Hans Airways’ first Airbus A330 arrives into UK

Friday 5th August 2022

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Hans Airways, the UK’s new long-haul airline readying to fly to India, celebrated the arrival of its first Airbus A330-200 on UK soil this week. The aircraft touched down from Palma Airport, Mallorca to Birmingham International Airport, welcomed by CEO Satnam Saini, COO Nathan Burkitt and CCO Martin Dunn for Hans Airways, ahead of formal technical handover and technical acceptance signing with the lessor.

 

Hans Airways has partnered with maintenance and repair overhaul specialist STS Aviation Services for Re-Registration tasks and Entry into service modifications ahead of its important route-proving flight for the UK Civil Aviation Authority in the coming weeks.  The A330 will fly as newly re-registered G-KJAS.

 

Since 2020, Hans Airways has maintained a close dialogue with the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on its progress.  Prior to arriving in Palma, the aircraft underwent a thorough 200-hour inspection in Abu Dhabi (UAE) by Etihad Engineering (work previously contracted by its former airline operator, Air Europa).   The aircraft was required to return to Spain, its original country of registration for final contractual, administration, financial transfer and customs clearance.   In Palma work included a final internal inspection of the engines and rectification of any defect identified on the airworthiness and positioning flight.

 

“Our first widebody Airbus arriving into the UK is a big and significant milestone on Hans Airways’ journey to launch,” said CEO Satnam Saini.  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.

 

  "We are delighted STS has been selected as a long-term key maintenance supplier to support Hans Airways’ Airbus A330,” stated Colby Payne, Head of Sales for STS. “As a result of this partnership, we have accepted the first aircraft for a maintenance visit at our state of the art, wide-body aircraft MRO facility in Birmingham and look forward to supporting Hans Airways with further projects as its growth continues.”

 

Amritsar / Golden Temple will be its first route

 

Once it has its AOC, together with similar accreditation from India’s DGCA, Hans Airways is planning an initial four times weekly service from Birmingham to Amritsar in North India.    Amritsar is a major commercial and cultural centre in the heart of Punjab. The city is the spiritual and cultural centre of the Sikh religion and home to the Harmandir Sahib, famously known as the Golden Temple. 

 

As Hans Airways finalises slots and timetable, it plans to operate ACMI / charter services, which will help with crew training ahead of the scheduled service operation, Satnam Saini said.

 

Hans Airways senior management - Martin Dunn, CCO; Satnam Saini, CEO and Nathan Burkitt, COO, with their first Airbus A330-200 at Birmingham International Airport / STS Aviation Services

 

Nathan Burkitt, COO and Satnam Saini, CEO, Hans Airways, on board their first A330

 

Hans Airways' COO Nathan Burkitt with STS Aviation Services' Head of Sales Colby Payne.

 

Photography: Stewart Writtle Photography for Hans Airways

 

About Hans Airways    

     

Hans Airways is the UK’s newest hybrid, long-haul airline venture, blending value for money fares with a quality inflight service offering. Hans Airways will offer two classes of cabins: Economy class (called "Anand Class"), with a 31-inch seat pitch and 274 seats, and Premium Economy (called "Anand Plus"), offering a 56" pitch and 24 seats. It will offer high quality complementary inflight entertainment and catering as standard.   

    

A loyalty programme   is planned.  To be known as HAPEEI (Hans Airways Passengers Environment Education Initiative), it will reward passengers with all the regular benefits of a frequent flyer programme and with a strong emphasis on corporate social responsibility, create opportunities to donate to children’s educational charities in India or conservation and water preservation projects.   

     

Hans Airways’ senior management has identified a high demand for regular secondary city air links between the UK and India, drawing on its CEO’s considerable experience instigating a series of charter flights for Monarch Airlines and FlyJet.     

    

It intends to have a close working relationship with travel agencies and travel management companies.     Hans Airways submitted its UK AOC application in March 2020, following extensive discussions with the UK Civil Aviation Authority and Department for Transport.

    

Hans Airways’ management team (see  Board of Directors   and   Leadership Team ) share an extensive experience of the commercial aviation industry and a deep understanding of the needs of its core focus market.  Financial support for the airline has come, inter alia, from the Indian community in the UK (see  Investor Relations ).   

    

www.hansairways.com