SmartLynx Airlines (6Y, Riga) plans to transition to a single-type aircraft operation centred on the A320 aircraft by mid-2025 and will transfer its B737-8s to other Avia Solutions Group airlines. The ACMI specialist said this would "sustain our growth and align with our group's strategic goals."
The airline also confirmed it will scale down its A321 freighter operations.
According to the ch-aviation fleets module, SmartLynx Airlines currently operates 17 aircraft, including eleven A320-200s, five A321-200s, and one A321-200(P2F). Its subsidiary SmartLynx Airlines Malta operates 32 aircraft: seven A320-200s, three A321-200s, three A321-200(P2F)s, six A321-200(PCF)s, one A330-300, and twelve B737-8s. Finally, SmartLynx Airlines Estonia operates seven A320-200s. Start-up Thai SmartLynx Airlines is under certification.
Besides the SmartLynx-branded airlines, Avia Solutions Group owns or partners in several passenger AOCs, including Avion Express (and Avion Express Malta and start-ups Avion Express Brasil and Avion Express Philippines), KlasJet, AirExplore, Ascend Airways (and Ascend Airways Malaysia under certification), BBN Airlines Indonesia, BBN Airlines Türkiye, and Skytrans.
The holding placed a firm order for forty B737-8 aircraft with an additional 40 options directly from Boeing in November 2024. Currently, the only other B737-8 operator among ASG-owned airlines is Ascend Airways, which has two units of the type in its fleet and recently told ch-aviation about plans to increase this fleet, including through intra-group transfers.
