Sunday, September 22, 2013

FLEET UPDATE: Aerolineas Argentinas A330 & A340 Fleet Deployment Plans

Aerolineas Argentinas took delivery of the first of four A330-200's on lease from ILFC when LV-FNI (c/n 290), formerly with Malaysia Airlines arrived at Buenos Aires Ezeiza (EZE) on 05Sep13.  The other three A330-200's, two from Air Australia and one more from Malaysian, are due to arrive one-by-one between now and November.  The aircraft, which are 13 years old on average, are being leased for US$ 380,000 per month.  The A330-200's will join AR's existing fleet of A340-200's and 300's which will itself grow when two more A340's join AR from Iberia later this year, including one which will be the first Aerolineas wide-bodied aircraft to be painted in Skyteam colors.    

The A340's currently fly to Barcelona (BCN), Madrid (MAD) and Rome (FCO) in Europe, Miami (MIA) in the U.S. and Sydney (SYD), Australia.  With the arrival of the A330's, the smaller aircraft will take over the Miami (MIA) flights, start the new New York - JFK service on 15Dec13, and fly to Ushuaia (USH) in southern Argentina that is a popular starting point for Antarctica cruises. Lima (LIM) might be added to the list of A330 destinations too.  

Although several European airlines operate the A330 on transatlantic services Aerolineas does not currently have that option as it is not certified for ETOPS (extended-range twin-engine operations) and its aircraft lack the necessary rest areas for more than one crew.

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