The Chilean low-cost carrier Sky Airline is the second operator worldwide to have a 100% A320neo capacity. More impressively, it has transitioned into becoming a full neo operator in only 15 months, gaining a few extra benefits along the way.
Looking at Sky Airline’s fleet
Sky Airline is a low-cost operator which started flying in 2001. It has a hub at Santiago de Chile’s Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport. The airline currently has a fleet of 19 Airbus A320neo aircraft, plus six on order, according to Planespotters.net.
Before that, it had up to 13 Airbus A319, ten A320-200, and 22 Boeing 737-200 at different parts of its history. The last 737 exited the airline in 2015.
In September 2018, Sky received its first Airbus A320neo, which led to a full renovation process. In a CAPA interview with IATA’s vice-president Peter Cerdá, José Ignacio Dougnac, Sky’s CEO, said,
“Well, before the pandemic, we were going through a really important transformation in terms of being much more friendly than we used to be. And that’s why we forced the fleet transition. We actually managed to change 100% of the fleet and become a full neo operator in only 15 months.”
What do we know about the XLR fleet?
In 2019, Sky Airline signed a Purchase Agreement for ten A321XLRs. Holger Paulmann, Sky’s CEO at that time, said,
“This new aircraft fleet will allow us to expand our offer of international and wide-ranging routes, always under our successful low-cost model and its extremely convenient ticket prices. Now passengers can enjoy new and very attractive destinations on the most modern airplanes in the market.”
Sky expects to receive its first A321XLR in late 2023. The airline hopes that this aircraft will help develop its vision of connecting more routes on airports and giving passengers the opportunity to access really cheap fares to multiple destinations within the region, said Dougnac…
