It seems that some airlines are still in the mood to follow through with purchases – with SKY express of Greece ordering four Airbus A320neo aircraft.
Sky Express Airbus A320neo – rendering, Airbus.
With the order, SKY express becomes a new Airbus customer. In addition, the Greek airline recently leased two A320neos from ACG Aviation Capital Group.
The airline has selected CFM-International’s Leap-1A engines to power its aircraft.
No delivery dates for these new aircraft have been specifed as yet.
SKY express currently has in service six ATR42-500 and five ATR72-500.
It bumps up the A320neo Family order list to 7,450 firm orders from over 110 customers worldwide.
In Quotes
The οwner of SKY express and Head of IOGR Group of Companies, Mr Ioannis Grylos, said:
“Our cooperation with Airbus, through the acquisition of six brand new Α320neo aircrafts, meets our ambition to modernize our fleet and have our company transition to a new era. The combination of the most advanced technology along with the fuel efficiency that this type of aircraft offers, are elements that perfectly match the business planning of SKY express for a contemporary fleet that respects the environment and offers safe and quality services to its passengers.”
Airbus Chief Commercial Officer Christian Scherer said:
“It is good news that SKY express has chosen the A320neo to expand its operations and destinations to an international European network. This is a bold step for the development of the airline and we are proud to contribute to that with the A320neo allowing for the best performance in terms of fuel burn, carbon emissions and noise as well as featuring a benchmark cabin,”
Moving into larger aircraft
It’s a major move for SKY express, who are moving from the smaller ATR Turboprops to larger and more passenger carryng A320neo aircraft. The airline currently serves 34 destinations with its ATR fleet – so its safe to assume that these larger aircraft will be used both to augment capacity on current routes, or to expand beyond Greek borders.
Depending when the recovery comes, the aircracft could be delivered just in time for SKY express to take advantage of the situation.
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