Oct 04 2012
TUI Travel announced on October 3rd, 2012, that it would be leasing two Embraer 190 aircraft from BOC Aviation. The two aircraft are expected to be delivered in the first half of 2013 to Jetairfly, the Belgian subsidiary of TUI.
The aircraft will be configured with 112 seats in a single-class layout. The aircraft are to be deployed in winter markets where seasonal demand is better satisfied with 100-seat aircraft according to the airline.
Oct 03 2012
During an auction on October 1st, 2012, the Uruguayan government sold the Spanish charter airline Cosmo seven CRJ-900s that has been previously operated by PLUNA airlines. The airline plans to operate the CRJs on charter operations within Europe for the winter 2012 travel season.
Previously Cosmo had operated two A320s on ACMI leases from other carriers, but intends to secure loans to operated and own the CRJs itself. The airline was the only bidder for the seven CRJ-900s and was required to deposit 13.69 million dollars as collateral to enter the auction. Cosmo has until the beginning of November 2012 to complete payment of 137 million dollars plus commission and taxes for the CRJs.
None of the bidders of the first auction three weeks prior were present at the second auction. Uruguay’s BQB; Argentina’s Sol airlines; an Argentine charter company belonging to the Macri family, and Venezuela’s Conviasa declined to attend for various reasons.
Proceeds from the sale of the seven CRJ-900s will go to repay the Bank of Nova Scotia as it holds liens on the CRJs. The other six CRJ-900s unsold are on lease but if they are returned ahead of schedule there is a large fee involved.
Rumors are that the Uruguayan ministry of Public Works will arrange for the six remaining CRJs and as many as 120 former PLUNA staff members will be involved with a new regional airline or a new PLUNA operated by Lopez Mena who runs a series of boat ferries lines Uruguay with Argentina and also owns the small airline BQB, which operates two small aircraft on the Montevideo to Buenos Aires route.
The CRJs purchased in the auction were: CX-CRA, CX-CRB, CX-CRC, CX-CRD, CX-CRE, CX-CRF and CX-CRG.
Oct 02 2012
This is one in an ongoing series of articles on Winglets that will summarize past airlines and other operators of CRJ aircraft that are no longer in existence.
SwedJet Airways AB
SwedJet Route Map
SwedJet Airways was a Swedish regional airline that planned to operate from Norrköping Sweden to Copenhagen and to Rygge initially. The airline planned to operate a single CRJ-200 and eventually add one CRJ-700 to comprise its fleet. The airline received permission to begin flights in September 2004, but never did so. The airline ceased operations soon after and the single CRJ-200 that had been painted in the airline’s colours was repainted into Air Nostrum colours and leased onto that airline.
Airports to be Served By CRJs
The following list is all of the airports SwedJet planned to serve.
CRJ Fleet
SwedJet never operated the CRJ in service. However a single example was painted into the airline’s full colour scheme and was seen at the 2004 Bombardier Open House at the CRJ plant there. The aircraft wore a Canadian registration for testing purposes with the final Swedish registration underneath. The aircraft was never operated in its Swedish registration. After SwedJet’s closure, the aircraft was repainted into Air Nostrum colours and leased on to that airline.
Canadair Regional Jet RJ200ER MSN 7958 C-FBQO
in full SwedJet colour scheme, never delivered
(Photo By: Jean-Pierre Bonin)
The following aircraft was to be leased, but this was not completed:
MSN 7958 C-FBQO (NTU: SE-RGA) CRJ-200ER
Instead the aircraft was leased on to Air Nostrum where it served under the registration EC-JEN.
Canadair Regional Jet RJ200ER MSN 7958 SE-RGA
Artist’s conception of aircraft in full SwedJet colour scheme
Before the airline ceased operations, SwedJet held an order for one CRJ-700 that was to be registered as SE-RGK, but this aircraft was never painted in the airline’s colours or delivered.
Oct 01 2012
In an announcement from Air Canada on October 1st, 2012, the airline plans to transfer its fleet of Embraer 175s to its regional partner Sky Regional Airlines early in 2013.
Sky Regional has been operating Air Canada’s services from Toronto Island using a fleet of five Bombardier DHC-8Q-400s. The transfer of the Embraers will mean that an additional 15 Embraer 175s will be added to the regional airline’s fleet and it will be expanding its routes. This expansion will not however mean that the Embraers will be operating from Toronto Island as jet aircraft are banned from that airport.
Plans are that the Embraers will be transferred to Sky Regional between February and June 2013 according to Air Canada’s announcement. Routes to be operated will be from Toronto and Montreal to the northeast United States and the aircraft will be repainted into Air Canada Express colors.
These changes were foretold earlier this year when Air Canada’s contract with its pilots was altered and allowed for more regional partners in its network. It is likely that Air Canada will add further Q400s and larger regional jet aircraft, such as the CRJ-700 to its fleet to support its regional carriers.