Ukraine Intl. Airlines, airBaltic Launch Partner Flights

[In The News]

DALLAS – Ukraine International Airlines (PS) and airBaltic (BT) have agreed to wet-lease medium-haul Boeing 737-900 aircraft.

According to a PS release, the Ukrainian airline’s aircraft and crews will be based at Riga Airport (RIX) beginning May 1 to serve the partner network of flights.

The PS aircraft will connect to a combination of BT’s European destinations. The Boeing jets are scheduled to fly to Berlin, Madrid, Brussels, Oslo, and Copenhagen, among other cities. Four PS crews (a total of 28 staff members) will be involved in the operational activities of the PS aircraft on the routes.

Ukraine International Airlines also has Boeing 737-800 in its fleet. Photo: Daniel Gorun/Airways

The aircraft will fly with the PS colors and livery, as will the crews, who will wear their usual uniforms. A service agent from the Latvian carrier will be present on each PS aircraft on BT routes, according to the terms of the deal.

The airlines are currently determining the deadline for the PS aircraft operations in the BT fleet. The Boeing 737-900, which is part of the BT fleet, will be maintained by PS international contractors. As a long-term IOSA-certified operator, PS ensures that all international operational safety standards are met.

airBaltic YL-CSA Airbus A220-300. Photo: Tony Bordelais/Airways

arBaltic’s Similar Wet-Lease Push

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In mid-April, after halting operations in Ukraine and Russia due to the ongoing war in Ukraine, BT announced it would wet-lease a portion of its A220s.

The Latvian airline had already secured contracts for nine Airbus A220s to be leased on an ACMI basis to SAS Scandinavian Airlines (SK) and Eurowings (EW), according to its full-year financial report for 2021.

AirBaltic reported at the time that it was also negotiating wet-lease contracts for two other aircraft that were destined for Ukrainian and Russian airlines.

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Featured image: Ukraine International Boeing 737-900. Photo: Ian Gratton from Sutton-n-Craven, North Yorkshire, England, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

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