Messaggio da leggereda kco » lun 15 apr 2019, 18:15:33
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Milan-based carrier Air Italy has made contingency plans should the grounding of its Boeing 737 Max 8 narrowbodies endure beyond this month, chief commercial officer Rossen Dimitrov has disclosed.
Since its three -8s were grounded in early March, the Milan-based carrier has leased aircraft on a short-term term basis from Blue Air and Bulgaria Air, but has also made preparations for a potentially prolonged grounding.
"We have another plan if it goes beyond April," Dimitrov told FlightGlobal in Milan on 3 April. "We have an agreement with another airline to cover the domestic market," he adds.
So far, Air Italy has contracted one 737 from Blue Air and an Airbus A319 and Embraer ERJ-145 from Bulgaria Air, with a second ERJ-145 to be added soon from the same source. The operator is also in negotiations to potentially take a further aircraft from another carrier, Dimitrov confirms.
Without disclosing the precise costs to Air Italy of the grounding, Dimitrov says they include leasing payments on the Max jets, the fee to wet-lease in aircraft from other airlines, compensation and associated costs arising from disruption to its flight schedule, and the "reputational cost" to its brand.
Dimitrov says the grounding has had an impact on operations, since the jets were being used with "very high daily" utilisation on domestic routes.
Air Italy was able bring two of its Max 8s back to Milan before the grounding, but the other remains stuck in the Egyptian capital Cairo.
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