Volotea sees growth after switch to all-Airbus fleet

Volotea could add four further Airbus narrowbodies to its fleet this summer to take to 19 the number it will operate after completing the withdrawal of its Boeing 717 fleet. Volotea has operated 717s since launching flights in 2012, but began bringing in Airbus A319s in 2016 after opting to replace the Boeing jets with used narrowbodies from the European manufacturer. The company says it had originally been aiming to complete the renewal by 2023. Under accelerated plans the carrier has completed the withdrawal of 14 717s and replaced them with 15 A320-family aircraft. It says it has flexibility to add four more of the type if demand warrants them. While traffic has been hit by the pandemic, Volotea passenger numbers and capacity were down by less than half in 2020 driven by a strong performance in the third quarter. The Barcelona-headquartered carrier, which handled 3.8m passengers last year, operates largely across French, Italian and Spanish markets. Volotea president Carlos Munoz says: ”We are very proud to be moving to a 100% Airbus fleet. As a European airline, we are very excited to be able to count on Airbus as a long-term partner to our fleet."<br/>