Lanmei Airlines leases first A321

Lanmei Airlines (Cambodia) leased a first Airbus A321 from AerCap. A second aircraft from the same source is expected soon. The airline is a Chinese owned low cost (LCC) airline that commenced operations September 15th from Phnom Penh and Siem to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, initially with a wet leased Myanma Airways International A320.

Airbus A321-231 MSN 3522 F/F 5/20/08
Royal Jordanian JY-AYK 5/20/08 - 3/15/14
Monarch Airlines G-ZBAL 5/31/14 - 10/2/17
Lanmei Airlines XU-919 12/8/17 - current

Flybondi takes delivery of first 737-800

Flybondi (Argentina) has taken delivery of it's first Boeing 737-800, leased from SMBC. A second aircraft is due soon, which will enable the airline to commence low cost (LCC) service from initially El Palomar, Buenos Aires. Ten aircraft are planned to be in service by the end of 2018.

Boeing 737-8AS MSN 33821 L/N 1698 F/F 4/16/05
Ryanair EI-DHM 4/28/05 - 3/28/12
Nok Air HS-DBD 5/9/12 - 9/22/17
Flybondi LV-HKS 11/25/17 - present

Eastar Jet leases a second ex-Lion Air 737-900ER

Eastar Jet (South Korea) has added a second ex-Lion Air (Indonesia) Boeing 737-900ER. The Seoul based low cost carrier commenced service January 7th 2009 and operates an all Boeing 737 fleet to 14 destinations in eight countries.

Boeing 737-9GPER MSN 35710 L/N 2285 F/F 5/30/07
Lion Air PK-LFH 6/12/07 - 6/17
Eastar Jet HL8096 7/13/17 - present

Eastar Jet - Current Fleet
2 x 737-700
15 x 737-800
2 x 737-900ER
Total: 19

Jeju Air's 737 fleet rises to 30

Jeju Air (South Korea) Boeing 737-800 fleet has risen to 30 units following the delivery of a used aircraft (MSN 36814) from Amentum Aircraft Leasing. The ex-Norwegian aircraft was originally delivered in September 2009. The low cost carrier's entire fleet consists of used 737-800s, leased from a variety of leading operating lease companies. This is the 102nd used 737-800 lease recorded this year.

flyadeal takes delivery of first A320

flyadeal (Saudi Arabia) has taken delivery of it's first of eight new Airbus A320s, with which it will commence domestic low cost (LCC) service September 23rd (Saudi Arabia National Day). The airline is wholly owned by flag carrier Saudi Arabian Airlines. Based at Jeddah, initial destinations will be Riyadh and Dammam, followed by additional domestic routes.

Airbus A320-214 MSN 7829 flyadeal (leased from Dubai Aerospace Enterprise) HZ-FAA "Al-Nayyir" (test registration D-AXAC) [Delivered August 23rd 2017]

flyadeal (website)

Buta Airways receives first E-190

New airline Buta Airways (Azerbaijan) has taken delivery of it's first aircraft, an Embraer E-190LR (MSN 0733 VP-BRU), leased new from Nordic Aviation Capital. Three additional aircraft will follow, with which the airline will operate low cost services to an initial 11 destinations from it's Baku base. The airline is a wholly owned subsidiary of Azerbaijan Airlines.

Embraer E-190 MSN 0733 Buta Airways VP-BRU [Delivered August 19th 2017]

Buta Airways (website)

Air Berlin files for bankruptcy

Air Berlin bowed to the inevitable, and filed for bankruptcy, following shareholder Etihad Airways declining to provide further funding. Operations continue during restructuring, with the German government providing a bridge loan of $177M. It is widely expected that parts of the company will be acquired by Lufthansa, who has already wet-leased up to 40 A320s to support the growth of it's Eurowings low cost division. [Subsequently Ryanair, EasyJet, Thomas Cook / Condor and others have expressed an interest in acquiring certain assets of Air Berlin. Will Air Berlin survive in some form as an airline? No - probably not].

Air Berlin's current operational fleet (excluding aircraft leased to Eurowings, Niki and Belair) comprises 5 x 737-700, 9 x 737-800, 37 x A320, 17 x A330-200.

Air Berlin's slow descent into bankruptcy
Skift.com

Analysis by FlightGlobal (Registration Required)
Flightglobal.com

Ernest adds an A320 to it's fleet

New Italian entrant Ernest has taken delivery of an A320 (MSN 2044), adding to an A319 delivered in March, with which it commenced LCC service between Italy and Albania (see previous JetTrak item: Ernest commences service).

This aircraft was delivered new to TAME (Ecuador) as HC-CDZ September 12th 2003, leased from GATX. The aircraft was returned off lease in May 2008 to Macquarie Aviation (who had acquired GATX's assets in December 2006). The next lessee of the aircraft was TAM Brasil, that was later re-branded LATAM in May 2006, before returning off lease this May.

flydubai takes delivery of it's first 737 MAX 8

flydubai (UAE) has taken official delivery of it's first Boeing 737 MAX 8, the first of 75 such aircraft on order. This is Boeing's first 737 MAX to be delivered in the Middle East, and brings total 737 MAX deliveries to ten. The low cost carrier (LCC) currently operates 54 737-800s.

Boeing 737 MAX 8 MSN 60966/6326 flydubai A6-MAX

GO CAT -> Scoots

Tigerair [TGW/TR GO CAT] (Singapore) operated it's last flight July 24th, and today was integrated into it's sister airline Scoot, creating a diverse airline with narrowbody and widebody aircraft, operating short, medium and long haul routes.

Airbus A320-232 MSN 5915 Scoot 9V-TRN [the first Tigerair aircraft to be repainted into Scoot colors]

Tiger Airways (as it was originally branded) commenced operations December 12th 2003 as an independent low cost carrier (LCC), based at Singapore. Tiger Airways made a minor re-branding July 3rd 2013 to Tigerair, and was then acquired in October 2014 by SIA Holdings (Singapore Airlines).

Boeing 777-212ER MSN 28507/067 Scoot 9V-OTA [Retired 4/15 and now permanently withdrawn from use at Roswell, NM]

Scoot, from the outset, was owned by Singapore Airlines, and commenced operations June 4th 2012, initially operating 777-200ERs, as a long haul leisure carrier - not dissimilar to Asian / Asian Pacific carriers JetStar (owned by Qantas) and Air Asia X, a long haul subsidiary of LCC power house Air Asia (Malaysia).

Boeing 787-8 MSN 37117/314 Scoot 9V-OFA

Scoot's long haul fleet has since transitioned to 787-8 and -9s, with all 777s now retired. Scoot (and previously Tigerair) are members of the low cost carrier alliance named "Value Alliance", the world's largest such group.

Boeing 787-9 MSN 37112/240 Scoot 9V-OJA

Tigerair joint venture operations - Tigerair Australia and Tigerair Taiwan will continue as Tigerair brands.

Remembering Tigerair...

Airbus A319-132 MSN 3757 Tigerair 9V-TRA [one of only two A319s operated by Tigerair]

Airbus A320-232 MSN 2724 Tigerair 9V-TAE

Scoot Fleet (July 25th 2017)

2 x A319
21 x A320
8 x 787-8
6 x 787-9
Total: 37

Air Busan takes delivery of first new A321

Air Busan (South Korea) has taken delivery of it's first factory new A321 (MSN 7754 HL7210) on lease from ICBC Leasing (China). The low cost carrier (LCC) operates 11 used A321s (plus 6 A320s), the majority having been transferred from parent company Asiana Airlines.

Eurowings Europe adds A319s

Eurowings Europe (Austria) has recently added two Airbus A319s to it's fleet, joining six A320s currently operated. The Vienna based low cost carrier, a Lufthansa Group subsidiary, commenced operations a year ago on June 23rd 2016. The airline's branding is common with sister carrier Eurowings (Germany).

Airbus A319-132 OE-LYY (MSN 4256)

Ernest commences service

New Italian airline Ernest earlier this month commenced low cost (LCC) services between a variety of Italian cities and Tirana, Albania. The airline's sole Airbus A319 [MSN 1362 EI-FVG] is leased from Babcock & Brown (US), and will soon be joined by a leased A320.

EasyJet takes delivery of it's first A320 NEO

EasyJet (UK), the London Luton based low cost carrier (LCC) has taken delivery of it's first Airbus A320 NEO, powered by CFM LEAP-1A engines. 99 additional A320 NEOs are on order, while it's existing all Airbus fleet consists of 132 A319s and 115 A320s. The airline has also recently ordered 30 A321 NEOs, and is considering converting additional existing A320 NEO orders to the larger variant.