Switzerland’s Chair Airlines adds first A320

Chair Airlines (GM, Zurich) took delivery of its first A320-200, its largest type yet, on December 12, 2021, after HB-JOK (msn 3923) was ferried from Ostrava to Zurich in the Swiss carrier’s livery. It has yet to be deployed into revenue service. The 12.6-year-old jet was previously operated by Aeroflot (SU, Moscow Sheremetyevo) and is owned by Merx Aviation Finance, the ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows.

The delivery was deferred in relation to the original schedule, which foresaw the induction of the type in November 2021. The A320 will join the airline’s current fleet of two A319-100s, replacing a third A319-100, which was damaged beyond repair during maintenance at Naples Capodichino airport in mid-2020.

During the recent peak summer season, Chair Airlines supplemented its in-house fleet with a B737-800 wet-leased from 49%-shareholder Enter Air (E4, Warsaw Chopin). The addition of the third aircraft will therefore allow it to avoid wet-leasing in capacity going forward.