Turkish shelves new AOC plans, eyes high-density aircraft

Airbus's August 2023 order book changes revealed

India's IndiGo to wet lease ten A320s - report

IndiGo Airlines (6E, Delhi International) is in talks with the Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to secure approval to wet lease ten A320-type aircraft over the 2023/24 winter season. According to reports, the move is designed to counter capacity constraints caused by the high number of aircraft grounded because of Pratt & Whitney engine issues.

Sources close to the talks told the HinduBusinessLine outlet that the necessary approvals were almost finalised and the planes could start arriving as soon as next month. Last year, India relaxed its rules regarding wet-leasing aircraft. India-based carriers can now apply to wet-lease aircraft for up to 12 months. Previously, the regulations restricted wet-leases to three months plus a further three-month extension. IndiGo currently wet-leases two B777-300ERs from Turkish Airlines (TK, Istanbul Airport), which it uses on the India - Türkiye country pair.

The reports of the new wet lease did not specify what type of A320 Indigo was looking to secure. However, the airline already operates twenty A320-200s and 172 A320-200N...

Air Serbia may resurrect in-house MRO, groundhandling units

Air Serbia (JU, Belgrade) may reinstate its own maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) unit as well as new catering and ground handling divisions because of tensions with third-party providers in recent years, CEO Jiří Marek has told the Polish aviation news site Rynek Lotniczy in an interview.

Relations between Air Serbia and its main MRO provider, Polish-owned JAT Tehnika, have been strained this year over bottlenecks, prompting the airline to send some of its aircraft to Istanbul for maintenance. Belgrade has reportedly been in talks with Turkish Airlines and its MRO unit, Turkish Technic, about the possibility of opening a joint MRO operation in the Serbian capital.

“We are considering various options,” he told Rynek Lotniczy. “If we want to have full control over the implementation of previously planned operations and not rely on 'leaky' outsourcing, then yes, this is one of the solutions. We want to establish an MRO hangar at the airport as part of a joint-venture agreement with a partner who specialises in aircraft repairs.”

He elaborated: “Before the...

Maldives' BeOnd details initial network from mid-4Q23

BeOnd (Malé) will launch in mid-November 2023 with an A319-100 flying the Munich - Malé, Zurich - Malé, and Riyadh - Malé city pairs.

Speaking to the media on September 5, CEO Tero Taskila said a 44-seat A319-100 would initially fly twice weekly from Malé to Riyadh from November 9, twice weekly from Munich from November 15, and twice weekly from Zurich from November 17. BeOnd will launch with the single aircraft but plans to induct an A321-200 over the upcoming Northern Hemisphere winter.

Taskila is confident that tickets, now on sale, will sell out quickly owing to limited capacity. "Luxury travel is the fastest growing travel segment in the world, and BeOnd is the world's first premium leisure airline," said the CEO. "We are focusing on leisure travel only."

BeOnd founder Max Nilov told ch-aviation that BeOnd's strategy centres on operating aircraft from a single family type, namely the A320 family. He hosed down previous talk of acquiring widebodies, including A330-900Ns. "Our strategy is to...