British Mediterranean Airways (BMed) plans to increase its Airbus A320 family fleet to six by 2004 to support route expansion plans. The carrier has rights to add a further seven destinations, including Afghanistan, to its network of 12 routes.
The British Airways franchise partner will take delivery of a third A320 in February, followed by a third A321 in April 2004.
The aircraft, leased through Singapore Aircraft Leasing Enterprise, will be used for new routes, including Tashkent, Uzbekistan, which will be added next month. The 149-seat A321 will be fitted with an auxiliary centre fuel-tank to provide 500km (270nm) extra range, allowing it to serve longer routes around central Asia, potentially including Kabul, Afghanistan, with a stop.
"We have the rights to fly to Afghanistan, and are evaluating the route. If we can make it profitable, then we could establish a service, but not before 2004," says Des Hetherington, chief executive. He says routes to Djibouti and Eritrea were rejected after being evaluated last year, but the carrier is studying Khartoum, Sudan (Flight International, 11-17 September, 2001).
The carrier is also planning a codeshare with an Azerbaijan or Kazakhstan airline to offer onward flights from Baku, Azerbaijan, to oil destinations around the Caspian Sea, including Aktau and Atyrau. Flights to these points involve a connection in the Kazakhstan commercial capital, Almaty.
Following 11 September, the carrier saw a 34% drop in passengers, which recovered fully by January. First quarter figures to July show a 15% rise in passengers, compared with last year, with yields up 4%. During this period the carrier added a new route to Almaty using an interim A320 operated on a power-by-the-hour contract with Debis Air Finance.
Source: Flight International
