Airlines Air Austral leases HiFly’s A380

The French airline Air Austral, with its headquarter on the island Réunion, has signed a wet-lease agreement for HiFly’s A380.

Due to the mandatory EASA safety regulations, Air Austral is forced to ground one of its two Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner for three months. The aircraft, which is equipped with Rolls Royce Trent 1000 engines required additional inspections. To secure the scheduled flight operations, Air Austral is forced to lease external aircraft. From August 24 to September 9, Air Austral will replace its Boeing 787-8 with the wet-leased Airbus A380 of HiFly.

The new aircraft type and its size forces Air Austral to change its flight plan: As the airport in Mayotte is not able to handle such a large aircraft, flights between Paris and Mayotte will have to be cancelled in the period. The Airbus A380 will be used to offer flights on the route Réunion-Paris Charles de Gaulle. Passengers travelling from Mayotte to Paris will be transferred to Réunion with Air Austral’s regional fleet.

Air Austral has not yet found a solution or another charter aircraft after September 9, when the current leasing contract with HiFly ends.

HiFly has received its first Airbus A380 in July. The former Singapore Airlines aircraft is the first second-hand A380 ever operated. It offers 471 seats in a three class configuration with 12 seats in First Class, 60 in Business Class und 399 in Economy class. The aircraft, which is painted in a neutral “Save the coral reefs” livery, was displayed at the Farnborough Air Show 2018.