newstodate.aero
Apr 23, 2014 (newstodate): The Latvian charter and ACMI provider SmartLynx is growing with the market, adding a new Airbus A320 to its fleet by the end of this month.
With this latest addition entering operations from May 1, 2014, the fleet will grow to 11 Airbus A320 aircraft, but one new Airbus A320 was actually added earlier this year as replacement for a similar aircraft returned after the expiry of its lease period.
-Part of our strategy is to add one or two aircraft each year in tune with the demands in the market. But we are cautious to seek longer-term wet-lease or ACMI contracts covering at least one seasonal period, and all our aircraft are thus fully contracted for the coming summer season, says Aigars Jakovels, SmartLynx CFO.
-We are operating out of Riga Airport as well as through our Estonian subsidiary based in Tallinn, but in addition to that we set up operations wherever customers so require. We are clearly seeing the markets picking up strongly again warranting the sustained growth in our aircraft fleet.
-Our business is dedicated to the passenger segment, and we have currently no plans for entering the cargo market also. But we are constantly monitoring markets for business opportunities and should not preclude looking into the airfreight market as well at some point, says Mr Jakuvels.
With this latest addition entering operations from May 1, 2014, the fleet will grow to 11 Airbus A320 aircraft, but one new Airbus A320 was actually added earlier this year as replacement for a similar aircraft returned after the expiry of its lease period.
-Part of our strategy is to add one or two aircraft each year in tune with the demands in the market. But we are cautious to seek longer-term wet-lease or ACMI contracts covering at least one seasonal period, and all our aircraft are thus fully contracted for the coming summer season, says Aigars Jakovels, SmartLynx CFO.
-We are operating out of Riga Airport as well as through our Estonian subsidiary based in Tallinn, but in addition to that we set up operations wherever customers so require. We are clearly seeing the markets picking up strongly again warranting the sustained growth in our aircraft fleet.
-Our business is dedicated to the passenger segment, and we have currently no plans for entering the cargo market also. But we are constantly monitoring markets for business opportunities and should not preclude looking into the airfreight market as well at some point, says Mr Jakuvels.