Yemenia Airways receives their first A320 aircraft.
Sanaa based Yemenia airways has taken delivery of its first Airbus aircraft. The state owned carrier of Yemen plans to replace their entire fleet of single aisle aircraft with airbus A320 making the carrier an all Airbus operator.
The aircraft is the first from an order for 10 A320 Family aircraft placed in January 2010, and is equipped with IAE engines and is configured in two classes (12 business and 138 economy seats) and will be deployed on regional and international services to Gulf States, Middle East, Africa, India and Southern European destinations, to help to stimulate economic growth in Yemen.
Captain Abdulkhalek Al-Kadi, Chairman and CEO of Yemenia said, “Our fleet modernisation will see us operating one of the newest and most harmonized fleets in the region. Airbus’ unique commonality between aircraft will bring added operational and maintenance efficiency and help us achieve our growth targets, and to redefine the best in passengers comfort and services.”
“It is a strong sign of the resilience of our industry that Yemenia is on course with their fleet renewal strategy, and we feel privileged to be the exclusive partner in their long-term growth ambitions”, said Tom Enders, Airbus President and CEO. ”With the added efficiency of operating an all Airbus fleet Yemenia will further strengthen their competitive position in the market.”
Airlines operating using the Airbus range of aircraft are able to make cost savings due to the unique cockpit and operational synergies across all their aircraft. Allowing Pilots, Cabin Crews and maintenance engineers to operate across the full range. These cost savings are often cited by Airbus as a common reason why their overall philosophy is so successful when placing aircraft and airline alliances together.
