Spanish court may claim €1mn from Air Berlin bankruptcy

Vučić eyes Qatar as strategic partner for Air Serbia

Following the collapse of its equity partnership with Etihad Aviation Group, Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić is now trying to lure Qatar as a new strategic partner for Air Serbia (JU, Belgrade).

"Today, Air Serbia is completely in Serbia's hands, we are doing well, and we have a clear profit, but we are looking to avoid possible risks in the future because it's not all up to us what will happen," Vučić said during an international summit in Doha.

The Serbian president met with Qatar's Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani to discuss potential investment options. In his brief statement, Vučić did not offer any further details regarding the partnership. He did not specify whether Belgrade was trying to partner directly with the Qatari government or with the state-owned Qatar Airways Group.

Despite Vučić's claim about wholly Serbian ownership of Air Serbia, the Etihad Airways parent retains a 16.42% stake in the airline. The Abu Dhabi holding acquired 49% in the airline, then known as Jat Airways, in 2013 during a James...

easyJet adds used A320-200s

UK's Virgin Atlantic retires last A330-200

Virgin Atlantic (VS, London Heathrow) has announced it retired its last A330-200, G-VLNM (msn 322), on May 12, 2022, as part of its transition to a new-generation fleet of A330-900s, B787-9s, and A350-1000s.

The British carrier operated four A330-200s, inducted in 2018, the ch-aviation fleets history module shows. All four were retired from scheduled revenue operations in March 2020, when the first global wave of the COVID-19 pandemic grounded the airline. They then continued to operate ferry and test flights around the United Kingdom only to eventually be put into storage or part-out. G-VMNK (msn 403) was ferried to Düsseldorf on August 19, 2020, G-VMIK (msn 432) to Knock on September 17, 2021, G-VWND (msn 476) also to Knock on February 14, 2022, and G-VLNM was the last to leave the fleet when it was ferried to Lourdes/Tarbes on May 12, Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows.

The aircraft were added by Virgin Atlantic as second-hand units following the collapse of Air Berlin (Berlin Tegel) and...

CargoLogic Germany enters insolvency proceedings

CargoLogic Germany (6L, Leipzig/Halle) applied for insolvency restructuring on May 10, nearly two months after it was banned from operating in German airspace due to its alleged links to Russian Volga-Dnepr Group.

The District Court of Leipzig has appointed Lucas Flöther as the provisional administrator. He has ample experience with distressed airlines, having overseen the insolvencies of Air Berlin, Niki (Austria), Condor, and SundAir.

"We are checking whether it is possible to resume flight operations as quickly as possible, taking into account the sanctions. German insolvency law offers suitable options here," Flöther said in a statement to the German media.

A restart would most likely require new investors, as CargoLogic Germany's current ownership is the reason for its insolvency. The German civil aviation authority (Luftfahrt Bundesamt - LBA) banned the carrier from operating in the country's airspace on March 11, 2022, under the framework of sanctions targeting the Russian aviation industry. The decision effectively grounded the airline, which lost all revenue while still facing leases and staff costs...