Marco Messalla/ROME
Italy's Air Europe has received the first two of five leased Airbus A320s for its new north-south domestic network in competition with Alitalia.
One more A320 will be delivered in time for the 8 May start of scheduled services from Milan's Malpensa Airport to Catania and Palermo, Sicily. Two more will arrive by 14 May, to begin new services to Naples and Bari.
The aircraft have been supplied in a two-class configuration and are painted in a new corporate livery. Three of the five A320s are ex-Air France, while the rest are from an unnamed Chinese carrier.
Leasing the used A320s is an interim measure to get the operator - best known for its long-haul charter operations with Boeing 767s - into the domestic market for the summer schedules. They will be replaced by a first batch of six new aircraft from January next year, with eight more to be delivered from November.
The airline will fly point-to-point services in the region and feed the Malpensa hub in northern Italy, where the Swissair-led Qualiflyer Group operates daily flights to European and US hubs.
The SAirGroup bought a 49.9% stake in Air Europe last year. The Italian carrier is not yet a full member of the Qualiflyer Group, but has joined its European Leisure Group charter branch, keeping its substantial long-haul scheduled and charter business, which is focused on the Malpensa hub.
Air Europe will take its first Boeing 777 in June for scheduled operations to Cuba.
Source: Flight International
