Transaero announced plans to debut the Airbus A320 Family variant into its fleet from July 2015 in March last year when it confirmed a deal with ICBC Leasing, part of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, to introduce six A321 aircraft on operating leases for delivery through March 2016. These are the first of up to 30 A321s that are due to enter the Russian carrier’s fleet within the next five years.
The airline will initially operate with a fleet of three 78-seat turboprops acquired via Abu Dhabi-based VVIP charter airline Falcon Aviation Services. The first aircraft was ferried in a predominantly white livery from the Bombardier factory at Toronto’s Downsview Airport to the carrier’s Almaty International Airport base between June 30, 2015 and July 2, 2015 via Vancouver, Keflavik, London Southend and Minsk.
The airline has agreed to acquire seven Airbus A320neo (new engine option) Family aircraft on operating lease from ALC, comprising two A320neo, one A321neo and four A321neo Long Range (LR) jetliners. One A320neo is scheduled for delivery in spring 2016, with the remaining six aircraft being delivered in 2018 and 2019, with the first A321neoLRs due in 2019.
flydubai will become the first carrier to operate direct flights from Dubai to both Sarajevo and Zagreb. It will introduce a twice weekly link to Sarajevo from December 8, 2014, while a three times weekly offering to Zagreb will follow from December 16, 2014. Both routes will be served by its dual-class 737-800s.
Kazakhstan carrier SCAT Airlines launched operations with its first Next-Generation Boeing 737-700 on the eve of this year’s Routes Silk Road forum, the carrier’s commercial director, Nikolay Buryakov revealed to The HUB Daily at the event in the Georgian capital city, Tbilisi.
Building on the momentum from last year, when 17 new destinations where added to the network, the airline has further cemented its commitment to enhance connectivity between different cultures.
Every year almost two million passengers fly between Kazakhstan and Europe, a market that the airline sees a good potential for further growth in the years ahead having grown 51.3 per cent in the past five years.
