Air-Britain News – August 2019

11Jul19 onwards St Petersburg LED Yerevan EVE Th,Su 737

11Jul19 onwards Moscow DMO Yerevan EVE M,F,Su 737

Somon Air [SZ/SMR] [Tajikistan] has suspended plans to lease a

B737 MAX from Air Lease (US), due to uncertainty about re‑entry of the

aircraft and the lack of public confidence in the model. The MAX was

due for delivery in 2019. Somon hopes to convert the lease contract

with ALC to the B737‑800. The A320 is also a possibility, but unlikely.

Somon Air is still seeking a B787 to lease, with plans to take

delivery of an E190‑E2 pushed back until mid‑2021.

South African Airways

08May19 onwards Khudzhand LBD Surgut SGC W 733

03Jun19 onwards Khudzhand LBD Nizhnevartovsk NJC M 733

South African Airways [SA/SAA] [South Africa] will receive

additional state funding after CEO Vuyani Jarana resigned.

The carrier has signed codeshare and frequent flyer agreements

with GOL (Brazil).

South African Airways will lease an A350 for up to 36 months for

placement on nonstop services between Johannesburg and New York

JFK, replacing the A340‑600 on this route. Delivery is due in 2H19.

Southern Air [US] has prevailed in an important arbitration against

the union that represents its pilots.

Southern Airways Express [US] has announced services from

Nantucket to Providence (seven times weekly from 13Jun19), Norwood

(five times weekly from 13Jun19), and New Haven (three times weekly

from 14Jun19). All are being operated by Ce208B.

Southwest Airlines [WN/SWA] [US] is postponing new hire training

and some promotions as a result of the grounding of the B737 MAX jet.

It is yet again revising its plans to remove the B737 MAX from its

schedule through 02Nov19.

SpiceJet [OS/MOD] [India] will lease more B737 NGs and continue to

expand capacity as the B737 MAX remains grounded.

01Jul19 onwards Guwahati GAU Dhaka DAC Daily DH4

25Jul19 onwards Mumbai BOM Dhaka DAC Daily 737

31Jul19 onwards Delhi DEL Dhaka DAC Daily 737

31Jul19 onwards Delhi DEL Jeddah JED Daily 737

31Jul19 onwards Mumbai BOM Hong Kong HKG Daily 737

03Aug19 onwards Mumbai BOM Dubai DXB 2× Daily (+1 Daily) 737

15Aug19 onwards Mumbai BOM Riyadh RUH Daily 737

SpiceXpress [India] will take delivery of three more freighters within

a couple of months, making the overall freighter total to five. By 2021,

it has plans to add 20 freighters to its fleet.

SpiceXpress introduced a cargo service from Mumbai to Dubai on

01Aug19.

Spirit Airlines [NK/NKS] [US] is mulling services to Canada as the

northern neighbour is “on the list”.

14Nov19 onwards Fort Myers RSW Indianapolis IND Daily 32A

14Nov19 onwards Tampa TPA Indianapolis IND Daily 32A

Spirit Airlines has announced network expansion at Nashville, with

the launch of six new routes in 4Q19. The planned new routes include

the following:

• Nashville – Baltimore/Washington eff 10Oct19: 1 daily A320


• Nashville – Fort Lauderdale eff 10Oct19: 1 daily A320


• Nashville – Las Vegas eff 10Oct19: 1 daily A319 (A320 from
  05Nov19)


• Nashville – New Orleans eff 10Oct19: 1 daily A320


• Nashville – Orlando eff 10Oct19: 1 daily A319 (A320 from
  05Nov19)


• Nashville – Tampa eff 05Nov19: 1 daily A320

Spring Airlines [9C/CQH] [China] will base seven A320s flying 15

domestic routes at its new hub at Shenzhen Bao’an International

Airport.

14Nov19‑30Dec19 Santiago de Chile SCL

Puerto Natales

PNT Th,Su 319/320

30Dec19 onwards Santiago de Chile SCL

Salvador da

Bahia SSA M,Th,Sa^320

31Dec19‑01Mar20 Santiago de Chile SCL

Puerto Natales

PNT 3× Weekly 319/320

Skymark [BC/SKY] [Japan] ended its fiscal year on 31Mar19 with net
profit up 30.3% to US$84.5 million and revenues up 6.5%.
The carrier has painted B73H JA737X (36692) in “Vissel Jet” colours,
promoting Kobe football Club – Kobe Vissel.

09Aug19‑14Aug19
20Sep19‑22Sep19 Tokyo NRT Saipan SPN Daily^738

SkyUp Airlines [PQ/SQP] [Ukraine] plans to reach a fleet of 10
B737NGs by the end of 2019, up from the current seven.
SkyUp Airlines has appealed the decision of the district court of
Kyiv region to suspend its licence over safety and operational issues.
The carrier continues to operate normally.
The airline says political pressure is still being applied to it, and its
appeal is yet to be heard, as the Prime Minister questions the legality
of the decision.
SkyUp Airlines has further expanded its operations, including
service to/from Kharkiv, Odessa and Zaporizhia.

• Kharkiv – Barcelona eff 12Jun19: 2 weekly 737‑800


• Kharkiv – Kutaisi eff 11Jun19: 2 weekly 737‑800


• Kharkiv – Larnaca 13Jun19 – 03Oct19: 1 weekly 737‑800


• Kharkiv – Odessa eff 02Jun19: 2 weekly 737‑800 (Previously
  reported)


• Kharkiv – Paris CDG eff 11Jun19: 2 weekly 737‑800


• Kharkiv – Rimini 16Jun19 – 29Sep19: 1 weekly 737‑800


• Kiev Borispil – Nice eff 12Jun19: 2 weekly 737‑800


• Kiev Borispil – Palma Mallorca eff 12Jun19: 2 weekly 737‑700


• Kiev Borispil – Paris CDG eff 11Jun19: 3 weekly 737‑800


• Kiev Borispil – Tirana 13Jun19 – 28Sep19: 2 weekly 737‑800 (3
  weekly from 24Jun19 to 16Sep19)


• Kiev Borispil – Varna 14Jun19 – 06Sep19: 1 weekly 737‑800


• Kiev Borispil – Yerevan eff 10Jun19: 2 weekly 737‑700


• Odessa – Barcelona eff 12Jun19: 2 weekly 737‑800


• Odessa – Kutaisi eff 11Jun19: 2 weekly 737‑800


• Odessa – Rimini 16Jun19 – 29Sep19: 1 weekly 737‑800


• Odessa – Yerevan eff 10Jun19: 2 weekly 737‑700


• Zaporizhia – Barcelona eff 12Jun19: 2 weekly 737‑800

The airline moved its Kiev operation from Zhulyany (IEV) to Borispil
(KBP), on 10Jun19, based on OAG’s schedules listing. The airline also
made additional adjustments to its recently introduced new routes
from Kiev:

• Kiev – Alicante eff 02Jun19: 2 weekly (4 weekly from 11Jun19;
  Previously only scheduled until 29Sep19)


• Kiev – Batumi eff 25May19: 4 weekly (7 weekly from 04Jun19, 6
  from 09Sep19, 5 from 16Sep19, 4 from 04Oct19, 2 from 12Oct19;
  1 additional weekly flight added from October, compared to
  previously reported frequencies)


• Kiev – Catania eff 02Jun19: 1 weekly (2 weekly from 13Jun19;
  Previously only scheduled 1 weekly for entire summer)


• Kiev – Faro eff 12Jun19: 2 weekly (Previously scheduled from
  01Jun19 and 1 weekly from 05Oct19)


• Kiev – Larnaca eff 31Mar19: 2 weekly (3 weekly from 23May19, 4
  from 11Jun19; Previously only scheduled 3 weekly from 28May19
  to 06Oct19)


• Kiev – Odessa eff 02Jun19: 2 weekly (3 weekly from 12Jun19;
  Previously only scheduled 2 weekly for entire summer)


• Kiev – Rimini 01Jun19 – 05Oct19: 2 weekly (3 weekly from
  05Jun19, instead of 10Jun19)


• Kiev – Tbilisi eff 10Jun19: Increase from 3 to 5 weekly (Previously
  not covered)

Smartavia [Russia] is considering a joint venture with a leading MRO
in Europe. The new venture may be based in Archangel.
The carrier is to add another three or four B737‑800s to its fleet in
summer 2019, after the recent delivery of one B737‑700, serial 35785.
It plans to reach 20 B737s by 2022, with the phase‑out of its ‑500 fleet
in 2020.