Wikipedia

Hi Fly Malta

This article is about the Maltese charter airline. For its Portuguese parent company, see Hi Fly (airline).

Hi Fly Malta is a Maltese charter airline based at Malta International Airport and a subsidiary of the Portuguese charter airline Hi Fly.

Hi Fly Malta
IATA ICAO Call sign
3L HFM MOONRAKER
Founded2013; 11 years ago (2013)
AOC #MT-24
Operating basesMalta International Airport
Fleet size11
Parent companyHi Fly
HeadquartersSkyparks Business Centre[broken anchor], Malta International Airport
Websitehifly.aero

History

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Hi Fly Malta started operations in early 2013 with one Airbus A340-600 formerly operated by Virgin Atlantic with one more pre-owned on order[1][2] and planned to start scheduled operations to destinations in North America. During 2015, all of the airlines' aircraft had been stored and in May 2015 the A340-600s were sold to Al Naser Airlines, a front company for Mahan Air.[3]

Hi Fly Malta was reactivated in September with the re-registration of one A340-300 from the parent Portuguese company on the Maltese Business Registry and a second A340-300 was added in early 2016 that had previously flown for Sri Lankan Airlines.[4] Several former Emirates A340-300 airframes were added in 2017.

In the summer of 2018, Hi Fly became the first airline to buy a secondhand Airbus A380 (flown previously by Singapore Airlines[5]), placing an order for two. In autumn 2017, Hi Fly, in a sponsorship of the Turn the Tide on Plastic yacht team in the Volvo Ocean Race, painted one of its A330s in a livery similar to the yacht, with the port side bearing a dirty oceans livery and the starboard side a clean oceans livery.[6][7] On 19 July 2018, its newly painted Airbus A380, registered as 9H-MIP, arrived at the Farnborough Airshow, carrying the Save the Coral Reefs livery.[8] Hi-Fly's A380 saw a brief lease to Norwegian Long Haul in August 2018, which operated the aircraft following engine problems with its Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet.[9] Norwegian leased the A380 again in late 2018 to help deal with the passenger backlog as a result of the Gatwick Airport drone incident. In November 2020, the company announced that the A380 will be retired at the end of its three-year lease period and on 17 December 2020, the A380 made its final flight to Toulouse.[10]

One A319 was chartered to the now-defunct Brazilian Itapemirim Transportes Aéreos. In November 2021, it landed at Rio de Janeiro–Galeão International Airport and re-registered as PS-SIL to be converted to passenger configuration at TAP Hangar, but this never happened. After 3 months in Brazil the aircraft was scheduled to fly back to Europe and had its registration reverted back to 9H-XFW.[11]

Destinations

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Hi Fly Malta has no scheduled destinations. Its planes operate on a charter and ACMI basis. One of its Airbus A340-300s (Registered 9H-TQM) was reconfigured for Swiss Space Systems prior to its liquidation, and retained a black livery with the Swiss Space Systems logo on the horizontal stabilizer prior to its retirement,[4] while its other airframes are unmarked except for registration.

Fleet

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A Hi Fly Malta Airbus A340-300
 
Hi Fly Malta's former only Airbus A380-800 with the "Save the Coral Reef" livery

Current fleet

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As of May 2024, Hi Fly Malta operates an all-Airbus fleet composed of the following aircraft:[12][13]

Hi Fly Malta fleet
Aircraft In service Orders Passengers Notes
F C W Y Total
Airbus A319-100 1 — – – – 150 150 In storage[14]
Airbus A330-200 4 — – 18 36 214 268 Two units parked/under maintenance[14]
– 14 31 267 314
Airbus A330-300 2 — – 46 – 203 249
– – – 436 436
Airbus A340-300 4 — 12 42 – 213 267 Two units parked/under maintenance[14]
– 36 – 218 254
– 24 – 267 291
Airbus A380 8 70 - 428 506 Operated for Global Airlines. Currently parked.[14]
12 60 - 399 470 Currently parked.[14]
Total 11 —

Former fleet

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Hi Fly Malta formerly also operated the following aircraft types:[14]

Hi Fly Malta former fleet
Aircraft Introduced Retired Notes
Airbus A321-200 2019 2021
Airbus A330-900 2019 2022
Airbus A340-600 2013 2015

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Hi Fly-ers head to Malta". Times of Malta. 25 February 2013.
  2. ^ "Hi Fly apply for Air Operator Certificate - The Malta Independent". www.independent.com.mt.
  3. ^ Mahan Air notice at airliners.de (in German)
  4. ^ a b Kaminski-Morrow2016-04-12T19:52:00+01:00, David. "Hi Fly supplies A340 for commercial zero-gravity flights". Flight Global. Retrieved 27 November 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  5. ^ 9H-MIP Hi Fly Malta Airbus A380-800, https://www.planespotters.net/airframe/airbus-a380-800-9h-mip-hi-fly-malta/ek8yve
  6. ^ "New Turn the Tide on Plastic aircraft". Mirpuri Foundation. 20 October 2017. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  7. ^ "Portuguese Hi Fly acquires two used Airbus A380". www.airlive.net. Retrieved 2018-05-19.
  8. ^ "PICTURES: Colourful Hi Fly A380 makes Farnborough bow". FLIGHTGLOBAL. 19 July 2018.
  9. ^ Morris, Hugh. "Budget fliers to New York could be upgraded to luxurious first class after Norwegian forced to lease A380". The Telegraph Online. The Telegraph. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  10. ^ hifly.aero - A380 Farewell Flight 17 December 2020
  11. ^ "Airliner lost brazilian license". 10 February 2022.
  12. ^ "fleet". hifly.aero. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  13. ^ "Global Airline Guide 2019 (Part One)". Airliner World. October 2019: 20.
  14. ^ a b c d e f "Hi Fly Malta Fleet Details and History". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
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