Malaysian start-up Bayu Air eyes B777s for regional ops

South Korea's Air Incheon retires last B737 Classic

Air Incheon (KJ, Seoul Incheon) has transitioned to an all-B737NG fleet following the retirement of its last B737-400(SF) in late September.

HL8271 (msn 24912), a 30.4-year-old aircraft originally delivered in a passenger configuration to Malaysia Airlines in 1991, was last tracked operating flights in South Korea on September 28, 2021. Air Incheon had used the freighter since 2013 and was its first post-conversion operator. Over the course of October 2-5, 2021, the aircraft was ferried to the United States. It has been acquired by Frontera Flight Holdings and was re-registered as N73FF on October 14, 2021. It is currently in storage at Laredo and will be operated by Mexico's Aeronaves TSM, a sister company of Frontera.

The Korean cargo carrier operated another B737-400(F) but retired it in 2019, the ch-aviation fleets history module shows.

Air Incheon has replaced the retired -400(SF) with its third B737-800(SF), HL8503 (msn 28535). The 21.8-year-old aircraft, on lease from Vx Capital Partners, was delivered to Seoul Incheon on October...

British Airways to reactivate A380s in mid-4Q21

British Airways (BA, London Heathrow) has announced it will reactivate four of its twelve A380-800s starting in November 2021, four months earlier than previously planned.

The carrier said that the Airbus quadjets will first operate a number of scheduled short-haul services in Europe for crew familiarisation without disclosing the destinations of these flights. Afterwards, the aircraft will be deployed from London Heathrow to Miami Int'l and Los Angeles Int'l. In December, the type's network will expand to Dubai Int'l.

The ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows that British Airways operates twelve A380s, which are 7.5 years old on average. They have been grounded since March 2020, except for ferry flights between various storage and maintenance locations. Currently, six are parked at Madrid Barajas, three at Doha Hamad Int'l, two at Teruel, and one is undergoing maintenance at Manila Ninoy Aquino Int'l.

The airline previously planned to reactivate the A380s in late March 2022, with the onset of the Summer 2022 season. In contrast to...

Editorial Comment: Ownership details of the A380s have been corrected - 18.10.2021 - 11:33 UTC

Elit'Avia Malta adds first B747 freighter

Malaysia lifts B737 MAX restrictions

The Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) has lifted a moratorium on B737 MAX flights imposed in the wake of the global grounding of the type back in March 2019.

The regulator said effective September 2, it has revoked a safety directive barring B737-8 and B737-9 operations in or through Malaysian airspace.

"CAAM has reviewed and validated all applicable FAA and manufacturer publications on the Boeing 737 MAX in relation to its return to service. Based on these and all other related factors, CAAM has conducted a safety risk assessment (SRA) for the return to service in Malaysia," it said.

"Upon completion of the reviews, validations and engagements with various stakeholders, CAAM is, with immediate effect, revoking the Safety Directive issued on March 13, 2019 that prohibited operations of Boeing 737-8 into, within and out of Malaysian airspace, subject to the applicable operators complying to the actions below."

All operators, including local and foreign, intending to use the type to serve the Malaysian market must first ensure that all...