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L A B O L G REVEALED: 2021’S WINNERS AND LOSERS E N AIRLI RT w w w . K e y . A e r o REPO 1 202

2021

Global Airline Report

within the September issue of

2021

INCLUDIN G • Latest glob al fleet data • Airbus and Boei delivery insig ng hts • Airline start -ups and failu res • Exclusiv e regio aviation anal nal ysis

YOUR ULTI MATE GUID E TO AVIA TION’S MOS T

CHALLEN GING YEAR www.key.a

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47

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American Airlines: CRISIS COMMAND

PLUS

is riding the storm

Fearless Why so many airlines or foolish? are launching in 2021

PART 1: EUROPE

SEPTEMBER 2021 £5.49

How the world’s biggest carrier

The day it all changed

Freezing cold in old Yaks

Two decades on: 9/11’s scars remain

We fly rare Soviet relics over Siberia *

CLASSIC GATWICK JETLINERS EXCLUSIVE READER COMPETITION *Closing date 29 October 2021

NO N EED TO REI N V EN T THE WH EEL WH EELS AN D BRAK ES I T ’S T H AT SI M PLE

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H

ello and welcome to your September 2021 edition of Airliner World. While it is usually ill-advised to attempt to read a thermometer inside an active volcano or assess the wind speed during a hurricane, we’re not the kind of editorial team to shy away from a challenge. With this in mind, we’re delighted to bring you the Global Airline Report 2021 in this issue. Analysing this most turbulent year for commercial aviation – while arguably still in the midst of the storm – we’ve mined the big data from ch-aviation to help cut through the hyperbole and provide a real-world assessment of the current state of the industry. From big picture overviews to bespoke regional insights, be sure to check out this special report kicking off on page 47.

Elsewhere in this edition, we’ve two

features to mark the 20th anniversary of the September 11 atrocities. Almost all of us will remember where we were when we first heard the news of the tragedy unfolding in the United States – events that many consider to be aviation’s darkest hour. It is therefore timely to pause to reflect upon the legacy that the attacks left on commercial flying in the US and around the world.

From ultra-secure cockpits to intensified security screening at airports, the scars from the events of that Tuesday morning are still visible.

Our main feature begins on page 34, with a special additional insight from Andreas Spaeth starting on page 80.

On to matters a little closer to home, and I’ve no doubt that some of our shaper-eyed subscribers will have noticed a change to how their magazine has been delivered this month.

After close co-ordination with our production and logistics partners,

I am delighted to announce that all subscriber copies of Airliner World are now distributed in sustainably sourced paper wrap, replacing the poly material that was previously used. This enables Key Publishing to take a step forward in helping our planet, by ensuring our packaging is more sustainable and fully recyclable.

I know this is a topic close to the heart of many readers, and my thanks go to those who have been in touch over recent months to lobby for such a change. Consider this to be people power in action!

Wherever you are in the world, I hope you enjoy your September issue.

Gordon Smith Group Editor

Gordon Smith Group Editor, Commercial Aviation Martin Needham Assistant Editor Thomas Haynes Assistant Editor Thomas Lee Assistant Editor Carol Randall Associate Editor, Commercial Aviation Lee Howson Lead Designer Andy Mason Advertising Manager Rebecca Antoniades Ad Production/Design COVER • American Airlines Airbus A321, N144AN (c/n 6723) at LAX AIRTEAMIMAGES.COM/ ALVIN MAN LEFT • A Condor Boeing 757300, D-ABOK (c/n 29020), at Corfu on July 17, 2021 V1IMAGES.COM/DAVID DOLINAY

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06 News review

Airliner World’s global coverage

20 RecoveryWatch

We gather the latest insights as European carriers enter an uncertain summer season

24 Ice cold in old Yaks

Bernd Sturm takes us around the remote Sakha Republic

The Tuesday when 34 everything changed Twenty years on, Tom Batchelor reflects on 9/11’s legacy

44 Gatwick’s gas turbine timeline

We share some of the highlights from Tom Singfield’s new book chronicling the classic jetliners of Gatwick Airport

47

Airliner World’s Global Airline Report 2021 Tapping into data from ch-aviation, this special report quantifies the most turbulent year in the history of flying

64 Start-up supremos

We kick off our round-up of the airlines launching in 2021

74 Completing the set

Gordon Smith speaks with senior figures from Embraer and Helvetic Airways as the airline accepts its first E195-E2

78 Back to business

We examine the risks associated with getting aircraft back in the air after the pandemic

80 View from Heathrow

Andreas Spaeth shares his first-hand account of being at the London gateway on 9/11

84 Deliveries

The latest commercial acquisitions

88 MRO news

Updates from maintenance, repair and overhaul providers

90 Historic aviation

Updates from the world of preservation

92

34

Departure gate

Readers’ comments and photos

94 Aviation training

A subscription to

A round-up of recent developments

97 Air safety

Accident reports and crash information

98 American giant

Chris Sloan meets Brian Znotins from American Airlines to learn more about the firm’s planning strategies

4

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offers great savings on cover price.

See pages 22-23 for details

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5

News Review • Europe

A340-600 reactivation salvation

IN POSITIVE news for quad-jet fans, Lufthansa has confirmed the temporary reactivation of five Airbus A340-600s for summer 2022.

The Rolls-Royce Trent 500-equipped widebodies are set to be based out of Munich. While specific destinations have yet to be disclosed, the German flag carrier said the type will be deployed primarily on services to Asia and North America.

The move to reactivate the A340-600 comes amid “growing

premium demand” for leisure and business travellers. Consequently, the Toulouse-built jets – Airbus’s longest aircraft at 247.3ft – are configured in a four-class, 297-seat layout.

Importantly, this includes eight seats in Lufthansa’s first-class product.

It’s understood that the five airframes are D-AIHI (c/n 569, pictured), D-AIHP (c/n 771), D-AIHT (c/n 846), D-AIHU (c/n 848) and D-AIHV (c/n 897). These A340s, built between 2004 and 2008, are currently stored in Teruel, Spain.

Home away from Stockholm

PLANS HAVE been set in motion for Finnair to start long-haul connections from Sweden’s main capital gateway, Stockholm/Arlanda, during the upcoming winter season.

Basing a trio of Airbus A350-900s at the hub, the Finnish flag carrier is scheduled to link Arlanda with Thailand’s Bangkok/Suvarnabhumi and Phuket from October 22 and 24, respectively. The Thai capital is initially earmarked at five-weekly frequency before rising to daily from November 28, while Phuket is due to begin at a weekly frequency, increasing to twice then thrice-weekly from November 4 and December 30, respectively.

Finally, a third city in the US, Miami/ International, is mooted to launch from 6

AIRLINER WORLD SEPTEMBER 2021

October 23 at twice-weekly, rising to four-weekly by November 29.

Elizabeth Axtelius, director aviation business at Swedavia, said: “The three long-haul destinations and the improved access are important additions. The expansion is a sign of an aviation market undergoing change. The fact that airlines dare to invest after these difficult times is clear evidence of Stockholm’s strong position and an investment in the biggest market in Scandinavia.”

With Finnair’s oneworld membership, customers will be able to connect through Miami with fellow alliance carrier American Airlines on to destinations across the Americas.

(Photo Flickr Commons/Mark Harkin)

Before the onset of COVID-19, the airline operated 17 examples of the A340-600. According to Lufthansa, 12 are in the process of being sold, while the temporarily reactivated five will go up for sale at a later date.

As the firm continues with its fleet modernisation, it is shifting to more fuel-efficient, twin-engined types.

Consequently, Lufthansa’s first A350-900 featuring a first-class product is scheduled to join the fleet by late summer 2023 at Munich.

In other news, Lufthansa Cargo has revealed plans to introduce a pair of passenger-to-freighter converted A321P2Fs from the beginning of 2022.

Based in Frankfurt and operated

by Lufthansa CityLine on behalf of Lufthansa Cargo, the type will be used to account for the earmarked 20% growth per year in cross-border E-commerce shipments in the next five years, in turn, increasing European air freight demand.

(Photo Lufthansa Group)

Uep! Up and away SPANISH START-UP Uep! Fly – a subsidiary of Swiftair – has begun fare-paying rotations.

The firm, at the time of writing, used a sole 68-seat ATR 72-500, EC-KKQ (c/n 763) – due to be eventually joined by a further pair of turboprop examples sourced from Swiftair – that was deployed on July 16 for its maiden intra-island services across the Balearic chain. The 13-year-old aircraft departed Ibiza as Flight WT 7770 to Palma de Mallorca, before flying to Mahón on the island of Menorca as WT 7773 (pictured here, after arrival).

It was reported by ch-aviation that Uep! Fly will continue to operate as a virtual carrier, using Swiftair’s air operator certificate (AOC). It also revealed that Uep! Fly plans to expand its network in phases – connecting the Balearics with mainland Spain initially, before entering into other countries, with a particular focus on markets that are currently underserved.

According to the new carrier, its choice of name originates from a local Majorcan greeting that is similar to ‘hello’ or ‘hey’.

(Photo Spencer Bennett)

News Review • Europe in brief

Next-generation narrowbody nears AIR FRANCE has detailed September as the expected delivery timeframe date for its maiden Airbus A220. The Paris-based airline has 60 of the larger -300 (pictured) on firm order – after a commitment in December 2019.

The arrival of the A220 would mark the start of the French flag carrier’s renewal of its short- and medium-haul

fleets. According to its parent, the Air France-KLM Group, the type – with a capacity of 149 seats – will “gradually replace” Air France’s A318 and A319 jets; at the time of writing, it operates 18 and 30 examples each respectively.

In other developments, Bloomberg has reported that the Air France-KLM Group has started negotiations with

both Airbus and Boeing for a potential order for 160 narrowbody aircraft, understood to involve the A320neo Family and 737 MAX respectively.

While most details remain limited at this time, Bloomberg revealed that the aircraft would be bound for KLM and low-cost carrier Transavia.

(Photo Airbus)

Albania’s Airbus upgauge

Loganair has added a new UK domestic route to its portfolio, with the launch of Norwich to Exeter. The four-times-weekly rotation is flown by the company’s 13-strong, 49-seat Embraer ERJ145s – previously, the link had been served by Flybe, since March 2016. Elsewhere, Loganair – the UK’s largest regional airline – is scheduled to connect Aberdeen with Dublin, from September 5 – also using the ERJ145. Initially, flights will be four-times-weekly, before increasing to daily from March 28, 2022. The move comes following the collapse of Stobart Air, which had previously plied the route.

Greek-based Sky Express has inked a deal for six ATR 72-600s for an undisclosed sum. In quick succession, the firm received its maiden example of the type, SX-ELV (c/n 1643), on June 30. In doing so, Greece became the 54th country from which the Franco-Italian manufacturer’s ATR 72-600 operates. The remaining five turboprops are due to arrive over the next 12 months. At present, Sky Express operates smaller ATR variants – five examples each of the ATR 42-500 and ATR 72-500. According to SKY Express president of the board of directors, Theodoros Krokidas, the type is “well suited” to service Greece’s island airports.

Air France Hop, the French flag carrier’s regional subsidiary, has disposed of its final Embraer ERJ145s. As COVID-19 forced the airline to draw in its horns, it made dramatic cuts that affected both the smallest and largest aircraft in the fleet.

The Airbus A380 was a much higher profile retirement, however, 13 50-seat ERJ145s were also pulled from service. While the majority of the fleet has been stored at Clermont-Ferrand, several examples have been placed at Toulouse/ Francazal in anticipation of sale to Namibia’s Westair Aviation.

(Photo Martin Needham)

This sleek-looking aircraft is the first Airbus A320 for Air Albania. The 2008-built, IAE V2500-powered airframe, TC-JPO (c/n 3567), was spotted outside Turkish Technic’s MRO facility at Istanbul/Sabiha Gökçen on July 21 and is poised to join the Tirana-based firm soon. With Turkish Airlines owning a 49% stake in Air Albania, the latter’s newly procured A320ceo, along with its existing A319ceo and Boeing 737-800, ZA-BEL (c/n 3142) and TC-JZG (c/n 60028), respectively, are sourced from Turkey’s flag carrier. ILGAZ DEGER

The Boeing identity

Polish charter firm, Enter Air, has procured this interesting hybrid-painted Boeing 737-800, SP-ESK (c/n 30693). The 2003-vintage jet, which was spotted rotating from Palma de Mallorca’s Runway 24R in July, sports newly applied Enter Air titles while retaining the basic livery of Thailand-based NewGen Airways. Despite the CFM International CFM56-powered airframe having left the latter’s fleet two-and-a-half years ago – note the Thai flag still present – and having previously been operated by LOT Polish Airlines since, Enter Air looks like it is set to carry on this 737’s interesting hybrid tradition. JAVIER RODRÍGUEZ

SAS Scandinavian Airlines is set to deploy its Airbus A321LRs on services between Copenhagen and Boston from September.

The jet’s debut on transatlantic routes from Denmark is part of a wider effort to re-establish the carrier’s links with the United States, following COVID-19.

Also in September, SAS will increase the frequencies from the Danish capital to Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington DC. The following month, services from Copenhagen, Oslo and Stockholm to Miami are due to be resumed as well.

Emerald Airlines has signed a memorandum of understanding with Aer Lingus to operate the Irish flag carrier’s regional and domestic routes from 2023 until 2033. The start-up, which has yet to receive an air operator certificate (AOC) from Irish regulators, is set to receive its first two ATR 72-600s later this year and is considering tripling that number.

In anticipation of revenue services starting, two former Virgin Australia examples are currently undergoing maintenance checks at Exeter Airport in the UK. www.key.aero

7

News Review • CIS

Air Astana launches legal action KAZAKHSTAN-BASED FLAG carrier Air Astana is suing Embraer regarding alleged issues with its contingent of 108-seat E190-E2s.

A July 2 lawsuit, Air Astana JSC v.

Embraer SA, at New York Supreme Court revealed that Air Astana seeks “an award of damages” of no less than US$11,888,495 plus attorneys’ fees and costs.

In the filing, Air Astana claimed it wants to recover damages after it was “constrained to suspend operations of a fleet of regional jet aircraft [the E190-E2] manufactured

by Embraer, leaving a fleet of brand-new aircraft parked and empty on the ground, because those planes were unsafe to fly.”

It added that the E2s flown by the

carrier “experienced complex, in-flight failures that transferred across the aircrafts’ operating systems” and that its flight crews had to engage in “highly complex recovery actions” to land the type safely.

In addition, the Almaty-based airline stated that Kazakhstan’s landscape with its geographic and topographic “treacherous terrain and challenging weather” exacerbated the danger.

Its home market covers more than a million square miles, but Kazakhstan has only 19 airports capable of handling large commercial aircraft, therefore offers “few and widely spaced emergency landing options.”

In the filing, Air Astana detailed examples of “multiple in-flight software and

mechanical failures” regarding the jet. These comprised an emergency landing in Shymkent on June 22, 2019, following an “anti-ice-wing failure”, separate incidents of “vertical deviations without pilot command” on May 6 and July 22, 2020, followed by a “false cabin smoke alert” – causing another emergency landing – the following September on a Kyzlorda to Almaty rotation, a “hydraulic pump failure” that led to a cascading failure on November 9, 2020, during a Nur-Sultan-bound link, and finally at least six slat failures on the jets resulting in missed approaches.

For its part, Embraer said in a July 3 statement that it “denies it has breached any obligations to Air Astana and will

vigorously defend against all claims asserted.” Moreover, Embraer stated to airline intelligence provider ch-aviation that Air Astana was “the only airline that suspended use of E2 aircraft, and they did so only temporarily.”

“While issues such as this do occasionally occur, at no point did this constitute an immediate safety risk and the aircraft landed safely,” the Embraer statement continued.

Air Astana currently fields a five-strong inventory of E190-E2s on lease from AerCap, comprising: P4-KHA (c/n 19020012), P4-KHB (c/n 19020013), P4-KHC (c/n 19020014), P4-KHD (c/n 19020017) and P4-KHE (c/n 19020019).

(Photo Embraer)

Deal inked for new Armenian carrier AIR ARABIA and the Armenian National Interests Fund (ANIF) have forged an agreement to launch a new national airline of Armenia. According

to the July 14 deal, an independent joint venture is set to be established as a low-cost firm based at Yerevan’s Zvartnots International Airport.

According to the parties involved, the start-up is due to “serve the strategic vision of Armenia’s fast-growing travel and tourism sector” and thus bolster the country’s economic growth while simultaneously offering its own citizens a cost-effective and reliable air travel option. During 2019, the travel and tourism sector contributed to approximately 11.8% of Armenia’s GDP. Tatevik Revazian, chair of the Civil Aviation Committee of Armenia, said: “Having a strong national low-cost airline is essential for the development of Armenia’s air transport sector, especially as a tool to recover faster from the COVID-19 crisis… We are

The plane from Spain...

KYRGYZSTAN-BASED FIRM Sky KG Airlines has added a Boeing 747-400 to its fleet. The 1994-built widebody, EX-47003 (c/n 25703), is a former Wamos Air example, EC-KXN (pictured at right) that had the honour of being the last Spanish-registered jumbo after a final flight from the country on March 26 (see ’Europe News’, Airliner World, June 2021). Following this, 8

AIRLINER WORLD SEPTEMBER 2021

the Pratt & Whitney PW4056-powered airframe was stored at Bishkek’s Manas International Airport, the primary gateway to Kyrgyzstan.

The recently procured 747-400 complements Sky KG Airlines’ two Tupolev Tu-204-100Bs, EX-20401 (c/n 1450743864046) and EX-20402 (c/n 1450744864049). Previously, Sky KG Airlines had operated another example of the jumbo, a 30-year-old

747-400(BDSF), 9U-BBA (c/n 24311), which was later acquired by Belarus-based carrier Rubystar Airways in January 2021.

According to Sky KG Airlines’ website, it offers services including flight inspection, passenger and cargo transportation, aircraft leasing and airport handling in Kyrgyzstan.

(Photo AirTeamImages.com/ Loredana Cioclei)

confident that the expertise Air Arabia brings to the JV [joint venture] will support the seamless launch and growth of the carrier.”

The name of the fledgling operator is set to be decided by the residents of Armenia through a national competition which was due to have closed on August 14. The company’s board of directors will then sift through all of the entries and choose the best suggestion.

Meanwhile, the securing of an air operating certificate (AOC) is poised to commence shortly.

(Photo AirTeamImages.com/ Valentin YVON)

SAAB 2000

It’s lonely at the top

No other turboprop airliner can match the combination of power, speed, rate of climb, short runway capability and service ceiling of the Saab 2000.

Do you operate long regional routes in challenging conditions? The Saab 2000 will give your capability the edge. www.saab.com

News Review • Africa/Middle East

First comes second for Flyadeal FLYADEAL HAS received its first brand-new Airbus A320neo, the first aircraft from its 2019 Paris Air Show order – when the Saudia subsidiary made headlines by cancelling its

$5.9bn 737 MAX order in favour of the European narrowbody.

The Saudia subsidiary has 30 CFM International LEAP-1A-powered examples of the 186-seat, all

economy-configured narrowbody on order, with deliveries due to be completed within three years.

The jet, HZ-FAN (c/n 10255), is not the first example of the single-aisle jet

that the Saudi Arabian low-cost carrier has accepted, having received a leased NEO, which had previously not been taken up by Tianjin Airlines, from Avolon last August. (Photo Airbus)

Flydubai drops 65 MAX orders FLYDUBAI HAS slashed 65 Boeing 737 MAX jets from its commitments for 251 examples ordered between 2013-17.

The UAE-based carrier has already accepted 16 narrowbodies – 13 737 MAX 8s and a trio of MAX 9s – the amendment to its orderbook means it will still accept a further 170 examples.

Flydubai said it adjusted its plans “in line with the airline’s strategy of rebuilding the travel sector, following the COVID-19 pandemic and the changing dynamics of the airline's route structure”.

The carrier returned its flagship 737s to service on April 8. (Photo AirTeamImages.com/Dipankar Bhakta)

Third wave batters South African airlines SOUTH AFRICAN airlines including Kulula.com and Comair suspended services until August 31 owing to a third wave of coronavirus in the country. Gauteng, the smallest and most populous of South Africa’s nine provinces, has been most affected with all non-essential travel in and out of the region being prohibited.

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AIRLINER WORLD SEPTEMBER 2021

Travel restrictions combined with international bans and very little to no demand for business meant Comair suspended all its British Airways franchisee flying and the operations of its low-cost subsidiary, Kulula.com.

Other carriers based at or with hubs at Johannesburg’s O R Tambo and Lanseria International Airport – both

in Gauteng – also greatly reduced their scheduled offerings.

Start-up Lift had axed all its services up to July 31, while Comair had initially planned to restart operations from July 30. The latter postponed this by four weeks, citing the “uncertainty of the expected length of the recently adjusted Level 4

lockdown, restriction of travel in and out of Gauteng [and] the rampant transmissibility of the ‘Delta’ variant”.

(Photo Flickr Commons/Bob Adams)

News Review • Africa/Middle East

Alliance advantages QATAR AIRWAYS and Alaska Airlines have launched a codeshare agreement, helping to “strengthen the partnership” between the two oneworld operators.

After becoming effective at the start of July, passengers from the Qatari flag carrier could book and connect on to more than 150 routes in Alaska’s network. Qatar Airways operates flights to Alaska’s key hubs including daily services to San Francisco and Seattle/Tacoma, along with a twice-daily link to Los Angeles.

In “the coming months”, the next phase of the strategic partnership is earmarked to kick off, allowing travellers from Alaska Airlines to connect on Qatar flights via Doha/ Hamad to Africa, the Middle East and South Asia.

At the time of writing, Qatar Airways flies to 12 US gateways offering more than 100 weekly rotations.

The partnership between both carriers began last December and included perks such as allowing Alaska Mileage Plan members to

earn miles on Qatar Airways services.

Ties became even closer after Alaska officially joined the oneworld alliance on March 31.

In other news, Qatar deployed its new-look Boeing 787-9 into revenue passenger service on June 25 with a flight to Milan/Malpensa. The fresh two-class Dreamliner, featuring 281 economy seats and 30 business class suites, has since been deployed to other destinations including Athens, Karachi and Kuala Lumpur.

(Photo Flickr Commons/Riik@mctr)

Vienna means something to Middle East carriers THE AUSTRIAN capital has benefited from additional links to the Middle East, with Saudia restarting its link to Riyadh and Jeddah. The Saudi Arabian flag carrier began deploying Airbus A320s on the twice-weekly route following a break of more than a year due to the pandemic.

Etihad Airways has also added a connection to Vienna’s Schwechat Airport, linking the two cities on

Thursdays and Sundays with Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners offering 28 Business and 262 Economy class seats. The service then continues to Milan/Malpensa before returning to Abu Dhabi.

Vienna was the fourth new European destination that Etihad launched services to during July, following Mykonos, Santorini and Malaga.

Julian Jäger, joint CEO and COO of the Austrian airport, said: “We welcome Etihad as a new airline to Vienna. Etihad is a strong carrier with a far-reaching route network and we are delighted with its decision to launch regular scheduled flights. The United Arab Emirates is an important market and the new flight connection is a good sign that things are slowly picking up again.”

in brief With Emirates recording “strong leisure travel demand” during the Northern Hemisphere summer, it has ramped up operations as entry restrictions ease for travellers. As Airliner World went to press at the end of July, the Dubai-based carrier anticipated almost a 90% recovery of its prepandemic network, equating to 880-weekly services to 124 cities. In a boost for the Airbus A380, Emirates has increased the number of super jumbo destinations to 15 – on 129-weekly sorties – served by the type this summer. Bosses at the Gulf giant say the move “demonstrates the importance” of the double-decker to the firm’s recovery and growth strategy.

Gulf Air has launched a pair of fifth-freedom services as the flag carrier expands its network beyond Bahrain/International.

The firm now operates Flights GF 944/945 between the Greek capital, Athens, and Larnaca, Cyprus (the aircraft departs/ arrives the latter to/from Bahrain) using Airbus A320/A321neos. Meanwhile, in Asia, Gulf Air deploys a Boeing 787-9 on GF 165/166 from Singapore/Changi to Bangkok/Suvarnabhumi and back before returning to Bahrain. Passengers are able to book seats on just the point-to-point fifth-freedom legs. According to Gulf Air’s acting chief executive officer, Captain Waleed Al Alawi, this is the “beginning of a wider plan to expand globally”.

Air Seychelles is poised to operate a series of special holiday charter rotations from Bristol during the 2022 Easter and early May bank holiday (April/May). The “short series of flights”, enabled by a partnership between the airline, airport and Air Charter Service, are set to be flown by Air Seychelles’ Airbus A320neo aircraft from the gateway in southeast England direct to Dubai/World Central before continuing on to Mahé in the Seychelles. (Photo Airbus)

Retirements in Mauritius AIR MAURITIUS has reduced its fleet by almost a quarter, following the retirement of two Airbus A319ceos and an A330-200. The move means that the carrier’s average fleet age has dropped from 9.4 years to 6.2 years within the past 12 months.

The trio were among five of the carrier's aircraft flown into storage,

as two Airbus A340-300s were also disposed of.

The airline entered voluntary administration in April 2020, due to what the company described as a “complete erosion” of its revenue base, following the COVID-19 outbreak. However, it has been able to restart services quickly,

including long-haul routes to London Heathrow and Paris/Charles de Gaulle, after the Indian Ocean nation responded incredibly effectively to the pandemic. As Airliner World went to press, 19 Mauritians had died of coronavirus since the country’s first confirmed case in March 2020.

(Photo Gary Morris)

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)-based Compagnie Africaine d'Aviation (flyCAA) has resumed operations with the Airbus A320 after a five-year hiatus. The Central African carrier had procured a 12-year-old, CFM International CFM56-powered example, 9S-ABM (c/n 3900), which had previously served with India's GoAir (since rebranded to Go First). The incoming airframe was ferried from Toulouse/Francazal in France to its home and hub in Kinshasa on July 2. According to ch-aviation, the A320ceo began revenue services just over a week later from the DRC capital to a swathe of domestic cities.

SalamAir has begun services on a new seasonal route between Muscat and Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina – its farthest destination west. On July 12, the Omani low-cost carrier deployed one of its six-strong Airbus A320neos, A4O-OVG (c/n 9135) Hudhud, on the inaugural 2,650-mile link. After touchdown in Sarajevo, the jet received a traditional water cannon salute. www.key.aero

11

News Review • Americas

Porter pounces on E195-E2 IN A “defining” move, Canada-based Porter Airlines has firmed a 30-strong order for the Embraer E195-E2 with purchase rights for an additional 50 – its first jet aircraft.

Consequently, the deal – valued at US$5.82bn at list prices with all options exercised – is set to make Porter the type’s North American launch customer. According to the Brazilian manufacturer, both the first aircraft delivery and scheduled entry-into-service date are earmarked for the “second half of

2022”. The agreement also includes options to convert to the smaller E190-E2, providing added operational “flexibility” if need be.

With the type, Porter plans a major expansion of its network to “popular business and leisure destinations” across Canada, the USA, Mexico and the Caribbean, while specific routes are due to be unveiled in 2022.

However, Porter has already confirmed that the E2s will be deployed from Ottawa, Montréal/Trudeau and Halifax, along with the airline’s debut from

Toronto/Pearson. While Porter has yet to finalise the cabin configuration on the E195-E2, the airframe can accommodate 120-146 passengers.

Excluding leasing companies, the commitment is the second largest for the next-generation type, behind Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras which signed for 51 examples back in 2015.

Following the move, Porter reaffirmed its commitment to operations out of Toronto’s Billy Bishop Airport stating it will remain “core to its business”. The downtown

gateway – which prohibits all jet aircraft apart from MEDEVAC flights – is served by the airline’s 29-strong fleet of De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400s, therefore the E2 will not operate to/from there.

Porter Airlines has established plans to recommence operations from September 8, 2021 – nearly 18 months after suspending flights due to COVID-19. A group of domestic destinations are poised to resume, followed by US links on September 17.

(Photo Embraer)

United agrees historic shopping spree UNITED AIRLINES has signed agreements for 200 Boeing 737 MAX jets and 70 Airbus A321neos – the largest order in the airline’s 95-year history and the biggest by a single carrier in more than a decade.

The deal with the American airframer comprises 150 MAX 10s and 50 of the smaller MAX 8s, taking its single-aisle orderbook with Boeing to 380 examples, including 30 that have already been delivered. The June 2021 agreement also includes the purchase of 737 MAX training simulator data packages to support United's pilot training programmes.

As the launch customer for the MAX 10, the operator placed its first order in 2017 by converting 100 MAX 9s to the larger variant.

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AIRLINER WORLD SEPTEMBER 2021

Across the Atlantic, the operator’s 70-strong A321neo order with Airbus complements a December 2019 deal for 50 A321XLRs. Its total commitment for the European-built narrowbodies now totals 120 aircraft.

When combined with the current order book, the Chicago-based firm expects to introduce more than 500 new single-aisle airframes.

Around 40 are expected to arrive next year, 138 in 2023 and as many as 350 in 2024 and beyond. That means in 2023 alone, United expects to add about one new narrowbody aircraft every three days.

Scott Kirby, United CEO, commented: “Our ‘United Next’ vision will revolutionise the experience of flying United as we accelerate our business

to meet a resurgence in air travel…

[This] move underscores the critical role United plays in fuelling the broader US economy – we expect the [new aircraft] additions will have a significant economic impact on the communities we serve in terms of job creation, traveller spending and commerce."

Meanwhile, two days prior to the major order announcement on June 27, United’s first MAX 8, N27251 (c/n 43931), was delivered to its New York/Newark hub (pictured landing) after arriving from Seattle’s Boeing Field – the type flew its first United fare-paying rotations in July.

(Photo Cary Liao)

News Review • Americas

WestJet eyes dedicated cargo 737s CALGARY-BASED WESTJET plans to introduce Boeing 737-800BCFs (Boeing Converted Freighters) as it launches a new dedicated cargo service. The type – expected to be in service by the second quarter of 2022 – is aimed to fulfil the requirements of cargo forwarders, shippers and individual customers.

Throughout next year, WestJet Cargo will grow its fleet of 737-800BCFs – in turn generating increased employment opportunities – to work in tandem with the current offering of WestJet's existing cargo business.

Ed Sims, WestJet president/CEO, said: “Since our inception 25 years ago, our goal has been to provide competitive prices and superior service levels. As we launch our dedicated cargo service, into a market that maintains an even greater need for competitive choice than in 1996, it is our commitment to provide more choice, decreased costs and exceptional service.”

Tanks for your service US-BASED CARGO firm National Airlines has procured the world’s largest aerial firefighting platform for conversion into a freighter.

The ex-Global SuperTanker Boeing 747-400BCF, N744ST (c/n 25308) Spirit of John Muir, has recently been stored in San Antonio, Texas.

Also known as Tanker 944, the General Electric CF6-powered jumbo – initially delivered factory fresh to Japan Airlines (JAL) in November 1991 – was operated by Global SuperTanker Services for aerial firefighting from 2016 having earlier been used by

in brief In preparation for the start of its first transatlantic services, JetBlue Airways deployed one of its Airbus A321LRs to London/Heathrow on a proving flight.

On July 12, the 138-seat, Pratt & Whitney PW1100G-equipped aircraft, N4022J (c/n 10303) Joel Peterson, departed New York/JFK as B6 9400 at 2024hrs. After being airborne for 6hrs 11mins, the narrowbody touched down at the UK’s largest gateway the following morning at 0735hrs local time; the A321LR left Heathrow the next day. At the time of writing, JetBlue was scheduled to launch fare-paying services to the West London hub from August 11, followed by neighbouring Gatwick on September 29.

Air Canada has outlined its summer transborder schedule between its home nation and the US. This comes after the Canadian federal government confirmed an easing of restrictions, including non-essential travel, between both nations, which was due to occur from August 9. The Canadian flag carrier plans to operate up to 220 daily rotations from 55 routes to 34 US destinations. According to Mark Galardo, senior vice-president, network planning and revenue management at Air Canada, there are further plans to restore links to all 57 US destinations previously flown “as conditions allow”.

An eye on the SKY

THE MAIDEN Airbus A321neo for SKY Airline Chile has been spotted.

The aircraft, which bore test registration, D-AYAR (c/n 10532), and became CC-DCA, is configured with

Evergreen International Airlines, so its acquisition by National marks a return to its former cargo-carrying role.

Capable of delivering nearly 20,000 gallons of water or fire retardant, as Tanker 944 the widebody jet fought wildfires globally from Chile to Israel, in addition to those back home in the USA, notably during the devastating 2020 fire season in California (pictured below).

However, Global SuperTanker Services ceased operations in April this year.

(Photo v1images.com/Alex Crail)

238 seats and powered by CFM International LEAP-1A engines. It was photographed arriving back at Airbus’ Hamburg/Finkenwerder facility after a first flight on July 7

and was delivered on July 27. The airframe is understood to be one of three A321neos, the other pair being CC-DCC (c/n 10456) and CC-DCB (c/n 10466), that are set to be on long-term lease placements from Air Lease Corporation (ALC) following a June 2019 deal.

According to ch-aviation, the type is billed to enter service during the third quarter of 2021. In addition to this trio, the Santiago-based carrier currently has a ten-strong commitment for the A321XLR with Airbus in the orderbook after a December 2019 agreement.

SKY Airline Chile also fields a 20-strong arsenal of A320neo jets.

(Photo v1images.com/Dirk Grothe)

Stars and stripes delight!

Bosses at Southwest Airlines celebrated the 50th anniversary of the carrier’s first flight with a stunning paint scheme called ‘Freedom One’. The 2014-built, CFM International CFM56-powered Boeing 737-800, N500WR (c/n 36898), was spotted rocketing away from Dallas/Love Field on June 23 not long after being adorned with the US flag. The latest design joins Southwest’s plethora of special liveries found on its 737s. These include: Arizona One, Florida One, Lone Star One, Nevada One and Tennessee One. AIRTEAMIMAGES.COM/KEVIN BOYDSTON

The blueprints for Spirit Airlines’ launch into the Miami/International market have been revealed. The firm is due to launch operations from the airport on October 6, with the aim of serving a combined 30 destinations across the US, Caribbean and Latin America from the Sunshine State hub

by November 18. Miami/International is set to become Spirit’s third South Florida base after Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach.

(Photo Flickr Commons/Tomás Del Coro)

Thanks to a “travel demand recovery”, Delta Air Lines has confirmed a major fleet bolster with used aircraft. According to the Atlanta-based firm, it has entered into agreements for 29 and seven used Boeing 737-900ERs and Airbus A350-900s, respectively – the latter will come on lease from AerCap. While the move provides capacity, it also helps Delta to “streamline and modernise” the fleet.

Amid COVID-19, the firm phased out older, less efficient types including the McDonnell Douglas MD-88, MD-90 and 777-200.

Bosses at Delta added that the pandemic provided a “unique” opportunity to acquire newer-generation types at lower costs.

Michigan, US-based Island Airways has purchased a Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander; set to boost its existing four-strong inventory of the type. The family-run business, which has operated for 76 years, connects Beaver Island located in Lake Michigan with Charlevoix on the mainland carrying passengers, freight and mail – during winter months this includes food, supplies and MEDEVAC. The Islander’s purchase is due for a September arrival and comes amid a resurgence in local tourism following the devastating coronavirus pandemic. www.key.aero

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News Review • Asia/Pacific

Indian Air Force hits double-bogey AIR INDIA has sold six Airbus A320ceos to the Indian Air Force (IAF) for use as airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) platforms.

Despite the deal, Air Chief Marshal

RKS Bhadauria told technology news website Ele Times that the half-dozen airliners are unlikely to satisfy the air arm’s appetite for AEW&C assets, and the IAF is also understood to be interested in acquiring additional Embraer ERJ145s for the same role due to rising tensions with China.

It is not currently known which of the A320s are to be transferred to

the IAF as part of the deal, but it is understood the aircraft are among the 17 examples originally acquired by Indian Airlines – with which Air India merged in 2007 – between June 1989 and December 1994 and which are now stored at Delhi/Indira Gandhi.

These jets are extremely rare among Airbus A320s, with Indian Airlines requesting that Airbus install

double-bogeys on the main landing gear. This requirement was stipulated owing to concerns that some Indian airports didn’t have the infrastructure to accommodate the narrowbody.

Four-wheeled bogeys spread an airliner’s weight across a wider area.

No other carrier has ever requested this modification for the A320.

(Photo AviationImageNetwork/Bailey)

Far-flung Fairbanks flight flown QANTAS HAS flown one of its 11-strong Boeing 787-9s on a direct rotation between Brisbane and Fairbanks, Alaska, reportedly on a military charter. On July 12, the General Electric GEnx-powered jet, VH-ZNC (c/n 39040) Quokka, took-off from the Queensland capital at 1342hrs as QF 6041, flying the 7,088-mile sortie in 12hrs 56mins.

Departing from Brisbane, the 787’s routing took it on a north-northeast heading, then passing east of Papua New Guinea and over the Solomon Islands. Continuing the flightpath towards the Central Pacific, the

widebody passed near Micronesia, the Marshall Islands and Wake Island, reaching a maximum altitude of 41,000ft. It eventually crossed the International Date Line in the North

Pacific over the open ocean roughly 1,690 miles east of Japan and 2,650 miles west of the US mainland coast.

Near the end of its long journey, the three-class, 236-seat jet flew up the

Aleutian Islands chain before touching down in Fairbanks at 0838hrs local.

It departed Alaska at 1810hrs the following day bound for California.

(Photo Qantas)

Go-ahead for Korean mega-merger

KOREAN AIR and Asiana Airlines are to proceed with their merger after receiving approval from the state-run Korea Development Bank (KDB).

The Korean flag carrier submitted a post-merger integration plan (PMI) to the KDB in March, which was reviewed and revised with involvement from several government agencies. The final PMI includes integration plans for 14

AIRLINER WORLD SEPTEMBER 2021

the two full-service carriers and their low-cost arms – Korean Air’s Jin Air and Asiana’s Air Busan and Air Seoul.

It also covered adherence to the Fair Trade Act, employee retention and reorganisation of relevant subsidiaries.

Once the merger is complete, the five airlines will become two carriers, one full-service and one low-cost.

Korean Air said the result will “increase

operational efficiency… while diversifying its schedules”.

At present levels, the resultant main-line firm will boast a 200+ strong fleet of ten Airbus A220-300s, three A320ceos, 15 A321ceos, four A321neos, eight A330-200s, 37 A330300s, 13 A350-900s, 16 A380-800s, three Boeing 737-800s, 18 737-900s, 16 747-400Fs, nine 747-8Is, seven 747-

8Fs, five 767-300ERs, 21 777-200ERs, four 777-300s, 26 777-300ERs and ten 787-9s. Its cargo arm will comprise 16 747-400Fs, seven 747-8Fs, 12 777Fs and a single 767-300ERF. The merging of Jin Air, Air Seoul and Air Busan will create a single low-cost carrier with 19 737-800s, 20 A321ceos, eight A320ceos and four A321neos. (Photo AirTeamImages.com/Andrew Hunt)

News Review • Asia/Pacific

Dreamliners deferred

AIR NEW Zealand has “renegotiated the delivery date” of its Boeing 787-10s. During an investor update, the flag carrier revealed its first example of the largest Dreamliner variant to be delivered would shift from the 2023 financial year to 2024.

Air New Zealand added that it “retains the ability to utilise a number of further contractual delivery deferral rights on other aircraft due to be [handed over] from 2024 onward”.

The airline firmed an order for eight

787-10s with Boeing in September 2019 – at the time valued at US$2.7bn at list prices.

Meanwhile, Air New Zealand has revealed plans to serve three Queensland, Australia destinations year-round. Following an agreement with the Queensland government, the firm’s two separate rotations from Auckland to Cairns and the Sunshine Coast, plus a Christchurch to Gold Coast service are poised to shift from a seasonal April-October schedule to

year-round through to May 2022 – an addition of 26,000 seats.

Staying in Australia, Air New Zealand has launched a new cargo route between Los Angeles and Melbourne/ Tullamarine, awarded by the Australian government’s International Freight Assistance Mechanism (IFAM) programme. The weekly freight service is due to operate until October 31. The Kiwi carrier has operated a similar Brisbane-Los Angeles cargo link since August 2020.

Outback the paint shop

The first de Havilland Canada Dash 8-300 for Australian-based Maroomba Airlines was spotted at East Midlands Airport on June 23, a day after exiting the paint shop sporting the firm’s new livery. The ex-Widerøe turboprop, LN-WFU (c/n 592) – pictured wearing temporary registration OY-CJY – is set to become VH-QQH. Shortly after, the 18-year-old Dash 8 – currently owned by lessor Nordic Aviation Capital – ferried to Devon for additional maintenance work by Exeter Aerospace as it prepared for the mammoth journey ‘down under’ from the UK. KARL NIXON

Soaring in the South Pacific SOFIA, THE Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, was deployed to Papeete/Fa'a'ā International Airport on Tahiti, French Polynesia on July 19.

The move is a change of scenery from the heavily modified Boeing 747SP’s usual southern hemisphere haunt, Christchurch, New Zealand, which is off limits due to COVID-19 restrictions.

The 2021 southern deployment is the 1977-built jet’s first trip to French Polynesia while operated by the joint NASA/Deutsches zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR, German Aerospace Center), and is the

widebody’s sixth deployment to the southern hemisphere.

During this stay, astronomers will use two of the airborne observatory's scientific instruments – the German Receiver for Astronomy at Terahertz Frequencies (GREAT) for high-resolution spectroscopy, and the US High-resolution Airborne Wideband Camera (HAWC+) to measure magnetic fields.

GREAT is set to be used to measure atomic oxygen in the earth’s atmosphere to better understand climate change. Alessandra Roy, a

DLR SOFIA Project scientist explained: “These atomic oxygen measurements are important for estimating temperatures in the upper part of the atmosphere and can confirm the theories describing the exchange of solar energy between Earth’s surface and space.”

The former Pan Am and United Airlines jumbo is set to return to its Palmdale, California base in mid-September, following which it will go for an annual routine maintenance check before continuing its observation work.

Gotta catch Pikachu

ABOVE • Japan’s Skymark Airlines has applied a vibrantly coloured Pikachu-themed livery to one of its 29-strong Boeing 737-800s, JA73AB (c/n 63408).

The cheeky Pokémon character features on the fuselage montage to help mark 25th anniversary celebrations of the media franchise and is part of Skymark’s ‘Flying Pikachu Project’ to promote tourism in the island prefecture of Okinawa. The 177-seat ‘Pikachu Jet’ will be used to serve the carrier’s routes to the prefecture’s capital city, Naha, from Tokyo/Haneda, Nagoya, Kobe, Ibaraki, Fukuoka and Miyako. SKYMARK AIRLINES

in brief StarFlyer has reaffirmed its commitment to the Airbus A320neo by agreeing to take an additional five jets on lease from SMBC Aviation Capital, bringing its total to eight aircraft. The Kitakyushu, Japan-based carrier initially agreed to lease three NEO jets in November 2020 with the Dublin-based lessor. Deliveries were set to start in January 2023. A third airliner is expected to arrive in June 2025 with a full complement set to have been accepted by the beginning of 2026.

All Nippon Airways (ANA) has phased out the Boeing 737-700 – ending nearly 16 years of association with the Renton-built model.

Having operated 18 of the type in its history, the 120-seat, 2006-built example, JA06AN (c/n 33876), flew the final rotation on June 27 between Okayama, western Japan – roughly halfway between Hiroshima and Osaka – and Tokyo/Haneda. Shortly after, the airframe was ferried to Southern California Logistics Airport on July 2. During ANA’s association with the type it made history after being the only operator to use the 737-700ER; its pair, JA10AN (c/n 33879) and JA13AN (c/n 33880), retired in 2016.

Pakistan International Airlines is to dry lease four Airbus A320ceos from Seraph Aviation Management, using two of the jets to replace Boeing 777s. All four of the narrowbody jets are set to be delivered to the Pakistani flag carrier by the end of 2021, with the first two examples having previously operated for Interjet. The jets, OE-IOR (c/n 7784) and OE-IOT (c/n 7792), are currently stored at Perpignan/Rivesaltes.

It is not currently known which of PIA’s dozen 777s are due to be returned to their lessors. However, the company leases four widebodies – two 777-200ERs, AP-BHX (c/n 35296) and retro-liveried AP-BMG (c/n 32716) as well as 777-300ERs AP-BMH (c/n 32717) and AP-BMS (c/n 35782).

(Photo Martin Needham)

Low-cost, long-haul carrier, Scoot, is hoping to begin fifth-freedom flights in Europe.

From August 10, the Singapore Airlines subsidiary plans to operate a thrice-weekly connection between Berlin/Brandenburg and Singapore/Changi via Athens, Greece.

Scoot’s website shows these are to be operated by its fleet of ten Boeing 787-8s.

Berlin flights were due to restart in August (they were direct pre-COVID); in May Scoot resumed links to Athens from Singapore.

To “meet significant e-commerce growth” due to COVID-19 – global e-commerce sales grew by 28% globally last year – the AirAsia Group intends to add a dedicated freighter aircraft. The announcement said a Boeing 737-800F, complemented by a pair of Airbus A320s with their seats removed, would help the “continued growth” of Teleport, the logistics venture of AirAsia digital. A spokesperson told ch-aviation that a third-party cargo carrier will operate the 737 on behalf of the group’s logistics arm. www.key.aero

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News Review • International

CFM RISEs to sustainable challenge CFM INTERNATIONAL – a five-decade-long joint venture between GE Aviation and Safran – has unveiled its next-generation airliner powerplant programme.

The Revolutionary Innovation for Sustainable Engines (RISE) project is expected to culminate with engines developed for both JET-A1/ sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and hydrogen-fuelled versions entering service in the mid-2030s.

The proposed powerplant is a dramatic departure from the jet engines currently found on airliners, with a two-stage open rotor architecture, which would enable a larger fan to interact with a greater volume of air. CFM International also plans to incorporate technologies to enable the engine to be adapted for hybrid-electric use.

John Slattery, chairman and CEO of GE Aviation, stated: “The ties between GE and Safran have never been stronger.

Together, with the RISE technology development programme, we are reinventing the future of aviation by bringing

to market a series of revolutionary technologies, which will open new horizons for the new generation of single-aisle aircraft in terms of consumption, fuel consumption and reduced emissions. We embrace the imperative of sustainable aviation.”

The anticipated mid-2030s service entry date suggests that CFM International wants Boeing to continue with the MAX while launching a successor to the fourth-generation 737, which would enter service around 2035.

While problematic for Boeing, the timescales involved appear to suit Airbus, which is aiming to develop a zero-emission commercial aircraft by 2035 with its ZEROe programme.

(Photo CFM International)

Airbus Deliveries

World2fly has received the first of two all-economy, 432-seat Airbus A350-900s that it has agreed to lease from Air Lease Corporation AIRBUS Airbus delivered the following aircraft in June: A220-300 5 Air Canada (3); airBaltic; Delta Air Lines AerCap (Sichuan Airlines) (2); AerCap (Spirit Airlines) (2); Air Lease Corporation (Volaris) (2); Aviation Capital Group (Viva Air Colombia); Aviation Capital Group (Volaris) (2); Avolon (S7 Airlines); Avolon (Vistara); BOCOMM Leasing (Air China); BOCOMM (Sichuan A320neo 30 Airlines) (2); CALC (Air Travel); CDB Leasing (Aeroflot); China Eastern Airlines (2); Flynas (2); Frontier Airlines; GECAS (Air China); ICBC (Jazeera Airways); Private customer; Sky Express; Spirit Airlines (2); Spring Airlines (2); Volaris A321ceo 1 Delta Air Lines AerCap (Air Transat) (3); Air China; Air Lease Corporation (Aer Lingus); Air Lease Corporation (Vistara); American Airlines (2); BOC Aviation (Scoot); Cathay Pacific; China A321neo 26 Southern Airlines; GECAS (Salam Air); Gulf Air; IndiGo; JetBlue Airways (2); Juneyao Airlines; Lufthansa; Middle East Airlines; Peach; Spring Airlines (2); Turkish Airlines (2); Wizz Air Hungary (2) A330-900 2 Air Lease Corporation (Delta Air Lines); CIT Leasing (Corsair) Aeroflot (3); Air France; Air Lease Corporation (World2fly); China Southern Airlines; Japan A350-900 9 Airlines; Scandinavian Airlines; Singapore Airlines A3502 Air Caraibes; Cathay Pacific 1000 A380-800 1 Emirates Total 76

Meijer hints at Embraer turboprop launch EMBRAER COMMERCIAL Aircraft is to press on with its plans to develop a clean-sheet turboprop airliner, eyeing a 2022 launch. Speaking during a webinar marking the delivery of Helvetic Airways’ first E195-E2, the Brazilian manufacturer’s CEO, Arjan

FAA tells Boeing to hold its horses over 777X approval

THE US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has refused to allow Boeing to proceed with the next phase of 777X flight testing as the manufacturer works towards gaining regulatory approval for the widebody.

The FAA has warned the Chicago-based manufacturer that it may have to conduct more test flying than previously anticipated, and that certification would not realistically be issued in late 2023, further delaying the type’s entry into service, now

16

AIRLINER WORLD SEPTEMBER 2021

likely to take place early in 2024.

In a letter sent to Boeing by the FAA, the regulatory body cites several reasons for requiring additional flight test hours to be conducted, including: “an incident during a test flight on December 8, 2020 when the aircraft's nose pitched abruptly up or down without pilot input.” Boeing has yet to satisfy the FAA that it fully understood and corrected whatever went wrong that day.

It also mentions other areas of

concern, such as a critical avionics system proposed for the aircraft that does not meet FAA requirements and proposed modifications involving late changes to both software and hardware in the electronics of the jet’s flight controls.

Currently, at least eight firms have already ordered a combined 320 777X aircraft, among them British Airways, Lufthansa and Emirates.

(Photo AirTeamImages.com/ Dipankar Bhakta)

Meijer, reportedly stated that the new airliner could enter service in 2027 or 2028. He affirmed that: “Embraer is still very much focused on the segment,” adding that “we are still working on a turboprop and hope to launch the programme in 2022.”

A321XLR coming together STELIA AEROSPACE has handed over the first sub-assemblies for the construction of the Airbus A321XLR prototype. The six forward fuselage sections – which include the flight deck – have been built at STELIA’s Méaulte and Rochefort sites. STELIA is also working on a new seat for the Airspace cabin. The firm claims it “enables a modular business class type configuration, with a comfort level similar to a widebody.”

Another of Airbus’s manufacturing partners, Premium AEROTEC, delivered the first A321XLR 13,100-litre capacity rear centre tank to Hamburg/Finkenwerder in May. Deliveries of the XLR – which offers a 30% greater range over the baseline A321neo – are due to begin in 2023. More than 450 orders have been placed since its launch at the 2019 International Paris Air Show.

News Review • International

First flight for final MAX variant BOEING HAS begun flight testing the last and largest of the 737 MAX variants, the 737 MAX 10. The maiden 143ft 8in-long example, N27751 (c/n 66122), took off from the US aerospace giant’s Renton Field facility on June 18, kicking off a certification programme set to be completed in 2023.

The flight took place four years and a day after Boeing launched the airliner at the 2017 International Paris Air Show.

Boeing has developed a ‘semi-levered’ landing gear system specifically for the variant in order to stretch the single-aisle jet to accommodate 188-230 passengers.

The existing main landing gear as fitted to the 737 MAX 7, 8 and 9 was too short and its wheel wells too small to accommodate the 66in-longer fuselage.

The company’s 737 chief pilot, captain Jennifer Henderson, said the aircraft “checked out exactly as we expected”.

Boeing had 483 orders for the MAX 10 at the time of its first flight, with United Airlines having 100 commitments for the jet. United has since increased its order to 250 examples, meaning it is due to accept 47% of the variant’s entire production run. Other carriers to have signed for the airliner include Lion Air, flydubai, GOL, TUI Group, Copa Airlines and WestJet.

No Branson pickle for Virgin Galactic VIRGIN GALACTIC has successfully completed what it describes as its first fully crewed spaceflight. The sortie was the company’s fourth rocket-powered flight. During its 90-minute trip, the aircraft reached an altitude of 53.5 miles, which marks the ceiling of the mesosphere, before gliding back down to earth.

Those on board, including company founder Sir Richard Branson, were tasked with fulfilling a number of critical test objectives relating to the cabin and customer experience.

These included the conditions for conducting research and the effectiveness of the five-day pre-flight training programme at Spaceport America.

Michael Colglazier, chief executive officer of Virgin Galactic, said: “Today is a landmark achievement for the company and a historic moment for

Boeing Deliveries

the new commercial space industry.

With each successful mission we are paving the way for the next generation of astronauts. I want to thank our talented team, including our pilots and crew, whose dedication and commitment made today possible.

They are helping open the door for greater access to space – so it can be for the many and not just for the few.”

It has been widely debated whether Sir Richard Branson can consider himself an astronaut since the July 11 flight, with different countries, agencies and organisations using different standards for the point at which the earth’s atmosphere ends and space begins. The United States Armed Forces definition of an astronaut is a person who has flown higher than 50 miles, while the Kármán Line – recognised by the Federation Aeronautique

Internationale (FAI) – begins at 62.14 miles up. However, while NASA follows the US Air Force and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in using 50 miles as the boundary, NASA Mission Control considers the line to be at 76 miles, the point at which atmospheric drag becomes noticeable.

Chief Pilot Dave Mackay, who captained the historic flight, previously flew Boeing 747s and Airbus A340s for Virgin Atlantic before joining the Crawley-based airline’s sister company.

Tickets for commercial services – due to begin once the company’s flight test programme has been completed – cost around US$250,000 and celebrities including Elon Musk, Tom Hanks and Justin Beiber have confirmed they are in line for a trip.

(Photo Virgin Galactic)

Stereo MCs

Turkemnistan Airlines has received the 61st and final Boeing 777-200LR. This arrival brings the Central Asian airline's tally of the type to four, including a VIP-configured example that's operated on behalf of the country's government AIRTEAMIMAGES.COM/DIPANKAR BHAKTA Boeing delivered the following aircraft in June: 777 Partners (Flair Airlines) (4); Aeromexico (3); Air Lease Corporation; Air Lease Corporation (Blue Air); flydubai (2); ICBC Leasing; ICBC Leasing (Neos) (2); 737 MAX 8 26 Jackson Square Aviation (2); Southwest Airlines; Turkish Airlines (3); TUI Airways (2); TUI fly Deutschland; TUI fly Netherlands (2); United Airlines 737 MAX 200 2 Ryanair (2) 737 MAX 9 5 Aeromexico (3); Alaska Airlines; Turkish Airlines 767-300F 2 FedEx Express (2) 777-200LR 1 Turkimenistan Airlines 777F 4 DHL; FedEx Express; Qatar Airways Cargo (2) 787-9 Dreamliner 1 Turkish Airlines Total 41

IRKUT CORPORATION flew two variants of its MC-21 at the MAKS International Aviation and Space Salon in July, with the first indigenously powered example joining one of three Pratt & Whitney PW1400-equipped jets during the flying display.

The first MC-21-310, powered by a pair of Aviadvigatel PD-14s, had been painted by Spektr-Avia at Ulyanovsk ahead of its appearance at the trade show, held at Zhukovsky International.

(Photo AirTeamImages.com/ Artyom Anikeev) www.key.aero

17

News Review • Business Aviation

First BBJ MAX redelivered

JET AVIATION has redelivered the world’s first Boeing 737 BBJ (Boeing Business Jets) MAX, with a VVIP cabin interior, to an undisclosed customer.

According to Jet Aviation, the entire outfitting work on the MAX 8 example, which involved being designed, crafted, and engineered, was carried out at its Basel, Switzerland completions centre.

The interior design was also created

by Jet Aviation’s design studio, in collaboration with the customer, enabling it to “seamlessly integrate a bespoke cabin” with state-of-the-art technology and systems.

Matthew Woollaston, Jet Aviation’s vice president completion sales, said: “As we strive towards creating the ultimate customer experience, we are committed to pushing the boundaries of what is considered possible in VVIP

completions. This interior is a fine example of the intricacy and attention to detail of our teams here in Basel.

As our first 737 BBJ MAX, this was an exciting opportunity to familiarise ourselves with [this] next-generation aircraft, and we look forward to applying that knowledge to future MAX projects.”

Senior director design at Jet Aviation’s design studio,

Grischa Schmidt, added: “The brief was for a cosy, residential space in which one could relax and enjoy the ride. The living area features a deep, inviting sofa, a seven-seat dining table for socialising and a well-equipped, functional kitchen. Wooden detail, soft fabrics and indirect lighting all complement this residential and relaxing atmosphere.”

(Photo Jet Aviation)

HondaJet Elite S launched

HONDA AIRCRAFT Company has unveiled a new version of its successful HA-420 HondaJet family, dubbed HondaJet Elite S. According to the firm, upgrades are set to “expand operational capability and improve flight operation”. As such, the aircraft will feature a 200lb-increase to its maximum take-off weight (MTOW), enabling the ability to take an extra passenger, or fly up to 138 miles further at a higher payload during a “typical mission”.

Additionally, the type features new avionics, including FAA Data Comm and ACARS (aircraft communications, addressing and reporting system) with the emphasis of replacing

traditional voice commands with text-based messaging, helping improve both the clarity and efficiency of communications. This combines with the newly introduced advanced steering augmentation system (ASAS), which “maximises” safety, and reduces pilot workload.

Michimasa Fujino, Honda Aircraft Company CEO, said: “Since its introduction in 2018, the HondaJet Elite has achieved the best performance in its class while also being the most efficient, and with the new Elite S, we take another step forward in expanding the aircraft’s capability.”

(Photo Honda Aircraft Company) BUSINESS AVIATION NEWS BY NIGEL PITTAWAY

Porsche-link limited edition Phenom 300E accepted EMBRAER HAS handed over the first of ten limited-edition Phenom 300Es – as part of its ‘Duet collaboration’ with car manufacturer Porsche – to an undisclosed customer in Florida.

As part of the Duet, the Phenom 300E – which, according to Embraer, is the fastest and longest-ranged single-pilot certified jet – is paired with a Porsche 911 Turbo S (also a limited edition).

In a nod to the unique coupling, the aircraft’s registration is painted on the lower part of the car’s rear ‘wing’ to

Deliveries continue at pace

BOMBARDIER HAS hit recent Global 7500 milestones.

Firstly, in June an undisclosed Jakarta-based customer received a 18

AIRLINER WORLD SEPTEMBER 2021

single Global 7500 – becoming the initial operator in Indonesia. Then, shortly after, Bombardier delivered its flagship business jet in Canada for

the first time. This came after a pair of Global 7500s (pictured) were handed over to separate customers, although both are managed/offered for charter

distinguish the exclusive link (note in the picture above).

Michael Amalfitano, president and CEO, Embraer Executive Jets, said: “We designed Duet in collaboration with Porsche to introduce a seamless travel experience for those wanting to arrive in something totally original, while holding true to our vision of delivering the ultimate experience in business aviation.”

For more details on the pairing, see Airliner World, January 2021 edition.

(Photo Embraer) by aircraft services provider Chartright Air Group, basing them at Toronto/ Pearson. At the time of writing, the worldwide Global 7500 fleet comprises more than 50 examples.

In other positive developments for Bombardier, the manufacturer has gained a firm commitment “from an existing customer” for ten aircraft worth US$451.8m at list prices – its largest business jet order of 2021.

According to Bombardier, the order mix will remain undisclosed at present due to “competitive reasons”.

(Photo Bombardier)

Recovery Watch

EUROPEAN RE In our monthly round-up from the Cirium team, we learn how Europe’s airlines are faring with a rather unusual summer season

Lufthansa's #TogetherAgain Airbus A350-900, D-AIXP (c/n 390), pictured at Frankfurt on July 2, 2021 SIERRA AVIATION PHOTOGRAPHY

C

ommercial aviation in Europe appears to be emerging from the doldrums of the global pandemic. The continent has been among the worst hit by the imposition of COVID-19-related travel restrictions. As these have started to ease, services in the region are increasingly taking to the skies again.

In fact, data by industry analyst Cirium shows the number of flights being operated in Europe has reached the highest level since the middle of March last year.

On July 13, departures in the region achieved a seven-day average of 16,182 passenger flights, up from 13,709 at the start of the month. At

its lowest point this year, in early February, the equivalent figure was around 5,000.

Measuring activity by flight hours provides a similar snapshot. On July 12, departing services amounted to a seven-day average of 32,399 flight hours, up from 28,018 on July 1 and 14,339 at the beginning of May, underlining a relatively rapid bounceback.

Jonathan Robins, air transport specialist, Cirium Dashboard at Cirium, said: “Activity in the European Economic Area has been bolstered by the EU’s digital travel pass, which allows vaccinated, tested or recovered passengers to move around the continent with relative ease. However,

restrictions on entering the UK mean that the country is lagging behind its continental peers – passenger numbers are still below their summer 2020 peak.”

On July 12, a seven-day average of just 907 flights departed from the UK, although this is a distinct improvement from earlier – on May 1, just 315 passenger sorties departed.

A recovery in UK schedules also appears to be strongly tied to the green, amber and red lists. However, these have fluctuated, for example Portugal was removed from the green list in June, which impacted many flights to the country from the UK. Elsewhere, flight activity has bounced back strongly in Russia, led by domestic capacity, despite a worsening COVID-19 situation over recent weeks. Domestic activity has also recovered quickly in Turkey.

Fleet-wise, Cirium data shows that the Airbus A320 is currently the most popular airliner type for European operations, which continue to be dominated by short-haul services.

The aircraft family accounted for 7,077 sorties on July 12, followed by the Boeing 737 with 5,047 services and Embraer E-Jets with 1,139.

Gearing up for summer As the volume of flights continues to increase worldwide, Cirium’s relaunched On-Time Performance (OTP) Report revealed Spanish low-cost airline Vueling to be Europe’s most punctual mainline

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COVERY

carrier for June, with just over 94.5% of its rotations arriving on time.

Further afield, North America saw Air Canada rise from second place in May to first place in the mainline airline category, with an on-time arrival of almost 87.8%, taking the top spot from Hawaiian Airlines in a historic first.

But it is worth noting that carriers in North America were heavily affected in June by a major thunderstorm which swept across the east coast, causing wide disruption to air travel.

Extreme weather conditions are well known as being significant disruptors to airline and airport performance.

Further south, across Latin America, GOL Linhas Aéreas moved up to take first place in the mainline category with an on-time arrival of 93.4% – beating rival Avianca to the top spot.

HITS MAJOR MILESTONE

Also rising up the ranks were Copa Airlines and LATAM Airlines.

Meanwhile, in the Asia-Pacific, ANA has taken top spot, with a staggering on-time arrival of more than 98.1%, in the mainline airline category – beating last month’s winner, Japan Airlines (JAL). It is likely the two carriers will be neck and neck this summer for the much-delayed Olympics. Japan also continues to excel when it comes to airport rankings, with Japanese gateways topping the list in three out of four airport OTP categories.

Tokyo/Haneda ranked at the top of the global airport category for the second month running, with more than 97.8% of flights departing on time. Meanwhile, Japan’s Itami Airport took top spot as the most on-time large facility for June, and Matsuyama Airport ranked first in the

small airport category. In the global medium airport category, London/ Stansted rose to the top with an on-time departure rate of more than 95.9% – a surprising result as the Essex complex did not feature among last month’s top 20.

The return of Cirium’s On-Time Performance Reports, which is the longest-standing analysis in the aviation industry, is a positive sign for the sector. “As flights return, we now have a level playing field to analyse the on-time performance of airlines and airports once again,” explained Cirium CEO Jeremy Bowen. “While the factors that cause delays – such as congested airspace, taxiways or connecting passengers – simply did not exist in 2020, they are likely to return slowly in 2021 and into 2022.”

For more insight visit cirium.com www.key.aero

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Ice cold in Russia’s Sakha Republic is battered by some of the harshest weather on the planet, yet commercial aviation continues almost without disruption.

Bernd Sturm puts on his big coat and heads east to find out how

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AIRLINER WORLD SEPTEMBER 2021

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hen temperatures fall well below freezing in Western Europe, many of our daily routines face restrictions and infringements.

Governments issue warnings, while roads, railways and airports are often subject to disruptions, diversions or even complete shutdowns.

Russia’s Sakha Republic is a little different. It boasts the northern hemisphere’s coldest average temperatures, with the mercury often plunging below -35°C for months on end. While one might assume this would slow down life to a glacial drip, people living in such extreme conditions have adapted remarkably well and life continues as normal in spite of snow, ice and dangerously cold temperatures.

The Sakha Republic’s extreme temperatures are only matched by the vastness of the region. Also known as Yakutia, it covers more than half of the country’s Far Eastern Federal

ABOVE • The author, braced for the extremes of the Siberian winter ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF BERND STURM

BELOW • KrasAvia Yakovlev Yak-42D, RA-42406 basks in the low, winter sunlight during a stopover at Omsk/sentralny en route from Krasnoyarsk to Ufa

District and is the world’s largest subnational governing body by area, at 1,190,555 square miles.

Mirniy is the region’s third largest city and, with a population of 37,000, is similar in size to Salisbury, Wiltshire. The Siberian outpost was founded in 1955 following the discovery of a nearby kimberlite pipe rich in diamonds, which has led to the creation of one of the world’s largest open pit diamond mines, measuring 4,100ft wide and close to 1,800ft deep. Unsurprisingly, most of the town’s inhabitants are involved in the mining industry.

However, for the aviation enthusiast, Mirniy is also known for being home to the Alrosa Air Company.

A subsidiary of Alrosa, the world’s largest diamond mining company, it has become famous for its eclectic mix of rare Soviet types and for being the last operator of the Tupolev Tu-134 and Tu-154 in passenger service, although both types have since been retired by the firm.

old Yaks

terminal building but was planning some extended periods outdoors.

However, just equipping myself with suitably warm clothing proved to be a challenge. I soon discovered that Western European outfitters simply do not cater for the temperatures I was likely to encounter, and suitable clothing was hard to find.

A turbulent start

While a trip to remote parts of Siberia requires thorough planning year-round, a trip during the winter is anything but commonplace and careful preparation is needed. We were likely to face temperatures between -30°C and -50°C, while Mirniy’s proximity to the Arctic circle means there would only be around

three hours of daylight, with the sun only rising slightly above the horizon.

The rest of the day would be dark and bitterly cold.

In the weeks leading up to the trip, I was expecting not only to hop from a warm aircraft into a warm

ABOVE • Buses wait in front of Mirniy Airport's terminal

After weeks of preparation, flights and accommodation were booked, a visa had been issued and I was ready to go. Just two days before the trip, a sudden change in the flight schedule threw a spanner in the works. I had planned to arrive at Mirniy in style aboard Alrosa’s

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sole remaining Tu-134, still in use on some flights to Krasnoyarsk at that time. However, the airline informed me that my original flight had been cancelled and advanced by more than a full day. This meant a wholesale rejigging of my flights from Europe to Krasnoyarsk to accommodate an earlier departure, while two friends were forced to stay at home as their visas weren’t valid for the rearranged dates. As if these administrative headaches weren’t enough, I also learned to my bewilderment that the aircraft type had changed to a Yakovlev Yak-42 instead of the Tu-134.

As Alrosa doesn’t use the Yak-42, this left me wondering which airline would be operating the connection between Krasnoyarsk and Mirniy.

Non-uniform day The only flight available that would get me to Krasnoyarsk in time was with NordStar Airlines via Moscow/ Domodedovo aboard Boeing 737-800, VQ-BKR (c/n 33559). My three travel companions had also managed to arrange earlier departure times and we arrived at the Siberian airport within minutes of each other.

The excitement of finally embarking on our long-awaited adventure hadn’t been tempered by a near-sleepless night on a Moscow airport bench.

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AIRLINER WORLD SEPTEMBER 2021

ABOVE • Public transport in Mirniy is provided by old Soviet-built public buses.

The locals often use fur clothing to keep out the cold

BELOW • The crowd of more than 100 mine workers, all dressed in black, board the all white Yak-42D, RA-42401, for a two-and-a-half-hour flight to Mirniy

Check-in for the onward flight to Mirniy had already begun and we soon discovered the reason for the schedule change. The route’s usual flight number – 6R597 – had been substituted for 6R9971, indicating that the replacement service had been chartered. It quickly became evident that it had been chartered by the diamond mine for a shift change – the three of us being the only passengers on the all-male link not dressed in the company’s black uniform. The following day’s scheduled flight had received only a handful of bookings and was deemed surplus to requirements.

The operator substituting for Alrosa remained a mystery until well after we had reached the departure lounge, which included an outdoor smoking area on the ramp itself! We were ushered onto the transfer bus, which slowly made its way across the apron into a storage area where a Turukhan Aviakompania Yak-42, RA-42401

(c/n 4520421116567), was waiting with its rear air-stair deployed. The 1991-built trijet had initially been delivered to Aeroflot’s Chelyabinsk division before flying in Kazakhstan and later for Fars Air Qeshm in Iran, before returning to Russia and joining Izhavia. Our flight was one of the aircraft’s first for its new operator after an extended period of storage. We got settled at the back of the aircraft, close to the trio of Lotarev D-36 turbofans, for the two-and-a-half-hour flight.

The approach into Mirniy was particularly scenic as we descended over the sun-dappled frozen landscape, with the engines’ polished aluminium inlet lip skins gleaming in the soft sunlight. All too soon the eight low-pressure tyres of the main wheels touched down on Mirniy´s bumpy, snow-covered runway and, with no reversers installed, the pilots used the wheel brakes to safely slow down the aircraft until we reached our parking position.

Polyarny

Reka Nakyn

Moscow

Nel'kan Mirny Lensk

Russian

Ufa

Omsk

Novosibirsk

The army of identically uniformed miners were quickly up from their seats and heading down the rear steps, keeping us from deplaning.

When we finally descended, we were battered by the Arctic cold, the -35°C air and a strong northerly wind giving us a shock introduction to the harsh realities of life in the Sakha Republic. None of us had

Krasnoyarsk

expected the weather to cut through every millimetre of unprotected skin, leaving us feeling like we were being stabbed by tiny knives.

We collected our luggage at the single baggage belt inside the airport's small terminal building. While the huge Cyrillic lettering shouting ‘airport’ from the roof had survived the collapse of communism, the old hammer and sickle had been replaced

by Alrosa’s company logo. We headed into town.

ABOVE • Locations Bernd visited on his Siberian adventure KEY-ANDY O’NEILL

Exploring a frozen city After checking in to our small hotel – one of two just establishments providing accommodation in Mirniy – we used what remained of the brief window of daylight to put on as many layers of clothing as we had with us and start exploring the area on foot.

BELOW • Snow and ice help to make aircraft appear to have been stored for much longer than they actually have

It is hard to describe just how different it felt being outdoors in these extreme conditions. Everything was covered by a thick layer of snow and frost, while buildings, trees, streets and rivers seemed trapped in a frozen stasis. Ice clung to everything that wasn’t sheltered from the cold, but daily life seemed to be untouched.

Mirniy residents are well accustomed to these conditions.

Parked cars are either plugged into an electric heater or left running with the owners locking the car with a second key from the outside while shopping, to prevent thermal cracking of the engine block and ensure that the oil keeps circulating.

The local bus network is operated using extensively modified Soviet-era vehicles that are better suited to the conditions than

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their western-built counterparts.

The most prominent customisation is an extended exhaust pipe which runs up to the roof of the bus. This is a convenient feature as all vehicles produce immense amounts of steam while driving and directing the exhaust gases above the traffic prevents other vehicles from being shrouded in mist.

Most buildings use highly inefficient central heating systems designed in Soviet times, with hot water coming from central boiler plants and the heating running at full steam with no means of regulating their temperature. The only way we could adjust the temperature in our hotel room was by opening the window ever so slightly to take the edge off the oppressively hot central heating.

Never would I have dared sleeping at -40°C with an open window!

RIGHT • The Mir mine viewed from Alrosa's Antonov An-38, flying past the giant excavation at 1,000ft

Catching the ’38 The following morning, after an early start and a hearty breakfast, we braced ourselves for the cold and headed out to catch the bus to the airport. At the time of our visit, Alrosa’s fleet was gradually shifting away from its Soviet roots and the company had begun inducting Boeing 737-700s and 800s. While the carrier was now looking west, it continued to use Antonov An-24s (NATO reporting name Coke) for shorter sectors and flights to unpaved gravel airstrips such as Lensk, 120 miles south of Mirniy. It also operated several Ilyushin Il-76 Candids and sole examples of the An-26 Curl

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AIRLINER WORLD SEPTEMBER 2021

BELOW • The Mir open pit diamond mine is among the deepest man-made holes on Earth. The ten-storey buildings on the eastern edge of Mirniy are dwarfed by the vast cavity

and An-38, the latter a lengthened version of the An-28 Cash and even rarer than the Tu-134 and Tu-154 which had originally prompted our trip. The company’s helicopter operations are conducted using a handful of Mil Mi-8 Hips and a single Mi-26 Halo.

It was the An-38 which was top of my ‘hit list’ – I’d previously tried and failed to fly on one of the elusive Honeywell TPE-331-powered commuters back in 2013 during a trip to Khabarovsk, close to the Sino-Russian border. At the time, Vostok Airlines used a trio of the regional airliners to connect remote settlements to its base. Initially, our flight had been delayed due to fog at Nel’kan, our destination, and by the time the weather had improved down route, an issue with the aircraft meant the service was

operated by a pair of An-28s instead.

With the next flight a week away, I had to admit defeat.

Just 11 An-38s were ever built, including two prototypes, and only two examples remain in service with Alrosa. The airline uses the aircraft on cargo and mining charters to remote airfields such as Nakyn, 200 miles northeast of Mirniy, which are unable to accommodate larger types.

Occasionally, they are also rostered on links to Polyarniy and Lensk when there is reduced demand.

Not taking any chances, we had agreed to charter an An-38 for a local sightseeing flight to see the city and its cavernous Mir open pit mine from the air. Ahead of the flight, we received a warm welcome from the company’s commercial director at Alrosa’s head office and were given a tour of the building. A

ABOVE • An imposing view of Ilyushin Il-76TD, RA-76420, being prepared for its next flight

BELOW • Tupolev Tu-154M RA-85757 was the last of its kind in scheduled service wordwide. It was finally withdrawn from use on October 28, 2020

round of tea and conversations about the challenges of operating in such an extreme environment followed.

Unfortunately, we also received word that the An-38 was undergoing maintenance and wouldn’t be available for our charter flight, at least not today. I was very quickly reminded of my disappointment in Khabarovsk years earlier.

Our spirits were lifted slightly by the offer of an apron tour to get up close with the carrier’s diverse fleet.

The sun was already close to setting by the time we had been issued with security permits and were ushered out onto the ramp.

An Il-76 and a Mi-26 were being readied for their next sorties, with warm air being pumped into the cabins of the two aircraft. The rest of the fleet looked like frozen dinosaurs from an era long gone and unlikely

Alrosa operates a single example of the Mil Mi-26T, the world's largest helicopter to enter serial production. Hoses have been attached to facilitate warming of the cabin and engines BERND STURM www.key.aero

29

to return to life any time soon.

Among them was RA-85757, which would make history on October 28, 2020, when it operated its final flight from Mirniy to Novosibirsk, the world’s last scheduled Tupolev Tu-154 operation.

It was a surreal experience to witness the setting sun producing all sorts of halos and light pillars, reflecting in the tiny ice crystals floating in the air. After more than an hour walking in the cold we could barely move, with our hands, cheeks and feet freezing. Our cameras had also been struggling in the cold, with some refusing to work in the bitter sub-zero temperatures. We spent some time warming up with more tea and vodka in Alrosa´s facilities before heading downtown in order to find a warm, cosy pub to spend the evening.

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AIRLINER WORLD SEPTEMBER 2021

Diamonds are forever The phone rang early the following morning with news that the An-38 was still undergoing maintenance.

We instead spent the day viewing the Mir diamond mine from the ground.

The pit was the largest diamond mine dug during Soviet times and is one of the largest man-made holes on Earth.

It measures 4,100ft feet in diameter while being more than 1,700ft deep.

An old excavator close to the mine has been repurposed as a viewing platform, while blocks of flats on the eastern side of town help to give some sense of scale.

Open-air mining at Mir stopped in 2001, but work to unearth diamonds underground continues with a large processing plant adjacent to the Mir site. Helicopter flights directly above the mine are prohibited, as

ABOVE • Alrosa's sole Antonov An-26, RA-26668 is framed against a glorious Siberian sunset

BELOW • Despite having first flown in 1994, the Antonov AN-38 features an all-analogue flight deck

LEFT • Archaic 'fasten seatbelts' and 'exit' signs make the An-38 appear much older than it is

aboard this elusive bird, we were painfully close, but anything can happen in aviation. To make things even more tense, the following day would be our last in Mirniy. I spent the night on tenterhooks.

Hot transfer

severe wind shears are a common phenomenon in the region.

After visiting the mine, we headed out into the taiga – the name given to the woodland between the tundra and steppes in northern Siberia – for some more sightseeing, admiring the snow-covered boreal forest outside of town and a huge monument bearing the town's name.

Later, we received another phone call from Alrosa updating us on the An-38’s status. The aircraft was out of maintenance, but we weren’t out of the woods just yet. The Antonov’s technical woes had led to cargo which couldn’t be moved piling up over the past several days. Our flight had to be postponed until the next morning. After so many tries to fly

BELOW • The Mirniy-headquartered carrier is now the sole operator of the An-28-based airliner

One member of our group was scheduled to depart Mirniy at midday, but there was only sufficient daylight for a VFR flight in the An-38 around 11am. Fearing he may be about to miss out on the main attraction, he was spared disappointment thanks to some creative planning from Alrosa.

The airline would arrange for a direct ramp transfer from the Antonov onto his departing flight, even holding the outbound flight back until he had taken his seat.

Our Novosibirsk-built An-38, RA 41904 (c/n 4163839010004), was already waiting for us when we arrived at the airport the following morning. While the 1999-built regional airliner had spent its entire working life with Alrosa, there had been frequent and often lengthy periods of storage, including a

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six-year stint from 2009. It had seemed unlikely the aircraft would return to service, but it emerged from a major overhaul in 2019 wearing the company’s new livery.

An added bonus was being able to watch the ground crew prepare the aircraft for departure. This was nothing like the quick ’bags off, bags on’ operations you see in many parts of the world. Large heaters were placed next to the turboprop’s two engines to preheat them ready for start-up. This produced masses of steam rising into the clear Siberian sky. While the Honeywell TPE-331s defrosted, the captain invited us to take part in the pre-flight walkaround.

Another heater had been placed in the entrance door to warm the cabin, but when we boarded the windows were still covered in a thick layer of frost and ice. Having anticipated this, we had equipped ourselves with ice scrapers – the kind you’d use on your car windscreen – to clear the windows of frost so that we could take photographs during the flight. It proved to be a constant battle to keep

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AIRLINER WORLD SEPTEMBER 2021

ABOVE • The An-74-derived type faces an uncertain future as political tensions between Russia and Ukraine have halted production and made it challenging for operators to acquire spare parts

BELOW • This 2012-built Antonov An-148, RA-61713, shortly before departing Mirniy for Krasnoyarsk as Angara Airlines flight 2G 808

the windows clear so we could see out of the airliner.

Our crew comprised a captain and a first officer. After welcoming us on board, they gave a short safety briefing before quickly starting the engines and taxiing towards Runway 25. The westerly departure allowed for an incredible view of the Mir mine – situated just 200 yards from the airport perimeter – as we climbed away. We joined the visual circuit and performed a low approach for another look into the depths of one of the largest holes in the planet. It was breathtaking to compare the enormous size of the mine with the city from the air.

We were free to move around the cabin and flight deck during the trip.

The aircraft´s roomy cabin was only sparsely lit and featured benches that can be folded up against the cabin walls for cargo use rather than seats.

All too soon it was time to land and once we had reached our parking position and the door opened, our friend was rushed over to the waiting Boeing 737-800 by private minibus.

Less than five minutes after our landing, he was airborne again and en route to Novosibirsk.

Long way home Mirniy is connected to Moscow by several weekly non-stop services.

However, we opted to fly back to the Russian capital on as many sectors and indigenous aircraft as possible.

The first of these was to Krasnoyarsk with Angara Airlines on one of its Antonov An-148s, RA-61713 (c/n 27015041013). While the 148 was built in much larger numbers than the An-38, the Motor Sich D-436-powered airliner is also operated in ever dwindling numbers.

This is due to the souring of political relations between Ukraine and Russia which has led to the end of production at both countries’ plants in Kiev and Voronezh, and increasing difficulty in acquiring spare parts for the An-74-derived airliner.

Angara Airlines is the type’s last operator, save for Air Koryo, and retired the last of its five examples at the end of 2020. Despite the trials and

tribulations involved with keeping the type airworthy, flying aboard the An-148 is a pleasant experience.

It boasts a bright and spacious cabin while the high wing design provides for excellent visibility.

Back on a Yak After arriving in Krasnoyarsk, we decamped to the local airport hotel and were treated to a breakfast of buckwheat, sour cucumbers and sausages before returning to the airport. We had a flight on another Yak-42 in store for us today: a KrasAvia example which would take us to Ufa, the capital of Bashkortostan, with an intermediate stop at Omsk. Our jet, RA-42406 (c/n 4520424116683), was originally delivered to Aeroflot´s Volgograd unit in 1992. It made regular visits to several European airports, including Hannover in the 1990s, when serving with Meta Aviotransport Makedonia. The trijet later served with Air Volga and Kuban Airlines, joining its current user in July 2015 after several years in storage.

As it was a snowy night, a lengthy de-icing session preceded our departure. There was almost an hour between boarding and getting airborne, but once the bright orange de-icing fluid had cleared from the cabin windows, we were rewarded with wonderful views across the Siberian taiga and the frozen River Irtysh. Everyone was required to deplane at Omsk/Tsentralny while the aircraft was readied for the onward flight to Ufa, with just 15 passengers.

For a final time we were welcomed aboard by flight attendants with the customary caramel-flavoured sweet served on all Russian domestic flights.

Once more we had the chance of soaking up the atmosphere of these legendary Russian airliners, with the open overhead racks, forward folding seats and window curtains, the charm of an era long gone in most parts of the world.

These aircraft were never truly designed to compete with Airbuses and Boeings, nor built to be as economically and environmentally viable as physically possible. Rather

ABOVE • A 1992-built Yakovlev Yak-42D, RA-42414, stands out against the icy backdrop of its Krasnoyarsk base

BELOW • The sun sets on the world´s last Tupolev 154 in airline service

they exist to transport people and cargo vast distances in a country that spans the European plain in the west, across the Ural, Baikal and Caucasus mountain ranges to the Kamchatka Peninsula in the east, and from the Black sea resorts in the south to the Arctic circle in the north.

As if I needed confirmation of this, our onward flights to Moscow and St. Petersburg aboard Aeroflot’s Airbuses were cancelled due to heavy snowfall at Ufa. The silence of the airport was shattered by the KrasAvia Yak-42 which we had arrived on returning to its base. Let’s hope that there will be sufficient niches in the future to require the come-what-may, whatever-the-weather, no-nonsense, no-job-too-small capabilities built into every Antonov, Ilyushin, Tupolev or Yakovlev airliner.

The author would like to extend his thanks to the team of Alrosa Airlines in Mirniy, who welcomed him so warmly in their frozen homeland and were a tremendous help in planning and realising this trip.

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W

hen the first reports came in of a massive fire engulfing the upper floors of one of New York City’s World Trade Center towers, it was not immediately clear what had caused it. Unconfirmed eyewitness accounts suggested that an aircraft was involved, and that it looked deliberate. Any ambiguity about the origins of the inferno were all but confirmed minutes later when a second jet slammed into the second tower at the southernmost tip of Lower Manhattan.

In all, four airliners were hijacked on September 11, 2001 – the other two having crashed into the Pentagon in Virginia and a field in Pennsylvania.

It was an audacious co-ordinated attack that cost nearly 3,000 lives and triggered the most profound shake-up the aviation industry had ever seen.

September marks the 20th anniversary of the atrocities. Beyond the human tragedy of that Tuesday morning and the geo-political earthquake it unleashed, the attack had far-reaching implications for

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AIRLINER WORLD SEPTEMBER 2021

airports and airlines, demanding sweeping changes in security procedures that remain in place today. Before 9/11, no US-registered aircraft had been bombed or hijacked in more than a decade. While isolated incidents such as the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway spurred transport authorities worldwide to consider how to improve safety and security measures, the sheer magnitude of 9/11 meant this was prioritised like never before.

properly secured and air traffic control systems were vulnerable to attack. Experiments even showed that individuals with fake IDs were able to access departure gates at certain sites. Rapid turnover of staff, poor training and the often monotonous nature of the work were said to be partly to blame for the lapses. There were also anecdotal issues around the sensitivity of the scanning machines in addition to gaps in the intelligence and pre-screening efforts of security agencies. Amid a catalogue of retrospective alarm bells, perhaps the biggest flaw was that the system was seemingly preoccupied with detecting explosives rather than dangerous people.

Life before 9/11 Before the attacks of September 2001, aviation security had a number of significant vulnerabilities. Studies conducted in the aftermath showed these to include flawed baggage and passenger screening processes that were unable to adequately detect items of concern, and audits that revealed 'threat objects’ were often missed by baggage screeners. This was compounded by the fact that checked baggage on US domestic flights did not require screening.

Security experts had warned that sensitive areas at airports were not

Enter the TSA

BELOW • The sun sets on a flag hanging on a 9/11 memorial in front of the Manhattan skyline on April 15, 2021 GARY HERSHORN/GETTY IMAGES

Sweeping changes were enacted by the US Congress in the immediate aftermath of the attacks, firstly with the Aviation and Transportation Security Act on November 19, 2001, which led to the formation of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA).

The act mandated that US

The Tuesday when

everything

changed As we approach the 20th anniversary of the September 11 atrocities, Tom Batchelor reflects on how the attacks have influenced the aviation industry

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government-employed screeners inspect all passengers, baggage and freight, while shifting responsibility for security away from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

A year later, the TSA became part of the new Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which assumed overall responsibility for keeping transportation safe. By that point, the TSA had hired around 60,000 staff, including passenger and baggage screeners and federal air marshals, allowing 90% of all checked luggage to be monitored for explosives. But as further attempts by terrorists to target aircraft in the following decades showed, those immediate changes went only some of the way to addressing the problem. In his statement to the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (also known as the 9/11 Commission) in 2003, Gerald Dillingham, the then-director of civil aviation issues for the US General Accounting Office – the research arm of the US Congress – said that having spent billions of dollars, the aviation sector was “much more secure now than we were then”. However, he added: “Major vulnerabilities remain, particularly in air cargo, general aviation, mass transit, and port security.”

Global impact With its historic reliance on transatlantic routes, the UK aviation industry felt the impact of the attacks more acutely than most international markets. That said, decades of dealing

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AIRLINER WORLD SEPTEMBER 2021

ABOVE • A surveillance camera image shows two men identified by US authorities as suspected hijackers Mohammed Atta (R) and Abdulaziz Alomari (C), who took a commuter flight from Portland before connecting on to American Airlines Flight 11 in Boston US NAVY/GETTY IMAGES

RIGHT • Crews work at the Pentagon crash site on September 14, 2001 TECH SGT CEDRIC H RUDISILL/ DOD/GETTY IMAGES

BELOW • This Boeing 767-200, N612UA, (c/n 21873) was in service as United Airlines Flight 175 on September 11. The aircraft is pictured in San Francisco two years prior to the attack KONSTANTIN VON WEDELSTAEDT/ WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

with domestic terrorism linked to The Troubles in Northern Ireland meant that many counter-terrorism measures were relatively well advanced. “The UK has had to deal with threats from the IRA for the best part of 50 years, so in a sense we have had to be much more aware of those risks than perhaps those in the US were,” John Strickland, an aviation analyst and director of JLS Consulting, told Airliner World. “But there were weaknesses in the UK too,

for example the Jordanian terrorist [Nezar Hindawi] who tried to smuggle a bomb on board an El Al flight from Heathrow in his girlfriend's handbag [in 1986]. That was only stopped because El Al has additional security checks at the gate.”

Indeed, Israel and its flag carrier El Al have been at the forefront of measures to improve aviation security, leading the way with onboard agents, extra baggage checks and exceptionally thorough pre-screening of passengers including conducting interviews prior to boarding. At the other end of the spectrum, Nordic countries such as Sweden historically had less onerous security procedures, particularly for domestic sorties pre-9/11, mirroring the lower threat to their aviation networks.

ABOVE • The events of September 11, 2001 caused a seismic shift in commercial aviation both in the United States and around the world GETTY IMAGES/PHOTOSHOT

Keeping airports safe Airport security was one of the most visible changes in the aftermath of 9/11. Reflecting the urgent need to plug weaknesses in the system, the majority of the US government’s

BELOW • The TSA, created in response to 9/11, is a US Department of Homeland Security agency TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

overall security budget went towards enhancing screening of passengers on the ground.

In the two decades since the attacks, equipment has evolved sufficiently so that physical checks on every passenger are no longer required. In their place are full-body scanners, advanced technology X-ray imagers for carry-on items and explosive-detection portal devices, often referred to as ‘puffer machines’.

The result is a less invasive process while at the same time maintaining very high levels of security.

While greatly improved on pre-9/11 processes, the years that followed were not incident-free. After the attempted bombing of Northwest Airlines Flight 253 in December 2009, the Obama Administration accelerated deployment of whole-body imaging devices using advanced imaging technology.

“Since 9/11, airports have had to install more elaborate scanning machines and commit to screening 100% of bags,” explained Strickland.

“One of the most significant

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ABOVE • Pictured in October 2001, chief pilot of JetBlue Airways Lanny McAndrew, stands behind one of the new bullet-force-resistant cockpit doors rolled out on JetBlue aircraft SPEN SPENCER PLATT/GETTY IMAGES LEFT • A sign warning passengers that they can no longer carry liquids hangs at Philadelphia Airport on August 10, 2006 following the failed ‘liquid bomb’ plot WILLIAM TH THOMAS CAIN/GETTY IMAGES

Thomas H Kean, chairman of the 9/11 Commission, speaks during a press conference after the release of its final report in July 2004. The investigation found "failures of imagination, policy, capabilities and management" by the US government BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

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AIRLINER WORLD SEPTEMBER 2021

changes has been the liquid ban [dating from 2006, when a terrorist plot to detonate liquid explosives, disguised as soft drinks, carried on board aircraft travelling from the UK to the US and Canada was foiled], and recently security services have been moving towards profiling of passengers, from the point at which they book their ticket.

“The increased security measures after 9/11 have made the process of flying more time-consuming for the passenger, and added costs for the airport operators. Inevitably those costs are transferred to passengers through ticket prices,” observed Strickland.

Risk-based passenger screening remains a focus since it directs resources where security agencies believe they are most needed, with profiling of passengers alongside tougher visa rules and a move towards ‘known traveller’ programmes to streamline security checks for those who are deemed to be lower risk.

The DHS declared in November

2010 that it was capable of vetting 100% of passengers who were flying to or from US airports, using the Secure Flight system, while the TSA has developed a programme to detect suspicious passengers with thousands of behaviour detection officers at airports across the US operating under the Screening Passengers by Observational Techniques (SPOT) initiative.

By 2012, 3,000 behaviour detection officers had been deployed at 176 airports, at an annual cost of approximately US$200 million.

ABOVE • Airbus A330-300, N820NW (c/n 859), was involved in a failed terror attack on Northwest Airlines Flight 253 on Christmas Day 2009. It wears the livery of Delta Air Lines following its acquisition of Northwest AIRTEAMIMAGES.COM/PAUL BUCHROEDER BELOW • President Barack Obama with his national security team in the White House Situation Room on January 5, 2010 after the Christmas Day attack bid WHITE HOUSE PHOTO/ PETE SOUZA

Onboard security A further major change that made flying more secure in the wake of the attacks was the introduction of reinforced cockpit doors. This was a mission of the TSA and by the spring of 2003 around 80% of commercial aircraft operating in the US had these fitted, with the remainder following shortly afterwards. Airlines have also adapted their operating procedures to ensure there is another physical barrier – typically a member of the cabin crew – standing guard if the cockpit door does need to be opened in flight.

While there is little debate over the net impact on inflight safety, the extra security comes with a downside for aviation enthusiasts since the chance to sit in the jump seat or even visit the flight deck – for adults and children alike – has been all but removed.

Added to this was the expansion of the federal air marshal service. Before 9/11, there were said to be just 33 sky marshals who were mainly deployed on international flights.

Today’s figure is a closely guarded secret, but unconfirmed reports within the US media suggest it could be in the thousands.

Despite the seemingly impressive scale of the clandestine operatives, they still cover only a small percentage of the daily commercial flights that operate to, from and within the United States.

Cargo and general aviation One part of the puzzle that took more time to address was cargo security.

The TSA took steps to improve the systems that were in place, including setting up a database of known shippers designed to smooth the process and flag higher-risk freight.

It took until 2010 for the screening of all cargo on passenger-carrying US flights to take place, and even longer to ensure all inbound international cargo shipments carried on passenger airplanes were checked in this way.

Among most recent developments, at the end of June 2021, tougher rules on baggage screening were implemented by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to ensure that screening of all-cargo flights is carried out to the same www.key.aero

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high standard as cargo shipments on passenger services.

The other theoretical vulnerability is general aviation – understandably less regulated than commercial flying since it involves far fewer people and typically takes place in less crowded airspace.

Dillingham said in his evidence to the 9/11 commission that general aviation was “far more open and potentially vulnerable than commercial aviation”, as demonstrated by an incident in which a flight student in Florida crashed a Cessna 172 into a Tampa skyscraper just a few months after the 9/11 attacks. In fact, much of the guidance to improve security at US

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AIRLINER WORLD SEPTEMBER 2021

ABOVE • A mid-flight visit to the cockpit was a dream come true for many young aviation fans prior to 9/11 AIRBUS

BELOW • Before COVID-19, long queues for security screening were common at major global hubs ROBERT ALEXANDER/ GETTY IMAGES

flight schools was voluntary, making an already patchy picture even harder to quantify.

Passenger perspective Despite continued chinks in the aviation armour, one factor that has significantly improved security since the attacks is passenger behaviour.

Bruce Schneier, a fellow and lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School, said the single most important security implication of 9/11 was that “passengers realised that they had to fight back” – something he said they had come to realise “by themselves within a few hours”.

Speaking to Airliner World, Schneier described many of the post-9/11

changes as “security theatre”, including the “nonsense” liquid ban.

“Basically, we were scared, we did a whole lot of things that did no good,” he said. “Finally we reinforced the cockpit door. That was something that the airlines screamed about for decades because it adds weight to the aircraft. They finally capitulated, so that was good.

Nothing else made any difference, apart from teaching passengers they had to fight back.”

This was made abundantly clear by the response to Richard Reid, the British terrorist who was successfully subdued by passengers on board American Airlines Flight 63 from Paris to Miami in December 2001 after he attempted to detonate explosives hidden in his shoes.

Schneier was also critical of the TSA and the apparent reluctance among security officials to relax rules deemed less effective.

“It is actually very hard to remove them, simply because of the bureaucracy. Imagine… you remove a security measure and you get it wrong. You’ve just lost your career. But if you keep it in place, no one is going to fault you, so the incentive is to keep measures

in place permanently and not roll back anything.”

Appetite for travel Much like the COVID-19 crisis, demand for air travel plummeted in the wake of the 9/11 attacks.

Passengers numbers and available seats fell dramatically in the weeks that followed and remained relatively low for years, primarily caused by travellers dissuaded from flying by the newly perceived risk. Researchers

ABOVE • An display board at Dusseldorf Airport shows the non-status of Germanwings flight 4U9525 from Barcelona.

The Airbus A320, D-AIPX (c/n 147), crashed in the French Alps earlier that day SASCHA STEINBACH/GETTY BELOW • Israeli flag carrier El Al has some of the most robust security measures of any scheduled airline AIRTEAMIMAGES.COM/ IDO WACHTEL

estimated there were an additional 2,200 road deaths in the US in the two years after 9/11 as people swapped flights for car journeys, with air passenger numbers only recovering to their pre-attack peak in July 2004.

“9/11 really winded the industry,” Strickland said. “Immediately afterwards transatlantic travel was closed down, so you couldn't fly even if you wanted to, and business class was severely impacted. I said at the time I didn't think it would ever

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fully recover, but it has. I use that example a lot now when discussing the COVID pandemic, because it did fully recover.”

There were two more consumer changes in the post-9/11 era, as documented by the US Department of Transportation’s statistics bureau: the first was a shift towards low-cost carriers; and the second was a redistribution of capacity from domestic to international routes by legacy airlines in reaction to the dominance of budget airlines in the US. Twinned with this was a more direct impact on one aircraft in particular – Concorde. Among the 9/11 victims, explained Strickland, were dozens of regular supersonic passengers, as well as those who in their professional roles were responsible for approving colleagues to fly on the expensive but ultimately ill-fated jet. “There were around 20 or 30 of Concorde’s regular travellers – those who might use Concorde for one flight a week – who died in the attack on the Twin Towers,” he said. “They were also the boardroom executives who were authorising other employees to fly on Concorde, so 9/11 actually took a dent out of its passengers. Obviously, the Air France crash in 2000 was a major factor, but 9/11 meant BA had lost some of its most regular customers.”

ABOVE • A US Customs and Border Protection officer watches over travellers at Los Angeles International Airport DAVID MCNEW/GETTY IMAGES RIGHT • Modern pilots need to consider a wide range of possible threats to aircraft security DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

Ongoing weaknesses While much progress has been made in the two decades since the attacks, it is no secret that security blind spots remain. One that a group of US lawmakers are seeking to fix is the vulnerability of the cockpit when the door to the flight deck is opened mid-flight. Eric Ferguson, president

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AIRLINER WORLD SEPTEMBER 2021

BELOW • Initiatives such as TSA PreCheck allow ‘trusted travellers’ to bypass some of the more stringent security measures at US airports TRANSPORTATION SECURITY ADMINISTRATION

of the Allied Pilots Association, said in March of this year: “Since the September 11 terrorist attacks, aviation security has been greatly enhanced through hardened cockpit doors and a host of revised procedures, but our nation’s commercial airliners nevertheless remain vulnerable to a cockpit breach by those who would do us harm. That’s totally unacceptable. Fortunately, there is a solution: inexpensive, lightweight, wire-mesh gates between the cabin and cockpit door to block access to the flight deck whenever the cockpit door is opened during flight.”

In 2018, Congress ordered the FAA to mandate secondary cockpit barriers on new planes only, but that has yet to happen. The Saracini Enhanced Aviation Act of 2021, named after Victor Saracini, captain of United Airlines Flight 175 flown into the south tower of the World Trade Center, would go some way to address this, with the barriers estimated to cost less than £10,000 per aircraft.

One drawback of the strict protocols governing locked flight deck doors is they can impede crew co-operation, experts say. “The [1989] British Midland crash at Kegworth brought about changes where the industry worked hard to bring down barriers between cabin and flight crew,” said Dr David Barry, a former safety manager at a UK airline for more than ten years and now a senior lecturer at Cranfield University's Centre for Safety & Accident Investigation. “The emphasis became about working as a single team, not two, for the benefit of safety. 9/11 undid a lot of the work, or at least, made it harder.”

The other danger is that the impenetrable cockpit door system can be used against the crew. The

BELOW • The 'Tribute in Light' memorial shines from Lower Manhattan on September 11, 2018, to remember the 2,977 people killed in New York, the Pentagon and Pennsylvania SPENCER PLATT/GETTY IMAGES

crash of Germanwings Flight 9525 in 2015, which saw an Airbus A320 bound for Düsseldorf from Barcelona deliberately flown into the French Alps by one of the two pilots, Andreas Lubitz – killing himself and 149 innocent passengers – triggered a fresh consideration of how to secure cockpits from passengers while making them accessible to the crew at all times. After the shocking incident, the European Aviation Safety Authority (EASA) said two crew members should always be in the cockpit, meaning a member of the cabin crew should step in if one of the pilots needed to step out, for example to use the lavatory. This rule didn’t last long however, with EASA relaxing the requirement shortly afterwards, saying it would instead be left up to individual airlines to decide how to proceed. “Fortunately, I can’t think of any incidents, other than Germanwings, where flight deck doors have played a major part,” Dr Barry added. “I think the industry has adapted well to locked flight deck doors, but erecting barriers between a team is never going to be ideal.”

Even after 20 years of adaptations and overhauls, the industry has more issues to address. In a report compiled for US lawmakers by analysts from the Congressional Research Service (CRS) in February 2021, several areas were listed as warranting further consideration. These included incorporating biometrics into the passenger screening process to verify identities, improving co-ordination between law enforcement personnel, vetting and screening transportation workers accessing secured areas and developing cost-effective solutions to screen air cargo and freight without causing unnecessary delays.

Considerations are also being made

to shore up cybersecurity, particularly with regard to air traffic and air navigation systems – an area that has attracted increasing attention in recent years. The document lists additional vulnerabilities, such as the threat to critical infrastructure, including airports and aircraft, from attacks using drones and to aircraft from shoulder-fired missiles. To address the latter, the DHS conducted a research programme which concluded in 2009 with the FAA certifying two systems capable of protecting airliners against heat-seeking missiles. However the technology was never adopted by commercial aircraft in the US largely due to the high purchase and ongoing maintenance costs.

“While Congress has not formally debated the issue since the conclusion of the DHS programme in 2009, any future terrorist attempts to use standoff weapons, including shoulder-fired missiles, to attack civilian aircraft could quickly escalate this to a major national security priority,” CRS researchers Bart Elias, David Randall Peterman and John Frittelli concluded.

Closing considerations The steps taken to improve security in the aftermath of 9/11 have undoubtedly made flying safer. From risk-based screening initiatives to comprehensive baggage checks and strengthened cockpit doors, flying in 2021 is markedly more secure than two decades ago. But while the measures that are currently in place have so far prevented another attack on US soil, passengers continue to pay the price in terms of the increased time and cost of air travel. Finding the balance will be crucial as technology improves and threats evolve.

Additional reading In the September 2021 issue of our sister magazine Aviation News, we remember the people and aircraft caught up in the tragedy through personal accounts and records.

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Gatwick’s

gas turbine Pictures from the pages of aviation author and photographer Tom Singfield’s much-anticipated new book

Spantax operated 14 149-seat Convair CV-990 Coronados, making it the world’s largest operator of the type. The Spanish charter airline later replaced the quadjet with Douglas DC-8s owing to the Coronado's voracious fuel consumption ALL IMAGES VIA TOM SINGFIELD

F

ormer Gatwick air traffic controller Tom Singfield has headed down Memory Lane and turned right down Fascination Street once more, to produce a second pictorial lovesong to the rich and varied history of London’s second airport. His new book, Classic

RIGHT • British Caledonian Charter was formed in 1982 as a joint venture between BCal and the Rank Organisation. The carrier was rebranded and relaunched in 1985 as Cal Air International. It operated a trio of ex-Laker Airways McDonnell Douglas DC-10-10s including G-GCAL (c/n 46501) – this jet is now preserved at Pima Air and Space Museum, Arizona, having later served as a Project Orbis flying eye hospital programme

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AIRLINER WORLD SEPTEMBER 2021

timeline

Gatwick Jetliners, celebrates the first three decades of turbojet and later turbofan-powered operations at the hub, and follows 2019’s warmly received Classic Gatwick Propliners.

It’s difficult not to lament recent advances in technology and design as well as COVID-related retirements as aviation steadily marches towards

airports devoid of variety, with non-duopoly types becoming increasingly scarce.

Maybe some day, we will remember A320neos and 737 MAX 8s as fondly as those before us who look back on 707s, Douglas DC-8s and Convair Coronados. But that may mean we have to wish impossible things...

LEFT • Surinam Airways Douglas DC-8-63, N4935C (c/n 45931), was a colourful visitor to the West Sussex airfield on May 2, 1987. It was leased by Monarch Airlines for around a fortnight in late April and early May of that year to operate a charter service to Corfu, Greece

ABOVE • BAC One-Eleven, G-ASJI (c/n BAC.013), was one of ten examples ordered by British United Airlines in 1961. It was delivered to the carrier on April 15, 1965 – six days after sistership G-ASJJ had flown the world’s first commercial service by a BAC One-Eleven when it connected Gatwick and Genoa, Italy LEFT • Air Alsace was formed as an air taxi operator in Colmar, France, in 1962. The company leased three VFW-Fokker 614s from 1976/77 and these flew mostly from Colmar to Paris.

The three were returned to the manufacturer in 1980 and broken up for spares

LEFT • Horizon Travel, a Birmingham-based tour company, launched Orion Airways in late 1978 and commenced flying with four Boeing 737-200s in 1980. While most well known for its Boeing 737 operations, the carrier leased two 375-seat Airbus A300B4s from Lufthansa between 1987 and 1989

People Express used leased ex-Braniff Boeing 747s on services to Gatwick from May 26, 1983. The carrier's approval to operate transatlantic services was reportedly expedited after the US authorities threatened to remove bilateral licence agreements for British Airways and British Caledonian unless People Express operations were greenlit quickly

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ABOVE• Itavia McDonnell Douglas DC-9, I-TIGI (c/n 45724), departs Gatwick on April 7, 1980. The Long Beach-built jet exploded mid-air and crashed into the sea off Naples just two months later, killing all 81 on board. Theories about the crash cause include a bomb or errant missile RIGHT • Laker Airways Boeing 707-138, G-AVZZ (c/n 17699), was used by International Caribbean Airways – a joint venture between the Barbados government (51%) and Laker Airways (49%).

The former-Qantas jet operated schedules between Barbados and Luxembourg via Gatwick

RIGHT • Jugoslovenski Aerotransport (JAT) Boeing 727-2H9, YU-AKK (c/n 22665), had recently returned to the company from lease to Air Afrique when it visited Gatwick in July 1986

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AIRLINER WORLD SEPTEMBER 2021

ABOVE• Alitalia’s charter arm Società Aerea Mediterranea (SAM) replaced its propliners with a fleet of Sud Aviation Caravelles for charters around Europe including Gatwick. Seven different Caravelles were leased long-term from Alitalia, while other jets also appeared at Gatwick in full colours of the Italian flag carrier, sometimes carrying ‘Chartered by SAM’ stickers

2021 ember issue of within the Sept

INCLUDING • Latest global fleet data • Airbus and Boeing delivery insights

Global Airline Report

2021

• Airline start-ups and failures • Exclusive regional aviation analysis

YOUR ULTIMATE GUIDE TO AVIATION’S MOST CHALLENGING YEAR www.key.aero

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Welcome H

ello and welcome to Airliner World’s Global Airline Report 2021. We’re delighted to share a wealth of exclusive insights and analysis during what continues to be an incredibly challenging period for commercial aviation. Unless stated, all of the data on which our report is based has been kindly supplied by airline intelligence specialist, ch-aviation.

Aviation failures 2020

Alliances at a glance 2021 Airline Air Austral Air Madagascar Air Mauritius Air Seychelles Int'Air Îles Air Antilles LIAT (2020) Winair Air Nostrum Alaska Airlines American Airlines BA CityFlyer British Airways Cathay Pacific Comair (South Africa) Eastern Australia Airlines Envoy Air Fiji Airways Fiji Link Finnair Hokkaido Air System Horizon Air Iberia Iberia Express J-Air Japan Airlines Japan Air Commuter Jetconnect Japan Transocean Air Malaysia Airlines Network Aviation NoRRA OpenSkies Piedmont Airlines PSA Airlines Qantas Qatar Airways Royal Air Maroc Royal Air Maroc Express Royal Jordanian S7 Airlines SkyWest Airlines SriLankan Airlines Sun-Air Sunstate Airlines Aeroflot Aerolíneas Argentinas Aeroméxico

48

Alliance Alliance Vanille Alliance Vanille Alliance Vanille Alliance Vanille Alliance Vanille Caribsky Caribsky Caribsky Oneworld Oneworld Oneworld Oneworld Oneworld Oneworld Oneworld Oneworld Oneworld Oneworld Oneworld Oneworld Oneworld Oneworld Oneworld Oneworld Oneworld Oneworld Oneworld Oneworld Oneworld Oneworld Oneworld Oneworld Oneworld Oneworld Oneworld Oneworld Oneworld Oneworld Oneworld Oneworld Oneworld Oneworld Oneworld Oneworld Oneworld Skyteam Skyteam Skyteam

AIRLINER WORLD SEPTEMBER 2021

Airline Air Europa Air France Alitalia China Airlines China Eastern Airlines CSA Czech Airlines Delta Air Lines Garuda Indonesia Kenya Airways KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Korean Air Middle East Airlines Saudia Tarom Vietnam Airlines Xiamen Airlines Aegean Airlines Air Canada Air China Air India Air New Zealand Air New Zealand Link All Nippon Airways Asiana Airlines Austrian Airlines Avianca Airlines Brussels Airlines Copa Airlines Croatia Airlines EgyptAir Ethiopian Airlines EVA Air LOT Polish Airlines Lufthansa SAS Scandinavian Airlines Shenzhen Airlines Singapore Airlines South African Airways Swiss TAP Air Portugal Thai Airways International Thai Smile Turkish Airlines United Airlines Cebgo Cebu Pacific Air Jeju Air Nok Air Scoot

Alliance Skyteam Skyteam Skyteam Skyteam Skyteam Skyteam Skyteam Skyteam Skyteam Skyteam Skyteam Skyteam Skyteam Skyteam Skyteam Skyteam Star Alliance Star Alliance Star Alliance Star Alliance Star Alliance Star Alliance Star Alliance Star Alliance Star Alliance Star Alliance Star Alliance Star Alliance Star Alliance Star Alliance Star Alliance Star Alliance Star Alliance Star Alliance Star Alliance Star Alliance Star Alliance Star Alliance Star Alliance Star Alliance Star Alliance Star Alliance Star Alliance Star Alliance Value Alliance Value Alliance Value Alliance Value Alliance Value Alliance

Airline Austral Flyest LATAM Airlines Argentina Atlantis European Airways Tigerair Australia Lauda LEVEL Europe Fleet Air BG Express Air Island Express Air SAGA - Sahel and Gulf Airlines One Airlines China Xinhua Airlines Jet Time (2006) Tigua Aerotours TAME Amazonía TAME Ecuador TAME Xpress Jet Time Finland LGW - Luftfahrtgesellschaft Walter SunExpress Deutschland WDL Aviation Waves Cathay Dragon Air Italy Ernest Airlines AirAsia Japan AZee Air Rahila Air Love2Fly Avianca Airlines Perú Borus Sukhoi Civil Aircraft BRA - Braathens Regional Aviation Tropical Air NokScoot Real Tonga Airlines AtlasGlobal flybe California Pacific Airlines Compass Airlines ExecAir of Naples Frontier Flying Service Hageland Aviation Services J.A.R. Aircraft Services Makani Kai Air Miami Air International Pacific Airways PenAir Raytheon Shoreline Aviation Shoreline Aviation Oxford Trans States Airlines United Technologies ViaAir

Country Argentina Argentina Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Austria Bulgaria Canada Canada Chad Chile China Denmark Dominican Republic Ecuador Ecuador Ecuador Finland Germany Germany Germany Guernsey Hong Kong Italy Italy Japan Kazakhstan Libya Malaysia Peru Russian Federation Russian Federation Sweden Tanzania (United Republic of) Thailand Tonga Turkey United Kingdom United States United States United States United States United States United States United States United States United States United States United States United States United States United States United States United States

Over the past few weeks our editorial team has been busy crunching the numbers to bring you the facts and figures from airlines and manufacturers across the globe, as well as a few stories that you might have missed.

While it isn’t easy to take stock of

Merged with (if applicable) Aerolíneas Argentinas

AvA Airways

German Airways Cathay Pacific

Irkut

Southern Airways Express

Raytheon Technologies

Raytheon Technologies

the industry at such a turbulent time, we’ve tried our best to provide you with this ‘eye of the storm’ snapshot, with 2019 and 2020 figures provided for context where available.

We start this year’s report with a comprehensive roll call of airline start-ups and failures, along with the

Aviation start-ups 2020 Airline LIAT (2020) Wadadli Cargo AeroPuna NovAir (Armenia) Global Jet Aruba Air71 ASL Fly Executive Abaeté Brazilian Airlines ITA Transportes Aéreos NELLA Linhas Aéreas Nossa Linhas Aéreas VoeAmérica GullivAir Burundi Airlines Cabo Verde Connect Services OWG Pivot Airlines Régionair Treq Air Haking China Southern Air Cargo Quzhou Airlines Sanya International Airlines Sichuan Shuanglong JetSMART Colombia Ultra Air Aberdair Aviation

latest details of alliance members. We then examine the fascinating global trends in airframe deliveries and retirements. With many carriers still mothballing significant proportions of their fleet, we later analyse aircraft in storage pending what is hoped to be a sustained surge in passenger travel. We conclude our report with a regional focus, highlighting the major developments that have shaped the aviation landscape where you are.

All data is correct as of June 2021.

While we endeavour to present as timely a report as possible, the rapid pace of change within the sector means further adjustments will inevitably have occurred between the data extraction and publication.

Assuming you’re sitting comfortably with your seatbelt securely fastened, we now invite you to prepare for a rather bumpy journey reflecting a wild 12 months.

Gordon Smith, Group Editor

THIS IMAGE: AIRTEAMIMAGES.COM/ DANISH AVIATION PHOTO COVER IMAGE: AIRTEAMIMAGES.COM/ ALVIN MAN

ETF Airways Fly Air41 Airways Cyprus Jetlines SKY5 Airlines Rosa Airlines Airseven Jettime SmuuthCare Red Air Sky Cana Ecuatoriana Airlines Equinoxair Ajwaa Airlines FlyEswa CieloFly Air Georgia Easy Charter Green Airlines JOOT Aviation MeerExpress EW Discover Alpine Air (Greece) Eagle Seaplanes Ippias Airlines North Wings One China Global Airways N-Ice Air IndiaOne Air SpiceShuttle TruStar Toos Airline of) Aer Nasc Emerald Airlines (Ireland) ITA - Italia Trasporto Aereo LitorAli Airlines flyOriole Premier Airlines Moalem Aviation

Country Antigua and Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Bangladesh Belgium Brazil Brazil Brazil Brazil Brazil Bulgaria Burundi Cabo Verde Canada Canada Canada Canada Chad China China China China Colombia Colombia Congo (Democratic Republic of) Croatia Croatia Cyprus Cyprus Czechia Denmark Denmark Denmark Dominican Republic Dominican Republic Ecuador Ecuador Egypt Eswatini France Georgia Georgia Germany Germany Germany Germany Greece Greece Greece Greece Hong Kong Iceland India India India Iran (Islamic Republic Ireland Ireland Italy Italy Jamaica Kenya Kyrgyzstan

Mohahlaula Airlines Airline Lone Star Air Fly Desert Heston Airlines Jump Air Air Atlanta Europe Gestair Aviation Malta Lauda Europe SVL Airlines VLU (Mexico) HiSky Air Montenegro Skyway Mozambique Stage-Air Pasifika Air Binani Air Braathen Air Flyr Norwegian Air Shuttle AOC Bocas Air LaPerů Bohol Wings Cargo Union CU Air LOT Polish Airlines (Mk.II) World2Fly (Portugal) Fly Lili HiSky Europe Air Leader Irkut Regional Aircraft KEMZ AVIA Slava Taiga Lift Airlines Aura Airlines (Sri Lanka) Fly Lankan Asia Lakwin Aviation Spark Air AirGotland Skĺneflyg Air Mountain Air Ticino SouthSuisse Airways Sham Sky Aviation Unity Air Zanzibar Lulutai Airlines Zone Four International Mesk Air Aer Lingus (United Kingdom) ASL Airlines UK European Cargo NEBO Air NetJets (United Kingdom) flybe (2021) AspenJet Houston Air JetOUT Miami Air Rambler Air Air Marakanda Hidaya Airlines Humo Air Vietravel Airlines FLY CORALway Moka Airways Royal Zambian Airlines

Lesotho Country Liberia Libya Lithuania Lithuania Malta Malta Malta Malta Mexico Moldova (Republic of) Montenegro Mozambique Netherlands New Zealand Nigeria Norway Norway Norway Panama Peru Philippines Poland Poland Poland Portugal Romania Romania Russian Federation Russian Federation Russian Federation Russian Federation Russian Federation South Africa Sri Lanka Sri Lanka Sri Lanka Sri Lanka Sweden Sweden Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland Syrian Arab Republic Tanzania (United Republic of) Tonga Uganda United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United Kingdom United Kingdom United Kingdom United Kingdom United Kingdom United States United States United States United States United States Uzbekistan Uzbekistan Uzbekistan Vietnam Wallis and Futuna Yemen Zambia

About ch-aviation

F

ounded in 1998 in Chur, Switzerland, ch-aviation has become an influential airline intelligence provider and a great Swiss aviation success story.

It welcomes more than two million users each year and is proud to count hundreds of companies in the airline industry as its customers. Nevertheless, it remains small enough to care about the specifics that have always made the difference between good and outstanding data.

ch-aviation’s fully customisable database includes: • Detailed and summarised data on the current status of almost 66,000 aircraft around the world, updated weekly and including operator, age, engines and status.

• Airline directory tracking the status of nearly 4,700 active operators, sortable by aircraft type, country, continent and types of operation.

This also features start-up tracking, including address and contact details, and an extensive list of reservation system vendors and users.

• Route network and schedule data for more than 820 airlines and approximately 107,000 routes, the most accurate codeshare and wet-lease disclosure data available in the industry and real-time tracking of route network updates (route launches, suspensions and cancellations).

• Airport database listing location, IATA and ICAO codes and airfield information for more than 6,800 airports worldwide. Detailed reports on operators, schedules, route networks and capacity. www.ch-aviation.com

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Slowly but surely T Canada is among the slowest markets to return its fleet into active service, with 46% of airliners registered in the country currently stored AIRTEAMIMAGES.COM/ RYAN PATTERSON

Continent Africa Asia Europe North America Oceania South America Global Fleet

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Active 819 7,446 4,861 6,577 650 782 21,135

he number of aircraft to have been removed from storage over the past year accounts for more than 20% of the global fleet.

However, the continued uncertainty and hesitancy regarding the easing of travel restrictions means that airlines are not experiencing the same recovery owing to differing stances among governments.

This situation is highlighted on opposite shores of the North Sea. As the UK’s traffic light system continues to fluctuate, more than half the country’s 761 airliners remain in storage. Based purely on this metric, ch-aviation data suggests that the country’s aviation industry is recovering at the slowest rate in Europe, with only seven other nations faring worse worldwide.

Meanwhile, the Netherlands has currently reactivated all but seven of its 221 airliners – accounting for 97%

Total 1,281 10,001 6,573 8,016 809 1,110 27,790

2021 % stored 36% 26% 26% 18% 20% 30% 26%

AIRLINER WORLD SEPTEMBER 2021

2020 % stored 59% 35% 45% 35% 42% 63% 46.5%

of its entire fleet. While KLM, like UK counterpart British Airways, quickly withdrew its remaining Boeing 747-400s and began placing more efficient widebodies on cargo-only services, it has benefitted from the reopening of long-haul routes to further flung regions of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, such as Aruba and Curaçao in the Caribbean.

Dutch leisure carriers TUI fly Netherlands and Transavia have been able to mobilise fleets due to a greater easing of traffic restrictions across Europe than their UK equivalents have experienced. Popular tourist destinations including Greece, Cyprus, Malta, Italy, Portugal and Spain’s Balearic and Canary islands have enabled the carriers to restore large parts of their networks, although not at the scale seen pre-pandemic.

The United States has also fared well, with a boom in domestic sorties not only helping to get carriers back flying, but also creating opportunities for holiday hotspot hubs such as Key West to buck trends, increase its annual passenger count and attract new airlines and services during the pandemic. Overall, North America has returned 82% of its global fleet to active duty – more than any other

continent. Yet the US is also home to eight of the ten largest collections of stored airliners worldwide, including the three largest of these: Roswell International Air Center (RIAC), Southern California Logistics Airport (SCLA) and Pinal Airpark together hold 1,743 airframes – more than the rest of the top ten combined.

Outside of China – which has been able to leverage its extensive domestic network to bring 90% of its fleet back online – Asian nations which had previously been strongholds for low-cost carriers have failed to bounce back meaningfully.

Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam have all faltered due to their reliance on international connections. Globally, only Hong Kong has fared worse – its COVID-19 woes having been compounded by months of civil unrest and because its Cathay Pacific flag carrier had primarily served as a long-haul specialist.

While Africa’s active fleet more than doubled from 320 to 778 between May 2020 and May 2021, the continent’s aviation industry is unlikely to bounce back at a similar pace to the US, Europe and Asia owing to the likely speed at which vaccines will be rolled out across African countries. So there

has been very little headway made in bringing airliners back into service.

While there has been some growth recently, this has not been sustained and the active fleet has dropped to levels previously seen in late 2020 and early 2021. In January, some 772 aircraft were operating across the continent, rising to 847 examples by March, and since dropping to 778.

Type breakdown The Airbus A380 found itself in increasingly familiar territory in a figures breakdown of the most active Type Airbus A220 Airbus A300 Airbus A310 Airbus A318 Airbus A319 Airbus A320 Airbus A321 Airbus A330ceo Airbus A330neo Airbus A340 Airbus A350 Airbus A380 Antonov An-124 Antonov An-148 Avro RJ COMAC ARJ21-700 ATR 42/72 BAe 146 Boeing 717 Boeing 727 Boeing 737 Original Boeing 737 Classic Boeing 737 NG Boeing 737 MAX Boeing 747-100/200/300/SP Boeing 747-400 Boeing 747-8 Boeing 757 Boeing 767 Boeing 777 Boeing 787 Dreamliner BAe ATP Bombardier CRJ Douglas DC-8 McDonnell Douglas DC-9 McDonnell Douglas DC-10 McDonnell Douglas MD-11 McDonnell Douglas MD-80 McDonnell Douglas MD-90 de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter Viking Series 400 Twin Otter de Havilland Canada Dash 7 de Havilland Canada Dash 8-100/200/300 De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 Dornier Do 228 Dornier Do 328 Fairchild Dornier 328JET Embraer EMB 120 Embraer ERJ135/140/145 Embraer E170 Embraer E175 Embraer E190 Embraer E190-E2 Embraer E195 Embraer E195-E2 Fokker 28 Fokker 50 Fokker 100 Fokker 70 Ilyushin Il-62 Ilyushin Il-76 Ilyushin Il-86 Ilyushin Il-96 Ilyushin Il-114 BAe Jetstream 41 Lockheed L-1011 TriStar Xian MA-60/MA-600 Mitsubishi SpaceJet M90 Irkut SSJ100 Saab 2000 Saab 340 Tupolev Tu-134 Tupolev Tu-154 Tupolev Tu-204 Tupolev Tu-214 Tupolev Tu-334 Grand Total

Stored 2019 4 125 110 13 95 224 37 76 0 149 2 4 25 19 41 1 240 83 7 483 439 600 157 378 194 201 2 199 201 101 6 25 429 88 328 111 54 590 40 70 7 27 136 38 57 34 51 77 256 23 0 51 2 4 0 99 59 84 13 30 42 7 12 17 40 48 34 0 42 14 152 21 209 30 12 3 7,678

Stored 2020 33 127 115 41 664 2429 870 682 22 218 104 215 20 30 72 6 597 80 78 368 338 684 2647 380 314 237 32 416 393 674 322 26 819 80 239 103 49 666 71 173 20 27 256 284 65 42 72 118 524 119 100 318 5 105 3 84 82 98 20 32 47 7 15 14 56 47 40 0 70 35 230 22 148 29 14 2 18,551

Stored 2021 34 120 115 22 459 1654 532 502 20 198 78 213 21 24 67 1 419 87 73 367 323 601 1233 254 146 217 21 300 280 527 169 26 585 74 234 109 49 638 71 127 20 26 204 219 63 41 69 101 421 53 47 191 10 33 4 84 74 104 16 30 222 7 13 14 54 46 40 5 65 31 191 103 142 26 10 2 13,737

% Stored 2021 26% 42% 82% 50% 39% 36% 30% 44% 47% 79% 23% 97% 45% 69% 61% 4% 38% 74% 48% 88% 88% 58% 22% 100% 85% 50% 17% 43% 34% 37% 21% 68% 41% 95% 94% 55% 33% 92% 100% 31% 18% 68% 41% 42% 24% 52% 79% 53% 43% 42% 8% 45% 53% 32% 36% 91% 60% 58% 50% 83% 76% 64% 62% 93% 76% 98% 40% 100% 41% 63% 60% 58% 81% 79% 48% 100% 41%

aircraft types. Only the McDonnell 96 its final Douglas MD-90, 130 which made 289 169 passenger service in June 2020, the 140 25 shelved Mitsubishi 44 SpaceJet 22 and 1178 – of which 719 the Lockheed TriStar 4657 3003 one flying example remains with 1767 1235 Northrop Grumman the 1130 – surpassed 628 43 Blagnac-built behemoth in23terms of 250 52 unpopularity. As 337 of May 2021, 259 only two superjumbos were 220in airline 7 service as 26 for the long-haul flying 47 and demand 35 11 type remained minimal – with that 110 43 figure likely to have worse 24 been even 23 1089 had the double-decker not670 accounted 118 31 for 45% of Emirates’ fleet.

153 overall80 While the COMAC ARJ21 416 49tops 367 four per 44 cent the charts with just 1045 444 of the overall fleet in storage, 5726 4493the figures don’t tell the 254 whole0story. The 171 25 Chinese-built airliner is a modern 433 216 single-aisle design, with deliveries 121 100 ramping up and 701 no supply401 chain 816issues. It536 or spares package serves a 1431 904 handful of carriers, 795 many being 626 38 12 state-owned, all operating in the 831 interests same country. It 1416 is in China’s 78 4 to make the ARJ21 248 a success 14 as its 197 to wean 88its airlines government works 148 99jets. off Airbus and Boeing-built 695 57 A preference for71 more fuel-efficient 0 410 Airbus 283 aircraft such as the A350 112 92 and Boeing 787 Dreamliner for use 38 12 on belly-only cargo and the 493 flights 289 520 301 few surviving scheduled routes 264 201meant warranting widebodies, has 79 38 fewer examples have been 87 18stored 192 twin-aisle 91 compared with older jets.

977 556 The 747-400 fell out of favour with 125 72 operators worldwide start of 570 at the523 427the A340 236has fared the pandemic and 19 9 no better with 79% of the global fleet 102 69 being stored. It isn’t 11 all bad7news 8 747-8 for four-engined92jet fans, the 124 50 having performed extremely well, 180 76 although its popularity as a16freighter, 32 6 run, has almost 70% of the36production 291 meant it is better11 protected469against COVID cutbacks21than earlier 8 types.

1 But it is among15narrowbodies that 71 17 there has been the smallest number of 47 1 groundings; the 100 A220 and 60 A320neo 0 737NG Family, as well as5 the Boeing 158 93 and MAX and Embraer jets18 continuing 49 to be popular as airlines focus 317 126 on 179 76 as well domestic and regional flying 176 34 as modest short-haul international 33 7 connections. So 21 it is likely 11to remain, 2 with no0 definitive for the foreseeable, 33184 19447 end to travel restrictions in sight.

The Embraer E175 was the most active western-built airliner in May 2021 according to ch-aviation data. US carriers have benefitted from a greater than usual demand for staycations, while firms worldwide have used the jet to right size routes that would have previously been operated by larger types AIRTEAMIMAGES.COM/ STUART LAWSON

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Global Fleet

Flying to efficiency: analysing the global fleet

W

ith the onset of COVID-19 across worldwide markets during the first half of last year, we analyse the trends of the global fleet before the pandemic (2019), its spread worldwide (2020) and what we hope is the road to recovery (2021).

Overall, between the three years and despite the major fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, global fleet numbers remained stable from 26,176 in 2019, falling slightly in 2020 at 26,096, before rebounding to 26,114, although not to above pre-COVID-19 levels. While operators have phased out older, less-efficient aircraft to reduce the financial burden, many of these have, in turn, been replaced by newer types.

First, in the single-aisle sector, the Airbus A220 recorded an 185% increase in 2021 compared to 2019, equating to 148 more aircraft. Newer users of the airframe vary from Kyrgyzstan’s Air Manas and New York-based JetBlue Airways to now established operators of the type, such as Delta Air Lines.

Elsewhere, the European airframer also recorded strong growth in its re-engined narrowbody stable thanks to an 82% and 170% increase of the A320neo and A321neo respectively over three years. The A320neo alone increased from 701 airframes in 2019 to 1,275 in 2021, equating to 574 examples. Conversely, but as expected, all older-generation models of the A320 Family recorded fleet number drops – for example, with the A318 and A319ceo experiencing a 39% and 13% decline respectively.

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Azul Linhas Aéreas Brasileiras became the first operator of the A330neo in the region and now fields five examples AIRBUS

Meanwhile, for Boeing’s 737 MAX, there looks to be light at the end of the tunnel after a majority of global regulators gave the green light for aircraft recertification. As such, the global fleet for the type now stands at 567 – up 196 jets from 2020 alone.

Elsewhere, while figures for the 737NG (-600, -700, -800 and -900) show a fall of 4% over the three-year period, out of 268 total withdrawals 226 737NGs left between 2020-2021.

For the widebody sector, there has been a different turn of fortunes for Airbus and Boeing. The European manufacturer saw a 216% increase for the A330neo, from 19 examples in 2019 to 60 in 2021, while the A350 grew by 134 airframes over the same three-year timeframe. On the

other hand, Boeing’s 787 global fleet increased by just a single example between 2020 and 2021’s data as the US airframer resolved ‘shimming’ issues on the Dreamliner.

While the 767 and 777 both had a 5% decrease in the global fleet between 2019-2021, the biggest casualty was the 747-400 with a 21% slump, going down from 360 to 285 in the three-year period. This comes as carriers including British Airways opted to retire the quad jet earlier in favour of fuel-efficient twin-engined types. However, the newest iteration of the ‘Queen of the Skies’, the -8, had a slight improvement with a 7% increase due to its pivotal cargo role.

In the turboprop market, ATR recorded a rise in the global fleet for its combined ATR 42/72 of 47 examples between 2019-2020, before reducing by the same number between 2020-2021. Meanwhile, as the rival De Havilland Canada Dash 8 global fleet dropped by 80 to 913 from 2019 to 2020, it recorded no further increase/decrease in 2021.

GAR 2021 Global Fleet Analysis Table Type Airbus A220 Airbus A318 Airbus A319ceo Airbus A319neo Airbus A320ceo Airbus A320neo Airbus A321ceo Airbus A321neo Airbus A330ceo Airbus A330neo Airbus A340 Airbus A350 Airbus A380 ATR 42/72 Boeing 737-100/200 Boeing 737 Classic Boeing 737 NG Boeing 737 MAX Boeing 747-100/200/300 Boeing 747-400 Boeing 747-8 Boeing 757-200 Boeing 757-300 Boeing 767 Boeing 777 Boeing 787 De Havilland Canada Dash 8 Embraer E-Jet Family Irkut SSJ100 Total

2019 80 38 1289 0 4233 701 1681 203 1308 19 164 289 235 1131 98 838 6600 373 28 360 123 645 55 793 1461 858 993 1449 131 26176

2020 109 24 1211 0 4110 952 1646 322 1227 44 129 357 218 1178 90 806 6558 371 28 316 127 590 53 767 1465 958 913 1404 123 26096

2021 228 23 1123 0 3836 1275 1633 549 1129 60 98 423 226 1131 84 762 6332 567 25 285 131 578 53 753 1392 959 913 1407 139 26114

Unit Change 19-20 29 -14 -78 0 -123 251 -35 119 -81 25 -35 68 -17 47 -8 -32 -42 -2 0 -44 4 -55 -2 -26 4 100 -80 -45 -8 N/A

Unit Change 20-21 119 -1 -88 0 -274 323 -13 227 -98 16 -31 66 8 -47 -6 -44 -226 196 -3 -31 4 -12 0 -14 -73 1 0 3 16 N/A

Unit Change 19-21 148 -15 -166 0 -397 574 -48 346 -179 41 -66 134 -9 0 -14 -76 -268 194 -3 -75 8 -67 -2 -40 -69 101 -80 -42 8 N/A

% Change 19-21 185 -39 -13 0 -9 82 -3 170 -14 216 -40 46 -4 0 -14 -9 -4 52 -11 -21 7 -10 -4 -5 -5 12 -8 -3 6 N/A

Deliveries drop but

ready for rebound

H

aving spent much of the past 18 months locked down and lost in the land of the living room, it’s difficult to know whether 2019 was two years ago or 20. Indeed, the dramatic drop in Boeing’s delivery digits from a record-breaking 806 in 2018 to less than 20% of that just a year later could never have been foreseen, especially in such a short space of time. With COVID-19 rubbing salt in the wounds of the Chicago-based aerospace giant, already fighting to get its 737 MAX jets recertificated and its 777X through flight tests, the company turned to the 787 Dreamliner to weather the storm.

However, manufacturing of the widebody was halted after Boeing discovered issues with shims used to join fuselage tubes and resolved to improve its quality control. Boeing’s annual delivery tally tumbled to 157 airliners – its lowest level since 1984. Clearing storage areas of more than 400 MAX jets and 100 787s will make up for the slowing of Dreamliner production, it having been consolidated in South Carolina, and may even hand the US airframer the edge over Airbus in the 2021 race to become the world’s largest

A220-100/300 A320 Family A330ceo A330neo A350 XWB A380 Airbus Total 737 MAX 737NG 747-8F 767-300F 777 787 Dreamliner Boeing Total

01/20 2 26 0 1 2 0 31 0 2 0 0 2 6 10

02/20 03/20 4 2 40 30 1 0 1 0 9 3 0 0 55 35 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 2 1 3 12 11 16 16

04/20 0 12 0 0 1 0 13 0 0 0 0 1 4 5

commercial aircraft manufacturer, but it’s not something the company will be too keen to brag about.

While most other airframers haven’t been plagued with issues to the extent of Boeing, the downturn in commercial flying has meant that none have gone unscathed.

Airbus has retained its mantle as the world’s largest producer of airliners; although its 2020 score was almost 300 jets down on the previous year as the pan-European firm adjusted to a world where social distancing, quarantines, masks and hand sanitiser had very quickly become the norm. The Toulouse-based behemoth has outlined plans to gradually increase production rates while overhauling its A380 line for an A320neo Family focus and consolidating its French and German interests – including Stelia Aerospace, Stade and Premium AEROTEC – into two new companies.

Only ATR’s handover rate dropped by a greater margin than Boeing, as the Airbus Franco-Italian turboprop ATR titan slid from 68 deliveries in Boeing COMAC 2019 to just ten in 2020. The Embraer firm prioritised supporting Irkut its existing customers with 05/20 2 18 0 0 4 0 24 0 0 0 0 2 1 3

06/20 1 31 0 0 4 0 36 0 0 1 2 1 3 7

07/20 2 47 0 0 0 0 49 0 0 0 1 1 2 4

08/20 0 35 0 1 2 0 38 0 0 0 2 3 4 9

09/20 5 43 0 2 7 0 57 0 0 1 1 1 7 10

10/20 12 43 0 3 12 1 71 0 0 1 2 4 4 11

11/20 2 54 0 1 7 0 64 0 0 1 1 3 0 5

Airbus A321s are to be built outside Germany for the first time once the A380 final assembly line at Toulouse/ Blagnac has been adapted for the production of A320 Family jets AIRBUS

2018 800 76 806 6 90 22

12/20 6 67 0 4 8 3 88 27 0 1 1 3 0 32

2019 863 68 380 12 89 6

01/21 3 16 0 1 1 0 21 21 0 0 1 3 0 25

02/21 2 29 0 0 1 0 32 18 0 0 1 1 0 20

rapid P2F conversions, solutions for aircraft storage and maintenance, and assistance with sanitising cabins, rather than rattling through its order backlog. The company’s CEO, Stefano Bortoli, said in a March press briefing that the company had “reached its bottom” and anticipates it will double its 2020 dispatch rate this year.

China’s COMAC bucked trends by increasing its ARJ21 build rate twofold for the second year running, up from 12 to 24. Production is expected to ramp up further as the state-owned manufacturer gets to grips with more than 500 unfulfilled orders, while numbers are expected to be boosted by the first C919 deliveries, planned to take place before the end of the year.

Embraer had expected to finish 2020 as Boeing Brasil-Commercial, but the US$4.2bn joint venture was terminated by Boeing in April. The Brazilian regional jet specialist instead saw in the new year with 44 deliveries for the previous 12 months.

With a slump in sales, stiff 2020 competition from the A220 566 and the E175-E2 too chubby 10 for US scope clauses, it 157 24 might be a while yet before 44 Embraer can consider itself 12 out of the woods.

03/21 4 60 0 0 8 0 72 19 0 1 2 2 2 26

04/21 3 34 0 2 6 0 45 4 0 0 1 2 9 16

05/21 4 41 0 1 3 1 50 10 0 1 2 1 2 16

06/21 5 57 0 2 11 1 76 33 0 0 2 5 1 41

2020 Total 38 446 1 13 59 4 561 27 2 5 15 25 54 128

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SEPTEMBER 2021 A French Bee Airbus A350-900, F-HREV (c/n 193), at Vancouver on June 27, 2021 AIRTEAMIMAGES.COM/ ALVIN MAN

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Conversions/MRO

More freighters, more main

T

he rising popularity of passenger-to-freighter (P2F) conversions has been evident in recent years thanks, in part, to strong demand in the e-commerce sector.

Then, with the arrival of COVID-19 in 2020, the sudden drop of cargo carried in the belly of passenger jets, plus the accelerated retirement of airframes by airlines – leading to cheaper procurement – has caused P2F demand to soar. According to Boeing, approximately two-thirds of the 2,430-freighter aircraft expected to be delivered by 2039 will be converted types.

The upward trend can be seen in ch-aviation data (also includes firefighting, tankers and military types) for the past three years, with 58 conversions confirmed in 2019, up to

81 in 2020 and rising further to 104 by 2021. Of those aircraft converted, the Boeing 737-800 is the most popular at 45 combined examples over the three-year period, with 31 of these in 2021 alone. Buoyed by the success of the Chicago-based manufacturer’s Boeing Converted Freighter (BCF) programme, it intends to open two 737-800BCF conversion lines in Costa Rica by 2022 – an Americas first.

Elsewhere, P2F modifications of the popular narrowbody jet are also being carried out by third-party providers, including IAI's Aviation Group and US-based Aeronautical Engineers Inc (AEI) with the 737-800BDSF (pictured) and 737-800SF respectively.

With the type’s strong demand, IAI with Atitech company, has revealed the blueprints to establish a new conversion line for the 737-800BDSF,

Conversions 2019 vs 2020 vs 2021* Type Airbus A300-600F Airbus A300-600R Airbus A320-200 Airbus A321-200 Airbus A330-200 Airbus A330-300 Avro RJ85 ATR 72-200 ATR 72-500 ATR 72-600 British Aerospace BAe 146 Boeing 737-300 Boeing 737-400 Boeing 737-700 Boeing 737-800 Boeing 747-8 Boeing 757-200 Boeing 767-200 Boeing 767-300 Boeing 777-300 Bombardier CRJ100/200 Bombardier CRJ700 McDonnell Douglas MD-83 McDonnell Douglas MD-87 McDonnell Douglas MD-88 de Havilland Canada DHC-6-300 Twin Otter de Havilland Canada Dash 8-100 de Havilland Canada Dash 8-300 De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 Fokker 50 Saab 340B Grand Total Per Year

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Conversion 2020 1 1 2 5 0 2 4 1 1 5 1 2 4 1 12 0 8 0 7 2 2 10 1 1 0

Conversion 2021 0 0 3 2 0 5 4 0 1 1 1 2 2 2 31 2 8 0 18 1 4 6 1 0 1

Total Per Type 1 2 6 9 2 9 10 2 3 10 3 6 12 4 45 2 22 1 33 5 9 16 5 3 1

2 1 0 0 2 0 58

2 1 0 1 2 2 81

2 1 1 2 2 1 104

6 3 1 3 6 3 N/A

AIRLINER WORLD SEPTEMBER 2021

Strong passenger-tofreighter conversion demand has been shown for the Boeing 737-800 IAI

Maintenance 2019 vs 2020 vs 2021

Conversion 2019 0 1 1 2 2 2 2 1 1 4 1 2 6 1 2 0 6 1 8 2 3 0 3 2 0

*Data also includes firefighting, tankers and military

along with the smaller -700BDSF, in Naples, Italy – the first in Europe.

Strong P2F demand has continued to be shown for the 767-300 in 2021, with 18 airframes so far – almost double the number of both previous years. The widebody P2F market is also set to soon be complemented by the arrival of the 777-300ERSF, launched by IAI's Aviation Group and GECAS, which is expected to have a 25% cargo volume increase over the 777-200F and burn 21% less fuel per tonne than the 747-400F. For Airbus, its newer offering of P2F models – comprising the A320 and A330 Family variants – appears to be gaining traction. For example, five A321P2F conversions were recorded in 2020, with October that year marking the type’s introduction into revenue service with Qantas Freight

Type Airbus A220-300 Airbus A300-600 Airbus A300-600 BelugaST Airbus A300B2/B4 Airbus A310-300 Airbus A318 Airbus A319ceo Airbus A320ceo/neo Airbus A321ceo/neo Airbus A330-200 Airbus A330-300 Airbus A330-900 Airbus A340-200 Airbus A340-300 Airbus A340-500 Airbus A340-600 Airbus A350-900 Airbus A380-800 Antonov An-124 Antonov An-148 ATR 42-300 ATR 42-400 ATR 42-500 ATR 42-600 ATR 72-200

Maintenance 2019 0 26 1 4 4 2 48 128 40 32 24 0 3 9 3 8 0 10 2 1 17 0 12 1 8

Maintenance 2020 0 20 0 2 4 4 110 363 137 63 56 2 2 10 0 7 16 22 2 3 8 1 13 2 10

Maintenance 2021 1 17 0 2 2 4 74 228 120 56 41 3 1 4 0 1 7 5 0 2 4 0 11 0 5

ATR 72-500 ATR 72-600 Avro RJ100 Avro RJ70 Avro RJ85 Boeing 707-300 Boeing 717-200 Boeing 727-200 Boeing 737 MAX 8 Boeing 737 MAX 9 Boeing 737-200

28 25 6 1 4 0 4 7 1 0 8

35 40 3 0 3 1 2 4 0 0 5

20 32 2 0 3 1 1 2 25 9 6

tenance: a COVID legacy on lease from Vallair. The A321P2F programme, a collaboration between Airbus, ST Aerospace and Elbe Flugzeugwerke (EFW), is eventually set to be joined by the smaller A320P2F; the prototype, VT-IHM (c/n 2737), began the conversion process in March 2021. Currently, the A321 is also being converted by third-party provider 321 Precision Conversions, a joint venture between Aircraft Transport Services Group (ATSG) and Precision Aircraft Solutions; designated A321-200PCF. Elsewhere, the A330P2F programme, launched in 2012 – also between Airbus, ST Aerospace and EFW – is aimed at the ‘express freight’ sector with the -200 and -300. The latter recorded a stronger 2021 with five airframes for conversion. These variants complement the airframer’s new production-built A330-200Fs. In the turboprop sector, while conversion figures for the ATR 72-600 are down in 2021 compared to previously, the Franco-Italian firm celebrated the delivery to FedEx of its first-ever production-built freighter in December 2020.

Turning to maintenance, a large spike has been identified during the height of the pandemic in 2020.

During last year alone, a combined 2,481 aircraft were recorded in maintenance, a stark contrast to both 2019 and 2021 figures of 1,474 and 1,669 respectively.

Type Boeing 737-300 Boeing 737-400 Boeing 737-500 Boeing 737-600 Boeing 737-700 Boeing 737-800 Boeing 737-900 Boeing 747-200 Boeing 747-300 Boeing 747-400 Boeing 747-8 Boeing 747SP Boeing 757-200 Boeing 757-300 Boeing 767-200 Boeing 767-300 Boeing 767-400 Boeing 777-200 Boeing 777-300 Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner Bombardier CRJ100/200 Bombardier CRJ1000 Bombardier CRJ700/550 Bombardier CRJ900 British Aerospace ATP British Aerospace BAe 146-100 British Aerospace BAe 146-200 British Aerospace BAe 146-300 British Aerospace Jetstream 41 COMAC ARJ21-700 De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 de Havilland Canada Dash-7 de Havilland Canada Dash-8 de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter Dornier Do 228 Dornier Do 328

Maintenance 2019 59 39 15 2 37 66 8 4 1 36 5 1 29 2 14 28 0 19 17 21 11 78 7 28 20 3 1 9 5 7 2 35 2 48 27 3 6

The rise can be attributed to several factors. Namely, with airframes grounded by COVID-19, there was a rare opportunity for airlines to carry out extensive maintenance on the majority of their fleets. For example, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Engineering, the MRO arm of Etihad Aviation Group, brought forward its maintenance schedules. It conducted work including C-checks, painting, major structural modifications and cabin refurbishments for both Etihad and third-party customers.

Another result of the prolonged grounding is the requirement by aviation regulators to maintain airframe airworthiness, often referred to as preservation maintenance.

Additionally, according to Reuters, carriers rotated a higher than normal proportion of grounded aircraft across their fleets to operate limited schedules. This allowed them to keep airframes in optimal airworthiness condition – a move by operators aimed at preparing for the eventual revival in air travel demand.

The type with the most aircraft in maintenance for all three years was the A320ceo/neo, spiking at 363 examples in 2020. During this year, five types – all narrowbodies, comprising the A320ceo/neo, 737-800, Bombardier CRJ100/200, A321ceo/neo and A319ceo – had above 100 airframes recorded, while the 737-700 notched 99. Compared

Maintenance 2020 60 55 29 5 99 228 49 1 1 38 3 1 48 15 9 48 4 32 20 31 8 156 5 45 71 5 0 7 1 5 1 22 1 36 49 6 6

Maintenance 2021 36 34 17 1 73 135 31 0 0 24 4 1 42 11 11 49 2 38 22 14 12 77 1 39 47 1 0 2 3 3 2 18 1 23 19 3 2

to 2019 and 2021, only one and three types respectively exceeded the threshold of 100.

For widebodies, the A330-200 ranked first for examples undergoing maintenance during 2020 and 2021, at 63 and 56 respectively. By contrast, the 747-400 peaked in 2019, followed in second place by the A330-200. For turboprops, the de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter logged the biggest spike in maintenance, with 49 aircraft during 2020 – a sharp difference between the 27 and 19 examples seen the year before and after respectively.

According to leading international management consulting firm Oliver Wyman, their Global Fleet and MRO Market Forecast 2021-2031 report stated that, in the next two years, a “demand bubble” is likely to arise as a large number of airframes will be due to undergo essential maintenance checks in the period.

Type Embraer E170 Embraer E175 Embraer E190-E2 Embraer E195 Embraer EMB 120 Brasilia Embraer ERJ135 Embraer ERJ140 Embraer ERJ145 Fairchild Dornier 328JET Fokker 100 Fokker 28 Fokker 50 Fokker 70 Ilyushin Il-62 Ilyushin Il-76 Ilyushin Il-86 Ilyushin Il-96 Lockheed L-1011 TriStar McDonnell Douglas DC-10 McDonnell Douglas DC-9 McDonnell Douglas MD-11 McDonnell Douglas MD-81 McDonnell Douglas MD-82 McDonnell Douglas MD-83 McDonnell Douglas MD-87 McDonnell Douglas MD-88 Saab 2000 Saab 340A/B Irkut SSJ100 Tupolev Tu-134 Tupolev Tu-154 Tupolev Tu-204 Tupolev Tu-214 Viking Series 400 Twin Otter Xian MA60 Grand Total

Maintenance 2019 8 7 0 1 25 11 1 37 10 23 0 24 9 2 6 0 3 0 4 10 18 0 10 15 3 2 11 33 21 1 2 3 1 3 1 1474

During 2020, a sharp increase in maintenance was recorded in comparison to the immediate years before and after STUART BAILEY/ BRITISH AIRWAYS

Maintenance 2020 6 43 1 8 3 16 1 81 7 18 1 12 6 2 9 0 4 1 1 5 9 1 16 10 1 2 2 23 10 2 1 6 2 6 1 2481

Maintenance 2021 4 8 0 14 3 21 0 34 4 4 1 5 1 0 9 0 0 0 2 3 7 0 6 10 2 1 1 10 9 1 0 5 0 4 2 1669

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Europe

Optimism prevails T here looks to be light at the end of the tunnel for European aviation as the COVID-19 recovery begins.

In the United Kingdom for example, travellers who are either fully vaccinated with a National Health Service-administered (NHS) vaccine in the UK (plus 14 days) or on one of the country’s formally approved vaccine clinical trials could return from amber list locations from July 19 without the need for quarantine.

While pre-departure and day two PCR tests remain (the latter after arrival), in the run-up to July 19 airlines experienced a skyrocket in flight bookings; easyJet reported a 400% surge to amber destinations while British Airways had a 96% increase of views on its website compared to the previous week. At London/Heathrow all four terminals were once again active in some capacity from July 15, while two-runway (27L/09R and 27R/09L) operations also restarted that month.

On the continent there is high optimism of the return of free movement across the bloc after the European Union introduced the EU

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Digital COVID Certificate, providing digital proof of a vaccination, negative test or COVID-19 recovery, from July 1.

The EU says it will “help to ensure that restrictions currently in place can be lifted in a co-ordinated manner”.

This progress is set to be a welcome boost for air travel in Europe after the devastating impact of coronavirus.

The International Air Transport Association’s (IATA) Regional Briefing – Europe – May 2021 said that data from IATA Economics showed that revenue passenger-kilometres (RPKs) were 81.7% lower in March 2021 compared with the same month two years earlier (pre-COVID) – the worst globally. This was attributed to spikes in new cases earlier this year, resulting in extended lockdown restrictions.

EUROCONTROL – a pan-European, civil-military air traffic organisation – unveiled three scenarios in its Forecast Update 2021-2024 report on the recovery in commercial air travel. Scenario one, dubbed the most optimistic, hypothesises a return to pre-COVID air traffic levels by 2024 if a combined easing of restrictions and widespread vaccine rollout, plus the resumption of some long-haul links,

occurs in summer 2021. The second, mooted as most realistic, would see traffic recover by 95% compared with pre-COVID by 2024 if vaccinations, more “long-haul flows” and easing of travel restraints are “reached” by Q1 2022 between global regions.

The third, most pessimistic forecasts only a 74% recovery in traffic by 2024.

This suggests that reaching pre-crisis levels could not be achieved until 2029 with EUROCONTROL citing new COVID-19 variants/outbreaks, “patchy” vaccine uptakes, “persistent” restrictions along with “negatively impacted” passenger confidence as potential inhibiting factors.

Another pan-European trend is the growing concern of the impact of aviation on climate change. With the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) due to be held between October 31 and November 12, 2021 in Glasgow, Scotland it remains unclear on what new policies may affect the industry.

This year, the French government moved to curtail flight emissions when it initially voted to ban domestic rotations that can be replaced by a direct train to destinations in less

Spanish flag carrier Iberia phased out the Airbus A340-600 (pictured in the foreground) in favour of twin-engined types like the A350-900 V1IMAGES.COM/ GUSTAVO CAÑAMERO

TUI Airways has leased a pair of otherwise stored Boeing 787 Dreamliners to DHL Air UK for use as belly-only freighters on its East Midlands-Miami link MARTIN NEEDHAM

took their first examples, while the Ryanair Group earlier cemented its commitment for the Renton-built type with a 75-strong MAX 8200 (high-density) deal at the end of 2020.

In terms of total fleet changes from 2020-2021, data from ch-aviation unsurprisingly shows that for the four of Europe’s biggest airline groups listed, International Airlines Group (IAG), Air France-KLM, Ryanair Group and Lufthansa Group, there is no overall fleet increase from 2020-2021; this comes after a drop of 36, nine, 23 and 24 aircraft respectively.

However, newer aircraft have been introduced while others have been phased out. For example, with British Airways’ retirement of the iconic 747-400 the data shows a 100% drop,

than two-and-a-half hours. Across the European region there has been a drive towards clean flight, with examples including Airbus and its ‘ZEROe’ concept to develop hydrogen-powered, zero emission types by 2035, while Rolls-Royce combined partnerships with regional airline, Widerøe, and Italian airframer, Tecnam, to create an environmentally friendly, 11-seat electric aircraft.

Meanwhile, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) approved the Boeing 737 MAX for a return to service on January 27 this year following “extensive analysis”, with TUI Airlines Belgium conducting the first post-grounding services in Europe. Consequently, carriers including Italian-based Neos

but twin-engined types – such as the A350-1000 and 777-300ER – continue to be handed over to bolster the flag carrier’s long-haul fleet. Fellow IAG carrier, Iberia, also withdrew quadjets (A340-600s) as it focuses long-haul links around the A330 and A350.

Widebody reductions were noted at Lufthansa as aircraft such as its A340-600s and A380-800s were retired and/or placed into long-term storage as a move to efficient next-generation, twin-engine jets.

A swathe of new narrowbody types joined airline fleets as noted in the 2021 data; SWISS and Iberia Express since received their first A321neos (two and four respectively), while KLM’s regional subsidiary Cityhopper received four E195-E2s.

European airline groups total fleet changes 2020 vs 2021 data* *Compares data with year before, not an exact indication of deliveries/retirements by year; all data correct when published. Key: A320N/A321N = A320neo/A321neo; A321NX = A321neo featuring Airspace cabin International Consolidated Airlines Group (IAG) Airline/Type ‘20 ‘21 +/Aer Lingus Airbus A320-200 34 31 -3 Airbus A321-200 3 3 0 Airbus A321-200NX 4 7 3 Airbus A330-200 4 3 -1 Airbus A330-300 11 12 1 British Airways (*BA CityFlyer) Airbus A318-100 1 0 -1 Airbus A319-100 35 35 0 Airbus A320-200 67 67 0 Airbus A320-200N 12 14 2 Airbus A321-200 18 18 0 Airbus A321-200N 1 0 -1 Airbus A321-200NX 9 10 1 Airbus A350-1000 6 8 2 Airbus A380-800 12 12 0 Boeing 747-400 26 0 -26 Boeing 777-200 2 0 -2 Boeing 777-200ER 43 42 -1 Boeing 777-300ER 12 16 4 Boeing 787-8 12 12 0 Boeing 787-9 18 18 0 Embraer E170STD* 3 3 0 Embraer E190AR* 1 0 -1 Embraer E190LR* 6 0 -6 Embraer E190SR* 12 23 11 Iberia/Iberia Express Airbus A319-100 11 6 -5 Airbus A320-200 14 14 0 Airbus A320-200N 6 8 2 Airbus A321-200 11 11 0 Airbus A330-200 16 16 0 Airbus A330-300 8 8 0 Airbus A340-600 13 0 -13 Airbus A350-900 9 9 0 Airbus A320-200 19 13 -6 Airbus A321-200 4 4 0 Airbus A321-200NX 0 4 4 Vueling Airbus A319-100 6 6 0 Airbus A320-200 79 76 -3 Airbus A320-200N 25 25 0 Airbus A321-200 15 18 3 Total 588 552 -36

% change -9 0 75 -25 9 -100 0 0 17 0 -100 11 33 0 -100 -100 -2 33 0 0 0 -100 -100 92 -45 0 33 0 0 0 -100 0 -32 0 N/A 0 -4 0 20 -6

Air France-KLM Airline/Type KLM (*KLM Cityhopper) Airbus A330-200 Airbus A330-300 Boeing 737-700 Boeing 737-800 Boeing 737-900 Boeing 747-400M (Combi) Boeing 777-200ER Boeing 777-300ER Boeing 787-10 Boeing 787-9 Embraer E175* Embraer E190STD* Embraer E195-E2* Air France (*Air France Hop) Airbus A318-100 Airbus A319-100 Airbus A320-200 Airbus A321-100 Airbus A321-200 Airbus A330-200 Airbus A340-300 Airbus A350-900 Boeing 777-200ER Boeing 777-200F Boeing 777-300ER Boeing 787-9 Bombardier CRJ1000ER* Bombardier CRJ700* Embraer ERJ145EP* Embraer ERJ145MP* Embraer E170LR* Embraer E170STD* Embraer E190LR* Embraer E190STD* Transavia Boeing 737-700 Boeing 737-800 Transavia France Boeing 737-800 Total

‘20

‘21

+/-

% change

8 5 16 31 5 3 15 14 5 13 17 32 0

8 5 14 31 5 0 15 16 5 13 17 32 4

0 0 -2 0 0 -3 0 2 0 0 0 0 4

0 0 -13 0 0 -100 0 14 0 0 0 0 N/A

18 33 44 5 15 15 2 5 25 2 43 9 14 11 7 6 5 10 6 10

18 31 44 5 15 15 0 9 23 2 43 10 14 8 1 0 5 10 6 11

0 -2 0 0 0 0 -2 4 -2 0 0 1 0 -3 -6 -6 0 0 0 1

0 -6 0 0 0 0 -100 80 -8 0 0 11 0 -27 -86 -100 0 0 0 10

7 35

4 35

-3 0

-43 0

40 531

48 522

8 -9

20 0

Ryanair Group Airline/Type Ryanair Boeing 737-700 Boeing 737-800 Buzz Boeing 737-800 Lauda Europe Airbus A320-200 Malta Air Boeing 737-800 Total Lufthansa Group Airline/Type Air Dolomiti Embraer E195LR Austrian Airlines Airbus A319-100 Airbus A320-200 Airbus A321-100 Airbus A321-200 Boeing 767-300ER Boeing 777-200ER De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400 Embraer E195LR Brussels Airlines Airbus A319-100 Airbus A320-200 Airbus A330-200 Airbus A330-300 Edelweiss Air Airbus A320-200 Airbus A330-300 Airbus A340-300 Eurowings Airbus A319-100 Airbus A320-200 Airbus A321-200 SWISS Airbus A220-100 Airbus A220-300 Airbus A320-200 Airbus A320-200N Airbus A321-100 Airbus A321-200 Airbus A321-200NX Airbus A330-300 Airbus A340-300 Boeing 777-300ER Lufthansa (*CityLine **Cargo) Airbus A319-100 Airbus A320-200 Airbus A320-200N Airbus A321-100 Airbus A321-200 Airbus A321-200NX Airbus A330-300 Airbus A340-300 Airbus A340-600 Airbus A350-900 Airbus A380-800 Boeing 747-400 Boeing 747-8 Boeing 777-200F** McDonnell Douglas MD-11F** Bombardier CRJ900LR* Embraer E190LR* Embraer E195LR* Total

‘20

‘21

+/-

% change

1 273

1 255

0 -18

0 -7

47

46

-1

-2

33

29

-4

-12

120 474

120 451

0 -23

0 -5

‘20

‘21

+/-

% change

15

15

0

0

7 29 3 3 6 6 14 17

7 29 3 3 4 6 8 17

0 0 0 0 -2 0 -6 0

0 0 0 0 -33 0 -43 0

22 16 2 12

18 16 0 12

-4 0 -2 0

-18 0 -100 0

10 2 4

10 2 4

0 0 0

0 0 0

28 51 5

30 52 5

2 1 0

7 2 0

9 20 19 1 6 3 0 14 5 12

9 21 18 3 5 3 2 14 5 12

0 1 -1 2 -1 0 2 0 0 0

0 5 -5 200 -17 0 N/A 0 0 0

30 64 23 20 43 5 15 17 13 16 5 13 19 7 6 35 9 2 683

29 64 30 20 43 9 15 17 0 17 0 6 19 9 3 34 9 2 659

-1 0 7 0 0 4 0 0 -13 1 -5 -7 0 2 -3 -1 0 0 -24

-3 0 30 0 0 80 0 0 -100 6 -100 -54 0 29 -50 -3 0 0 -4

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Americas

Rebounding

and more F

ollowing the devastating impact of the coronavirus on the USA, which has recorded approximately 605,000 COVID-related deaths as of July 7 according to Johns Hopkins University, the country has been showing signs of strong domestic air travel recovery.

The most recent data from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) revealed that 2,196,411 travellers were screened by the agency on July 2 ahead of Independence Day celebrations.

This was the highest figure recorded for people passing through airport security checkpoints since the onset of the pandemic and actually eclipses the 2,184,253 who travelled on the same date in 2019.

The TSA added that many US gateways are exceeding pre-pandemic levels, especially those located at popular holiday destinations including Florida. One of the main factors for the nation’s strong rebound is attributed to an impressive vaccination rollout. As of July 7, data collected by Bloomberg showed the USA had administered 331 million vaccine doses, equating to an average of 865,929 every day.

There is also high optimism in the industry with new start-ups having emerged and eager to take a slice of strong passenger numbers. These included Avelo Airlines and the David Neeleman-founded Breeze Airways, which both commenced fare-paying rotations.

Buoyed by the successful rollout, there have been strong calls to open travel corridors to/from the USA, particularly with the UK. Ahead

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With vaccinated Americans allowed back into Europe, United Airlines has opened new routes targeted at leisure travellers FLICKR COMMONS/DYLAN T

of the G7 Summit in Cornwall in June, CEOs from American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, JetBlue Airways and United Airlines – along with their UK counterparts from British Airways and Virgin Atlantic – came together to push for a reopening to “ignite economic recovery.” There is also hope that travel between both countries will return to some level of normality as new transatlantic entrant JetBlue Airways, with its highly anticipated services to London’s Heathrow and Gatwick airports, is billed for an August and September launch respectively.

While a US-UK travel corridor has yet to be implemented at the time of writing, vaccinated American travellers have already started returning to Europe. While business traffic remains subdued, major US carriers have capitalised on strong leisure demand, with United for example having launched a trio of new routes to Athens (Greece), Dubrovnik (Croatia) and Reykjavík/ Keflavík (Iceland) from Washington/ Dulles, New York/Newark and Chicago O’Hare respectively.

Elsewhere, the Americas has been at the forefront of technological advancement as United signed a commercial agreement to purchase 15 of Boom Supersonics’ Overture airliners, with options for 35 more.

Meanwhile, numerous firms have been exploring the eVTOL market, with UPS placing a ten-strong deal plus options with Beta Technologies, while American Airlines invested in UK firm Vertical Aerospace, culminating in a pre-order of “up to 250 aircraft” (subject to future milestones and terms).

Finally, with the recertification of the Boeing 737 MAX, a swathe of carriers from the Americas have since deployed the type following that unprecedented grounding. These include Alaska Airlines, Air Canada, Flair Airlines and Southwest Airlines (the Dallas-based outfit cemented its commitment to the jet after it firmed a huge MAX 7 order, complementing its existing MAX 8 deals).

On December 9, 2020 GOL Linhas Aéreas of Brazil became the first company worldwide to resume revenue services with the MAX since March 2019, or 638 days since the beginning of the global grounding, with a rotation between São Paulo/ Guarulhos and Porto Alegre.

Aeroméxico followed shortly behind with the reintroduction of the jet.

However, with the Mexican flag carrier having initiated a voluntary financial restructuring procedure under the USA’s Chapter 11 – a move attributed to the “unprecedented impact” of COVID-19 to make it stronger and more resilient – the airline had plans to slash its MAX commitment approved by a US-based bankruptcy court.

Meanwhile, consolidation was a key theme in the Americas with operators stretching from Canada to Argentina.

In the latter, a merger between Aerolíneas Argentinas and Austral was approved by the Argentine Civil Aviation Administration in December 2020. Elsewhere, Air Canada revealed it would consolidate all regional flying under the Jazz Aviation brand.

In June 2020, GOL disclosed it had entered into an agreement to acquire Brazilian domestic firm MAP Transportes Aéreos. According to GOL bosses the decision came due to “an unparalleled market opportunity for rational consolidation in the Brazilian aviation [sector]” in the post-pandemic recovery environment. Finally, staying in the country, during April this year LATAM Brasil had confirmed the phase-out of its entire inventory of A350-900 widebodies.

Asia-Pacific

Data insight: Oceania’s youngest aircraft fleets*

First in,

last out?

W

hile the Asia-Pacific market was the first to be adversely impacted by the pandemic, its recovery continues to lag behind other parts of the world. Within this hugely diverse region lies enormous nuance with regard to COVID policy, reflecting the differing approaches taken by individual governments.

From Australia and New Zealand’s hyper-protectionism through to more liberal styles adopted by nimble island nations such as the Maldives, it remains a hugely complex picture.

To help quantify this, we examined the latest ch-aviation data to establish the total number of weekly scheduled seats. While not perfect, it provides a reliable metric of commercial aviation activity and suggests that Asia reached a peak in mid-April 2021, after which time capacity has been relatively unstable and continuously dropping since the end of May. As of June 30, Asia comprises 28.8 million scheduled seats each week, indicating an increase of 25% compared to the same week in 2020.

By comparison, after strong and lasting growth since the start of February, Oceania’s capacity numbers dropped slightly as it entered the southern hemisphere’s mid-winter period. By the end of June there were 1.8 million scheduled seats per week.

To put this in context, this represents a remarkable increase of 220% versus the same week in June 2020.

Subhas Menon, director general of the Association of Asia Pacific Airlines (AAPA), is one of the senior industry figures with concerns about the patchy nature of the pandemic recovery in the region: “The uneven pace of vaccinations throughout the world has delayed the recovery in international air travel. In some advanced economies, travel markets are slowly recovering as populations get vaccinated and business activities resume. However, the same cannot be said for the majority of the emerging market economies in Asia, where vaccination roll-outs remain slow due to supply constraints, logistical issues and limited manpower. As a result, the travel and tourism sectors in the region have continued to suffer as

Ranking Operator 1 Fiji Link 2 Air Tahiti 3 Fiji Airways 4 Air New Zealand 5 Jetstar Airways * Source: ch-aviation

Fiji Airways and its regional subsidiary Fiji Link have among the youngest airline fleets in Oceania AIRTEAMIMAGES.COM/YOCHAI

Average aircraft age 4.49 years 5.29 years 7.41 years 8.14 years 10.52 years

Fleet size 7 10 12 113 69

Home base Fiji French Polynesia Fiji New Zealand Australia

strict border controls remain in place.

International passenger traffic carried

by Asia-Pacific airlines amounts to barely 5% of pre-pandemic volumes.”

Amid lacklustre trans-border traffic and stop-start travel bubble initiatives, larger countries with captive domestic markets have generally fared better than most. Carriers in China and Australia are among those to have recalibrated their business models to bolster links between key urban centres and local leisure destinations to partially offset the collapse in international travel.

A further bright spot is the freight sector, with air cargo volumes on Asia-Pacific carriers returning to prepandemic levels in response to strong demand. Across the region, freight tonne kilometres (FTK) have seen year-on-year growth, outpacing any increase in offered freight capacity.

These remain deeply uncertain times for civil aviation across the Asia-Pacific, a region where the civil air industry was already navigating a paradigm shift in consumer behaviour pre-COVID. With many legacy carriers haemorrhaging millions of dollars a week and a piecemeal reopening of global air travel looking increasingly likely, the fear is that even the airlines with the deepest pockets could be in trouble if traffic doesn’t return to meaningful levels in the coming six months. www.key.aero

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Africa/Middle East

Road to recovery

A

ccording to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in its Regional Briefing – Africa & Middle East – May 2021, carriers across both areas are still being heavily impacted.

IATA Economics reported that operators in the Middle East and Africa had an 80.3% and 71.8% decline respectively in revenue passengerkilometres (RPKs) for March 2021, in comparison to the same month two years earlier (pre-COVID levels) – only one region, Europe, suffered worse growth in passenger volumes for the same time period. IATA attributed this, among others, to the heavy reliance on international traffic.

It also added that travel recovery may be hampered in both regions due to the potential continuation of international long-haul restrictions which many Middle Eastern carriers heavily rely on to feed their hubs, especially connecting traffic, and a slow vaccination rate within Africa.

The impact of the latter has been seen recently after South Africa was hit with a third wave of coronavirus with Reuters reporting 26,000 new cases in the country on July 3 alone.

Conversely, cargo tonne-kilometres (CTKs) for Africa in March 2021, compared with March 2019, was the strongest globally with a 23.1% growth – thanks in particular to links with the Asia market – while the Middle East was third highest at 9.1%.

For aircraft types, a common global trend also noted in the Middle East was the disposal of Airbus A380s.

While Qatar Airways confirmed five examples would be permanently axed, bosses at rival Etihad Airways said its ten-strong contingent would likely never operate for them again.

However, in good news for super jumbo fans, Emirates – the world’s biggest A380 user (see above) at 119 airframes currently – revealed the

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AIRLINER WORLD SEPTEMBER 2021

aircraft may remain in service with the airline well into the mid-2030s.

The Dubai-based company has resumed accepting double-decker deliveries – the latest examples feature its new premium economy product – and at the time of writing is due to take the final four new-build A380s all by 2022.

Continuing on the theme of aircraft ins and outs, Kuwait Airways became the maiden operator of the A330-800 after taking the first two from an eight-strong order.

Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Air Peace was the first company in Africa to accept an Embraer E2 following the handover of an E195-E2 in January (see below). In a further boost for the Brazilian airframer on the continent, Kinshasa-based Congo Airways inked a firm order for a pair of the re-engined narrowbody, complementing an earlier E190-E2 deal for two.

After Abu Dhabi-based Etihad implemented a restructure to become a mid-size carrier, in order to make its operations leaner in response to the pandemic, its fleet focus will shift primarily to the Boeing 787 and A350.

Consequently, the firm outlined plans to phase out the 777-300ER entirely, although Etihad still remains committed to its 777X order.

Elsewhere, South Africa’s Comair – a British Airways franchisee – had its business rescue plan approved, allowing it and its low-cost subsidiary

While several carriers globally have phased out the Airbus A380, Emirates plans to keep the iconic super jumbo at the forefront of its future plans AIRBUS

Air Peace was the first African operator to accept an Embraer E2 EMBRAER

kulula.com to resume revenue rotations in December 2020.

Unfortunately, for some airlines it was the end of the road. For example, flag carrier Air Namibia was placed into voluntary liquidation earlier this year after financial support from the country’s government ceased. Despite the turmoil of the COVID-induced economic climate, airline start-ups have continued to emerge, including Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, South Africa’s LIFT and Nigerian-based Cally Air and Green Africa Airways.

Elsewhere, with the potential easing of international travel restrictions on the horizon, numerous African operators are looking to expand their long-haul links. Uganda Airlines, which commenced operations in August 2019, revealed intentions to start new international destinations including London/Heathrow using its pair of A330-800s. Meanwhile, RwandAir and Air Senegal look poised to enter the US market. This comes after RwandAir was granted fifth freedom rights to operate Kigali to New York/JFK via Accra, Ghana, while Air Senegal was given the green light for rotations between Dakar and Washington/Dulles via JFK. Finally, with the signing of the historic Abraham Accords Declaration in 2020, a thaw in relations between Israel and its neighbours in the region has boosted trade and tourism with the introduction of new scheduled passenger and cargo connections.

Aviation’s start-up

suprem As even the biggest names in the business continue to struggle, it takes guts to launch a new airline in 2021. In the first of a special two-part report, Tom Batchelor has rounded up some of the boldest new brands from across Europe ABOVE • World2fly, a new long-haul airline founded by the Spanish hotel company Iberostar, has taken delivery of the first of two Airbus A350-900s on lease from Air Lease Corporation YANNICK DELAMARRE RIGHT • World2fly’s A350-900s feature a single-class cabin layout with 432 seats AIRBUS

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I

n a year when many airlines have been forced to scale back services, cut capacity and reduce routes, it is perhaps remarkable that literally dozens of new carriers worldwide have announced plans to launch flights.

From Norway to Nigeria and Brazil to Burundi, start-ups have emerged to fill gaps left by other COVID-induced closures and speculative proposals are betting on a rapid recovery in the aviation industry.

Within this first special report, Airliner World explores the nascent European operators that have sprung on to the scene in 2021, with the second half in our next issue exploring the rest of the globe.

Just a quick caveat before we get set for take-off, this is not an exhaustive list, and due to the unpredictable nature of the pandemic, airline structures, business models and timelines are subject to change.

AIRLINER WORLD SEPTEMBER 2021

World2fly Spain

Palma-headquartered World2Fly, which was founded by the Spanish hotel company Iberostar, has two long-haul aircraft in its fleet – an Airbus A330-300 and the first of two A350-900s on lease from Air Lease Corporation – with which it says will link Caribbean leisure destinations such as Punta Cana (Dominican Republic), Cancun (Mexico) and Havana (Cuba) with Madrid. Both widebody jets were delivered in June 2021 with the maiden flight to the Mexican holiday hotspot the same month. The second of the two A350s, which have a rather cosy single-class

cabin layout with 432 seats, is pencilled in for a May 2022 arrival.

“We are delighted to deliver our first new A350-900 aircraft to our new customer, World2Fly,” said assistant vice-president of marketing at Air Lease Corporation, Matthew Stevens.

“ALC is pleased to help launch World2Fly with new A350-900 aircraft and we are confident the A350-900 will help distinguish World2Fly in the marketplace.”

World2Fly received its air operator certificate (AOC) in April 2021 for services from Madrid/Barajas and has expressed interest in launching flights from Lisbon in due course. www.w2fly.es

os

aircraft. Flyr's first Boeing 737-800 landed at Oslo/Gardermoen in early June following the launch of ticket sales and carried out its first service between Oslo and Tromsø on June 30 as Flight FS416. By the end of the year, Flyr expects to have around 350 employees.

“A concrete plan for the reopening of Norway gives us in Flyr the predictability we need to start ticket sales,” Wikstrøm Frislid said. “Flyr will be a robust, Norway-based low-cost carrier, with a financially sustainable, efficient and demand driven business model. We will have modern systems for operations designed by industry experts, a fully digital customer journey and a management with extensive airline experience.” www.flyr.com

Flybe Limited United Kingdom

Flyr

Norway Green and white-liveried start-up Flyr entered the Norwegian market in June as a new low-cost carrier.

The budget firm deploys Boeing 737 aircraft to connect Oslo with seven destinations within Norway plus Copenhagen, Nice, Barcelona, Malaga and Alicante. Further routes across Scandinavia and Europe are planned and the airline hopes to have eight aircraft in its fleet by the autumn.

Flyr's management team, led by Tonje Wikstrøm Frislid, the first female CEO of a major civil aviation carrier in the Nordics, has said it envisages a 30-strong fleet of leased

Prior to its undignified collapse at the start of the pandemic, the Exeter-based airline was transporting up to eight million passengers a year between 81 airports across the UK and the rest of Europe.

Its closure in March 2020 turned the UK domestic scene on its head, with the true impact hidden by the COVID-19 lockdowns.

Several carriers, most notably Loganair, easyJet and Eastern Airways, snapped up prize routes, but some connections remain unfilled. In April 2021, the sale of Flybe’s business and assets to a new company affiliated with investment adviser Cyrus Capital was confirmed, with the owners committing to launch the refreshed airline later this year. The new company – previously known as Thyme Opco Limited – was renamed Flybe Limited.

A company spokesperson said the sale was a “critical first step in our mission to accomplish the first-ever rescue of an insolvent British airline.

Subject to further success with vaccinations and relaxation of travel restrictions, we plan to launch a new and much improved Flybe sometime this summer on many of our former routes where there remains a

critical need for a strong, reliable and customer-focused airline”.

The new Flybe is expected to be significantly smaller than its predecessor, but the company emphasised that it has intentions to grow in the future. Data provided by travel analytics experts Cirium showed Flybe had secured 86 summer season slots at London Heathrow airport leased from BA that it planned to use for services to Edinburgh and Aberdeen in Scotland, having purchased a Dash 8-400 with Pratt & Whitney Canada PW150A engines from Austrian Airlines on January 22.

But it hasn’t all been blue skies for the fledgling firm. A decision by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) earlier this year to revoke the carrier’s original operating licence led to the ‘new Flybe’ appealing to Grant

ABOVE • Tonje Wikstrøm Frislid is one of the first female airline CEOs in the region FLYR

BELOW • This Flyr Boeing 737-800, since registered as LN-FGB (c/n 40881), was spotted at Shannon in April 2021 ahead of its entry to revenue service AIRTEAMIMAGES.COM / TREVOR MULKERRINS

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ABOVE • Flybe's collapse in March 2020 resulted in dozens of aircraft being grounded AIRTEAMIMAGES.COM/ MAURITS VINK RIGHT • Post-COVID, Eurowings Discover has ambitious plans to exploit any travel boom LUFTHANSA GROUP BELOW • Flybe was the only scheduled operator to regularly fly turboprop passenger aircraft into Heathrow AIRTEAMIMAGES.COM/ FLORENT LACRESSONNIERE

Shapps, the UK transport secretary.

In early June, Shapps backed the original decision by the CAA to withdraw the licence. A spokesperson for the company’s administrators told the Daily Telegraph: “The decision will not impact the wider administration or the sale of the company’s business or assets to the purchaser, Flybe Limited, formerly known as Thyme Opco Limited. The new entity, Flybe Limited, is independently and separately licensed by the Civil Aviation Authority, and will continue to hold a valid and active licence.” www.flybe.com

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AIRLINER WORLD SEPTEMBER 2021

Eurowings Discover Germany

The Lufthansa Group’s leisure offshoot Eurowings Discover received its air operator certificate (AOC) in June and planned to launch its first route on July 24 from Frankfurt to Mombasa with an onward service to Zanzibar. Additional destinations in the 2021 summer flight schedule include Punta Cana, Windhoek, Las Vegas and Mauritius.

Wolfgang Raebiger, CEO of Eurowings Discover, explained: “The timing could not be better. People can finally travel again and we are

all set to fly them to the world's most beautiful destinations. We have built an airline in just one year – an ambitious goal that we have achieved with the great support from the entire Lufthansa Group, a motivated team and in close co-operation with the German Federal Aviation Authority.

We wish to express our sincere gratitude to everyone.”

The 2021 winter flight schedule is due to see links between Germany and Bridgetown, Montego Bay and the Cuban beach resort of Varadero as well as an expanded programme from November to include short and

South African destinations. As of late July, no further information is forthcoming about a revised start date for scheduled services, but its website is promoting nonstop routes using a “A330, A340 and A350 fleet”. www.pragusa.one

LEFT • Eurowings forms part of the larger Lufthansa Group of airlines LUFTHANSA GROUP

Isla Air Express Spain

medium-haul flights to the Canary Islands, Egypt and Morocco. Its fleet will comprise a maximum of 11 aircraft this year and could grow to 21 aircraft by the middle of 2022 (ten Airbus A320s and 11 Airbus A330s).

All examples will be sourced from the Lufthansa Group fleet pool. www.eurowings.com

PRAGUSA.ONE Croatia

PRAGUSA.ONE intended to launch flights from Dubrovnik to New York/ Newark Liberty and Los Angeles using wet-leased Airbus A330-200

and A340-300s in a two/three-class configuration in June. However, this was delayed without a reason being given officially.

First class tickets from the seaside Croatian city to the Californian hub are priced at $9,990 while business class seats are being sold for $3,890.

The fledgling carrier’s website shows its “2022 network” to include further flights from Dubrovnik to Johannesburg, and several Asian cities (Beijing, Chengdu, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore) as well as connections from Prague to all those Asian, American and

New Balearic Islands carrier Isla Air Express was hoping to launch its first flights later this year using DHC-6 Twin Otter turboprops, but a 2022 launch is looking more likely according to a July 1 report by ch-aviation. When the airline does eventually get off the ground, it plans to use its 18-seaters to offer “downtown-to-downtown passenger

BELOW • PRAGUSA.ONE intends to focus its efforts on the Croatian and Czech markets PRAGUE AIRPORT

transport” between the popular Spanish holiday destinations, with travellers literally able to walk into town at some locations.

The first route is due to connect Palma de Mallorca and Ibiza, with subsequent services set to link the two islands with Formentera, Menorca and later Barcelona, Alicante and Valencia.

“This will be a great time-saver and most people enjoy travelling on a seaplane,” explained Klaus Dieter Martin, managing director of Mediterranean Coastal Airlines.

One of the co-founders

BELOW • Could seaplanes be the answer for inter-island hops between the Balearics?

VIKING AIR

www.key.aero

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ABOVE • A SkyAlps Q400 landing at Luqa in Malta for maintenance and re-registration RUBEN ZAMMIT

behind the innovative project, Martin added: “We are waiting for final approval from the Spanish CAA (AESA), but the Port Authority has approved everything. ”We will only open ticket sales when we have all the permits.” www.islaair.com

BELOW • The Majorcan capital of Palma is due to be the focus of initial services for Isla Air Express DE AGOSTINI VIA GETTY IMAGES

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SkyAlps Italy

Italian regional carrier SkyAlps started operations on June 17, 2021 from its base at Bolzano in the South Tyrol via Parma to Ibiza. The launch date was delayed by five days after a paperwork complication

led to the postponed delivery of its De Havilland Canada Dash 8. The so-called ‘Ambassador of the Alps’ flies to three cities in Italy – Rome, Olbia and Parma – two in Germany (Berlin and Düsseldorf), as well as the Spanish island of Ibiza.

At the time of writing, the airline is

operating as a virtual carrier and its aircraft is run by Malta's Luxwing as it is not yet certified.

The city of Bolzano is considered the gateway to the Dolomites mountain range and SkyAlps is targeting leisure travellers to a region popular with walkers and skiers. Steven Ridolfi, president of Canada’s Chorus Aviation Capital, which is leasing the carrier two Q400 examples, said he was “impressed by the entrepreneurial spirit and business vision” of the new firm, “including their introduction of regional connectivity to the northeastern Italian market, and we are excited at the growth potential”.

Joe Randell, president and CEO of parent company Chorus, added: "History has shown that during downturns impacting the aviation sector, the regional market is the most resilient. SkyAlps is a terrific example of an operator seizing the opportunity to start up a new service as regional air travel begins to lead the recovery in global air travel.” www.skyalps.com

Grecian Air Seaplanes Greece

Assuming there are no last-minute hiccups, September could see Grecian Air Seaplanes enter the market connecting a handful of Greece’s 6,000 islands with the mainland. The airline said in April 2021 it planned to launch services with three 19-seater de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft linking seaports in western Greece’s Ionian Sea. Flights to destinations in the Dodecanese, the Cyclades, the northeastern Aegean, the Sporades Islands, the Saronic Gulf and Crete are all envisaged, subject to various licenses being approved.

The seaplanes are expected to provide scheduled and chartered flights as well as freight shipments and medical transport.

Norse Atlantic Airways Norway

The team behind Norse Atlantic Airways hopes to fill some of the gaps left by Norwegian Air Shuttle when it withdrew its Boeing 787 Dreamliners from dozens of transatlantic routes and scaled down its fleet to around 50 aircraft from a pre-crisis high of 140.

The Arendal-headquartered carrier says it hopes to tap into the “low-cost intercontinental market as the world re-opens” with the first flight pencilled in for the end of the year or early 2022.

The company was launched in March 2021 by shipping entrepreneur Bjørn Tore Larsen alongside Bjørn Kljos and Bjørn Kise – the latter two were closely involved with Norwegian before it shrunk its operation to focus on short-haul routes.

Larsen, the founder, CEO and major shareholder in Norse, also holds several aircraft type ratings, including the Boeing 747. He told Airliner World: “The time to launch a new airline is perfect. Access to inexpensive

aircraft, highly qualified staff (pilots, cabin crew, administrative personnel, etc), a lean organisation and a clean slate give us an unprecedented opportunity to establish a best-practice and cost-efficient airline without prior financial restraints.”

The fleet will comprise fuel-efficient Boeing 787s and future passengers can expect familiar favourites such as New York, Florida, Los Angeles, London, Paris and Oslo to appear on the route map, though tickets are not yet on sale. The Norwegian start-up later intends to add destinations in Asia to its network.

“Our launch will be based on the removal of travel restrictions, and demand,” Larsen added. “Our business model allows us to scale up according to demand.”

In March, AerCap announced it would provide six Boeing 787-9s and three 787-8s to Norse Atlantic Airways, marking the low-cost firm’s first lease agreement. The lessor, which is based in Ireland, said it would deliver all nine aircraft by the end of the first quarter of 2022; each of the aircraft fitted with Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 powerplants. www.flynorse.com

ABOVE • Bjørn Tore Larsen is the chief executive of Norse Atlantic Airways NORSE ATLANTIC AIRWAYS

BELOW • EGO Airways' fleet currently comprises a sole Embraer E190, with plans to add a further two examples EGO AIRWAYS

www.key.aero

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ABOVE • The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is understood to be the preferred aircraft for Norse Atlantic Airways BOEING

BELOW • Heston Airways has opted for an Airbus narrowbody fleet for its initial operations HESTON AIRWAYS

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EGO Airways Italy

Back in March 2021, when much of Europe was still battling another wave of COVID cases and unrestricted travel looked like a distant dream, Italy’s EGO Airways was moving in the opposite direction with the launch of its maiden flight from Catania-Fontanarossa Airport in Sicily to Parma/Giuseppe Verdi in the north of the country using a 13-year-old Embraer E190AR. The example is managed by US-based lessor Azorra Aviation and sub-leased from German Airways.

The airline now uses two of the type to serve 11 destinations in three countries: nine in Italy (Parma and Catania plus Bari, Brindisi, Cagliari, Florence, Forli, Lamezia Terme and Olbia), one in Spain (Ibiza) and one in Greece (Mykonos). Data from Cirium shows it operated more than

AIRLINER WORLD SEPTEMBER 2021

400 flights in June, accounting for approximately 41,800 seats, with its most popular destinations being Florence (85 flights comprising 7,990 seats), Forlì (84 flights, 7,896 seats) and Catania–Fontanarossa (81 flights, 7,614 seats).

Marco Busca, president of EGO Airways, said he hopes the airline will be a “benchmark for Italian aviation at the international level” within five years. www.egoairways.com

Heston Airlines Lithuania

Lithuanian charter and wet-lease carrier Heston Airlines announced plans to launch in February 2021. By May, it had acquired its air operator certificate with plans to use its two Airbus A320s – both 17 years old – for long or short-term aircraft ACMI (aircraft, crew, maintenance

and insurance) operations, charter programmes for airlines and tour operators, plus ad-hoc flights and special cargo projects.

The Vilnius-based firm reported it was able to offer an A320 aircraft with a zero-seat configuration if required. On June 15, Heston Airlines was approved by IATA to use the HN registration code for its aircraft.

The ambitious carrier hopes to expand its fleet to seven aircraft by 2022, but was forced to scale back its initial offering from three jets to two and delay its launch, which was originally scheduled for April.

“Sometimes it felt like bending over backwards, but with this incredible team of professionals we overcame obstacles and reached this goal,” the company said after securing approval to operate from the Lithuanian aviation authority. www.heston.aero

LEFT • The Swiftair subsidiary is using ATR examples for inter-island services UEP! FLY

BELOW • Uep! Fly is named after the term used

by Mallorcans to greet each other UEP! FLY

Uep! Fly Spain

Another Balearic start-up, Uep! Fly, announced in March 2021 its intention to launch inter-island flights using three ATR 72 twin-engined turboprops. The Swiftair subsidiary – named after the expression used

by Mallorcans to greet each other, ‘Uep’ – is planning initially to run twice-daily flights in each direction between Palma and Ibiza and Palma and Menorca, allowing passengers from Ibiza to reach Menorca with just a short stopover. The airline put its first flights on sale in June with an

eye-catching promo fare of just €9.50 and intends to expand flights to the Spanish mainland subject to demand.

Swiftair formerly operated alongside Air Europa on inter-Balearic routes, but that partnership is understood to have ended. Swiftair currently has 14 passenger ATR 72s, of which nine were at one point operated for the Madrid-based leisure outfit. There is no set launch date aside from a ‘summer 2021’ target, although the first aircraft in its fleet, a 13-year-old ATR 72, which at one time was leased for use by the United Nations, arrived in Palma in June complete with the Uep livery. www.uepfly.com

PLAY

Iceland Iceland’s PLAY, which was founded by some of the same executives behind WOW air, operated its first flight between Reykjavík–Keflavík and London/Stansted on June 24 using a leased Airbus A321neo with LEAP-1A32 engines from AerCap. The new airline plans to fly between the northerly island nation and other destinations in Europe on a similar low-cost model to WOW. It reported that it saw a unique opportunity for PLAY to succeed in the post-pandemic world, thanks to a combination of modern aircraft being available at historically low prices and for long-term lease, competitors facing difficulties, high debt and increased unit costs, plus ready access to highly skilled staff.

It said ticket sales launched in May 2021 were above expectations for its initial offering of flights to Alicante, Barcelona, Berlin, Copenhagen, London, Paris and Tenerife. The airline hopes to expand its operations elsewhere in Europe and to North America and adopt a hub and spoke model. For further insight, and to hear from PLAY’s CEO, check out the August 2021 edition of Airliner World. www.flyplay.com

LEFT • Vilniusbased firm Heston Airways has adopted a clean, modern brand using contrasting colours HESTON AIRWAYS www.key.aero

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ABOVE • PLAY made its revenue debut in June 2021 with services to London and Spain from Iceland AIRTEAMIMAGES.COM/ TAVE MYLIU

RIGHT • Jump Air is another Lithuanian start-up hoping to make 2021 its year JUMP AIR

Jump Air Lithuania

Vilnius-based ACMI charter carrier Jump Air plans to launch later this year with a fleet of passenger and freight ATR 72-500s. The airline, which was founded at the start of 2020 in partnership with engineering support company Aliplan and maintenance organisation EU Wings, was expected to receive its first aircraft this summer.

Jump Air is due to offer long and short-term wet lease plus ad-hoc and longer-term charters. Africa and Asia-Pacific were listed as “priority markets” as they are likely to “benefit the most from domestic or regional air transport” using the 70-seater. www.jump-airways.com

Air Montenegro Montenegro

It’s fair to say that new flag carrier Air Montenegro has had a rather rocky start. Having successfully operated its first flight transporting Montenegro’s national football team to Sarajevo for a match against Bosnia and Herzegovina in early June, followed on June 10 by the start of regular commercial traffic with a flight from Podgorica to Belgrade, the

RIGHT • Air Montenegro held a competition to help design a new logo and brand for the carrier AIR MONTENEGRO

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company then found itself the subject of a lawsuit. The legal dispute was launched by Montenegro’s former national carrier, Montenegro Airlines, which is undergoing bankruptcy proceedings. The dispute involves alleged use of the same or similar logo and trademark.

Air Montenegro destinations are due to include Belgrade, Ljubljana, Banja Luka (the second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina), Frankfurt and Istanbul using an Embraer E195 jet. www.airmontenegro.com

Lattitude Hub Spain

Formerly known as Canarian Airways, Lattitude Hub was founded by a group of 14 tourism entrepreneurs and hoteliers from the Spanish islands of Tenerife and La

Palma. Its website states it will link the Canary Islands (its base being Tenerife/South) with the Iberian peninsula and other European destinations using an ex-Atlantic Airways Airbus A319 aircraft operated

by One Airways. Destinations include Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, Vigo, Berlin, Cardiff and Glasgow.

In June, the airline said it was taking steps towards its first flight and released photos of crew being trained on the nine-year-old jet at Spain’s Ciudad Real Airport ahead of flights being launched in the summer – although no official start date has been given.

Tenerife is already well served by regional airlines Binter and Canaryfly as well as Iberia, Vueling and dozens of other international carriers. Explaining why it needed a new service, David Perez, CEO of the Tenerife Tourism Corporation, told RoutesOnline: “We need more airlines with a business class product on board, because we have so many fivestar hotels on the island. But that is not possible with LCCs. “Ryanair, which is the largest airline on the island, is not the right solution for some valuable customers.” www.lattitudehub.com

Flypop

United Kingdom

Fly Lili Romania

Fly Lili was founded last year, but plans are under way for its inaugural flight this summer linking destinations inside its base country of Romania (Sibiu, Suceava and Satu Mare) with the German city of Munich. It is expected to offer scheduled, charter, ACMI and CMI flight operations for both passengers and cargo with a fleet of Airbus A320-200 passenger and Airbus A310-300F freighter aircraft.

“We are currently preparing, there is still a lot to do,” commented managing director Jürgen Faff in May. “We hope that in the summer we will be ready to start, but we will know later a more concrete launch data.” www.flylili.com

Flypop describes itself as “for the South Asian diaspora run by the members of the Asian diaspora”.

The long-haul low-cost firm, which has existed for several years without launching flights, secured investment from the UK government’s Future Fund, enabling it to announce plans for scheduled departures from London/Stansted, following an April agreement to lease single-class Airbus A330-300s from Avolon.

Nino Singh Judge, flypop founder and CEO, said the carrier would “contribute significantly to the economic growth and closer cultural links between [the UK and India] and eventually with all of South Asia”, but warned that the high COVID case rate represented a “direct problem” for plans to launch services to India.

Flypop’s website lists a dozen target destinations: Amritsar, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Pune, Goa, Cochin, Sylhet, Lahore, Islamabad, Sialkot, Colombo and Kathmandu. The airline expects to operate its first flight in October with one aircraft and plans to add an extra example every six months.

Former Ryanair executive Charlie Clifton, who joined flypop as a senior operations adviser and board member, said: “The incumbents have been badly wounded after 18 months without any revenue but plenty of costs and debt. Flypop, on the other

hand, has avoided any exposure to the pandemic and consequently is in the unique and fortunate position to extract maximum advantage from the lower costs resulting from the crisis.

Flypop’s cost of entry is much lower now than it would have been pre-COVID-19. Low fares always stimulate greater demand. The sector is currently on the floor, but the market will return strongly.”

For more on flypop’s ambitious plans, including a chat with the CEO, check out the September/October edition of our sister magazine Airports of the World. www.flypop.com

ABOVE • Romania's Fly Lili intends to use Airbus A320-200 passengerand and A310-300F freighter aircraft FLY LILI

Don’t miss part two of our special start-up round-up in the October issue of Airliner World!

ABOVE • Flypop's business model links the UK to secondary cities across India FLYPOP

LEFT • On July 1, flypop confirmed that London/Stansted would be its first UK departure airport FLYPOP www.key.aero

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Completing

the set

Gordon Smith catches up with some of the key players from Embraer and Helvetic Airways, as the Swiss carrier adds the E195-E2 to its fleet The arrival of the E2s has transformed the Swiss carrier's fleet into one of Europe's youngest HELVETIC AIRWAYS

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Helvetic fleet comparison Aircraft Embraer E190-E1 Embraer E190-E2 Embraer E195-E2 Source: Helvetic Airways

Number in fleet 4 8 4

Seats 112 110 134

Powerplants 2 x GE CF34 2 x PW1900G 2 x PW1900G

Seating configuration 2-2 2-2 2-2

Maximum take-off weight 114,199lb (51,800kg) 124,340lb (56,400kg) 135,584lb (61,500kg)

Length 119ft (36.2m) 119ft (36.2m) 136ft (41.4m)

that have emerged in recent months vindicate the strategic choices we made back in 2018.”

Mission flexibility

J

ust a couple of years ago, joining a Helvetic Airways service would likely have meant getting on board either a Fokker 100 or Embraer E1 jet. Fast forward to now, and it’s a rather different story.

While the pandemic raged across the airline’s core European markets, the Zürich-based carrier was busy overhauling its fleet in the biggest shake-up in the company’s history.

It’s farewell to the Dutch examples, and hello to a new generation of regional narrowbody in an all-Brazilian line-up. Complementing a quartet of Embraer E190s are a dozen E2s – comprising both the E190-E2 and E195-E2, with the latter touching down at Helvetic’s base for the first time in late June. The arrival of the largest of the São José dos Campos family of jets marks a major milestone, both for the airline and the manufacturer.

ABOVE: HB-AZI has been spotted in Hamburg, Germany, since joining the Helvetic fleet in late June V1IMAGES.COM/DIRK GROTHE

BELOW: A Helvetic Embraer E190-E1 and E195-E2, will be stationed at EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg HELVETIC AIRWAYS

While the festivities were held mainly online, due to continued coronavirus restrictions, Tobias Pogorevc, the chief executive of Helvetic, made clear there was still reason for celebration: “With Embraer, we have both the right types of aircraft and the right industry partner.

Helvetic Airways now operates an optimal fleet mix, in terms of capacity and sustainability. And as one of the leading E-Jet E2 operators in the world, [we] will now be able to further strengthen its role as a Swiss airline in the European sky.”

The Helvetic CEO was also upbeat about the industry prospects for the new jets, suggesting the delivery of the E195-E2 was even more critical in a post-pandemic world: “The structural changes in the demand for air travel

Helvetic bosses said the staggered capacities of between 110 and 134 passenger seats enabled the Swiss carrier to “fly the right aircraft to operate reliably and economically, and also to take full advantage of all the new opportunities in a post-pandemic market”. The largest E2 represented an upgauge to an original all-E190-E2 order.

Speaking to Airliner World, Cesar Pereira, vice-president EMEA at Embraer Commercial Aviation, added: "It was a great honour to join Helvetic for the first E195-E2 flight into its new home. It’s another milestone in Embraer’s long relationship with Helvetic, [which] now operates three variants of our aircraft, in an all-Embraer fleet.”

The honours of being the first Helvetic E195-E2 fell to HB-AZI (c/n 19020055). It departed Embraer’s headquarters – situated approximately 65 miles east of downtown São Paulo – and continued its journey with scheduled stopovers in the Brazilian coastal city of Natal as well as Las Palmas in the Canary Islands, before arriving in Switzerland. The delivery sortie covered about 6,100 miles with a journey time of around 11.5 hours.

The second example arrived in the first half of July, the third one landed on July 25 and the fourth is due to be delivered in mid-August.

Eco considerations Speaking at the delivery event broadcast to Helvetic employees in Europe, Arjan Meijer, president and CEO of Embraer Commercial Aviation added his thoughts on the milestone: “With the new E195-E2, Helvetic builds on its reputation as one of the most environmentally committed airlines in Europe. Not only does the aircraft burn 25% less fuel than its predecessor, its noise footprint is 65% smaller. The E2s are great news for communities near airports.”

The E2’s fuel efficiencies were not lost on Mehdi Guenin, Helvetic’s senior spokesperson, who spoke to Airliner World about the wider fleet overhaul. Asked why the Swiss carrier opted for the E2 over rivals such as the Airbus A220, he explained the decision came down to three key elements: “Firstly, we’ve been operating Embraer aircraft since 2015 – it was therefore logical to build on this base. Secondly, the E2 www.key.aero

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family distinguishes itself from the competitors with very low operating and maintenance costs, fuel savings between 20-25%, thanks to the latest-generation Pratt & Whitney engine, as well as improved aerodynamics. The E2's range allows us to fly to destinations that were previously unthinkable for a regional aircraft. Finally, thanks to its very popular 2-2 configuration, the E2 enables a very fast and comfortable boarding and de-boarding.”

Embraer efficiencies Having previously operated a mixed-OEM fleet, Guenin added that commonality between the Embraer examples was also an important consideration: “Communality is a key factor for Helvetic. By being able to plan our cockpit and cabin crews independently on the Embraer E195-E2 or E190-E2, we can operate in an absolutely efficient way, both from an economical and operational point of view. This avoids many of the issues frequently encountered by other airlines operating different aircraft types in their fleet, with different qualifications, procedures and training contents.”

Helvetic joins KLM Cityhopper (Netherlands), Azul (Brazil), Binter Canarias (Spain), Air Peace (Nigeria), and Belavia (Belarus) as global E195-E2 operators. With the airline also holding purchase rights for another 12 airframes, there are hopes that further Embraer jets could yet join the fleet – but what has the response been to the examples already flying with the Swiss carrier?

“We are very satisfied with the aircraft's performance, so far. For the moment, we are on the low end of a

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few thousand flights,” said Guenin.

“This volume is due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on air traffic. Under these conditions, our eight E190-E2s confirm their incredible ecological performance with a fuel economy per flight of nearly 20%, and a very high operational/technical reliability.

“After the first flights, passengers [were] impressed by the size of the aircraft, but also by its comfort, its silence and the brightness of its interior due to the large windows.”

Embraer’s Pereira said Helvetic’s feedback from using the jets in revenue service had been very welcome: “It has been particularly satisfying to see Helvetic’s E2s surpass even Embraer’s promises on fuel burn and emissions performance in the day-to-day operation of [its]

ABOVE: The interior of Helvetic's E195-E2 flagship EMBRAER

BELOW: The E2 features a highly aerodynamic wing design and latest-generation Pratt & Whitney engines HELVETIC AIRWAYS

aircraft. It is moments like these – when customers really see the extra value Embraer delivers – that creates the special bonds we have with so many of our operators.”

Reflecting on the monumental changes that have taken place, both internally and externally, over the course of the past two years, Guenin acknowledged that it hasn't always been easy, but teamwork has been critical to success: “The whole process is indeed a challenge. But thanks to the advanced skills of our different teams and the outstanding collaboration with Embraer, we will complete the project on time,” he said. “With the arrival of our latest E195-E2 in mid-August, Helvetic Airways will have completely renewed its fleet in just 22 months – an impressive achievement.”

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he sudden halt imposed by COVID-19 hit civil aviators incredibly hard. In April 2020, two-thirds of the global commercial aviation fleet sat idle, while passenger traffic was down 90% year-on-year. Now, in summer 2021, the aviation industry is slowly rebounding, led by recovering domestic travel in larger nations, such as the United States and China.

As more aircraft return to the skies, a new report from aviation insurer Allianz Global Corporate & Specialty (AGCS) suggests some of the unique challenges the sector could face as the industry restarts operations. Here, we look at eight possible trends to watch...

T

1. ‘Rusty’ pilots Earlier this year, dozens of pilots reported making mistakes – such as taking multiple attempts to land – to NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System, with many citing rustiness as a factor on returning to the skies.

Airlines (and other operators) are well aware of the potential for pilot problems and continue to take steps to manage and mitigate these risks.

Most major carriers have developed training programmes for pilots re-entering service, depending on the length of absence. “At a time of

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such unprecedented activity, it is comforting to know that the risk management processes that made airline travel safer than any form of travel prior to the pandemic will continue to drive an unparalleled travel safety environment in the post-Covid world,” says Dave Warfel, regional head of aviation at AGCS.

2. Air-rage incidents Unruly behaviour by passengers is an increasing concern, particularly in the United States. In a typical year, there are about 150 reports of passenger disruption on aircraft. By June 2021, there had been 3,000, according to the Federal Aviation Administration – the majority involving passengers refusing to wear a mask. The report notes that disorderly passengers may later claim they were discriminated against by the airline in these cases, even when in the wrong – a trend aviation insurers and carriers alike need to stay on top of.

3. Parked fleet peril Although a large proportion of the world’s airline fleet has been parked during COVID-19, loss exposures do not simply disappear, they change.

For example, parked fleets are often

exposed to weather events, with numerous incidents of grounded aircraft being damaged by hailstorms and hurricanes.

The risk of shunting or ground incidents also increases, which can bring costly claims. There were a number of collisions at the start of the pandemic, as operators transferred aircraft to storage facilities. AGCS suggests more are likely when aircraft are moved again ahead of reuse.

Aircraft in storage typically undergo regular maintenance to ensure they are ready to return. However, never has the industry seen so many aircraft temporarily put out of service.

The report notes that smaller airlines may face significant challenges when reactivating fleets, as it will be an unprecedented process.

4. Pilot shortages Odd as it may seem, given recent events, the global aviation industry faces a pilot shortage in the mid to long term. The tremendous increase in air travel before the pandemic meant pilot demand was already outstripping supply. More than 250,000 are required over the coming decade, according to AGCS. “In less regulated countries, shortages can lead to pilots operating

We highlight eight areas to keep an eye on as commercial aviation readies for a post-pandemic return to the skies

commercial aircraft with limited qualifications and low overall flying time,” says Warfel. “Pilot fatigue is also a known risk among existing pilots [and] that must be properly managed.

Fortunately, there is a lot of industry expertise and resources available to assist airlines in building proper fatigue management systems.”

Some airlines are going one step further and building their own pilot pipelines, by setting up flight schools.

Given the nature of training, AGCS reports that flight schools can be prone to accidents, and claims are becoming more expensive with rising values of aircraft and increased activity. Landing accidents are most common, but insurers have also seen total hull losses.

5. Air cargo focus Although passenger travel has been devastated by the pandemic, other aviation sectors have performed more robustly, such as cargo operators.

In April 2021, Asia-Pacific reported its best month for international air freight since the pandemic began, thanks to rising business confidence, e-commerce and congestion at sea ports. Meanwhile, Latin America to North America freighter capacity grew by almost a third in May 2021,

compared to the same two week period in 2019. The report expects air cargo to continue to perform strongly.

6. Business travel Pre-COVID business travel traffic amounted to $1.5 trillion a year or around 1.7% of global GDP. With many airlines dialling back expectations in the short-term, the report asks whether those days are over. New ways of collaboration, such as video calls, proved to be effective, and more companies are aiming to reduce business travel to improve their carbon footprint. Therefore, while there will be initial surge once lockdowns end, many airlines are preparing for a long-term paradigm shift in travelling, with business travel expected to be slow to pick up.

However, what speaks for a possible uptick is that some areas of business aviation have proven resilient during the pandemic. Companies that had aircraft continued to use them while many that had never purchased or chartered an aircraft before did so for the first time. As such, many charter companies thrived.

7. New routes More than 1,400 new air links are scheduled for 2021 – more than

ABOVE • Global air traffic is gradually recovering, but the picture remains patchy AIRTEAMIMAGES.COM /OLIVIER CORNELOUP

double those added in 2016 – driven

by Europe (more than 600) and Asia Pacific (more than 500), with regional airports set to be the main beneficiaries. Growth in China’s domestic market alone has seen more than 200 new routes added – almost the same as the US. “This development reflects the desire of some airlines to experiment in uncertain times,” says Axel von Frowein, a regional head of aviation at AGCS. “New routes mean less congested airspace and congestion at airports, which can have a positive impact on risks such as ground handling incidents. However, flying new routes can bring a heightened risk environment.”

8. Insect infestations There have been a number of reports of unreliable airspeed and altitude readings during first flights after some aircraft have left storage. In many cases, the problem was traced back to undetected insect nests inside pitot tubes – pressure-sensitive sensors that feed data to an avionics computer. Such incidents have led to rejected take-offs and turn back events. The AGCS report suggests this risk increases if storage procedures are not followed. www.key.aero

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German aviation journalist Andreas Spaeth shares his personal account of visiting Concorde at Heathrow on the day the United States came under attack in 2001

The view

FROM

ATLA 80

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S

eptember 11, 2001 was flagged as an important one in my diary, long before the tragic events unfolded in the United States. Since my first flight on Concorde in 1993, as a young aviation reporter, the supersonic airliner was close to my avgeek heart as the most incredible flying machine I had – and have ever – experienced.

I extensively covered the Concorde crash in July 2000, with a German weekly newspaper even going so far as to purchase me a ticket for a British Airways supersonic sortie in the week following the disaster. They paid an insane sum of money to get me on board and report on how it felt to fly in the aftermath of the accident (those, of course, were the days when certain sections of the media still had big travel expense accounts). That particular newspaper-funded trip was before Concorde’s general grounding on August 15, 2000.

Concorde rebound It was, therefore, very exciting to be invited a year later to visit British Airways’ maintenance base at its Heathrow home and hub. The itinerary included a briefing by Mike Bannister, Concorde’s chief pilot, as well as various senior BA engineers on the technical progress made to ready the jet for its return to scheduled service after more than 12 months on the ground. The

timing was not accidental but designed to coincide with the first Concorde test flight carrying a full load of passengers after the extended stay on terra firma – the date was September 11, 2001.

I had arrived from Hamburg a few hours early before the afternoon visit to BA. To kill time and enjoy the bustle of aircraft movements, I remember visiting the free, if slightly run-down, rooftop terrace of the Queen’s Building at Heathrow (later demolished in 2009 to make room for the new Terminal 2). It is hard to imagine nowadays, but access was available without any security check, climbing some dark and slightly dirty stairs, and there were no glass walls to act as a physical barrier to enclose the terrace. Little did I, or anyone, know at this moment that these were to be the final hours of an open and easy-access rooftop-viewing area at Heathrow for a long time.

Of even greater consequence was that all the aircraft I was watching taxi along the apron towards the runway for transatlantic flights that afternoon would soon be in dire straits, unable to complete their journey to North America. Whether returning to their point of origin or having to divert to emergency alternates, such as the Canadian gateways of Gander and Halifax – no-one would be unaffected

BELOW • The future of BA's Concorde fleet was thrown into jeopardy by the 2000 crash in Paris and the events of 9/11 BRITISH AIRWAYS

by the events that were about to unfold on the other side of the ocean.

After a thrilling few hours spotting, I made my way over to the BA maintenance facility. While I was checking in, my wife called from home. Apparently, a small aircraft had hit the World Trade Center in New York, which had happened at 1346hrs BST. Initial reports suggested it was a tragic accident, as it didn’t appear to be a big airliner.

Having visited the South Tower’s stunning ‘Top of the World’ observation deck on the 107th floor during previous visits to the Big Apple, the incident still felt close to home. This, of course, was a time before smartphones or ubiquitous Wi-Fi, with most people having fairly primitive mobile phones. Any communication while on the move was limited to traditional voice calls or SMS text messages.

Along with a few other journalists, I was taken to a meeting room by British Airways officials and told to wait for Mike Bannister, who, at that time, was still on approach to Heathrow on his first test flight with a full cabin on G-BOAF. The majority of those on board were BA staff who had won their tickets in an internal lottery.

With me and my fellow journalists continuing to receive anecdotal reports via SMS and telephone calls,

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situation was in New York. It occurred to me that everything that was being said at Heathrow was about to become meaningless in comparison, with the outside world, as we knew it, seeming to crumble. I’m sure after a few minutes, others must have also received messages, but none of the invited guests dared to interrupt or leave the room, which, today, probably would happen instantly with smartphones transmitting real-time coverage, always and everywhere.

Digesting the disaster

we insisted that a television was made available. A set was eventually moved into the meeting room where we watched live coverage from New York.

It was a horrific sight, with the North Tower of the World Trade Center up in flames on the top floors, the façade clearly smashed, but it still remained unclear what kind of aircraft had hit it and why. This was particularly troubling as it was obviously a crystal clear blue-sky morning in Manhattan.

Around this time, Mike Bannister entered the room with a big smile.

I had met him before and had even flown with him on Concorde in the cockpit jump seat. He was seemingly in a kind of tunnel vision, so focused on the task at hand, having just completed the first test flight, that he hadn’t fully realised what was unfolding across the Atlantic. New York was Concorde’s main passenger market, with many of its most frequent fliers having offices in and around the World Trade Center.

82

AIRLINER WORLD SEPTEMBER 2021

ABOVE • The author had flown on the supersonic jet on multiple occasions prior to the 2000 grounding VIA AUTHOR TOP • Journalists were invited to Heathrow on September 11, 2001, to learn more about the efforts to return Concorde to service VIA AUTHOR

BELOW • London to New York was Concorde's most important market VIA AUTHOR

Bannister took a short glimpse at the screen showing one tower emitting billows of smoke, uttered “Oh, that looks horrific”, then ordered with the authority of a captain giving a command: “Now we switch off the TV and turn to Concorde.” He clearly had a mission, and nothing would deflect his attention on what he was going to deliver to the journalists.

It felt utterly weird, even at this early stage in the events that would later become known as 9/11, but we were there to get long-awaited first-hand insights into the process of returning Concorde into service.

Minutes after Bannister started his presentation, my wife sent another SMS: “A second aircraft has crashed into the other tower.” That had happened at 1402hrs BST, and even without further information, this made it clear this was an orchestrated attack, rather than an accident. It was surreal, and it was impossible to concentrate on what was being said, even though I was normally hugely interested in the topic.

It seemed like I was the only one in the room, at that moment, who knew just how horrifying the developing

Bannister’s presentation ended with him stressing how satisfied he was with the progress made on the Concorde project, and how much he looked forward to the imminent return of supersonic service. But did this even matter now? Wasn’t the core transatlantic market for Concorde, the bankers, brokers and other movers and shakers with endless expense accounts, collapsing as we spoke?

After Bannister, Claud Freeman, then Concorde head engineer at BA, took over the presentation and gave a superb briefing of how Concorde had been modified after the accident to alleviate concerns of the same sequence of events ever happening again. While he was talking about the new radial tyres and the custom-sized Kevlar-rubber linings – 82 in total per aircraft that been mounted on the bottom of all fuel tanks by up to 40 mechanics working simultaneously – I received another SMS from my wife. Its content was even more shocking: “Now one tower has collapsed!”, which had happened to the South Tower at 1459hrs BST. It was beyond comprehension, especially sitting in front of a dark TV screen, which could have let us witness this event of world-shattering consequences, talking about technical details of an aircraft, which probably was rendered useless at

this very moment. In my memory, we didn’t switch the TV on again, and instead looked at profile samples of the former Concorde tyre and the new radial example, custom-designed

by Michelin to prevent big chunks of rubber coming off, even if penetrated by a sharp-edged metal piece as in the Paris accident a year earlier.

We then visited the BA Concorde hangar to look at the real thing.

Freeman even climbed into one of the fuel tanks, demonstrating the new Kevlar installation and smiling for photos. It was stunning and heartening to see the efforts being

made to bring Concorde back – huge dedication and a lot of money being spent to make it happen. Before we parted ways, Bannister took us outside to see G-BOAF parked in front of the hangar, on which he had flown a full cabin of guests just a few hours earlier. It felt hollow somehow, and I didn’t know what to make of all of this, even though I wasn’t aware at the time that also the North Tower of the World Trade Center had given way at 1528hrs BST. I had a feeling that the events unfolding in the United States would mean the end for Concorde, one way

BELOW • BA formally retired the supersonic jet in 2003 BRITISH AIRWAYS

or another. This, of course, happened, but not immediately, as it later turned out. On November 7, 2001, transatlantic supersonic services were restarted. However, after 9/11, the already volatile market for the ultra-premium service never quite returned to pre-2000 levels, expediting the decision to retire the jet completely in 2003.

But on that fateful day in Heathrow, my first concern was if I would be getting home at all that evening.

Overflying the British capital was prohibited, out of fear something similar might be repeated, so there was a bottleneck of aircraft having to be re-routed. I watched some of the overwhelming footage from the US, which I had missed earlier in the day.

I also gave my first-ever radio interviews from a mobile phone that evening, as an aviation expert, awaiting my delayed departure back to Hamburg (that ultimately did take flight). Little did I know that only two months after 9/11, I would find myself back on board Concorde on my way to New York, and about to witness another catastrophe.

Don’t miss Andreas’ first-hand account of his post-9/11 trip to New York onboard Concorde in the November 2021 issue of Airliner World

www.key.aero

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The latest commercial aircraft deliveries from manufacturers and lessors New Italian freight airline AlisCargo has accepted its first aircraft – a 19-year-old Boeing 777200ER, EI-GWA (c/n 30871) – on lease from Boeing Commercial Corporation AIRTEAMIMAGES.COM/ TREVOR MULKERRINS ex D-AVYE, dd 14.05.21

AP-BNG

ex F-WTAU, dd 02.06.21, lsd fr Carlyle Aviation Partners

A330-200

900

Emirates [EK/UAE ‘EMIRATES’] A6-EVP A380-800 269 DHL Aviation [ES/DHX ‘DILMUN’] A9C-DHU 767-300ER(BCF) 33085 Air China [CA/CCA ‘AIR CHINA’]

a/c als awys bf b/u canx cls cn cnvrtd dbf dbr dd ex ff frtr lrf lsd fr lsd to msn ntu oo op pax pwfu reg’d reg’n ret fr ret to rr rts sb scr st std tba unk wfu w/o

aircraft airlines airways bought from broken up/scrapped cancelled colours manufacturer’s construction/serial number converted destroyed by fire damaged beyond repair delivery date previous reg'n first flight freighter last revenue flight leased from leased to see cn not taken up on order operated passenger permanently withdrawn from use registered registration returned from returned to re-registered return to service sold by scrapped/broken up sold to stored to be advised unknown withdrawn from use written off/destroyed

Thanks to Dave Richardson and LAASI Aviation for the above

84

ex F-WWSS, dd 12.05.21 ex N346AN, dd 25.06.21

ex B-007K, dd 24.04.21, lsd fr BoComm Leasing B-322X A320neo 10202 ex B-007P, dd 28.05.21 Capital Airlines (Beijing Capital Airlines) [JD/CBJ ‘CAPITAL JET’] B-322M A320neo 9199 ferried TLS-PEK 18.06.21, was dd 29.05.20 B-322N A320neo 9460 ferried TLS-PEK 25.06.21, was dd 30.12.20 Chengdu Airlines [EU/UEA ‘UNITED EAGLE’] B-651M ARJ21-700 160 ex B-001K, dd 06.06.21 B-651P ARJ21-700 165 ex B-099C, dd 18.06.21 China Eastern Airlines [MU/CES ‘CHINA EASTERN’] ex D-AVVX, dd 07.05.21, st CSA Leasing & B-30CX A320neo 9219 lsd back B-30CY A320neo 9261 ex D-AXAH, dd 11.05.21 B-30C3 A320neo 9268 ex D-AXAG, dd 07.05.21 B-323Y A320neo 10137 ex B-007U, dd 17.05.21 B-323Z A320neo 10153 ex B-007W, dd 24.05.21 China Express Airlines [G5/HXA ‘CHINA EXPRESS’] B-650V ARJ21-700 143 ex B-099R, dd 07.06.21 China Postal Airlines [CF/CYZ ‘CHINA POSTAL’] lsd fr BoComm Leasing, cnvrtd to 737-800(F) B-5576 737-800(F) 38011 at Jinan 06.21 China Southern Airlines [CZ/CSN ‘CHINA SOUTHERN’] B-323F A321neo 10228 ex D-AYAI, dd 27.05.21 Colorful Guizhou Airlines [GY/CGZ ‘COLORFUL’] ex F-WWIZ, dd 21.05.21, lsd fr Aviation Capital B-323P A320neo 10543 Group Jiangxi Air [RY/CJX ‘AIR CRANE’] B-650X ARJ21-700 160 ex B-099G, dd 18.06.21 Juneyao Airlines [HO/DKH ‘AIR JUNEYAO’] B-323R A320neo 10326 ex B-007X, dd 18.05.21 OTT Airlines [-/OTT ‘OTT AIRLINES’] B-651E ARJ21-700 157 ex B-001U, dd 01.06.21 Qingdao Airlines [QW/QDA ‘SKY LEGEND’] B-323K A320neo 10325 ex B-000Q, dd 20.05.21 SF Airlines [O3/CSS ‘SHUN FENG’] N207DP 767-300ER 30342 ex N207DP, dd 14.06.21 Shenzhen Airlines [ZH/CSZ ‘SHENZHEN AIR’] B-322S A320neo 10278 ex B-000S, dd 18.05.21 Sichuan Airlines [3U/CSC ‘SICHUAN’] ex B-005W, dd 26.05.21, lsd fr China Aircraft B-321E A320neo 10399 Leasing Group Tibet Airlines [TV/TBA ‘TIBET’] ferried XFW-CTU 16.06.21 after storage, was B-320F A319ceo 10094 dd 03.12.20 Air Macau [NX/AMU ‘AIR MACAU’] ex D-AVXE, dd 28.05.21, lsd fr AerCap; Hou B-MBS A321neo 10294 Seng STARLUX Airlines [JX/SJX ‘STARWALKER’] B-58205 A321neo 10270 ferried XFW-TPE was dd 23.12.20 Air Canada [AC/ACA ‘AIR CANADA’] C-GTZS A220-300 55117 reg’d 09.06.21, was dd 27.05.21; fleet #120 C-GTZU A220-300 55118 dd 28.05.21, YMX-YYZ 03.06.21; fleet #121 C-GUAC A220-300 55119 dd 10.06.21; fleet #122 C-GUPG A220-300 55122 dd 25.06.21; fleet #123 Air Tindi [8T/TIN ‘TINDI’] C-FJAC DHC-2 937 ex CF-JAC, reg’d 02.06.21 Calm Air [MO/CAV ‘CALM AIR’] C-FJKQ ATR 72-500 888 ex F-OIXL, reg’d 28.06.21 C-GRFU ATR 72-200(F) 455 ex N455CJ, reg’d 03.06.21 Cargojet Airways [W8/CJT ‘CARGOJET’) C-FACJ 757-200(F) 29594 ex N184AN, reg’d 18.06.21 ex N563AZ, reg’d 25.06.21, lsd fr Amazon.com C-GAZF 767-300ER(F) 25363 Services, op for Prime Air Central Mountair Air [9M/GLR ‘GLACIER’] C-GUXZ DHC 8-300 554 ex N837CA, reg’d 16.06.21 Conair Aviation [-/FGD ‘FIREGUARD’] G-ECOG DHC 8-400 4220 ferried NRN-MST 16.06.21 ferried MST-YXX 13.06.21 for water bomber G-ECOT DHC 8-400 4231 conversion ferried MST-YXX 14.06.21 for water bomber G-FLBD DHC 8-400 4231 conversion B-322W

Key to Abbreviations

Flair Airlines [F8/FLE ‘FLAIR’]

AirBlue [PA/ABQ ‘AIRBLUE’] AP-BOE A321neo 10162 SereneAir [ER/SEP]

A320neo

AIRLINER WORLD SEPTEMBER 2021

10430

ex N57001, N1782B, N1786B, dd 26.05.21, lsd fr 777 Partners; fleet #902 Jazz Aviation (Air Canada Express) [QK/JZA ‘JAZZ’] C-FEIQ E175 ex PT-SZI, reg’d 14.06.21 C-FEJL E175 ex PT-SZV, reg’d 01.06.21 C-FFYG E175 ex PT-SDD, reg’d 30.06.21 C-FJBO E175 ex PP-PJB, reg’d 01.06.21 C-FRQK E175 ex M-ABKR, reg’d 14.06.21 C-FRQM E175 ex M-ABKS, reg’d 28.06.21 C-FRQN E175 ex M-ABKT, reg’d 23.06.21 C-FRQP E175 ex SP-LIE, reg’d 28.06.21 C-FRQW E175 ex SP-LIF, reg’d 15.06.21 C-FUJE E175 ex PP-PJE, reg’d 30.06.21 C-FXJC E175 ex PP-PJC, reg’d 02.06.21 C-FXJF E175 ex PP-PJF, reg’d 02.06.21 Wings over Kississing [-/-] C-FORC DHC-2 1499 ex CF-ORC, reg’d 18.06.21 Morningstar Air Express [-/MAL ‘MORNINGSTAR’] C-FMEZ 757-200(F) 27147 ex N976FD, reg’d 23.06.21 Pacific Coastal Airlines [8P/PCO ‘PASCO’] ex D-CBSF, reg’d 23.06.21, lsd fr Beau Del C-FWZK Be1900D UE-8 Leasing PAL Airlines [PB/PVL ‘PROVINCIAL’] C-FPPW DHC 8-100 390 rr C-FDDG 24.06.21 Pascan Aviation [-/PSC ‘PASCAN’] C-FKSL Saab 340B 340B-412 ex N412XJ, reg’d 02.06.21 C-GRDU Saab 340B 340B-415 ex N415XJ, reg’d 02.06.21 Questral Helicopters [-/-] C-GZAE H215 2567 ex G-CHCF, reg’d 11.06.21 C-GZXH H215 2395 ex G-CHCI, reg’d 11.06.21 VIH Cougar Helicopters [-/VHC ‘Wildcat’] C-GVGZ S-92A 920205 ex N294BG, reg’d 01.06.21 LATAM Airlines Chile [LA/LAN ‘LAN’] CC-BEF A321ceo 6780 ex N495MN, dd 22.06.21 CC-BEH A321ceo 6894 ex N891EB, dd 29.06.21, lsd fr Sierra Echo CC-BEJ A321ceo 7036 ex N682GY, dd 03.06.21 CC-BGE 787-9 38478 ex N931DJ, dd 06.21, lsd fr AerCap Sky Airline [H2/SKU ‘AEROSKY’] ferried XFW-SCL 11.06.21, was dd 30.07.20, CC-AZT A320neo 9344 lsd fr Alafco ex D-AVVL, dd 28.05.21, lsd fr China Aircraft CC-DBH A320neo 10123 Leasing Group CC-DBJ A320neo 10293 ferried TLS-SCL was dd 26.02.21 Nauru Airlines [ON/RON ‘AIR NAURU’] ex N256NA, cnvrtd to 737-300(F) at Miami dd VH-YNU 737-300 25607 25.06.21 Air Hamburg [HH/AHO ‘AIR HAMBURG’] D-AAHO ERJ135 reg’d 23.01.21 D-AWOW E190 ex N727EE, dd 21.06.21 Lufthansa [LH/DLH ‘LUFTHANSA’] D-AIEG A321neo 10059 reg’d 10.03.21 D-AIEH A321neo 10318 ex D-AYAJ, dd 04.05.21; Suhl D-AIEI A321neo 10304 ex D-AVXZ, dd 01.05.21; Uhingen D-AIJD A320neo 10281 reg’d 13.01.21 D-AIJE A320neo 10360 reg’d 17.03.21 Fiji Airways [FJ/FJI ‘FIJI’] ex N1786B, dd 25.05.21, lsd fr GECAS; Island DQ-FAE 737 MAX 8 64309 of Koro DQ-FAH 737 MAX 8 64311 dd 27.05.21, lsd fr GECAS; Island of Ovalau Aura Airlines [-/GWR ‘LEMON’] EC-NOZ A320ceo 4113 ex EI-GUJ, dd 29.06.21, lsd fr Aircastle OE-ISS A330-200 1210 ex N618AC, reg’d 21.06.21, lsd fr Aircastle Binter Canarias [NT/IBB ‘BINTER’] EC-NPU E190-E2 ex PR-ECV, dd 15.06.21 LEVEL [-/-] ex F-HLVN, reg’d 23.06.21, lsd fr China Aircraft EC-NNH A330-200 1936 Leasing Group One Airways [OX/OEW ‘DREAMER’] EC-NMO A319ceo 5079 ex OY-RCG, dd 22.06.21, op for Lattitude Hub Swiftair [WT/SWT ‘SWIFT’] EC-NQJ 757-200PF 24868 ex LZ-BRB, dd 06.21 Volotea [V7/VOE ‘VOLOTEA’] ex OE-IOQ, dd 15.06.21 OSR-VCE, lsd fr GECAS; EC-ISI A320ceo 2123 El tiempo pasa volando ex N623VA, dd 01.06.21, lsd fr Carlyle Aviation EC-NOL A320ceo 2740 Partners; Love At First Flight ex HK-5222, dd 08.06.21 NWI-VCE, lsd fr DAE EC-NPB A320ceo 3949 Capital; Calypso ex HK-5223, dd 15.06.21 Norwich – Venice, lsd EC-NPC A320ceo 3931 fr DAE Capital; Planino C-FLEJ

737 MAX 8

64941

9H-SLD

A320ceo

3396

9H-SLE

A320ceo

3475

9H-SLH

A320ceo

3425

ex OE-LME, dd 20.06.21 MPL-NTE, lsd fr/op by SmartLynx Malta ex OE-LMF, dd 16.06.21 RIX-VCE, lsd fr/op by SmartLynx Malta ex OE-LMN, dd 29.06.21, lsd fr/op by SmartLynx Malta

World2Fly [2W/WFL ‘BLUE WORLD’] ex EI-FBE, dd 11.06.21, lsd fr Macquarie AirFinance ASL Airlines Ireland [AG/ABR ‘CONTRACT’] cnvrtd to 737-800(BCF) 06.21 at CAN, dd OE-IWA 737-800 33623 17.06.21 Aircompany Armenia [RM/NGT ‘NIKA’] ex 4L-GTG, dd 03.06.21, lsd fr Georgian EK73705 737-800 35105 Airways Armenia Airways [6A/AMW ‘ARMENIA’] EK-SKA 737-500 26297 ex EK-73797, dd 08.06.21 Toos Airline [-/-] EP-TOA A310-300 576 ex EY-707, seen THR 31.05.21 SmartLynx Airlines [-/MYX ‘TALLINN CAT’] ES-SAZ A320ceo 3308 ex OE-IHZ, dd 29.06.21, lsd fr GECAS Sky KG Airlines [-/KGK ‘KYRGZ SKY’] EX-47003 747-400 25703 ex EC-KXN, dd 08.06.21 Transavia France [HO/TVF ‘FRENCH SOLEIL’] ex SE-RPC, dd 16.06.21, lsd fr Jackson Square F-HUYA 737-800 42271 Aviation ex SE-RRY, dd 18.06.21, lsd fr Jackson Square F-HUYB 737-800 42274 Aviation Bristow Helicopters [-/BHL ‘BRISTOW’] G-CIJC S-92A 920240 ex 5N-BTH, reg’d 10.06.21 CHC Scotia [-/GCY ‘HELIBIRD’] G-CHHF S-92A 920158 rr G-EMEE 26.05.21 DHL Air [D0/DHK ‘WORLD EXPRESS’] G-TUIN 787-9 64293 dd 21.06.21, lsd fr/op by TUI Airways G-TUIO 787-9 64294 dd 21.06.21, lsd fr/op by TUI Airways Jet2.com [LS/EXS ‘CHANNEX’] ex 2-TJFM, reg’d 28.06.21, lsd fr MC Aviaton G-DRTP 737-800 39067 Partners West Atlantic UK [-/NPT ‘NEPTUNE’] G-CLXT ATR 72-200(F) 446 ex EC-JRP, reg’d 11.06.21 Wizz Air UK [W9/WUK ‘WIZZ GO’] G-WUKO A321neo 10479 ex D-AZAH, dd 20.05.21 Wizz Air [W6/WZZ ‘WIZZ AIR’] ex D-AVXH, dd 10.05.21, lsd fr BoComm HA-LVS A321neo 10389 Leasing HA-LVU A321neo 10369 ex D-AVXW, dd 19.05.21, lsd fr CDB Aviation Helvetic Airways [2L/OAW ‘HELVETIC’] HB-AZI E195-E2 ex PR-EAF, dd 23.06.21 HB-AZJ E195-E2 ex PR-ECJ, dd 30.06.21 Viva (Fast Colombia) [VH/VVC ‘VIVA COLOMBIA’] ex F-WWDY, dd 25.05.21, lsd fr Aviation Capital HK-5367 A320neo 10487 Group; Volaré, oh oh Air Busan [BX/ABL ‘AIR BUSAN’] HL8395 A321neo 10020 ex D-AZAF, dd 26.05.21, lsd fr AerCap Asiana Airlines [OZ/AAR ‘ASIANA’] HL8398 A321neo 10457 ex D-AZAK, dd 31.05.21 Hi Air [4H/HGG ‘HI AIR’] ex F-WNUI, reg’d 28.06.21, lsd fr ATRiam HL5245 ATR 72-500 852 Capital Aviation Horizons [-/HZS ‘HORIZON SKY’] ex 9H-AHB, dd 03.03.21, lsd fr Vx Capital P4-JMD 737-400(F) 27914 Partners flynas [XY/KNE ‘NAS EXPRESS’] ex F-WWBO, dd 03.05.21, lsd fr CMB Financial HZ-NS39 A320neo 10539 Leasing HZ-NS42 A320neo 10550 ex F-WWBE, dd 10.05.21 HZ-NS44 A320neo 10290 ex F-WWBU, dd 31.05.21 AlisCargo Airlines [-/-] EI-GWA 777-200ER 30871 ex N528BC, lsd fr Boeing Capital Sky Alps [-/-] ex G-ECOK, dd 01.06.21, lsd fr Chorus Aviation, 9H-BEL DHC 8-400 4230 op by Luxwing Malta ex G-ECOO, dd 14.06.21, lsd fr Chorus Aviation, 9H-EVA DHC 8-400 4237 op by Luxwing Malta Aero Mongolia [M0/MNG ‘AERO MONGOLIA’] JU-1199 A319ceo 3895 ex 2-SSIA, dd 06.19, lsd fr World Star Aviation EC-LXR

A330-300E

1097

Bristow Helikopter [-/NOR ‘NORSKE’] LN-OII S-92A 920224 LNS-92A 920196 LNS-92A 920224 Flyr [-/FOX ‘GREENSTAR’]

ex G-VINL, reg’d 30.06.21 ex G-CHYG ex G-CIGZ

ex EI-GUK, dd 10.06.21, lsd fr Pembroke Aircraft Leasing ex EI-GVP, dd 18.06.21, lsd fr Pembroke Aircraft LN-FGB 737-800 40881 Leasing 11 Ltd Norwegian Air Shuttle AOC [-/NOZ ‘NORSEMAN’] ex EI-FHR, lsd fr Wings Capital Partners, reg’d LN-DYJ 737-800 39045 29.06.21 ex EI-FHN, lsd fr Wings Capital Partners, reg’d LN-DYK 737-800 39046 09.06.21 ex EI-FHV, lsd fr SMBC Aviation Capital, reg’d LN-DYR 737-800 40870 23.06.21 LN-DYX 737-800 39011 ex EI-FHD, lsd fr DVB Bank, reg’d 21.06.21 LN-DYY 737-800 39012 ex EI-FHA, lsd fr DVB Bank, reg’d 24.06.21 LN-ENO 737-800 42088 ex EI-FVU, lsd fr ?, reg’d 16.06.21 ex EI-FVX, lsd fr SMBC Aviation Capital, reg’d LN-ENP 737-800 42090 08.06.21 ex EI-FVY, lsd fr SMBC Aviation Capital, reg’d LN-ENQ 737-800 42092 02.06.21 LN-ENR 737-800 42093 ex EI-FVZ, lsd fr ?, reg’d 11.06.21 LN-ENS 737-800 42281 ex EI-FVV, lsd fr ?, reg’d 10.06.21 LN-ENT 737-800 42282 ex EI-FVW, lsd fr Itochu, reg’d 03.06.21 LN-ENV 737-800 41140 ex EI-FHK, lsd fr Doric Aviation, reg’d 30.06.21 LN-NIH 737-800 43879 dd 11.06.21, lsd fr ICBC Financial Leasing LN-NII 737-800 43877 dd 10.06.21, lsd fr ICBC Financial Leasing LN-NOD 737-800 35280 ex EI-FHE, lsd fr AerCap, reg’d 04.06.21 JetSMART Airlines [WJ/JES ‘SMARTBIRD’] ex CC-AWG, dd 06.21, leased from Wings LV-JQE A320ceo 8539 Capital Partners Bulgaria Air [FB/LZB ‘FLYING BULGARIA’] ex OE-INV, dd 29.06.21, lsd fr ICBC Financial LZ-FBI A320ceo 7264 Leasing Cargo Air [-/CGF ‘CLEVER’] LZ-CGA 737-800 30664 ex N364AV, ferried SNN-CGN 11.06.21 Air Cargo Carriers [2Q/SNC ‘NIGHT CARGO’) N370AA Shorts 360 SH3737 ex D-CCAS, reg’d 02.06.21 N973AA Shorts 360 SH3749 ex N749JT, reg’d 02.06.21 Air Transport International [8C/ATN ‘AIR TRANSPORT’] reg’d 29.06.21, lsd fr Cargo Aircraft N385AM 767-300ER(F) 27059 Management N393AN 767-300ER(F) 29430 reg’d 29.06.21, Cargo Aircraft Management Alaska Central Express [KO/AER ‘ACE AIR’] N575A Be1900C UC-83 reg’d 03.06.21, lsd fr Tailwind Investments N575Q Be1900C UC-160 reg’d 03.06.21, lsd fr Tailwind Investments N1553C Be1900C UC-24 reg’d 03.06.21, lsd fr Tailwind Investments Allegiant Air [G4/AAY ‘ALLEGIANT’] N202NV A320ceo 5440 ex F-WXAV, reg’d 02.06.21 N289NV A320ceo 4574 ex RP-C3263, reg’d 29.06.21 N622VA A320ceo 2674 reg’d 30.06.21 N625VA A320ceo 2800 ex F-WWIJ, dd 03.06.21, lsd fr GECAS American Airlines [AA/AAL ‘AMERICAN’] N431AN A321neo 10385 ex F-WZMH, dd 20.05.21; fleet #431 Amerijet Intertnational [M6/AJT ‘AMERIJET’] N818NH 757-200(F) 29311 ex TF-LLX, dd 15.06.21 Bemidji Airlines [CH/BMJ ‘BEMIDJI’] N3116N SA227 AC-596 reg’d 22.06.21 Breeze Airways [-/MXY ‘MOXY’] ex N96NC, dd 23.06.21, lsd fr Nordic Aviation N115BZ E190 Capital ex C-FNAI, dd 16.06.21, lsd fr Nordic Aviation N132NK E190 Capital ex C-FHNW, dd 09.06.21, lsd fr Nordic Aviation N977NC E190 Capital Cape Air (Hyannis Air Service) [9K/KAP ‘CAIR’] N843CA P2012 033/US reg’d 23.06.21 Delta Air Lines [DL/DAL ‘DELTA’] N309DU A220-300 55107 ex C-GPRL, dd 09.06.21, fleet #8309 N118DY A321ceo 10140 ex F-WZMS, dd 06.05.21, fleet #1018 N120DN A321ceo 10185 ex F-WZMW, dd 04.05.21, fleet #1020 N121DZ A321ceo 10233 ex F-WZMY, dd 27.05.21, fleet #1021 N411DX A330-900 1991 ex F-WWYC, dd 27.05.21, fleet #3411 LN-FGA

737-800

40014

We welcome any feedback on this listing.

(The listing is alphabetical with reference to the registration of the country of origin. Columns indicate the registration, type, construction number and notes.)

The third Boeing 737-800 for Bees Airline, UR-UBC (c/n 29654), was repainted at Airbourne Colours’ East Midlands facility in April AIRTEAMIMAGES.COM/ STUART LAWSON

www.key.aero

85

The latest commercial aircraft deliveries from manufacturers and lessors

Delta Air Lines has received its 11th Airbus A330-900 from an order for 35 Rolls-Royce Trent 7000-powered jets V1IMAGES.COM/ CLÉMENT ALLOING

Key to Abbreviations a/c als awys bf b/u canx cls cn cnvrtd dbf dbr dd ex ff frtr lrf lsd fr lsd to msn ntu oo op pax pwfu reg’d reg’n ret fr ret to rr rts sb scr st std tba unk wfu w/o

aircraft airlines airways bought from broken up/scrapped cancelled colours manufacturer’s construction/serial number converted destroyed by fire damaged beyond repair delivery date previous reg'n first flight freighter last revenue flight leased from leased to see cn not taken up on order operated passenger permanently withdrawn from use registered registration returned from returned to re-registered return to service sold by scrapped/broken up sold to stored to be advised unknown withdrawn from use written off/destroyed

Thanks to Dave Richardson and LAASI Aviation for the above

86

N575DZ A350-900 282 ex PR-XTK, reg’d 22.06.21, lsd fr AerCap Empire Airlines [EM/CFS ‘EMPIRE AIR’] N701FE ATR 72-600F 1680 ex F-WNUF, op for FedEx Express Envoy Air (American Eagle) [MQ/ENY ‘ENVOY’] ex G-LCYE, reg’d 23.06.21, sub-lsd fr American N761RW E170 Airlines FedEx Express [FX/FDX ‘FEDEX’] N276FE 767-300F 66251 dd 06.05.21; Mckinley N277FE 767-300F 66246 dd 14.05.21; Arielia N867FD 777F 40673 dd 25.05.21; Jaxson ex F-WNUF, reg’d 01.06.21, op by Empire N701FE ATR 72-600F 1680 Airlines Freight Runners Express [-/FRG ‘FREIGHT RUNNERS’] N291SW EMB 120 120318 ex N660CT, reg’d 07.06.21 N564SW EMB 120 120339 reg’d 07.06.21 Frontier Airlines [F9/FFT ‘FRONTIER FLIGHT’] ex F-WZMF, dd 19.05.21; Verde the N380FR A320neo 10512 Resplendent Quetzal GoJet Airlines [G7/GJS ‘LINDBERGH’] N511MJ CRJ700 10104 cnvrtd to CRJ550 & reg’d 30.06.21 jetBlue Airways [B6/JBU ‘JETBLUE’] N2102J A321neo 10120 ex F-WZMQ, dd 25.05.21 Mesa Airlines [YV/ASH ‘AIR SHUTTLE’] N85379 E175 ex PR-ECL, dd 17.06.21 N87380 E175 ex PR-ECP, dd 17.06.21 SkyWest Airlines [OO/SKW ‘SKYWEST’] N685SK CRJ700 10093 ex F-GRZI, reg’d 16.06.21 N690SK CRJ700 10264 ex F-GRZN, reg’d 16.06.21 Southwest Airlines [WN/SWA ‘SOUTHWEST’] N8807L 737 MAX 8 65438 reg’d 07.06.21 N8810L 737 MAX 8 42647 reg’d 08.06.21 N8811L 737 MAX 8 42661 reg’d 08.06.21 N8812Q 737 MAX 8 42662 ex N1796B, N1786B, dd 20.05.21 N8813Q 737 MAX 8 42646 ex N1800B, N1795B, N1786B, dd 24.05.21 N8814K 737 MAX 8 42664 ex N1781B, N1786B, dd 19.05.21 N8815L 737 MAX 8 65473 reg’d 11.06.21 Spirit Airlines [NK/NKS ‘SPIRIT WING’] ex F-WZMG, dd 12.05.21, lsd fr Avolon; fleet N938NK A320neo 10402 #4938 United Airlines [UA/UAL ‘UNITED’] N873UA A319ceo 2004 ex B-6020, ferried XMN-SFO ex G-EZAC, reg’d 03.06.21, ferried Lasham – N6308U A319ceo 2691 Goodyearfor temp storage UPS – United Parcel Service [5X/UPS ‘UPS’] N627UP 747-8F 65780 dd 19.05.21 USA Jet Airlines [UJ/JUS ‘JET USA’] N915DE MD-88 53420 reg’d 11.06.21, std BYH ferried BYH-YIP 16.06.21 for continued storage, N916DL MD-88 49591 reg’d 26.06.21 N959DL MD-88 49978 reg’d 26.06.21 reg’d 22.06.21, std YIP, N839US reserved N970DL MD-88 53173 22.06.21 N971DL MD-88 53214 reg’d 04.06.21, std Dothan reg’d 11.06.21, std Dothan, N837US reserved N976DL MD-88 53257 same day Western Global Airlines [KD/WGN ‘WESTERN GLOBAL’] N452SN 747-400(F) 25452 ferried VCV-TPEfor entry into service N784SN MD-11F 48784 ex D-ALCD, reg’d 22.06.21 Wright Air Service [8V/WRF ‘WRIGHT FLYER’] bf N750RV LLC, to registration pending N750RV Ce208B 208B5194 17.06.21 bf N755RV LLC, to registration pending N755RV Ce208B 208B5299 17.06.21 ASL Airlines Belgium [3V/TAY ‘QUALITY’] OE-IXA 737-800(BCF) 33604 ex EI-DPC, reg’d 04.06.21 Great Dane Airlines [DW/GDE ‘GREAT DANE’] OY-GDA E195 ret fr Bamboo Airways lse 24.06.21 KLM Cityhopper [WA/KLC ‘CITY’]

AIRLINER WORLD SEPTEMBER 2021

PH-NXD E195-E2 Divi Divi Air [3R/DV ‘DIVI AIR’] PJ-DVG DHC 6-300 347 Super Air Jet [SJV ‘PROSPER’]

reg’d 14.05.21 ex C-FZDQ, dd 07.06.21, lsd fr Kenn Borek Air

ex VH-XUG, dd 24.05.21, lsd fr ICBC Financial Leasing PK-SAV A320ceo 4637 ex VT-IEE, dd 17.06.21, lsd fr Orix Aviation Tri-M.G Intra Asia Airlines [GM/TMG ‘TRILINES’] ex N653SW, dd 22.06.21, lsd fr Rostrum PK-MGZ 737-300(F) 28398 Leasing ITA Transportes Aéreos [8I/IPM ‘AEROITA’] PS-ITA A320ceo 2395 ex OE-ILV, dd 22.06.21, lsd fr DVB Bank ex OE-IKJ, dd 05.06.21, lsd fr Deucalion PS-SFC A320ceo 2156 Aviation ex VT-IDM, dd 06.21, lsd fr Carlyle Aviation PS-TCS A320ceo 2204 Partners Aeroflot Russian Airlines [SU/AFL ‘AEROFLOT’] ex D-AVXK, dd 26.05.21, lsd fr CDB Aviation; VP-BPP A320neo 10193 N. Vavilov ex F-WWDF, d 18.05.21, lsd fr CDB Aviation; VP-BPQ A320neo 10126 A. Dobrynin ex F-WWDZ, dd 28.05.21, lsd fr CDB Aviation; VP-BPR A320neo 10167 W. Etusch ex D-AVYM, dd 28.05.21, lsd fr SMBC Aviation VP-BRC A321neo 10314 Capital; M. Godenko VP-BXA A350-900 428 ex F-WZFR, dd 27.05.21; A. Vasilevsky VQ-BFZ A350-900 414 ex F-WZFN, dd 27.05.21; A. Dementyev ATRAN – Aviatrans Cargo Airlines [V8/VAS ‘ATRAN’] VQ-BFX 737-800(BCF) 33717 ex N239GE, dd 11.06.21, lsd fr GECAS Azimuth Airlines [A4/AZO ‘AZIMUTH DON’] RA-89179 SSJ100 95182 ex 97016, dd 08.06.21; Tobol RA-89180 SSJ100 95184 ex 97011, dd 08.06.21 Azur Air [ZF/AZV ‘AZUR AIR’] VQ-BZE 757-200 26330 rr RA-73029 06.21 iFly Airlines [F7/RSY ‘RUSSIAN SKY’] EI-GWF A330-300 1265 ex F-HPTP, dd 05.06.21, lsd fr Air Lease Corp KomiAviaTrans [-/-] RA-13344 An-24RV ex CCCP-13344 KrasAvia [-/SSJ ‘SIBERIAN SKY’] RA-67605 ATR 42-500 827 ex VQ-BKO, dd 29.05.21 Nordwind Airlines [N4/NWS ‘NORDLAND’] ex EI-EPF, dd 26.06.21, lsd fr SMBC Aviation VP-BDP 737-800 40309 Capital ex EI-EPH, dd 25.06.21, lsd fr SMBC Aviation VP-BDQ 737-800 40311 Capital VP-BUM A330-300E 1361 ex M-ABLV, dd 22.06.21, lsd fr CDB Aviation VQ-BJC A321neo 7694 ex OE-IFX, dd 09.06.21, lsd fr Air Lease Corp North-West Aircompany [0E/NWC ‘WEST WAY’] RA-73028 A321neo 9524 ex F-WXAH, seen TLL 31.05.21 in full colours Pobeda [DP/PBD ‘POBEDA’] ex N1786B, dd 20.06.21, lsd fr Avia Capital VQ-BHQ 737-800 41226 Solutions ex N1786B, dd 03.06.21, lsd fr Avia Capital VQ-BHR 737-800 41230 Solutions ex N1786B, dd 23.05.21, lsd fr Avia Capital VQ-BHT 737-800 41235 Solutions Rossiya Airlines [FV/SDM ‘ROSSIYA’] VP-BUS 737-800 44435 ex EI-RUR, dd 31.05.21, lsd fr Sberbank Leasing UTair Aviation [UT/UTA ‘TJUMAVI’] ex A6-FDH, dd 12.06.21, lsd fr Babcock & VQ-BLP 737-800 31716 Brown VQ-BLT 737-800 31765 ex A6-FDI, dd 12.06.21, lsd fr Babcock & Brown CEBU Pacific Air [5J/CEB ‘CEBU AIR’] RP-C4125 A321neo 10273 ex D-AVZE, dd 17.05.21 Norwegian Air Sweden AOC AB [-/NSZ ‘NORLIGHT’] SE-RPS 737-800 41143 ex EI-FJD, reg’d 03.06.21 SE-RRO 737-800 40868 ex LN-DYO, reg’d 08.06.21, lsd fr FPG Group Star Air [DJ/SRR ‘WHITE STAR’] PK-SAT

A320ceo

6032

SE-RLB 767-200(F) Enter Air [E4/ENT ‘ENTER’]

22222

ex N745AX, dd 01.06.21

SP-ESK

30693

ex SP-LWE, dd 25.06.21, lsd fr Carlyle Aviation Partners

737-800

LOT Polish Airlines [LO/LOT ‘LOT’] SP-LNH E195 SP-LNM E195 SprintAir [P8/SRN ‘SPRINT AIR’] SP-SPL ATR 72-500(F) 575 SP-SPN

ATR 72-200

704

ret fr Bamboo Airways lease ret fr Bamboo Airways lease ex EI-EYY, updates previous section ex F-HBCL, updates & corrects previous section

Sky Express [GQ/SHE ‘AIR CRETE’] SX-GNA A320neo 9516 ex D-AUBW, dd 10.05.21, lsd fr SkyServ Amelia International [NL/AEH ‘AEROCUTTER’] F-HYOG ERJ145 145526 ex CE-03, dd 14.06.21 AnadoluJet [TK/THY ‘TURKISH’] TC-JZV 737-800 40319 ex EI-EVY, dd 06.21, lsd fr Avolon Corendon Airlines [XC/CAI ‘CORENDON’] TC-TJV 737-800 37740 ex LZ-DAD, dd 19.06.21, lsd fr DAE Capital MNG Airlines [MB/MNB ‘BLACK SEA’] TC-MCN A330-300E 889 ex VQ-BYZ, dd 05.06.21, lsd fr BOC Aviation SunExpress [XQ/SXS ‘SUN EXPRESS’] ex D-ASXP, entered service 02.06.21 after TC-SPA 737-800 29684 storage Turkish Airlines [TK/THY ‘TURKISH’] TC-LGE A350-900 454 ex F-WZFZ, dd 05.05.21 TC-LTI A321neo 10367 ex D-AVXI, dd 26.05.21 Icelandair [FI/ICE ‘ICEAIR’] TF-ICB 737 MAX 9 44568 ex N1796B, N1786B, dd 31.05.21; Langjökull TF-ICC 737 MAX 9 44359 ex N1786B, ff 27.03.19, dd 24.05.21; Kirkjufell TF-ICP 737 MAX 8 44360 ex N1786B, dd 24.05.21; Landmannalaugar PLAY (Fly Play hf) [OG/FPY ‘PLAYER’] TF-AEW A321neo 8008 ferried LCH-KEF 15.06.21 after paint Uzbekistan Airways [HY/UZB ‘UZBEK’] UK78706 787-8 64438 ex N1015X, N1791B, dd 04.05.21 Qazaq Air [IQ/QAZ ‘SAMRUK’] P4-AIR DHC 8-400 4598 rr UP-DH005 06.21 Azur Air Ukraine [QU/UTN ‘UT UKRAINE’] ex N788BC, reg’d 14.06.21, lsd fr Azex Leasing UR-AZO 757-300 32242 Ltd Bees Airline [7B/UBE] ex VP-BQR, dd 02.06.21, lsd fr Aviation Capital UR-UBC 737-800 29654 Group ex VP-CGS, dd 18.06.21, lsd fr Aviation Capital UR-UBD 737-800 29658 Group SkyUp Airlines [PQ/SQP ‘SKYUP’] ER-00004 A320ceo 3524 ex XA-VOV, dd 14.06.21, lsd fr/op by FlyOne UR-SQL 737-900ER 36539 ex 2-JBZI, reg’d 17.06.21, lsd fr GECAS Alliance Airlines [QQ/UTY ‘ALLI’] ex N916QQ, reg’d 04.06.21, updates last VH-UYC E190 months section VH-UYK E190 ex N989QQ, dd 29.06.21 Hevilift Australia [-/-] ex EI-SLB, reg’d 08.06.21, lsd fr Airwork Flight VH-TOQ ATR 42-300(F) 79 Operations ex EI-SLE, reg’d 08.06.21, lsd fr Airwork Flight VH-TOX ATR 42-300(F) 24 Operations Jetstar Airways [JQ/JST ‘JETSTAR’] ex JA23JJ, reg’d 17.06.21, lsd fr MC Aviation VH-YXT A320ceo 5940 Partners Kestrel Aviation [-/-] VH-LAI S-76 760103 reg’n canx 23.06.21, exported to South Korea VH-LHZ S-76 760113 as VH-LAI Network Aviation (QantasLink) [-/NWK ‘NETLINK’] ex VH-XJE, reg’d 01.06.21, lsd fr Qantas VH-UVQ A320ceo 2423 Airways Sharp Airlines [SH/SHA ‘SHARP’] ex VH-HCB, reg’d 30.04.21, lsd fr Eastwest VH-ANA SA227 DC-871B Aviation ex N3031Q, reg’d 30.04.21, lsd fr Eastwest VH-ANW SA227 DC-873B Aviation ex N455LA, reg’d 30.04.21, lsd fr Eastwest VH-ANY SA227 DC-840B Aviation Southern Airlines [-/-] ex N444GH, reg’d 07.06.21, lsd fr Schmidt VH-VSO Beech 1900C UC-39 Aviation

VH-YSO

Beech 1900C

UC-55

Bamboo Airways [QH/BAV ‘BAMBOO’] VN-A261 E190 VN-A269 E190 Vietjet Air [VJ/VJC ‘VIETJET AIR’] VN-A533 A321neo 9515 Longtail Aviation [-/LGT ‘LONGTAIL’] VQ-BWM 747-400 28460 IndiGo [6E/IGO ‘IFLY’] VT-ISU A320neo 10503 VT-IXS ATR 72-600 1566 VT-IXW ATR 72-600 1573 VT-IYS ATR 72-600 1542 Vistara [UK/VTI ‘VISTARA’] VT-TQF A320neo 10464 Aeroméxico [AM/AMX ‘AEROMEXICO’] XA-IMH 737 MAX 9 43711 XA-OCC 737-800 39002 XA-OOO

737-800

31713

ex 5Y-BVI, reg’d 07.06.21, lsd fr Vortex Air Charter ex M-ABNX, dd 29.06.21, lsd fr CDB Aviation ex M-ABNW, add to previous sections ex D-AYAF, dd 14.05.21 ex PH-BFV, dd 16.06.21 ex F-WWDK, dd 17.05.21 ex F-WKVC, dd 24.06.21 ex F-WKVF, dd 01.07.21 ex F-WKVB, dd 29.06.21 ex F-WWDS, dd 26.05.21 ex N1786B, dd 28.05.21 ex SE-RRD, dd 22.06.21, lsd fr FPG Group ex G-TUKC, dd 25.06.21, lsd fr Babcock & Brown

We welcome any feedback on this listing.

(The listing is alphabetical with reference to the registration of the country of origin. Columns indicate the registration, type, construction number and notes.)

TUM AeroCarga [T2/MCS ‘CARMEX’] ex 9H-BRE, dd 01.06.21, lsd fr Avmax Aircraft Lease Viva Aerobus (Aeroenlaces Nacionales) [VB/VIV] ex N901JT, dd 30.06.21, lsd fr Aviation Capital XA-VBN A321ceo 5582 Group XA-VBQ A321ceo 6201 ex N425AC, dd 09.06.21, lsd fr Aircastle airBaltic [BT/BTI ‘AIRBALTIC’] ex C-FOWQ, dd 25.06.21, lsd fr Aviation Capital YL-ABA A220-300 55121 Group SmartLynx Airlines [6Y/ART ‘SMARTLYNX’] YL-LCX A321ceo 3191 to be cnvrtd to A321-211(F), std RIX YL-LCZ A321ceo 2912 to be cnrtd to A321-211(F), std TLL YL-LDA A321ceo 2903 to be cnvrtd to A321-211(F), std RIX YL-LDB A321ceo 2342 to be cnvrtd to A321-211(F), std VNO Airlink [4K/LNK ‘LINK’] ex EI-GHJ, dd 24.06.21, lsd fr Nordic Aviation ZSE190 Capital Air Montenegro [-/AMN ‘MONTENEGRO’] 4O-AOA E190 dd 27.05.21 Tus Airways [U8/CYF ‘TUS AIR’] 5B-DDL A320ceo 2665 ex 9H-AEN, dd 25.06.21, lsd fr AerCap Air Peace [P4/APK ‘PEACE BIRD’] 5N-BYH E195-E2 ex PR-EFG, dd 16.06.21; Uche Onyema Ibom Air [QI/IAN ‘IBOM’] SU-GFA A220-300 55061 ex C-FOVP, dd 11.06.21, lsd fr/op by Egyptair SU-GFD A220-300 55062 ex C-FOVX, dd 05.06.21, lsd fr/op by Egyptair Felix Airways [-/FXX ‘FELIX’] ex N7377D, dd 06.06.21, lsd fr/op by Air SX-MAM 737-400 28097 Mediterrean ETF Airways [LI/EZZ ‘ENTERPRIZE’] ex OE-ISA, dd 18.06.21, lsd fr AerCap; 9A-ABC 737-800 30667 Enterprise Air X Charter [-/AXY ‘LEGEND’] 9H-FFC A340-600 431 ferried CHR-HHN 28.06.21 Airhub Airlines [-/GJM ‘AIRHUB’] 9H-BOB A340-300 668 ex F-WTBJ ferried AMM-SQQ 16.06.21 for work Avion Express Malta [MLH ‘SOUTH WIND’] ex LY-VEG, dd 11.06.21, lsd fr World Star 9H-AMG A321ceo 2115 Aviation Corendon Airlines Europe [XR/CXI ‘TOURISTIC’] 9H-TJE 737-800 35106 ex EI-GSN, dd 27.06.21, lsd fr Aircastle Maleth-Aero [-/MLT ‘MALETH’] ex N478DM, dd 02.06.21, lsd fr/op for AELF 9H-JFS A330-200 466 FlightService SmartLynx Airlines [-/LYX ‘MALTA CAT’] 9H-CGA A321P2F 891 ex N322WS, dd 04.06.21, lsd fr Vallair Solutions 9H-SLF A320ceo 3361 ex OE-IOD, dd 15.06.21, lsd fr AerCap 9H-SMA A330-300E 908 ex TC-OCS, dd 09.06.21, lsd fr CDB Aviation 9H-SMD A330-300E 1382 ex EC-NBP, dd 03.06.21, lsd fr CDB Aviation 9H-SME A330-300E 954 ex OE-INC, dd 20.06.21, lsd fr CDB Aviation Scoot [TR/TGW ‘SCOOTER’] ex D-AVZV, dd 14.05.21, lsd fr BOC Aviation; 9V-NCA A321neo 10229 Wings of Change ex D-AVXS, dd 20.05.21, lsd fr BOC Aviation; 9V-NCB A321neo 10345 Just Wing It XA-MCP

737-300(QC)

24255

Scoot accepted its first Airbus A321neos in May. The Singaporean carrier is set to receive a total of 16 examples through deals arranged direct with the manufacturer and through lessors AIRBUS

www.key.aero

87

SkySelect signs agreements The latest news from maintenance, repair and overhaul providers

Aircraft parts company, SkySelect, has revealed deals with TAP Air Portugal and Magnetic MRO, covering the supply of aircraft components.

SkySelect acts as a purchasing arm for airlines and MROs (maintenance and repair organisations) to drive efficiencies into their processes. For example, the commitment with the Portuguese flag carrier is intended to deliver a streamlined approach to its parts purchasing.

The company will also continue to assist Magnetic MRO to achieve cost savings through an extension of an

existing agreement. Erkki Brakmann, SkySelect CEO, said the glut of spares in market provides opportunities, but good deals are often missed by carriers and MROs because the search for them is labour intensive – requiring specialist knowledge and data management.

Brakmann said: “Because of the demand shock, there is an abundance of aftermarket parts available, which provides an opportunity for significant material cost savings. SkySelect is helping airlines and MROs capture that opportunity.”

Magnetic MRO’s head of supply chain, Kaarle Karp, said the maintenance organisation had partnered with SkySelect because of its ability to provide technical innovation and customer support. “[Being] in the 21st century, we are used to having access to information in real-time. But for aircraft material, it’s not the case – we are still buying parts like we did 30 years ago.

SkySelect can process thousands of part requirements 24/7 to deliver meaningful savings,” Karp added.

(Photo Airbus)

Flight hour services deals inked Airbus has signed flight hour services (FHS) contracts with Cathay Pacific and its wholly owned subsidiary, HK Express (pictured), to support their inventory of A320 Family jets.

The maintenance-by-the-hour, multi-year deals cover integrated component services, such as pool access, on-site stock, and repair.

Mandy Ng, CEO of HK Express, commented: “We believe this agreement with Airbus, to provide component management services on our A320 fleet, will help ensure we achieve our operational and reliability targets, allowing us to provide best-in-class service to customers.”

Bruno Bousquet, head of Airbus customer services Asia-Pacific, added: “Airbus’ FHS will support the operational ramp-up at Cathay Pacific and HK Express. These new contracts

will enable us to work even closer with both carriers to offer them the best services to cope with the new market reality.”

The latest move for the A320 Family fleet extends the “service relationship” with Cathay Pacific – which has already focused on the support of its A350 fleet since 2016 – while HK Express has become a new FHS customer.

In other Airbus news, the European airframer and Delta TechOps disclosed that the aviation Digital Alliance partnership, initiated in 2019, is expanding to include GE Digital.

The alliance combines the expertise of partners in aircraft systems knowledge, airline and maintenance operations, digital analytics, and operational data, to develop solutions using the Airbus Skywise Core data platform. For example, real solutions can be developed for commercial operators, including curbing operational disruptions and unplanned maintenance.

According to Airbus, the inclusion of GE Digital into the partnership enables the company to provide its “extensive aerospace systems engineering expertise”.

(Photo Airbus)

Istanbul hangar authorisation Turkish Technic has been given base maintenance authorisation for its C/D hangars at Istanbul/International.

The hangars, which are among the

88

AIRLINER WORLD SEPTEMBER 2021

biggest in the world at 645,834sq ft, have capacity for a trio of widebodies and 11 narrowbodies simultaneously.

The C/D facilities opened in October

2020 and are equipped with the latest technology as all elements are managed by smart automation.

Following approval, an A321neo, TC-LSG (c/n 8794) Yozgat (pictured) from Turkish Airlines received the first certificate of release to service (CRS).

Mikail Akbulut, CEO of Turkish Technic, commented: “When all phases of our facilities at Istanbul [International] are complete, we will have 11 hangars and will be able to maintain and repair 26 single-aisle and 19 widebody aircraft simultaneously.”

(Photo Turkish Technic)

Base maintenance approvals expanded Czech Airlines Technics (CSAT) has introduced base maintenance services for Airbus A320neo Family operators at its Prague/Václav Havel Airport facility after gaining approval from the Civil Aviation Authority of the Czech Republic (CAA CZ) in mid-June.

Sweden’s Novair became the first customer to send its pair of 221-seat,

CFM International LEAP-1A-equipped A321neos, SE-RKA (c/n 7746) and SE-RKB (c/n 7807) (the latter pictured).

The A320neo Family clearance follows similar Q1 2021-authorisation

by CAA CZ for base maintenance work on the rival Boeing 737 MAX. Pavel Hales, chairman of the Czech Airlines Technics board of

directors, said: “This year we have managed to expand the portfolio of base maintenance services with two models of the latest generation narrowbodies manufactured by Boeing and Airbus. All operators of these aircraft can now use our complex services. In addition, we can also combine these types of regular checks with [airframe] storage in Prague, which is still of great interest.”

Despite the impact of COVID-19, CSAT successfully completed more than 70 base maintenance checks in the last 12 months. These comprise existing customers including Finnair, Neos, Smartwings and Transavia, as well as new ones such as Austrian Airlines and Jet2.com. (Photo CSAT)

The latest news from maintenance, repair and overhaul providers

StandardAero officially completes acquisition Scottsdale, Arizona-based StandardAero has completed the acquisition of Signature Aviation’s Engine Repair and Overhaul (ERO) business after the former gained “all required regulatory approvals.”

ERO is an original equipment manufacturer (OEM)-aligned engine MRO services provider. With approximately 1,100 staff, ERO has customers including regional carriers, government agencies and corporate flight departments. Consequently, the “newly combined company” now fields nearly 6,600 employees across 55 locations on six continents.

Russell Ford, chairman and CEO of StandardAero, said: “[As we] welcome ERO and its experienced employees to StandardAero, [it will] bring together all of the best practices of two successful, well-known and

highly respected aerospace [firms] to provide a multitude of benefits for our customers. Acquiring ERO enhances our ability to be one of the most efficient and client-focused aerospace MRO companies in the world, providing superior quality products and responsive service."

In other StandardAero news, the firm announced it had been selected by Embraer to provide MRO services for Pratt & Whitney Canada APS 2300 auxiliary power units (APUs) enrolled under the Brazilian airframer’s spares pool programme. The new multi-year contract extends StandardAero’s support of Embraer – a long-term APS 2300 support agreement was initially signed between both parties in 2010.

The 2300 APU is installed on Embraer’s first-generation E170, E175, E190 (pictured) and E195 regional jets.

Under the new deal, support for line replaceable units (LRUs) will also be performed at StandardAero’s facility in Maryville, Tennessee.

Johann Christian Jean Charles Bordais, president and CEO, Embraer Services and Support, said: “Both companies have been partners for many years under different platforms.

This renewal illustrates StandardAero’s understanding of Embraer’s business model, and it will provide Embraer with cost reduction in our APS 2300 Pool Programme. Embraer looks forward [to] continuing this relationship.”

(Photo Embraer)

GE90 support contract Air France Industries KLM Engineering & Maintenance (AFI KLM E&M) has entered into a long-term agreement with China Airlines for the support of the General Electric GE90 engines that power its entire contingent of Boeing 777F freighters.

Under the power-by-the-hour agreement, AFI KLM E&M will provide MRO services for engine and line replaceable units (LRUs), engineering support and spares, transportation and on-wing and on-site assistance.

The Taipei/Taoyuan-based firm will also benefit from AFI KLM E&M’s engine predictive maintenance solution called Prognos, helping to increase operational reliability.

Wang Houng, senior vice president of the China Airlines Engineering

& Maintenance Organisation, said: “AFI KLM E&M's ability to provide us with a dedicated and customised support programme and adhesion to our bidding process gave us confidence. We worked closely and transparently with them to get a better understanding of each party's expectations. We are confident that this understanding, combined with AFI KLM E&M's expertise and skills in GE90 maintenance, will contribute positively to the effectiveness of the support we will be offered.”

In further news, AFI KLM E&M have confirmed the appointment of Tommaso Auriemma as vice president of sales Asia Pacific. His new tenure begins from August 1 of this year. Auriemma is currently CEO

of Aerotechnic Industries (ATI), a joint venture between AFI KLM E&M and Royal Air Maroc.

(Photo AFI KLM E&M) www.key.aero

89

Restored VFW Fokker 614 unveiled Preserving Commercial Aviation’s Past

The 15th VFW-Fokker VFW 614 has been repainted and placed on display next to a Nord Noratlas, an Aero Spacelines Super Guppy, a Transall C-160 and a HFB 320 Hansa Jet DIRK GROTHE

Airbus apprentices, assisted by Freundeskreis VFW614, at Hamburg’s Finkenwerder site have completed the restoration of a VFW Fokker 614. The 1977-built former Air Alsace example, D-ASAX (c/n G.15), has been repainted in a blue-and-white demonstrator livery and repositioned close to several other preserved airframes at the German A320 Family production facility.

The airliner made its first flight as D-BABO on June 26, 1977, later being reregistered D-BABN, and was delivered to French regional airline Air Alsace as F-GATI that September.

The jet – the 15th of 19 built – was deployed on services on behalf of Air France but spent less than 18 months in commercial service. On February 29, 1980 it was withdrawn from use and stored at Lemwerder, near Bremen, where VFW manufactured

the Transall C-160 as well as the ‘614.

After more than 16 years in storage, it was returned to the air by Deutsche Aerospace (DASA) in 1997, for use as a fly-by-wire trials aircraft. Reregistered D-ASAX, the airliner received a new avionics fit as well as the digital flight control system and was earmarked for use as a test vehicle for the Airbus A380 programme. The jet was stored at Bremen Airport, having been deemed surplus to requirements, and was later displayed on the visitor terrace at the facility. During this time, it was repainted in a red-and-white demonstrator livery.

The airliner was transported to Airbus’s Hamburg/Finkenwerder plant in 2018, and work to restore the regional jet reached a milestone when it entered the paint shop in June 2020. It reappeared three months

later, with its new livery, and was returned to the registration it wore while in service with DASA. In all, three airlines operated the VFW 614. The largest operator of the type was Touraine Air Transport, which flew eight examples, while Air Alsace flew three and Denmark’s Cimber Air received two. The West German Air Force also flew three of the 44-seat jets.

The last ‘614 to fly was operated by the Deutsches zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt (DLR, German Aerospace Centre). The jet, D-ADAM (c/n G.17), was used by the research institute as the Advanced Technologies Testing Aircraft System testbed and was retired in December 2012 when it was flown from Braunschweig to the Deutsches Museum Flugwerft Schleissheim at Oberschleissheim.

Nederlands Transport Museum on the move?

The Nederlands Transport Museum (NTM), based in Nieuw-Vennep, North Holland, has signalled its intention to move to a larger site closer to Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport. The new site – four miles southwest of Schiphol’s Runway 36C threshold – is understood to be the former depot of a dredging company.

Arno van der Holst, the NTM’s chairman of the board, has indicated a desire for the collection to move to the Rijnlanderweg site to Marja

A replica Fokker F.VII is on display at the Nieuw-Vennep attraction WIKIMEDIA COMMONS/ LIJN 45

90

AIRLINER WORLD SEPTEMBER 2021

Ruigrok, the Haarlemmermeer alderman for economy and innovation, traffic and transport and culture.

The museum would initially occupy existing buildings before constructing purpose-built facilities.

First opened in April 2018, the attraction has been housed in the former Fokker Services building in the centre of Nieuw-Vennep – a site which has since been earmarked for housing.

The museum has around ten aircraft including a 1934-built former Royal

Australian Air Force and Eastern Air Lines Douglas DC-2, NC13738 (c/n 1288), which now wears KNILM Royal Netherlands Indian Airways colours, a Noorduyn Norseman and an Auster Mk.III. The collection also houses a Fokker Noorduyn NA-27 Harvard IIb, a Cessna T-50 Bobcat, a Consolidated PB2B Catalina and an ex-Belgian Air Force Fouga Magister wearing the colours of the Diables Rouges/De Rode Duivels (Red Devils) display team.

Arguably the most unusual aeroplane on display is a Menasco C4S-powered Stearman-Hammond Y-1 – an example of the twin boom, single-engined pusher-propeller type used by KLM to convert pilots from conventional to tricycle undercarriage aircraft.

The museum has also acquired the third prototype Fokker 28, PH-MOL (c/n 11003), and is now working to raise €250,000 to dismantle the aircraft and transport it from Bamako, Mali – where it is presently stored – to the Netherlands.

The 1967-built 65-seater is the oldest surviving Fokker-built jet airliner.

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91

Letters to the editor Information for the traveller.

MICHEL GILLIAND/ WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Dear Editor, It was interesting to read the article about John Travolta's Boeing 707 and the plan to get it airworthy and fly it back to Australia.

In the article it said that it only visited the UK once: in 2009, when it landed at Gatwick. It actually visited Luton before then, in 2003.

Prior to retirement, I was an ATCO at Luton and remember it well. I can't remember where it came in from, Dear Editor, I am a great fan of Germany's national airline Lufthansa and I like to read about the latest aircraft they take into their fleet.

The one thing that saddened me recently was hearing the news that they are disposing of one of their old Boeing 707, D-ABOD. Rather than parting it out, would it not have been better to have preserved it in an aircraft museum?

The significance of ‘Oscar Delta’ is that she was the first 707 purchased by Lufthansa, and the other significant fact it was the first Boeing 707 to be fitted with Rolls-Royce Conway engines.

I know you are going to ask why am I so worked up about an old aircraft. Well, because it is part of Lufthansa's history and I believe it is worth preserving and not scrapped.

I know that the airline is free to do with it as they please, but how nice would Oscar Delta look repainted in period colours?

I can only hope that Lufthansa has enough colour photographs of D-ABOD in their archives.

Kevin Simpson-Woodall Ed: We share your disappointment, Kevin! While nothing can bring ‘OD back, be sure to keep an eye out for a special Lufthansa 707 feature in the October issue of Airliner World, which will hopefully do the old lady justice.

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AIRLINER WORLD SEPTEMBER 2021

but it arrived on June 27, 2003 for a night stop and departed in the early evening of the following day to Keflavík, when I was on duty. I recall it was a hot day and, when it departed, there was a crosswind and it used most of the 2,160m to get airborne!

Having been used to Monarch's Boeing 720s flying from Luton, one thing that was interesting was that they always started on stand using a ground power unit (GPU). When

N707JT called for start, he pushed back and started on the taxiway centreline, which was when we realised the aircraft was fitted with an auxiliary power unit (APU).

I don't know if many were fitted with these, but it was certainly the only one that I ever came across.

Well done for producing an excellent magazine, especially during these difficult times.

Mike Harper

Dear Editor, I am always pleased when the latest copy of Airliner World drops through the letterbox, and eagerly anticipate a few hours of enjoyable and informative aviation news. However, it dawned on me that I must be getting rather old as even with my super expensive varifocal lens glasses I was unable to read the graph details contained in the article on ‘post pandemic production’ as the font was so teeny tiny. A plea on behalf of the older reader (of which I suspect there

is a large number) that perhaps a lager font style would help. Keep up the good work – now I’m off to search for my magnifying glass!

Duncan Morley, Crawley Ed: Thanks for getting in touch, Duncan. We work hard to ensure that all of our graphs and databoxes are legible while conforming with spatial constraints. That said, I agree that the text was a little too small on this occasion. Apologies for any inconvenience caused.

Dear Editor, On page 36 of the excellent and interesting June issue, in a reference to Delta Airlines’ Tristars, you state that Delta was the only airline to fly five variants of the L-1011.

In fact, British Airways operated five variants, as my logbook confirms: -1, -50, -100, -200 and -500 (the three

-50s were modded up from some of the original -1s, as were the four -100s). Admittedly the -100s were operated under BA’s charter fleet, wearing the blue and gold Caledonian livery, following the demise of British Caledonian proper, but they were still owned by BA. John Fry (retired flight engineer)

Dear Editor, Relating to a recent question about using ICAO codes in the magazine, I believe it is a very good idea.

I play many flight simulators and knowing the correct ‘four-digit’ codes would significantly decrease the time I have to spend finding airports to fly to or from. I think it

is on the same level of importance as mentioning an airport’s specific name after its location.

It would make life much easier for me and many other flight sim players and shouldn’t cause too much clutter for other readers.

James Callaghan, London

Canadian coincidence

Dear Editor, I am a volunteer at the London Bus Museum located within the Brooklands Motor Transport Museum.

After yesterdays' duties driving the public around the local area in a Green Line Routemaster, my conductor showed me the June edition of Airliner

World. The map of the Vancouver area on page 55 brought memories flooding back of a fabulous trip on May 10, 2000, when, after visiting Sproat Lake on Vancouver Island to see the Martin Mars fire bombers, we flew back from Nanaimo to Vancouver Harbour in Harbour Air's Turbo Otter

Information for the traveller.

C-GUTW. I have attached some of my images from the trip.

On page 75 there’s a view which is very familiar to me of the airliner park at Brooklands situated adjacent to LBM. This is a good place to have lunch, especially if the weather is clement. On page 80 there’s an interesting letter regarding ‘flights to nowhere’ – the only airliner flight of this type in which I have participated was the last operation of the BAC One-Eleven in March 2002. The aircraft involved was G-AZMF which took us over Brownsea Island and back to Hurn, birthplace of the type.

Then at the bottom of the page was a slightly heart-stopping moment for me when I read the writer's name!

Graham Burnell

Shows & events

Dear Editor, A pedant writes! In Chris Sloan’s feature about Avelo Airlines, he reports that the start-up’s name “roughly translates as ’swift’ in Latin

Dear Editor, Reading the article in the July issue regarding the war in Lebanon, I was interested in the mention of a Boeing 720 called ’The Blue Nile’.

This reminded me of a Vickers Viscount with the same name that is parked up at Gatwick. It was parked and serviced by Transair in the early 1960s and was, I believe, an executive airframe registered

and sounds similar to ’bird’ in Spanish.”

In French, on the other hand, avelo (à vélo) translates roughly as ’by bike’!

Richard Hamilton, Banbury

in Jordan. It was always kept locked and was only serviced by a dedicated crew. My father was the hanger foreman in those days, so I got to walk round it, but never inside.

I would be interested if anyone has any details about this aircraft.

Great articles this month, especially the cover feature, Cosmic Carrier.

David Callcott, Crawley

Enthusiast shows and events worldwide may be listed here for free. Organisers are invited to send any correspondence to the editorial department via email: airlinerworld@keypublishing.com September 12 Gatwick Aviation Enthusiasts' Fair K2 Centre, Pease Pottage Hill, Crawley RH11 9BQ facebook.com/gatwickaviationfair October 10-12 World Routes 2021 Fiera Milano, Milan, Italy www.routesonline.com October 12-14 Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) Las Vegas, Nevada, USA www.nbaa.org October 17 Midland Air Museum (Coventry) Aviation Fair Midland Air Museum, Coventry Airport, Baginton, Warwickshire CV3 4FR www.aircraftenthusiastfair.co.uk October 19-21 MRO Europe RAI Amsterdam, The Netherlands https://mroeurope.aviationweek.com November 14 Heathrow Aircraft Enthusiasts’ Fair Kempton Park Racecourse, Sunbury-on-Thames TW16 5AQ www.aircraftenthusiastfair.co.uk November 14-18 Dubai Airshow Dubai World Centre, Dubai, UAE www.dubaiairshow.aero Events are subject to late change without Airliner World’s knowledge. Please check details prior to travel and adhere to any local COVID-19 regulations.

www.key.aero

93

UK courses offered to develop skills The latest training aids available for the aviation professional

Following the devastating impact of COVID-19 on the aviation industry, which has led to thousands out of work, short new training courses are being offered to unemployed aviation professionals in the UK. These are aimed at helping individuals develop valuable skills to get them re-employed in the industry.

In February, the UK Department for Transport (DfT) launched the Aviation Skills Retention Platform (ASRP),

which is designed to showcase an individual’s experience while developing their expertise. It also aids redeployment and recruitment for businesses in the sector. Under this ASRP platform, CAA International (CAAi) – the technical co-operation and training arm of the UK Civil Aviation Authority (UK CAA) – was appointed training provider in June.

The CAAi offers 16 virtual and e-learning course titles. These include

safety risk management, air law, just culture and industry recovery, plus aviation regulation, oversight and compliance. The courses are eligible for enrolment to those currently unemployed who worked in the UK aviation sector pre-pandemic.

Sophie Jones, head of operations and training at CAAi, commented: “COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on UK aviation, [which] has led to many colleagues from across the sector [being] out of work. As a social enterprise, it was important for us to help as many people as possible get back into work. By offering our courses via ASRP, we hope to help aviation professionals develop valuable skills to support their efforts for redeployment and recruitment.”

If interested in applying, visit: www.trs-system.co.uk/aviation. Plus, don’t miss a special flight training guide in the next Airliner World.

(Photo Flickr Commons/Mike McBey)

Boeing 767 simulator deal signed CAE and Mexico City-based freight carrier MasAir Cargo have inked an exclusive five-year aircraft pilot training agreement and a full-flight Boeing 767 simulator is set to be deployed to CAE’s Mexico training centre in Toluca – approximately 30 miles southwest of Mexico City – while instructors and other equipment for the type will be provided for MasAir Cargo’s flight deck crews. The firm’s pilot training at CAE

Mexico was due to have commenced in July as Airliner World went to press.

According to Patrick McCarthy, strategic planning director of MasAir Cargo, the move will help “keep an accelerated growth, while maintaining our continuous commitment to achieving the highest standards of safety in the industry”. This comes after the company experienced “significant demand” for both its

scheduled and ACMI (aircraft crew maintenance and insurance) services.

Nick Leontidis, CAE’s group president for civil aviation training solutions, added: “The pandemic has fuelled growth in the cargo airline business [recently]... Our instructors will be delivering world-class training experience and we are looking forward to welcoming MasAir’s pilots to our Mexico training centre.”

At the time of writing, MasAir Cargo fields a trio of 767 freighters. These comprise a single -200BDSF, N773AX (c/n 22788) – an early build example initially handed over to All Nippon Airways (ANA) in 1983 – along with a -300ER(BDSF) and -300F(ER), N363CM (c/n 24853) and N420LA (c/n 34627; pictured) respectively.

(Photo Flickr Commons/Aero Icarus)

airBaltic Training fleet boost In mid-July, airBaltic Training enhanced its inventory of Diamond Aircraft after receiving its ninth example (pictured) for the airBaltic Pilot Academy. Furthermore, the manufacturer is scheduled to hand over an additional DA40 NG to airBaltic Training “later in 2021.”

Pauls Cālītis, airBaltic’s chief operations officer, said: “The delivery [helps] demonstrate the ongoing commitment by [airBaltic] Pilot Academy to invest in the best training aircraft in the industry. Despite the challenges, our Pilot Academy is continuing its development and has already gained [a] significant track record. Going forward, we are sure

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AIRLINER WORLD SEPTEMBER 2021

that demand for pilots will return, and thus we are continuing to welcome new students to our programme.”

Since its establishment in 2010, the subsidiary of flag carrier airBaltic has provided training to approximately 3,000 professionals each year, made

up of pilots, cabin crew and ground staff. Its Pilot Academy currently offers an Ab-Initio pilot training programme for students to gain their European Aviation Transport Pilot Licence (‘Frozen’ EASA ATPL) within 18 months. (Photo airBaltic Training)

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Late braking led to 747 runway excursion Boeing 747-400F overran the runway while landing at Halifax/Stanfield International in November 2018 due to late braking, a recent report by the Canadian Transportation Safety Board has found.

N908AR (c/n 28026) came to a stop 885ft past the end, after striking the approach lights and localiser antenna array. The number two engine detached from its pylon during the impact sequence and came to rest under the left horizontal stabiliser, causing a fire in the tail section. All three crew members received minor injuries, a passenger was unhurt.

The aircraft was conducting flight 4854 from Chicago/O’Hare to Halifax/Stanfield, which formed part of a larger multi-leg route connecting the US city with an end destination of Changsha/Huanghua, China.

After a 14.5-hour delay due to weather and paperwork issues, the flight departed Chicago at 0302hrs.

The captain was pilot flying (PF) while the first officer (FO) was pilot monitoring (PM). The third crew member – an international relief officer – was seated behind the PM. While in cruise, the crew obtained the automatic terminal information service (ATIS) via the aircraft communications, addressing and reporting system (ACARS) and determined that Runway 23 – the longer and more suitable strip – was unavailable. Runway 14 was in use for landings while Runway 23 was for departures. The unserviceability of the instrument landing system (ILS) on Runway 23 and the displacement of the threshold made the pilots think it was unavailable for landing.

Shortly before the incident flight’s arrival, three aircraft landed at the

A

DATE June 16 June 23 June 25 July 2 July 5 July 6

97

REG'N 9S-GRJ M-ISTY PH-FST N810TA N790JR RA-26085

C/N 872006 2085 208B0823 21116 424 12310

airport including a Boeing 757, which touched down on Runway 23. The 747 crew was not on the same radio frequency as the other aircraft, so did not hear transmissions regarding arrivals, and remained unaware that Runway 23 was available.

As the jumbo descended through 13,000ft, ATC changed the landing runway to 23 due to a change in wind direction. This was not communicated to the crew, but the ATIS was updated.

On initial contact with the tower controller, the crew was informed of the winds but remained unaware that Runway 23 was available. When passing around 9nm from Runway 14, ATC informed the crew the winds were 260° at 16kts, gusting 21kts, resulting in a 7kt tailwind component.

The aircraft touched down firmly 1,350ft past the threshold. At this point, the groundspeed was 179kts.

The aircraft landed on the centreline with a right crab angle of 4.5°. The firm landing and subsequent deviation from the middle of the runway surprised the PM whose attention was directed outside the aircraft. The crew did not experience deceleration associated with autobrake 4 selection.

The auto speed brake moved to the UP position and the spoiler panels began to deploy to 30% but the No 1 thrust lever advanced above idle – for an undetermined reason – causing the speed brakes to retract and the autobrake system to disengage.

About six seconds and 1,700ft after touchdown, the No 1 thrust lever reduced to just above flight idle, so the speed brakes could fully deploy.

The PF realised that the aircraft was not decelerating as expected and began manual braking. At 800ft from

TYPE Aircraft Industries (Let) L-410 Gulfstream G280 Cessna 208B Supervan 900 Boeing 737-200 IAI 1124A Westwind II Antonov An-26B-100

AIRLINER WORLD SEPTEMBER 2021

OPERATOR Kin Avia INEOS Aviation Skydive Teuge Transair Cargo Transenergie Inc Kamchatka Aviation Enterprise

FATALITIES 3 0 0 0 2 28

the runway end, the jet was travelling at 100kts. When the jumbo left the runway, it had decelerated to 77kts. At this point, it was not possible for the aircraft to stop and, five seconds later, it departed the end of the runway.

Investigators concluded that many minor factors contributed to the crash – among them the “ineffective presentation style and sequence of the NOTAMs [notices to airmen]”.

They also found that when planning the approach, the crew calculated a faster speed of VREF + 10kts instead of the recommended VREF + 5kts, because they misinterpreted that a wind additive was required for the existing conditions.

For the approach, the crew also selected a flap setting of flaps 25, believing they had a sufficient safety margin. This setting increased the landing distance required by 494 feet.

The higher approach speed, the presence of a tailwind component, and the slight deviation above the glideslope increased the landing distance required to one greater than the runway length available.

After the firm touchdown, for undetermined reasons, the engine No 1 thrust lever was moved forward of the idle position, causing the speed brakes to retract and the autobrake system to disengage.

The PF focused on controlling the lateral deviation and, without the benefit of the landing rollout callouts, did not recognise that the deceleration devices were not fully deployed, and that the autobrake was disengaged.

It was also concluded that the crew was experiencing sleep-related fatigue that degraded their performance and cognitive functioning.

LOCATION Democratic Republic of the Congo Switzerland The Netherlands United States Bahamas Russia

NOTES Crashed during initial climb Hard landing Forced landing Ditched at sea Crashed during initial climb Crashed into cliff on approach

Reports and details of recent incidents

BELOW: The Sky Lease Cargo Boeing 747-400F came to a stop 885ft past the end of the runway TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD OF CANADA

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From Fort Wor Chris Sloan speaks with Brian Znotins, vice president of network and schedule planning at American Airlines, to learn more about how the world’s biggest carrier is navigating the aviation world’s biggest crisis

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irline network planners play a fascinating game of chess, with a strong reliance on data to determine the next moves, often many months in advance.

But what happens when, during the minute-by-minute shifting chaos of a global pandemic, each chess piece is struck from the board before you can even contemplate a next move?

Almost overnight, this data-driven blend of art and science was replaced by unadulterated gut and grit. This is the story of a high stakes queen’s gambit: 18 months in the life of the

A

th to 40,000ft RIGHT • Brian Znotins has held a variety of senior planning roles across multiple US carriers AMERICAN AIRLINES

BELOW • A Boeing 777-200ER, N754AN (c/n 30262), on approach to New York/JFK on June 17 AIRTEAMIMAGES.COM/ VINCENZO PACE

head of network planning at the world’s largest operator.

Airliner World sat down in late June with Brian Znotins, the vice president of network and schedule planning at American Airlines (AA), at the carrier’s headquarters in Fort Worth, Texas. Znotins, often known by his peers as simply ‘Zed’, is regarded in industry circles as one of the top network planners in the business. After stints at

WestJet, United, and Continental, he joined American Airlines in January 2020, just a month before COVID-19 brought the world and airline industry to its knees. While Znotins had been on the frontline managing route planning, global network, and hub strategy through the various crises of the 2000s from 9/11 to SARS to the 2008-09 global recession, nothing could prepare him for a scenario where “100% of your historical data becomes useless.”

While it might not feel like it in your particular corner of the world, the post-COVID recovery is underway.

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ABOVE • American Airlines operated its first revenue flight with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner on May 7, 2015 AIRTEAMIMAGES.COM/ PHILIPPE NORET

It is wildly bumpy and favours US carriers, as well as other nations with a large domestic leisure market and/ or comprehensive vaccination rates.

Conversely, carriers in countries with slower vaccination rollouts, continued high infection rates, and little or no domestic markets continue to be severely disrupted.

American Airlines, along with other US firms, has seen strong pent-up demand for certain services, with domestic leisure traffic approaching or even exceeding pre-crisis levels.

Though business and long-haul are still way off – most estimates have these at 75% down on 2019 – the nation’s operators are emerging as different and arguably more resilient businesses. Before we examine AA’s future plans, it’s vital to reflect on the storm it has just flown through.

Rapid descent As the pandemic took hold just a month into his new job, Znotins had to reset to a baseline of zero. “We had to redesign our entire schedule build process, right from the beginning.

We've historically been dependent on travel data over the last year – 90% of our schedule decisions are based on prior behaviour.”

However, with COVID turning everything on its head, Znotins and his team could no longer rely on the usual methodology. He remembers vividly when the team switched from looking at historical data from load RIGHT • Planning chiefs need to consider the availability of ground personnel as well as in-flight roles AMERICAN AIRLINES

factors and revenue per available seat mile (RASM), to hand-to-mouth, day-to-day incoming bookings: “We got down to single-digit load factors in the domestic network. I remember the day when we flipped from 9% to 10% on domestic load factor in our system – that was like the beginning of the end of the crisis, when we were feeling like we're coming out of this.”

Znotins and his team were in schedule triage mode to keep as much connectivity intact throughout the network, rather than amputate dots on the map and city-pairs.

The AA executive believes this surgical banking strategy at its two largest and most profitable hubs – Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) and Charlotte (CLT) – which favoured a scalpel over an axe, led the industry.

“Through the crisis, we built far more O&D [origin and destination] pairs than any of our competitors.

Rather than shrink each of our nine connecting banks at DFW by 80% and then have city-pairs that wouldn’t connect up, we reduced our number of banks to four. The flights that were remaining all got re-timed into those banks. That way, we could make sure that at least we [could] connect, for example, Tulsa with Fort Myers, because if you are a medical professional or someone just had a death in the family, you really had to go. There wasn't a lot of travel, but the people who were flying really had to go and we wanted to carry them.”

Managing what little revenue was coming through the door was just as abrupt a pivot as moving from long-range planning to emergency triage. “We're always working on squeezing that last 1% out of RASM. If we had a 1% change in RASM, that was huge in the pre-pandemic world.

[At the height of the crisis] we were working in tenths of a percent. On the one hand, you’re trying to achieve other goals as well as keep the patient alive. But in our case, we were just trying to keep the patient alive at the peak of the crisis.”

In early Summer 2020, Znotins’s boss, Vasu Raja, American’s senior vice president of network strategy, led a bold decision for the company to “fly through the crisis”, with a radar-beam focus to add capacity to the limited outdoor leisure destinations people were generally flying to. “The few [customers] that were travelling were heading to the mountains in Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, as well as Florida. The Gulf Coast, from Texas to the Florida Panhandle, was the hottest place for summer last year.”

Yet even with relatively solid reservation numbers, demand petered out as the pandemic peaked again by the middle of 2020. “We thought the summer would be strong and then another wave of virus hit us and that suppressed bookings. We ended up being a little disappointed in our performance versus what was forecast. But, again, the silver lining was another learning that taught us that it's more important to be flexible than to spend a lot of time trying to get a forecast right,” reflected Znotins.

Never waste a crisis The pandemic has been a catalyst for accelerating business trends that were already in the making and using the catastrophe to build more resilient models. Previous shocks have resulted in mass layoffs and industry retrenchment. This time was different. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, supported US carriers in their payroll demands, enabling many airlines to be quick to seize the opportunity

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AIRLINER WORLD SEPTEMBER 2021

RIGHT • A Boeing 777 undergoes electrostatic spraying at the carrier's DFW hub, as a preventative COVID-19 measure ROSE BACA/ AMERICAN AIRLINES

BELOW • The airline has come a long way since April 15, 1926 when Charles Lindbergh flew its first flight – carrying mail from St Louis to Chicago AIRTEAMIMAGES.COM/ JOHN KILMER

to build back better. AA has been aggressive on this front, with fleet right-sizing, creating two high-profile alliances with domestic ‘frienemies’, unexpected network growth, and a ‘no sacred cows’ approach to grounding unprofitable flying.

Znotins compares the events of 2020 on the US airline industry to having a health scare: “It motivates you to start exercising and eating better. Ten years from then, you're a healthier person because of it. Our ‘health scare’ caused us to take a hard look at what we were invested in – less profitable areas such as the west coast and New York. We can't afford to make those kinds of investments in a world where cash is tight.

“Strategic flying is a euphemism for losing money in this business.

We had flights like Los Angeles to Beijing, which were losing money for us, but we would call it strategic and that would allow it to stick around.

But in a crisis like this, you need to take a hard look at it and say: ‘LA to Beijing. That's not working for us.

It's never worked for us. So what do we do differently in those markets [that] aren't traditional strengths for American and allow us to maintain a presence there, and relevance, while not having to invest [as much]?’”

This thinking helped facilitate the creation of an international west coast alliance in Seattle with Alaska Airlines and much ballyhooed northeast alliance with JetBlue in New York and Boston. For Znotins, the benefits of such partnerships were clear: “We partnered with Alaska so we can benefit them by having long-haul flying off the west coast [Seattle to Shanghai, London, and Bangalore].

They can go after corporate accounts in their markets, and for us, we don't have to invest [aircraft] in loss-making flying on the west coast.

We can take those and invest them elsewhere in the system, where we can make a return, but still not abandon the west coast because of our partnership with Alaska.

“The same is true in New York – American and JetBlue alone are number three and number four [respectively in NYC]. If we combine our forces, we can be number one and attract more corporates in the market, which allows us to have a stronger presence there,” said Znotins.

On the face of it, AA appears to have given up more than it has gained, regarding the number of slots and city-pairs, particularly at LaGuardia (LGA), and, to a lesser extent, JFK. That said, American does reap additional domestic feed to its expanding international JFK operation, which had previously been shrinking over recent years.

“We can use the widebodies to fly the long-haul stuff, which is what we're www.key.aero

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ABOVE • Recently, JetBlue and American have formed an alliance in the New York and Boston area AIRTEAMIMAGES.COM/ VINCENZO PACE

good at. We've got the differentiated product and JetBlue doesn't have any widebodies. They can't get to Tel Aviv on a non-stop basis, but with their code on our metal, they can. So, it is taking our [long-haul] strengths and, just like on the west coast, providing access to those strengths for the market.”

At JFK, the partners codeshare and compete on a number of overlapping routes, particularly on domestic transcontinental runs, but the strategy at LGA is a little different. “In a market like LaGuardia, we tied up [aircraft] flying routes that were losing money. JetBlue can fly more LaGuardia. We can code on their flight, still capture the business demand, but not have to invest in these loss-making routes in the system and use those [aircraft] somewhere else.”

Carrier competition BELOW • American's Robert W Baker Integrated Operations Center opened in Fort Worth on August 15, 2015 AMERICAN AIRLINES

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Some rival carriers, most notably ultra low-cost firm Spirit, have cried foul on the alliance, alleging that it is

AIRLINER WORLD SEPTEMBER 2021

anti-competitive, and should be scrutinised more like a merger or joint-venture (JV). American boasts it goes well beyond the typical alliance.

In fact, a domestic ‘super-alliance’ of this scale (much less two) hasn’t been seen in well over a decade before the wave of consolidation of the 2000s.

While Znotins stressed that the arrangement is not a JV, when asked why Raja said he doesn’t care which ‘metal’ passengers fly on, he revealed: “We do have a financial settlement that allows us to participate in JetBlue's success. They can participate in our success in the Boston and New York markets. By working with JetBlue, and they had aspirations to grow in LaGuardia, we can scratch their back and they'll scratch ours. Our goal is to continue to grow. There are hubs that make money and

there are hubs that lose money. If we can eliminate the losing money part, then we'll be more profitable and we'll be able to grow more.”

American’s big build up in Austin, Texas, is a good example of the airline redeploying freed-up aircraft from formerly unprofitable ‘strategic’ flying. Its now firmly on an offensive footing – locked in a three-way race in establishing a focus city in the booming state capital against Delta Air Lines and Southwest Airlines.

“In the first decade of the century, we saw our competitors try to take those opportunities where we were weak and we had played defensive. So we're trying to be more offensive emerging from this crisis and not give up ground. Austin, for a whole host of reasons, was growing before the pandemic and it's growing even more afterwards, with people relocating there. It is a market that is tougher to serve via our hubs, because we're facing more competition. So, if you really want to be a player, you have to fly more non-stop from Austin.”

Fleet focus The pandemic provided a further opportunity to accelerate retirement of older types and simplifying the AA fleet, which resulted in 10% less capacity. The remaining Airbus A330s, Boeing 757s, and 767s, all due for ‘the departure gate’ were sent to the desert at the onset of the crisis.

With the loss of aforementioned ‘strategic’ flying, changing widebody fleet capacity, and comments

RIGHT • American Airlines is the world's largest airline across multiple metrics, including fleet size and scheduled passengers carried AVIATIONIMAGENETWORK/ SIMON GREGORY

BELOW • AA's portfolio comprises Airbus, Boeing and Embraer examples AIRTEAMIMAGES.COM/ MARKUS MAINKA

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RIGHT • Fleet team members unloading baggage from a handling vehicle onto the aircraft belt AMERICAN AIRLINES

RIGHT • The Texas-based carrier has rolled out new technology to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission at its sites AMERICAN AIRLINES

BELOW • The company began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on June 10, 1939 AVIATIONIMAGENETWORK/ SIMON GREGORY

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from the company that the international network will be different, many industry analysts have speculated that this will result in a diminished long-haul network on the other side of COVID-19. Asked

by Airliner World if there is truth in this theory, the AA network planner insists it isn’t the case: “If I've got smaller, more economically viable [aircraft], like the 787 and the [Airbus A321] XLR, and we can make money

AIRLINER WORLD SEPTEMBER 2021

flying them, that means we get more [of them] and grow with more non-stops to new places.”

Znotins explained the rationale behind this logic: “We had a habit of taking an A330 and flying three months of the year to Europe, [which] was profitable for us, but then we had nine months where you couldn't fly it profitably, because the demand wasn't there. So, we put a high seat-cost plane in the domestic system that is

uncompetitive with narrowbodies and that [aircraft] – over the course of 12 months – wouldn't make money for us. That's the reason we decided to retire them. Instead, we're going to have XLRs that can fly more consistently year-round to Europe.”

The 2021 summer season has undoubtedly been a boom time for domestic leisure travel in the US, but the picture typically changes in the autumn, when leisure tends to fall away in favour of business trips. The AA network planning chief said these all-important flyers are set to return: “We've been speaking with our corporate customers and many are returning to travel this summer, with 47 out of 50 saying that they'll be back by the end of the year, [but] at what volume is still yet to be determined.”

With relatively few long-haul routes available for mass travel, and surging – if uncertain – demand for domestic services, American, Delta, and United have been adding capacity with widebody aircraft that would otherwise be parked. But as the CARES payroll support ends and the COVID recovery is patchy, what is the future for widebody metal? “[Border closings and openings] are unpredictable, and that's why we went with predictable strength this summer. We chose not to leave any of our widebodies parked in reserve, speculating that there will be markets in Europe that will open up and there will be strong enough yield and demand to warrant the flight. We said: ‘Hey, demand is strong to Vegas, so let's put that widebody there instead.’

“So, when/if Europe does open [this summer], all our widebodies are spent – we are not going to add to Europe.

But we made not only the safe bet but the right bet to go domestic and short-haul Latin. We're already seeing

ABOVE • An Airbus A321ceo, N145AN (c/n 6783), saddles up alongside Boeing 787-9, N821AN (c/n 40640), at Los Angeles AIRTEAMIMAGES.COM/ BASTIAN DING

that routes such as Cancún are still booking stronger than a normal [autumn]. If we have continued weakness in the long-haul market with these widebodies, we'll just keep flying them in places like [the ones] we're flying them this summer. Did we buy that [aircraft] to fly to Cancún?

No. But we know that airplane will eventually go back to long-haul flying,” the AA executive remarked.

As if helping steer the airline

through a once-in-a-generation crisis wasn’t demanding enough, during the height of the pandemic Znotins was commuting home to Calgary nearly every weekend, until the Canadian hotel quarantine policy came into effect. Znotins is not alone in cramming ten years of change into 18 months, but he seems to have thrived with the challenge. “It was sobering but, in a way, exciting. I would never choose this crisis again,

but when you get to do something you've never done before and learn new things, you have to adapt in a very rapid and meaningful way. Over the last 12 months, I have been more interested in my job than I've ever been in 20 years, because everything I thought was true got pitched out the window and we had to reinvent.”

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On sale September 9*

The OCTOBER 2021 issue of Airliner World includes: Flight Training Guide

Douglas centenary

Even more start-ups!

With global pilot shortages potentially just a couple of years away, we’ve collated an exclusive, comprehensive guide to a career in the cockpit

Through three special reports, along with archive photography and historical insights, we mark 100 years since the Douglas Aircraft Company was founded

Don’t miss the second half of our special round-up detailing some of the airlines making 2021 their launch year, despite the difficulties caused by the pandemic

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plus Airliner World’s comprehensive 20+ pages of global aviation news.

(Contents are subject to change) * UK scheduled on-sale date. Please note that the overseas deliveries are likely to be after this.

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