Hans Airways, a new long-haul airline that will provide flights from the UK to India, has celebrated the arrival of its first Airbus A330-200 on British soil.
The aircraft departed Palma airport and touched down at Birmingham International, where it was welcomed by the airline’s chief executive Satnam Saini, chief operating officer Nathan Burkitt and chief commercial officer Martin Dunn.
Prior to arriving in Palma, the aircraft underwent a 200-hour inspection in Abu Dhabi by Etihad Engineering.
More: Hans Airways starts second round of cabin crew training
The aircraft then returned to Spain, its original country of registration, for final contractual, administration, financial transfer and customs clearance.
In Palma, work included a final internal inspection of the engines and rectification of any defect identified on the airworthiness and positioning flight.
“Our first widebody Airbus arriving into the UK is a big and significant milestone on Hans Airways’ journey to launch,” said Saini.
“These past 12 months we are very pleased to have added a wealth of competence and experience to our leadership and management team and recruited and trained up a full complement of exceptional pilots and cabin crew who will be ready to fly as soon as the airline’s air operator certificate is awarded.”
Hans Airways, which has “maintained a close dialogue” with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) throughout its development, aims to “blend value for money fares with a quality inflight service offering”.
The start-up will offer two classes of cabins: Economy class (called Anand Class), and Premium Economy (Anand Plus).