Hi Fly Malta to add 3 A319s for Airbus shuttle ch-aviation PRO exclusive

Air Mauritius (MK, Mauritius) took delivery of its first A330-900neo on April 18. The Rolls-Royce Trent 7000-72 powered aircraft is equipped with 260 seats in Economy and 28 seats in Business Class. It is the first of two units the Mauritian national carrier will lease from Air Lease Corporation.

Following TAP Air Portugal (TP, Lisbon) and Air Sénégal (HC, Dakar Blaise Diagne Int'l) (whose A330neo is operated by Hi Fly Malta (HFM, Malta Int'l)), Air Mauritius is the third operator of the type worldwide.

Initially, it plans to use the aircraft on its routes from Mauritius to Antananarivo, Bangalore Int'l, Chennai, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo, Kuala Lumpur Int'l, London Heathrow, Mumbai Int'l, Singapore Changi, and St. Denis de la Réunion.

According to a news report by L'Express, the six-month delay in delivery of the two aircraft has forced the carrier to extend the leases on two A340-300s that were supposed to be retired in November and December...

Air Sénégal (HC, Dakar Blaise Diagne Int'l) has taken delivery of its first widebody jet, A330-900 9H-SZN (msn 1910). One of two on order from Airbus, the aircraft was positioned to Dakar Blaise Diagne Int'l on Friday, March 8, and has since been deployed into service on the carrier's Dakar-Paris CDG, France route.

As previously reported, Hi Fly Malta (HFM, Malta Int'l) is operating the jet on Air Sénégal's behalf given it does not currently possess the IOSA or European TCO authorizations needed to serve the European Union itself. As part of plans to develop Dakar Blaise Diagne Int'l into an intercontinental connecting hub, the Senegalese carrier also plans to open up service to Brazil and the United States.

Aside from the A330neo, Air Sénégal also operates two A319-100s (of which one is leased from Air Côte d'Ivoire) and two ATR72-600s. It had also wet-leased an A340-300 from Hi Fly Malta prior to the A330neo's arrival.