Article from BTNews 19 NOVEMBER 2018
Arkia gets the first A321LR
The first Airbus A321LR for Israeli airline Arkia, which replaced Primera Air as launch customer for the aircraft, was delivered last week during a ceremony in Hamburg followed by a delivery flight to Tel Aviv to be welcomed by Arkia CEO Nir Dagan.
Arkia says the new arrival, designed to replace the Boeing B757 and increase fleet capacity, will serve Europe primarily and open up new markets to the east and west. It has a 220-seat single-class configuration and a range of about 6,100km (about 3,300nmi).
The narrow-body long-range aircraft can fly for 8hr, which Arkia says will enable it to serve existing destinations as well as new ones such as Goa, which it has been planning for some time. Another target destination made reachable by the new arrival is the Seychelles.
Arkia, which is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year, will offer passengers inflight wi-fi and passengers will be able to view content of the entertainment system through their personal mobile devices.
Airbus marketing director Franck Navallon said their A321 programme was designed for airlines seeking to optimise management of their revenue with a larger cabin segmentation.
The A321LR has recorded 110 orders from 10 identified customers, of which four aircraft will be for Arkia.
(See ON TOUR: Ramon Airport gets ready in BTN last week).
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