Smartlynx Airlines, a cargo, charter, and wet-lease / ACMI (aircraft, crew, maintenance, and insurance) carrier from Latvia, has ceased operations after more than three decades in the skies. The airline was well known for providing European airlines with extra capacity on an ACMI basis, and had even expanded its operations on this front as far afield as India in recent years.
Having begun life in the early to mid-1990s as an operator of Soviet-era aircraft, Smartlynx went on to modernize and grow its fleet as it became one of Europe’s leading ACMI and charter operators. Many passengers may not have even noticed that they were on a Smartlynx jet, with carriers such as easyJet adding their own branding to the otherwise white planes, but the carrier played an important role behind the scenes in boosting the capacity at leading European airlines.
The End Of An Era
As confirmed in a statement published yesterday afternoon on the Latvian carrier’s LinkedIn page, Smartlynx Airlines has officially ceased operations. The news comes just weeks after, as was reported by ch-aviation at the time, the airline filed for creditor protection at the start of the month. It was also around this time, as Flightradar24 notes, that it changed ownership.
All in all, it seems that the increased financial pressure was too much for Smartlynx to handle in terms of being able to sustain viable operations in the long run. According to Cirium, an aviation analytics company, the last flights that were scheduled to be operated by the carrier’s aircraft were six Indian domestic services on behalf of IndiGo on November 9. Smartlynx said yesterday:
“As of today, we will be ceasing our commercial operations. This decision comes after a thorough assessment of our situation and long-term outlook, and it was not taken lightly.”
Three Decades In The Skies
The Smartlynx story began in 1992, when the carrier was founded under its initial name of Lat Charter. It commenced operations a year later, with Soviet aircraft forming the backbone of its early fleet. These, historical fleet data made available by ch-aviation shows, included four examples of the Tupolev Tu-134B-3 and another two units of the rear-engined Yakovlev Yak-42D.
Smartlynx explained in yesterday’s statement that, while it “started as a small Latvian airline with big dreams,” it has grown “into an international family known for resilience, adaptability, and a spirit that never backed down.” It was renamed to take its current moniker in 2008, by which time it had begun flying Western aircraft such as those from the Airbus A320 and Boeing 767 families.
After establishing itself first and foremost as an ACMI and charter specialist, recent years also saw Smartlynx enter the cargo space, announcing in 2020 that it would begin flying converted Airbus A321 freighters. Its standing in the ACMI sector saw it score multiple major clients in the 2020s, with Air Peace and easyJet among those using the carrier’s aircraft to boost their capacity.
Why Your Next Flight Might Be Operated By An All White Plane
With many airlines leasing planes from ACMI providers in the current climate, you might find yourself onboard an all-white aircraft.
The Smartlynx Airlines Fleet
According to present fleet data made available by ch-aviation, Smartlynx Airlines had 14 aircraft in its fleet at the time of its operational cessation. As detailed in the table below, all of these were twinjets from the Airbus A320ceo family. The carrier’s A320-200s were its youngest aircraft, aged 18 years on average, followed by its A321-200s (18.6 years old) and A321-200P2F (26.8 years old).
|
Smartlynx Airlines’ Fleet (Per ch-aviation) |
|
|---|---|
|
Aircraft Type |
Number |
|
Airbus A320-200 |
9 |
|
Airbus A321-200 |
4 |
|
Airbus A321-200(P2F) |
1 |
|
Total |
14 |
Historically speaking, the carrier leaned considerably on the multinational European planemaker’s narrowbody twinjets, having operated another 24 examples of the A320-200. It also flew 11 more A321-200s and another two examples of the converted A321-200P2F freighter aircraft.
As mentioned, Smartlynx Airlines also flew widebody twinjets from the Boeing 767 family in years gone by. According to ch-aviation’s data, two examples of the popular 767-300ER model graced the carrier’s fleet from 2007, with YL-LCY leaving in 2013 and YL-LCZ leaving in 2012. According to Planespotters.net, these jets were leased to Gabon Airlines, SBA Airlines, and Virgin Nigeria.
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