On December 19, 2023, Transavia took delivery of the first Airbus A321neo. The aircraft – and A320neos and A321neos that will join the fleet later on – will replace Transavia’s aging Boeing 737s. Continue reading to learn more. KLM...
On December 19, 2023, Transavia took delivery of the first Airbus A321neo. The aircraft – and A320neos and A321neos that will join the fleet later on – will replace Transavia’s aging Boeing 737s.
Continue reading to learn more.
Transavia A321neo rendering. (Credit: Airbus)
KLM Group Ordered 100 A320neo Family Aircraft in 2021
In December 2021, KLM Group announced it ordered a total of 100 Airbus A320neo family aircraft (an undisclosed mix of A320neos and A321neos) with an option for 60 more.
The company announced it would use these aircraft not only for KLM’s narrowbody fleet renewal but also for modernizing the fleets of its subsidiaries Transavia Netherlands and Transavia France.
KLM and Transavia plan to replace their Boeing 737s with A320neos and A321neos.
KLM currently operates exclusively Boeing 737s in that size category. It has over 40 737-700s, 737-800s, and 737-900s. Similarly, until the first A321neo’s delivery, Transavia operated an exclusively 737 fleet with over 100 737-700s and 737-800s across Transavia Netherlands and Transavia France.
As such, the group’s order of up to 160 Airbus narrowbodies, which means a gradual shift away from 737s to an all-Airbus narrowbody fleet (excluding KLM Cityhopper’s Embraers), was a major loss for Boeing.
Having been placed just as the travel demand was rebounding after the pandemic, KLM’s CEO Pieter Elbers noted that “this order, which is an important component of our restructuring plan, will further prepare our company as well as our customer experience for the future.”
Currently, KLM operates Embraer and Boeing narrowbody aircraft.
Until the delivery of its first A321neo, Transavia operated an all-Boeing 737 fleet.
Transavia Takes Delivery of Its First A321neo
Transavia’s first Airbus A321neo is registered PH-YHZ and will operate for the airline out of Amsterdam (i.e. it will operate for Transavia Netherlands). The aircraft is leased from Air Lease Corporation.
It was ferried from Airbus’ Hamburg Finkenwerder facilities to its new base in Amsterdam on December 19, 2023, after a delivery ceremony. The ferry flight, HV7321, took off from Finkenwerder Airport at 2:16PM and landed at Schiphol Airport after just 55 minutes, at 3:11PM.
With 232 seats in an all-economy class configuration (3-3 seating layout), the A321neo is the highest capacity aircraft in Transavia’s fleet. For comparison, its 737-700s seat 149 passengers and its 737-800s seat 189 passengers.
In terms of passenger experience, each seat is equipped with USB-C charging ports.
Transavia recently received its first A321neo. (Credit: Airbus)
Transavia’s First A321neo Will Enter into Service in January 2024
At this point, Transavia’s Airbus A321neo is scheduled to enter into service on January 5, 2024, on flight HV5423 from Amsterdam to Pisa.
From then on, it will operate flights to a variety of European destinations ranging from Alicante and Barcelona in Spain through Ljubljana in Slovenia all the way to Riga in Latvia. That said, given that the airline only has one airframe for the time being, service on all of those routes will only be occasional.
Summary
The first of KLM Group’s 100 firm orders for Airbus A320neo and A321neo aircraft was delivered to the group’s Transavia Netherlands subsidiary on December 19, 2023.
The A321neo is equipped with 232 seats and thus became the largest aircraft in Transavia’s fleet. It will debut on a flight from Amsterdam to Pisa on January 5, 2024, and from then on appear on flights to a variety of European destinations.
The post Transavia Receives Its First A321neo in a Shift Away from 737s appeared first on KN Aviation.
