Kyrgyzstan Airlines has become the first CIS operator of an Airbus fly-by-wire type, with the introduction of a leased A320. The airline plans to take additional Western aircraft, including two A319s, as part of its fleet modernisation programme.
The four-year-old Airbus A320 has been acquired on a four-year operating lease from Amsterdam-based leasing company debis AirFinance. The International Aero Engines V2500-A1 powered aircraft was originally delivered to TransAsia Airways on lease from lessor Orix, and purchased by debis earlier this year.
The A320 lease is part of a deal which will see two new high gross weight A319s delivered to the airline on operating lease from debis in 2002. The lessor says the new aircraft will "probably" replace, rather than supplement, the A320. Until now Kyrgyzstan Airlines, which was formerly the regional directorate of Aeroflot, has operated a fleet of Tupolev Tu-134s and Tu-154s and Yakovlev Yak-40s.
The inaugural flight was operated from Frankfurt, where the A320 had undergone maintenance, to Bishkek. The A320 will fly to Beijing, Frankfurt, Hanover, Istanbul and Moscow.
Source: Flight International
