Cubana suspends domestic flights as capacity drops ch-aviation PRO exclusive

Solenta Aviation (SET, Lanseria) has taken delivery of its first ATR72-600 with ZS-ESS (msn 1057) having been handed over and delivered to the South African capacity provider/charter specialist earlier this month.

According to the ch-aviation fleets module, Solenta is due to add a second of the type, msn 1076, which is currently undergoing maintenance at Toulouse Francazal.

Solenta Aviation currently operates an extensive fleet of Avions de Transport Régional turboprops including one ATR42-500, two ATR72-200s, five -200(F)s (in service for DHL Aviation (South Africa)), and three ATR72-500s (of which two have been wet-leased to Cubana while another is wet-leased to Afrijet Business Service).

Its Solenta Aviation Côte d'Ivoire unit also has one ATR72-200(F) in service for DHL Aviation (South Africa) while Solenta Aviation Mozambique operates one ATR42-300.

Sunrise Airways (S6, Port au Prince) President Philippe Bayard says the Haiti-based carrier is set to expand its regional Caribbean network coverage through partnerships with other regional operators.

In an interview with The Curacao Chronicle, Bayard said that under the One Caribbean initiative, talks with authorities in Cuba over an interline agreement with Cubana (CU, Havana Int'l) have already begun. In addition, Sunrise Airways has also signed a strategic partnership agreement with Curacao's InselAir (7I, Curacao) wherein the Haitians will operate Santo Domingo Las Américas - Curacao flights from July onwards. Insel Air will then offer onwards interline connectivity to the islands of Aruba and Bonaire.

Bayard said the partnerships would diminish Haiti's reliance on the United States for its Caribbean connectivity. However, he said that despite the anticipated uptick in flights, there are no plans, at present, to develop Port au Prince into a regional hub. Aside from the island's lack of infrastructure capable of handling increased traffic, Haiti is also handicapped by excessive taxation on tickets...

Avion Express (X9, Vilnius) has announced it has leased a further three A320 aircraft, bringing the total fleet of the Lithuanian ACMI/charter provider to eighteen Airbus narrowbodies.

The aircraft are all ex-Sky Angkor Airlines stock and have already been wet-leased to Thomas Cook Group carriers. LV-NVX (msn 2689) and LV-NVY (msn 1909) are wet-leased by Condor, while LV-NVZ (msn 921) flies for Thomas Cook Airlines UK.

"In times of constantly growing demand for ACMI services, we have worked consistently to increase our fleet and strengthen our position in the market by assisting our clients worldwide. During 2018 and beyond we will continue working hard to further strengthen our stand as a forward-thinking leader in the ACMI market," CEO Darius Kajokas has said.

According to the ch-aviation fleets module, the Lithuanian ACMI/charter provider currently deals exclusively with Thomas Cook Group with seven aircraft wet-leased to each of Thomas Cook Airlines UK and Condor. A further four aircraft, which all had been previously leased to Cubana, are currently undergoing maintenance.