Israir, Arkia secure wet-leased 737 capacity
Smartwings (Czechia) (QS, Prague Václav Havel) has reached agreements wherein it will wet-lease a total of six B737-800s to Israir (6H, Tel Aviv Ben Gurion) and Arkia Israeli Airlines (IZ, Tel Aviv Ben Gurion) during the current winter 2021/22 season.
According to the ch-aviation schedules module, Israir plans to operate its five Smartwings B737s on flights from of Tel Aviv Ben Gurion to:
Amsterdam Schiphol (starting on December 8),
Athens Int’l (already launched),
Berlin Brandenburg Int’l (starting on November 27),
Bucharest Otopeni (starting on December 13),
Batumi (already launched),
Budapest (already launched),
Kyiv Boryspil (starting on November 18),
Larnaca (starting on November 25),
Munich (starting on November 27),
Prague Václav Havel (starting on November 25),
Rome Fiumicino (starting on November 26),
Sofia (starting on November 25),
Tbilisi (already launched),
Varna (starting on November 21), and
Vienna (starting on November 26).
Flightradar24 ADS-B data indicates that OK-TSD (msn 41795) and OK-TVM (msn 37077) are already operating for Israir. The two airlines also signed a code-share agreement, which will allow the Czech carrier to launch services from Prague to Tel Aviv as of December 1. Smartwings said the agreement builds on a summer 2021 deal when it wet-leased one B737-800 and one B737-8 to Israir. The Israeli carrier’s in-house fleet comprises five A320-200s and three ATR72-500s, the ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows.
In turn, Arkia will wet-lease a single B737-800 from the Czech carrier, deploying it out of Tel Aviv to Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona El Prat, Dubai Int’l, Marrakech, Rome Fiumicino, and Yerevan. Arkia operates two A321-200NX(LR)s and three E195s.
Smartwings operates two B737-700s, twenty-four -800s, two B737-900(ER)s, and seven B737 MAX 8s. The airline will also wet-lease three -800s to iAero Airways (SWQ, Greensboro) starting December 27, 2021. The airline said two aircraft would be based out of Milwaukee General Mitchell and one out of Lansing, operating flights to the Caribbean.