Summary
- SWISS has fully restored its fleet by bringing back a stored Airbus A320 from Amman after three years.
- The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant disruptions within the aviation industry, but now it’s becoming a distant memory for a lot of.
- SWISS currently operates a fleet of 107 aircraft, with the Airbus A220 and A320 families being essentially the most used aircraft.
SWISS has restored its entire fleet after pulling one final Airbus A320 out of storage in Amman.
Bringing back the ultimate aircraft
The COVID-19 pandemic caused essentially the most significant disruption to the aviation industry because the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, in america. Airlines worldwide grounded their fleets without knowing when aircraft could fly again and sent staff home with none certainty of a timeframe for return to work. Some were even furloughed or given the choice of early retirement. To say it was a nightmare is an understatement.
Photo: Bradley Caslin | Shutterstock
Now, nearly 4 years after the start of the worldwide catastrophe, many within the industry are beginning to see the pandemic as a really distant sight within the rearview mirror. Swiss International Air Lines (SWISS) is considered one of the airlines doing just that. The airline announced on Tuesday that its fleet had been fully restored following the removal of an Airbus A320 from storage in Amman and the aircraft’s entry into service.
Registered as HB-IJO, the 26-year-old Airbus A320, which bears a special Star Alliance Livery, was stored for 3 years within the desert in Jordan. In keeping with SWISS, 25 aircraft were stored in Amman as a consequence of the pandemic.
Claus Bauer, Head of Technical Fleet Management, SWISS, said,
“We’re delighted to welcome the last of our Jordan-stored aircraft back to our flight operations and return our working fleet to full size. Our specialists have made huge efforts over the previous few months to be sure that every considered one of our stored aircraft was brought back to Zurich in faultless technical condition. It’s been an enormous undertaking for everyone involved through which every detail counts.”
SWISS’ current fleet
In keeping with data from ch-aviation, SWISS’ fleet currently comprises 107 aircraft, whether energetic, inactive, or wet-leased. The Airbus A220-300 has the best number within the fleet, with 24, 17 energetic, 4 inactive, and three wet-leased. The airline also operates nine A220-100s, making the A220 the most-used aircraft family within the SWISS fleet.
The Airbus A320 family can also be essential for SWISS, which operates the A320-200, A321-100, A321-200, A320neo, and A321neo. A320 family aircraft make up just over 26% of the overall fleet. The breakdown of A320 family aircraft is 12 A320-200, six A320neo, three A321-100, three A321-200, and 4 A321neos. SWISS also has an extra ten A320neos and five A321neos on order.
Photo: SWISS
Because it stands, all narrowbodies within the SWISS fleet are Airbus aircraft, in the event you count Embraer E-jets in their very own ‘regional jet’ category other than narrowbodies. The widebody fleet is currently split between the Airbus A330-300 and A340-300 and the Boeing 777-300ER. There are 14 A330s, 4 A340s, and 12 777s, and the airline has five Airbus A350-900s on order.
On the regional side, SWISS operates 16 Embraer aircraft, including each variants of the latest-generation E2 family of aircraft, the E190-E2 and E195-E2. The airline also operates two variants of the first-generation E190s, the E190LR and standard E190. The breakdown for the Embraer fleet is 4 E190LRs, two E190s, six E190-E2s, and 4 E195-E2s.