Orphaned Air Berlin A330s Already Find a New Home in Asia
Bankrupt Air Berlin's long-haul A330s are in the process of being repossessed, but as we learned this week, they won't be grounded for long.
As reported by Aviation Week and confirmed by the carrier, Malaysia Airlines will take over the leases of six of the planes from owner AerCap, with delivery expected in February 2018.
With a fairly short six-year lease term, it's possible that these planes will fly for Malaysia with the same interiors they have today. Which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing — I enjoyed my recent business-class flight on Air Berlin, even though the seat was showing its age. The carrier referenced slightly different cabin specs, though, with 19 flat-bed seats in business class and 287 economy seats — so a tweaked arrangement may be more likely.
These six A330-200s will join Malaysia's existing fleet of six Airbus A380s, 15 A330-300s and 48 Boeing 737s, and will be used on some of the airline's medium-haul routes.