Atlasjet Airlines (Antalya) has reached a tentative agreement with Airbus (AIB, Toulouse Blagnac) for the purchase of "around" thirty A321ceo aircraft. According to informed sources who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, though initial reports had claimed as many as 50 jets would be acquired, the figure appears to have dropped to thirty and could end up lower depending on the terms of any final deal. Boeing (BOE, Washington National) and other manufacturers have also been touted as possible options, they said.

According to Ukraine's Interfax news service, up to 15 of the jets will be placed with the Turkish carrier's stalled Atlasjet UA (Lviv) subsidiary though this is dependent on its successfully securing international traffic rights.

Last week, a Kiev District Administrative Court upheld a previous ruling in favour of Ukraine International Airlines (PS, Kyiv Boryspil) which had disputed the validity of international traffic rights the Ukrainian Ministries of Infrastructure and Transport had issued the start-up back in July.

The carrier had planned to commence scheduled operations in September with domestic flights as well as flights to western Europe, Israel, Russia, and Georgia.