September 13 (SeeNews) - Moldovan startup airline HiSky said on Tuesday it plans to add two new Airbus A321neo LR aircraft to its Romanian base in 2023.
The aircraft will be delivered to Romania in March and are scheduled to enter service by April, HiSky said in a press release.
HiSky will be the first operator of the two aircraft, fresh off the Airbus production line.
The two new aircraft were made available to HiSky for operation by Los Angeles-based Air Lease Corporation, with which the operator already has a long-term contract for the other five Airbus aircraft in the fleet.
The expansion of the fleet with two aircraft suitable for long-distance flights opens a new market for the airline and also a series of new travel opportunities for Romanian passengers, the company said.
"We are entering a new stage of HiSky's development, expanding not only our fleet but also the categories of services we offer to our passengers. This new type of aircraft allows us to reach destinations that are less accessible directly to passengers based in Romania," HiSky CEO Iulian Scorpan said.
"By the end of the year we will also announce the routes that we will introduce starting April 2023 and I am convinced that a busy summer season awaits us."
HiSky started operating flights to Romanian cities of Timisoara and Cluj and to Israel's Tel Aviv from its new hub at Bucharest’s Otopeni Airport at the beginning of May.
HiSky was established in February 2020 by a team of entrepreneurs in partnership with Romanian charter airline Cobrex Trans. The company was certified as a Moldovan air operator in January 2021 and as a Romanian air operator in December 2020.
HiSky currently has a fleet of five Airbus A320 family aircraft operating regular flights from Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Iasi, Baia Mare, Satu Mare and Chisinau to domestic and international destinations, as well as charter flights in partnership with the main local travel agencies.
Since the beginning of 2021, HiSky operated more than 5,200 flights and transported more than 550,000 passengers.