Air Malta wet-leases Airbus aircraft to Sky Airline of Chile

An Air Malta plane will be flying over South America this winter thanks to another wet-lease agreement signed with Chile's Sky Airline.

Through a wet-lease agreement, an airline leases an aircraft and flight crew to another airline.

Air Malta is providing an Airbus A320 aircraft to Sky Airline of Chile for a period of three months.

This is the sixth wet lease agreement between both airlines since 2007. Through such agreements Air Malta generates additional revenue and leases out its excess capacity during winter.

Previous Air Malta customers included Etihad Airways, Libyan Airlines, Adria Airways and Air New Zealand.

Air Malta's Chief Commercial Officer Philip Saunders commented: "We are very proud to have been chosen once again by Sky Airlines of Chile. This is another confirmation of the excellent relationship we enjoy. It is also a sure sign of the airline's confidence in the professionalism of our crews and the quality of our aircraft."

The aircraft will increase Sky Airline's capacity during the peak southern hemisphere summer and is expected to operate from Santiago in Chile to airports in Peru, Brasil and Uruguay. The plane will again re-join Air Malta's fleet in early March, in time for the airline's busy summer season.

As in previous years, the aircraft (registration 9H-AEF) will be operated by Air Malta cockpit crew and maintained by Air Malta's engineers. A number of Maltese training In-flight Managers have also been sent over to Chile to give the necessary training to Sky Airline's cabin crew. The pilots deployed with this aircraft have been given specialised training to be able to operate the aircraft in South America and across the Andes mountains. These types of leases also create continued opportunities for Air Malta employees to work abroad and garner further experience in their professional careers.

Sky is a Chilean airline providing passenger, mail and cargo air transportation services since 2001.  Originally it started operating in the Caribbean but in June 2002, the airline moved to Chile flying from its base in Santiago to main cities in the region. 

Air Malta is also currently marketing another aircraft for dry lease after the current lease expires as at the end of March 2014 and in line with the current restructuring plan.