Hans Airways Receives its First Aircraft

DALLAS - The UK's newest start-up airline Hans Airways has received its first aircraft. The ex-Air Europa Airbus A330-200 (G-KJAS) arrived at its Birmingham Airport (BHX) base from Palma de Mallorca (PMI) on August 2.

The airline's CEO Satnam Saini, COO Nathan Burkitt and CCO Martin Dunn welcomed the jet upon arrival. It will now undergo a formal technical handover before an acceptance signing with the aircraft lessor.

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The airline hopes to commence services later this year. Photo: Hans Airways.

Awaiting AOC

The long-haul airline will use the jet on route proving trials for the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) before starting commercial flights to Amritsar, North India, later this year. While it awaits confirmation of slots for the route, management also plans to use the A330 on ACMI and charter services to assist with crew training.

Speaking at the handover, CEO Satnam Saini said, "Our first widebody Airbus arriving into the UK is a big and significant milestone on Hans Airways' journey to launch. These past 12 months, we are very pleased to have added a wealth of competence and experience to our leadership and management team and recruited and trained up a full complement of exceptional pilots and cabin crew who will be ready to fly as soon as the airline's AOC is awarded."

STS Aviation Services will support modification work on the jet and re-registration to G-KJAS before putting it into service. Photo: Hans Airways.

Maintenance Partnership

Hans Airways will use maintenance and repair overhaul specialists STS Aviation Services to maintain the jet. "We are delighted STS has been selected as a long-term key maintenance supplier to support Hans Airways' Airbus A330," Colby Payne, Head of Sales for STS said.

"As a result of this partnership, we have accepted the first aircraft for a maintenance visit at our state-of-the-art, widebody aircraft MRO facility in Birmingham and look forward to supporting Hans Airways with further projects as its growth continues."

Hans Airways was founded in October 2019 to operate flights between underserved cities in the UK and India. It is billing itself as a 'hybrid' airline, "blending value for money fares with a quality in-flight service offering."

Featured Image: The aircraft was welcomed by welcomed by Hans Airways CEO Satnam Saini, COO Nathan Burkitt and CCO Martin Dunn. Photo: Hans Airways.