Tag Archives: HiFly

Global Airlines to contract Hi Fly to accelerate Airbus A380 entry into service program

Global Airlines and Hi Fly have signed an agreement to work together on the development and maintenance of the four A380 aircraft the new airline has agreed to acquire.

Hi Fly, who were the first to operate the A380 in the secondary market, will use their extensive experience of the aircraft, to work with Global on not only preparing it for service, but on helping the new carrier realise its ambition to provide customers with the best way to fly on commercial services, as it prepares for operations.  

The short-term focus for both organisations are the EIS and Return to Service (RTS) processes for Global’s first aircraft, expected to commence in the months ahead. However, both companies will explore further ways to broaden their collaboration, united by a passion for the aircraft, and a shared belief in its enduring potential and appeal.

Global Airlines was launched in 2023 with an aspiration to offer passengers the best way to fly. The airline is a wholly owned subsidiary of Holiday Swap Group and headquartered in London, United Kingdom. The airline is led by CEO James Asquith and backed by aviation experts and investors around the world. The airline has commenced an aircraft acquisition programme with four A380s secured.

ALC announces a new Airbus A330-900neo lease with Hi Fly

Air Lease Corporation (ALC) has announced a medium-term lease agreement with Hi Fly (Portugal) for one Rolls-Royce Trent 7000-powered Airbus A330-900neo aircraft. The aircraft is scheduled to deliver from ALC’s order book with Airbus in June 2019.

 The new Airbus A330-900neo offers the airline a 380-passenger aircraft that can fly 7,000 statute miles nonstop with economic and operational efficiency unmatched by current generation A330s.

Paulo Mirpuri, Hi Fly President and CEO, added, “We are delighted to start the renewal of our widebody fleet with the first brand new A330-900neo coming from ALC.  The A330neo is a perfect aircraft for Hi Fly, with its new technology, modern interior and the new super-efficient Rolls Royce Trent 7000 engines, responding very well to our business needs as well as to our environmental concerns.”

The first flight of the first Airbus A330neo

Above Copyright Photo: Airbus A330-941N F-WTTN (msn 1795) TLS (Eurospot). Image: 939623.

 

The first of ten Airbus A330-900neo aircraft that will ultimately renew the entire Hi Fly Airbus A330 fleet in upcoming years and will arrive in June 2019.

Hi Fly to become an Airbus A380 operator

Hi Fly is taking delivery of its first Airbus A380. Hi Fly will become the first Portuguese and the fourth European airline operating the A380.

This first A380-841 will join Hi Fly’s fleet in mid 2018 and will be operating worldwide.

The double-decker aircraft will be powered by one of the most reliable engines in the world, the Rolls Royce Trent 900 model, and will seat 471 passengers distributed between three classes. The main deck is fully reserved for Economy class carrying a total of 399 passengers while the upper deck has Business and First class seats carrying 60 and 12 passengers respectively. In an high density version the aircraft can carry up to 868 passengers

Hi Fly is the largest wet leasing specialist operating an all Airbus fleet. The EU – OPS, FAA approved, EASA and IOSA certified carrier operates a fleet of 15 large widebody aircraft, mostly Airbus A330s and A340s.

Image: Hi Fly.

Hi Fly to add its first Airbus A330-900neo in June 2019

Hi Fly has made this announcement:

Hi Fly, a leading European Airline specialized in wet lease, will be welcoming soon into its fleet the brand new Airbus A330-900neo. The first of ten aircraft that will ultimately renew the entire Hi Fly A330 fleet in upcoming years will arrive in June 2019. The investment reflects the company’s intent to fly modern, efficient and environmentally-friendly aircraft. 

The A330neo that will be launched first time ever by Airbus this year is a significantly more advanced aircraft than the current generation, with much lower fuel burn and carbon emissions. 

The first flight of the first Airbus A330neo

Above Copyright Photo: Airbus A330-941N F-WTTN (msn 1795) TLS (Eurospot). Image: 939623.

The aircraft, equipped with the new Rolls Royce Trent 7000 engines,  have a range in excess of 6.500 nautical miles and will seat in unmatched comfort 365 passengers in a three class configuration (business class seats with flat beds, high comfort premium economy and standard economy). Upon client demand the configuration can be changed at short notice to a full economy version seating 415 passengers. All seats have installed a last generation inflight entertainment system. 

Hi Fly is a leading European airline specialized in Wet Lease. The EU – OPS, FAA approved, EASA and IOSA certified carrier operates a large fleet of Airbus A330’s and A340’s, exclusively available for Wet Lease worldwide. Wet Lease – the supply of aircraft and crew, maintenance and insurance – is Hi Fly’s core business and has been developed with unmatched operational expertise for over a decade.

Hi Fly aircraft slide show:

Hifly orders two new Airbus A330-200s

Hifly, a Portuguese airline specializing in worldwide widebody aircraft wet leasing, has placed its first direct firm order with Airbus for two A330-200s.

Hifly is an all-Airbus operator and the two additional A330s will join its existing fleet of 14 Airbus widebody aircraft. The new A330s will feature a two class cabin layout, seating 18 passengers in business and 256 in econom

The order will contribute to Hi Fly’s strategy for long-haul fleet replacement offering its customers – namely airlines, tour operators, governments, companies and individuals – the most cost-efficient and versatile widebody aircraft.

Image: Airbus.

Norwegian wants Boeing to repair a defective 787

Norwegian Air Shuttle (Norwegian.com) (Oslo) is demanding repairs from Boeing on a newly delivered Boeing 787-8 after the 787 suffered repeated maintenance breakdowns according to this report by Reuters.

Norwegian Long Haul will again lease an Airbus A340 from Hifly to maintain its schedules and will not take re-delivery of the 787 until it is more reliable according to the report.

Meanwhile Boeing is stationing a 787 repair crew in Stockholm, Sweden to handle any maintenance issues. The broken 787 is still located in Bangkok, Thailand.

Read the full report: CLICK HERE

For the 787 to be a successful airliner, it must be reliable. Right now that is in question. For small, but fast-growing carriers like Norwegian, reliability is paramount as it does not have the luxury of a spare aircraft when one breaks, in this case often.

Read the analysis of the problem by Reuters: CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Kok Chwee K.C. Sim/AirlinersGallery.com. Norwegian is again leasing an Airbus A340 from Hifly to fill the gap while the 787 is repaired. On the first round when the 787 delivery was delayed, the pictured Hifly A340-313X CS-TQY (msn 190) wore a red norwegian.com banner on the lower fuselage.

Norwegian: AG Slide Show

LOT Polish Airlines to wet lease an Airbus A330-200 from Hifly to replace its grounded Boeing 787-8s

LOT Polish Airlines (Warsaw) is wet leasing an Airbus A330-200 from Hifly (Lisbon) until at least the end of May to replace its grounded Boeing 787-8s according to Air Journal. The leased aircraft will be operated to New York (JFK) and Chicago (O’Hare).

LOT will also be asking Boeing for additional compensation for its grounded fleet.

Copyright Photo: Antony J. Best. LOT Polish Airlines Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner SP-LRA (msn 35938) prepares to land at London (Heathrow) when it was flying.

LOT Polish Airlines: AG Slide Show

Norwegian to wet lease two Airbus A340-300s from Hifly due to the 787 delays

Norwegian Air Shuttle (Norwegian.com) (Oslo) has announced it will wet lease two Airbus A340-300s from Hifly (Lisbon) due to the delays in the delivery of its new Boeing 787-8s for the new New York and Bangkok routes.

The company issued the following statement (translated from Norwegian):

Norwegian has entered into an agreement to lease two long-range Airbus A340-300. The aircraft will be used on Norwegian routes to New York and Bangkok on the company’s Dreamliner aircraft will be delayed.

To ensure that Norwegian passengers can fly to and from New York and Bangkok on Dreamliner planes that are delayed, the Company has entered into an agreement to lease two Airbus A340-300 aircraft. The two aircraft Norwegian will use are the pending Dreamliner delivery. The agreement is called a MOU – Memorandum of Understanding – which is binding on both parties. Outsourcing is a so-called “wet lease” – leasing of aircraft and crew.

The two Airbus aircraft to Norwegian to lease owned by the Portuguese HiFly leasing company that took them over the winter 2012/2013. The aircraft were previously flown by Singapore Airlines and Emirates. Aircraft are subject to EU safety legislation and enforcement is carried out by European aviation authorities. HiFly is one of several European airlines which conduct leasing of aircraft to companies who need spare capacity. The company has had a number of major European airlines on its customer list.

Copyright Photo: Pedro Baptista/Flyingphotos. Hifly’s Airbus A340-313X OY-KBM (msn 450) taxies into position at the Lisbon base.

Hifly: AG Slide Show

Norwegian: AG Slide Show

PacificFlier suspends operations, will reorganize with new aircraft

Pacificflier (Pacificflier.com) (Palau) has suspended its charter operations. The new airline has so far been unsuccessful in obtaining scheduled airline rights and is reorganizing under new leadership. The company has been wet-leasing this Airbus A310-304 CS-TEI (msn 495) from HiFly. However the airline intends to operate more appropriate aircraft on the routes it wants to fly.

Read the full story from Flightglobal:

CLICK HERE

Copyright Photo: Peter Gates. Soon to be a rare shot, Airbus A310-304 CS-TEI (msn 495) rests between flights at Brisbane with titles.

Gabon Airlines wet leases Airbus A340-313X CS-TQM from HiFly

Gabon Airlines (Libreville) has wet leased Airbus A340-313X CS-TQM (msn 117) from HiFly. This airliner was recently operated for PAL Airlines (Santiago).