German passenger and freight carrier SkyTeam has been forced at the last minute to shelve plans to acquire a CASA CN235 turboprop transport because the aircraft the Spanish manufacturer planned to supply does not comply with European Joint Airworthiness Requirements.
The airline has instead concluded a deal with BAC Leasing for two additional Fokker F27 Mk500s, previously operated by Jersey European Airways. Frankfurt Airport-based SkyTeam has two F27s - one a freighter and the other in a quick-change configuration.
SkyTeam had to drop its CN235 plans despite having signed a lease contract with CASA, after the manufacturer refused to pay for the avionics, structural and aerodynamic modifications required to achieve JAR-25 approval.
"We had to decide not to acquire this particular aircraft," says SkyTeam deputy managing director, Sascha Schott. "We were very disappointed that we had to stop the negotiations at this late stage."
The deal would have seen SkyTeam leasing an ex-CASA demonstrator aircraft. Unlike CN235s now coming off the production line, the aircraft had not undergone the latest modifications necessary for civil certification. CASA says its contract with SkyTeam specified that the aircraft would operate with a Spanish license. It claims, however, that SkyTeam later decided to seek a German licence, but refused to pay fo the modification costs.
SkyTeam had planned to operate the CN235 in a quick-change passenger-to-freight configuration to gain experience, as a prelude to introducing the larger CN295. "We will re-establish contact with CASA when JAR-25-approved aircraft are available," says Schott.
Airline operations include a five-times-weekly service on behalf of DHL from Leipzig-Cologne-London Luton-Paris Charles de Gaulle-Cologne-Leipzig.
Source: Flight International
