Germania, German carrier based in Berlin, is planning a major fleet standardization, which includes replacing ten of currently used Boeing 737 planes for Airbus-only aircraft by 2020.
According to the airline, over the next 15 months, the ten Boeing type 737-700s in the fleet will be retired and replaced with 25 Airbus A320neo aircraft that is currently on-order. The first three Boeing aircraft will be leaving at the end of April 2018, while the last Boeing plane will leave the fleet at t the start of the 2019 summer season at the latest.
The conversion affects cockpit personnel, numerous processes in technology and maintenance as well as flight planning and purchasing. To implement the changes, Germania with Airbus and additional flight training schools are organizing an in-house training for all Boeing pilots to be retrained to fly Airbus planes and obtain a type rating for their new workstation.
“The modification of our operational basis in readiness for the new chapter featuring A320neos represents a major project for Germania. We are very proud of the fact that the retraining of our Boeing pilots marks the start of an important phase in our fleet conversion,” said Karsten Balke, Germania CEO in a statement.
Together with the Swiss airline Germania Flug AG and Bulgarian Eagle, Germania’s fleet currently has 29 aircraft. In July 2016, Germania signed a contract for the delivery of 25 type A320neos with an option on 15 additional aircraft of the same type. The aircraft on order will have 180 seats and be equipped with Pratt & Whitney PurePower Geared Turbofan engines.
Source – AeroTime
