171 ex N115US) in December & RP-C3231 (1210 ex N116US) in January.
IceJet D328 TF-NPA (3220) was redelivered for Oberpfaffenhofen to Reykjavik to day prior to restart of operations.
JAL B744 JA8919 (27100) was registered N919UN on 16/9 & delivered all white from Tokyo/Narita to Rome, NY on 29/9 for cabin configuration for Transaero.
Kalitta Air. Former Northwest Cargo B742F N645NW (23736) was delivered from storage at Marana, AZ to Oscoda, MS on 26/9 & was followed on 29/9 by N616US (21120). N632NW (23112) was reregistered N790CK on 24/9.
Kenya A/W. See under Nordwind A/L.
KLM B733 PH-BTH (28719) was ferried back from Nairobi to Amsterdam on 30/9 still as 5Y-KYM following lease to Kenya A/W.
Korean Air A332 HL8212 (1155) was delivered from Toulouse to Seoul on 29/9.
Libyan A/L A320 5A-LAI (4450) made its first flight on 30/9 as F-WWIO in full scheme & was ferried from Toulouse to Finkenwerder the same day.
Livingston is currently encountering financial difficulties. All services were suspended briefly, but two A321s returned to the air on 25/9 as the carrier attempts to reorganise. The current situation regarding the fleet is as follows:
EI-LVA A321 (1950 ex I-LIVA) parked at Shannon since 14/9
EI-LVB A321 (1970 ex I-LIVB) returned to service 25/9
EI-LVD A321 (0792 ex D-ALAH, F-WQST, I-LIVD) returned to service 25/9
I-LIVL A332 (627) parked at Abu Dhabi since 14/9, reregistered to Whitney Ireland Leasing as EI-EOK on 30/9.
I-LIVM A332 (551) ferried from Milan/Malpensa to Paris/Orly 23/9, reregistered to Calliope Ltd as EI-EON on 28/9.
I-LIVN A332 (587) ferried from Milan/Malpensa to Paris/Orly 23/9, reregistered to Whitney Ireland Leasing as EI-EOL on 30/9.
The carrier's long-haul routes were operated firstly by Air Italy B767s & then from 28/9 by Euro Atlantic A/W B752/763. A321s EI-LVB (1970) & EI-LVD (0792) will also be retuned to the lessor.
LOT B734 SP-LLD (27256) was registered to Celestial Aviation as EI-EOD on 28/9 & remains parked at Warsaw.
Lufthansa Cargo MD11F D-ALCO (48413) was ferried from storage at Victorville, CA to Xiamen on 29/9 prior to return to service.
Mexicana. See under Air Transat.
MyAir A320 EI-DJH (0814), now registered JY-JRG, was delivered from Shannon to Amman For Royal Falcon Air Services on 23/9.
Non-Airline
9K-GBB A345 (1107) for the Kuwait Government was rolled out at Toulouse in full colours as F-WJKI on 24/9.
Nordwind A/L will soon take delivery of former Kenya A/W B763 VQ-BRA (27310 ex OO-SBY, VN-A768, N310AN, EC-IQA, 5Y-KQQ, N310AN). It left Kuala Lumpur on 24/9 bound for Miami, FL via Anchorage, AK.
Northwest Cargo. See under Kalitta Air.
Norwegian Air Shuttle B738 LN-DYI (40866) appeared on the Renton flightline on 24/9 & made its first flight on 30/9. Further to my mention last Tuesday that the carrier is intending to start long-haul services next year, Bloomberg has published some further details. It seems that NAX is currently looking at placing an order next month for either the A350 or the B787. With neither available for delivery to the carrier next year, it is expected that it will acquire a pair of A330s or B767s in the interim for next year's launch, with a further two to enter service the following year. Norwegian is also working towards a code-share with Finnair whereby it can feed passengers into Finnair's Asian routes out of Helsinki.
Phuket Air. Former United B744 N192UA (26881), which was delivered to Don Muang last week, was cancelled from the US register on 23/9 & has become HS-AKS.
Qatar A/W A320 A7-AHD (4436) was delivered from Finkenwerder to Doha on 28/9.
Royal Brunei B763 V8-RBJ (25533) was ferried from Brunei to Paya Lebar on 27/9 on return to the lessor. The carrier's sixth former Singapore A/L, B772 V8-BLF (30869 ex 9V-SVD), entered service on 27/9.
Royal Falcon Air Services. See under MyAir.
Ryanair B738s EI-ENA (34983) & EI-ENB (40289) arrived at Dublin on delivery on 29/9, with EI-EGD (34981) & EI-ENC (34980) following on 1/10. Note the use of EI-EGD instead of EI-END, with the latter not used apparently at the request of Ryanair.
Saga A/L B738 TC-SGH (28068) was ferried from Algiers to Dalaman on 26/9 following lease to Air Algerie.
SAS. See under Blue1.
Saudi Arabian A320 HZ-ASE (4408) was delivered from Toulouse to Jeddah on 27/9. A333 HZ-AQE (1147) was also delivered from Toulouse to Jeddah on 27/9. Also see under Astraeus.
Singapore A/L B744 9V-SPN (28031) was ferried from storage at Victorville, CA to Singapore in basic scheme on 25/9. A388 9V-SKM (065) made its first flight on 29/9 as F-WWSM & was ferried from Toulouse to Finkenwerder the same day. Also see under Royal Brunei.
Southern Air B742F N758SA (23138) operating MAS6145 to Tashkent suffered substantial damage on 24/9 when number 3 engine suffered an uncontained failure on take-off at Frankfurt.
Spanair MD82 EC-HOV (49416) was ferried from Palma to Keflavik on 30/9 on return to the lessor. It continued from there to Bangor, ME & then Kingman, AZ.
Swiss International A332 HB-IQI (291) was noted at Zurich on 28/9 with Edelweiss Air titles & tail logo prior to winter lease from 19/10.
THY A332F TC-JDO (1004) & A333 TC-JNH (1150) were delivered from Toulouse to Istanbul on 29/9. A333 TC-JNI (1170) made its first flight on 27/9 in full scheme as F-WWKH.
Titan A/W. See under easyJet.
Transaero. See under JAL.
Transavia B737 PH-OEJ (33920) left Amsterdam on 29/9 as C-GOEJ on return to EnerJet following summer lease.
United A/L. One for the photographers to watch for is B772 N788UA (26942), which was to be rolled out on 30/9 in Continental A/L scheme with United A/L titles.
United A/W of Bangladesh A313 S2-AFF (672) failed to leave Maastricht on delivery on 24/9 & is still present there (corrects last week's blog).
WDL Aviation B462 D-AMGL (E2055) was ferried from Cologne to Stansted on 20/9 following storage.
Windjet A319 EI-EDM (2424) touched down hard just before the threshold at Palermo on 24/9 during a thunderstorm, before veering off the runway. Both main undercarriage struts collapsed.