Moldova’s startup airline, HiSky Moldova, has signed a long-term lease agreement for an Airbus A320-200 aircraft with Air Lease Corporation. The A320 aircraft will be delivered to HiSky Moldova next month. HiSky Moldova already has an A319 and an A320 in its fleet.
The third A320 family aircraft for HiSky Moldova
HiSky Moldova will receive its third aircraft, an Airbus A320, in April this year. The airline is gradually expanding its fleet: it currently has an A319 and an A320, and both are on lease from California’s Air Lease Corporation. ALC’s Senior Vice President David Beker commented in a press release by stating:
“We are pleased to announce this agreement to deliver our thid Airbus A320 family aircraft to HiSky. (…) Our team is honored that the leadership of HiSky has chosen to collaborate exclusively with ALC to launch their airline this year under challenging circumstances and we believe HiSky is well positioned for long-term growth and success.”
HiSky Moldova is a startup airline that announced its launch early last year, before the pandemic had started disrupting air travel worldwide. Still, this has not deterred HiSky from launching operations. The airline began assembling its fleet in the early summer last year: by June, it had acquired an A319 and an A320 aircraft.
The airline is based in Chișinău International Airport in Moldova, where it has been a certified air operator since this year. However, it is also based in Cluj International Airport in Romania, where it also has an AOC. Out of Romania, HiSky plans to fly to Dublin and Lisbon.
HiSky first painted A320, unveiled today, pictures via @BoardingPassRO.
(and it is pretty)#HiSky #HiSkyMoldova pic.twitter.com/nnzHyQ1lX8
— TLspotting ✈️ (@TLspotting) August 5, 2020
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What other aircraft does HiSky have?
HiSky currently has a fleet of two aircraft: an Airbus A320 registered as YR-SKY, and an Airbus A319 registered as ER-SKY.
The Airbus A319 was delivered to HiSky in December 2020, when it flew from Ostrava in the Czech Republic to HiSky’s base, Chișinău. The aircraft had been stored in the Czech Republic for a while. The A319 has since performed several test flights in February and March. It operated its first commercial flight on March 5th this year on a charter operation from Moldova’s Chișinău (KIV) to Egypt’s Hurghada (HRG).
The other aircraft, a ten-year-old Airbus A320, has only operated one flight in the last year, and this was not a commercial service. HiSky is yet to start making use of its A320s, but it is hoping these can start to make it money this summer.
What routes will the airline fly?
Starting next month, HiSky is expected to start operating a whole range of flights. These include scheduled services and seasonal charters.
Scheduled services are planned for a whole range of operations: London Stansted, Istanbul, Moscow Domodedovo, Lisbon, Tel Aviv, Dublin, and Paris Beauvais.
As for the seasonal charters, these are planned for Hurghada and Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt, Agadir in Morocco, Baia Mare, Târgu Mureș and Oradea in Romania, Monastir in Tunisia, and Antalya in Turkey.
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