Greek regional airline Sky Express has placed a firm order for four Airbus A320neos as the carrier prepares to expand into the international market.
The order, complemented by leases for an additional two of the type from Aviation Capital Group, represents the first for an Airbus commercial aircraft since an undisclosed private customer bought a single A320neo on Aug. 7. It is the first narrowbody order from a disclosed airline since Jan. 10 when Spirit signed up for 100 A320neo family aircraft.
According to the Aviation Week Network Fleet Discovery database, Sky Express currently operates a fleet of nine aircraft: five ATR 42-500s and four ATR 72-212As. All but one of the aircraft are in excess of 21 years old.
Founded in 2005 by a former Olympic Airways executive, Sky Express is based in Heraklion, Crete and has operated a purely domestic network so far. The A320neos are to be used on international routes, though the airline did not detail which markets it plans to cover. The timeline for deliveries was not disclosed.
Airbus has so far received 370 gross orders in 2020. Net orders total 300.