Japanese low-cost carrier Skymark Airlines has signed a firm agreement to order up to six Airbus A380s, becoming the first Japanese carrier to acquire the superjumbo.
The airline inked a deal in Toulouse yesterday to purchase four A380s with two options, says an airline official.
Deliveries will begin in the second half of 2014 with the airline receiving two aircraft, he adds. The third A380 will arrive in 2015, and the fourth in 2016.
Last November, the airline signed a tentative agreement with Airbus to acquire four A380s.
Skymark, based at Tokyo's Haneda Airport, has not made an engine selection for the aircraft, says the official.
"We believe that the A380, the world's most cost-efficient, modern and environmentally friendly aircraft with cutting-edge technologies, will provide us with a strong competitive advantage and safe operation," says the airline's president Shinichi Nishikubo.
The airline plans to operate the aircraft on long-haul routes from Tokyo. Reports say it could operate the A380s to London, Paris and Frankfurt.
Skymark currently operates a fleet of 18 Boeing 737-800s on domestic routes, according to Flightglobal's ACAS database.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
