Tag Archives: Sky Airline (Chile)

SKY to fly to Bariloche, Argentina

SKY Airline (Chile) is planning to open a seasonal route (summer, southern hemisphere) between Santiago to Bariloche, Argentina.

The flights will begin on December 12, with three frequencies per week operating with Airbus A320neo aircraft.

Alvaro Romero reporting from Chile.

Sky Airline (Chile) aircraft photo gallery:

SKY presents its first Airbus A321neo in Santiago

The Chilean-based low-cost airline SKY (formerly known as SKY Airline) presented in the cold and murky morning of August 12, at its SCL maintenance base (located inside Arturo Merino Benitez Airport) its first Airbus A321-251NX. It is registered CC-DCA, msn 10532.

CC-DCA is the first A321neo to operate in Chile and the first one flying in the Americas. This airliner has a high-density capacity of 238 seats, the second worldwide after Arkia of Israel, and is also the first of three of the type to be received by SKY in 2021. These airliners have the LEAP-1A engines with 32,000 pounds of thrust.

These high-density airliners are to be used mainly inside Chile (La Serena, Concepción, Punta Arenas from Santiago) and also to neighboring countries (Argentina, Perú) replacing smaller capacity aircraft: more passengers with upgraded fuel consumption and thus, more eco-friendly operations.

It is expected that SKY should receive two more of the type (registered CC-DCB and CC-DCC) in the current year, while the remaining will be the A321XLR model from 2022.

Alvaro Romero reporting from Chile.

All photos by Alvaro Romero/http://www.modocharlie.cl/.

Chile’s SKY takes delivery of its first Airbus A321neo

SKY, a Chilean-based low-cost carrier, has taken delivery of its first Airbus A321neo leased from Air Lease Corporation (ALC), becoming the first airline in Chile to operate the A321neo.

SKY’s A321neo aircraft are powered by CFM Leap-1A engines and can seat up to 238 passengers in a two-class layout. SKY is the first airline in South America to operate the A321neo with a high density cabin configuration.

The A321neo has a 95 percent airframe commonality with Airbus’ A320 Family, fitting seamlessly into SKY’s existing fleet of 19 A320neo. This aircraft incorporates new generation engines and Sharklets, which together deliver more than 20 percent fuel and CO2 savings, as well as a 50 percent noise reduction. Additionally, The A321neo shares a common type rating with other members of the Airbus A320 Family, which allows A320 Family pilots to fly the aircraft without additional training.

SKY has been an Airbus customer since 2010 and became an all-Airbus operator in 2013. The A321neo will allow SKY to further expand their route offering in Latin America in the near future.

Airbus has sold over 1,100 aircraft and has a backlog of nearly 430 aircraft to deliver in Latin America and the Caribbean. Currently, Airbus has over 660 aircraft in operation throughout the region, representing approximately 60 percent market share of the in-service fleet. Since 1994, Airbus has secured nearly 70 percent of net orders in the region.

SKY orders 10 Airbus A321XLRs

SKY, a Chilean-based ultra-low-cost carrier, has signed a Purchase Agreement with Airbus for 10 A321XLRs. The airline will expand its international route network with the new aircraft.

According to the latest Airbus Global Market Forecast (GMF), Latin America will need 2,700 new aircraft in the next 20 years, more than double today’s fleet. Passenger traffic in Latin America has doubled since 2002 and is expected to continue growing over the next two decades. Specifically in Chile, traffic is expected to increase from 0.89 trips per capita to 2.26 trips in 2038.

In parallel to the growing fleet, according to Airbus’ latest GMF, there will be a need for 47,550 new pilots and 64,160 technicians to be trained over the next 20 years in Latin America. To cover this necessity SKY also selected Airbus as its flight training provider, making the airline the launch customer for the new Airbus Chile Training Centre. The centre will offer flight crew training for Chilean pilots and will include a full-flight A320 simulator.

SKY has been an Airbus customer since 2010 and became an all-Airbus operator in 2013. The airline’s fleet of 23 A320 Family aircraft serves national and international routes connecting Chile to Argentina, Brazil, Peru and Uruguay.

Airbus has sold 1,200 aircraft, has a backlog of more than 600 and more than 700 in operation throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, representing a 60% market share of the in-service fleet. Since 1994, Airbus has secured nearly 70% of net orders in the region.

Sky Airline of Chile presents its first Airbus A320neo in Santiago

On October 3 2018 Chilean low-cost airline SKY Airline presented to media, authorities, spotters and other guests, its first Airbus A320neo.

The airliner, an Airbus A320-251N is registered as CC-AZC (msn 8444), is owned and operated by the lessor ALC A320 8444, LLC. It is the very first brand-new aircraft ever acquired by SKY in its history.

The presentation, leaded by SKY CEO Holger Paulmann, consisted of two flights with the guests over Santiago de Chile, highlighting the different touristic attractions of Chile’s capital.

The aircraft arrived in Chile on September 23 2018.

Its first revenue flight took place on September 28, 2018 from Santiago to Arica.

Since then, CC-AZC has made daily flights to that city in the extreme north of Chile, and Punta Arenas in the southern tip of the country, with stopovers in intermediate cities.

Its first international flight took place on October 4, between Santiago (SCL) and Lima, in Perú (LIM).

Alvaro Romero reporting from Chile.

SKY aircraft slide show:

Airbus delivers the first A320neo to Sky Airline of Chile

Sky Airline has taken delivery of its first A320neo aircraft, on lease from ALC, at a delivery ceremony in Toulouse.

Sky Airline’s A320neo is powered by CFM LEAP-1A engines and has a capacity of 186 passengers, incorporating innovative Space Flex features.

This new A320neo joins Sky Airline’s existing fleet of 15 A320 Family aircraft, and is the first of 21 A320neos to be leased by the airline.

The A320neo Family is the aircraft of choice for airlines in Latin America, capturing 680 orders and commitments from lessors and nine customers, representing over 70 percent of orders in the new generation single-aisle aircraft market.

Featuring the widest single-aisle cabin in the sky, the efficient A320neo Family incorporates the very latest technologies including new generation engines and Sharklets, which together deliver more than 15 percent fuel and CO₂savings from day one and 20 percent by 2020 as well as 50 percent noise reduction. With more than 6,100 orders received from over 100 customers, the A320neo Family has captured some 60 percent of the market.

Top Copyright Photo (all others by Airbus): Sky Airline (Chile) Airbus A320-251N WL F-WWDY (CC-AZC) (msn 8444) TLS (Eurospot). Image: 943415.

Sky Airline aircraft slide show:

SKY is to launch domestic flights in Peru as SKY Peru

On August 2 2018, the Chilean low-cost airline SKY Airline announced the beginning of its international expansion, with the selection of Perú as its first country.

According to Holger Paulmann, General Manager of SKY, Perú was selected because of its economic stability and growing, meaning it is an attractive country for investing.

SKY is currently requesting Peruvian authorities for operational permissions, which will allow it for operating both domestical and international routes. The airline’s authorities expect the initial flights in Perú will take place during the first quarter of 2019. A further step considered by the airline is Colombia by 2023.

Paulmann also mentioned that the new airliners of SKY, the Airbus A320neo, will also be based in Lima Airport with the possibility of adding A321neo examples is under consideration.

It was also announced that SKY Perú operation will be leaded by José Raúl Vargas, appointed as its General Manager. Vargas previously worked for LATAM Airlines Perú as service director, international airports manager of LAN and manager of airports of LAN Perú, among others.

On the other hand, SKY announced that is halting its operation between Santiago, Chile and Rosario in Argentina. This measure, was taken because of low demand, will take place from October 1 2018, almost a year from the inaugural flight that was made on October 3, 2017.

All images by SKY. Alvaro Romero reporting from Chile.

Sky Airline unveils a new livery and becomes a LCC carrier

Sky Airline (Santiago) on March 15, 2017 unveiled its new livery and revised brand. The green color of its early years has been kept, while the blue has been replaced by a new violet color.

The new concept includes a green “arrow” (above) in the “K” that is incorporated on the horizontal stabilizer. The modified K letter is always facing forward with the green arrow portion. All Ks in the logo are modified except the one on the left side of the fuselage (below).

The first Airbus A320 (CC-ABV) in the new livery will be unveiled in April after it is painted by Coopesa. The airline will also issue new uniforms for its employees.

The Chilean carrier starting today is also reinventing itself as a low-cost carrier.

All images courtesy of SKY Airline via ModoCharlie.

Alvaro Romero reporting from Santiago, Chile.

The current livery:

Sky Airline aircraft slide show:

SKY Airline to become a low-cost airline in Chile

SKY Airline‘s (Chile) (Santiago) CEO Holger Paulmann, announced a big change in the company’s management, as it is in the process of becoming a low-cost airline.

Starting today (September 4), only beverages are included in the ticket price. Those wanting to eat something on board the aircraft will have the option to buy the on-board service. According to the carrier, this is aimed at reducing costs, and allowing the passenger to decide which services he or she will require, such as paying for first rows or the emergency row seats, and checked baggage.

According to the company, they expect to charge a 20-30% discount on tickets, as well as offering one way tickets cheaper than buying them for the round trip.

According to Paulmann “100% of our flights last less of 4 hours, 80% of our passengers are not willing to pay for meals. 30% do not need to carry luggage, why do we have to invest and ask our passengers to pay for services they will not use? We believe the clients have to pay for those services they appreciate more, giving them flexibility for choosing and a service made to order.”

This announcement follows the announced future elimination of the Chile-Bolivia route by November 2, 2015 because of the low load factors (usually the aircraft carried less than 50% of its capacity), and the increase to two daily flights to Arica in northern Chile from October 5. The process must be finished by July 2016.

Thanks to Alvaro Romero reporting from Chile.

Copyright Photo: Antony J. Best/AirlinersGallery.com. Ex-easyJet Airbus A319-111 G-EZEP became CC-AFZ (msn 2251) with SKY Airline.

SKY Airline aircraft slide show:

Sky Airline of Chile retires its last Boeing 737-200

Sky Airline (Chile) (Santiago) on July 26 operated the last revenue flight of a Boeing 737-200. Three 737-200s were retired on July 26.

The first of the three airliners that finished their career was CC-CTK, performing flight SKU 055, departing Santiago (SCL) to Carriel Sur, Concepción Airport (SCIE/CCP) at 17:15 (local time). It returned to SCL as flight SKU 054.

Flight SKU 116 was flown from Santiago to Copiapó’s Desierto de Atacama airport (SCAT) using CC-CVI, and flew from there to Santiago as SKU 117 at 19:09.

The last flight was flight SKU 122, flown with CC-CTH. The flight took off from SCL for La Serena (SCSE/LSC), then to Copiapó and returning to Santiago around 22:00 (local). This flight marked the end of the era of 737s in SKY Airline service.

Thanks goes to Alvaro Romero for this information.

Sky Airline (Chile):