Hi Fly (airline)

History

The airline was incorporated in 2005 and concluded its initial certification process in April 2006, when it was issued with an Air Operator Certificate by the Portugal civil aviation authority, INAC. Since obtaining its Air Operator's Certificate, the carrier has gained all the statutory EU-OPS (regulations specifying minimum safety and related procedures for commercial passenger and cargo fixed-wing aviation) and Federal Aviation Administration Safety Agency (EASA) approvals. It also obtained the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) certification in September 2011.

Hi Fly's first aircraft was an Airbus A330-300 which had previously been operated by Air Luxor (which was owned by the same family that now owns Hi Fly before being sold and shut down). The aircraft was recently on contract to the Air Component of the Belgian Armed Forces until the end of 2013. Two A310-300s were then added in 2008 and these were leased to Oman Air flying the carrier's first long-haul routes (to London/Heathrow and Bangkok). New aircraft were then delivered from Airbus in 2008 and 2009: an A330-200 and two A340-500s, the latter used for approximately 5 years on behalf of Arik Air in Nigeria on its route between Lagos and New York/John F. Kennedy, painted in its colors, until Hi Fly repossessed the airframes in spring 2015. Since then, more A330s and A340s have also been obtained, including four in 2013. In February 2014, Hi Fly added its first narrow-body aircraft, an A321-200 that has been leased to the Belgian Army in replacement of the former A330-300.

At the start of March 2013, Hi Fly Malta was created as Hi Fly's Maltese subsidiary operating a fleet of Airbus A340-600s; that division now houses a pair of A340-300s.

Hi Fly's head office is located in Lisbon’s city centre. Inside are all the corporate offices plus departments for flight and ground operations, engineering and maintenance, safety, security, commercial, finance, administration as well as quality control. There are also training classrooms for flight and cabin crews. At Lisbon Airport, there is a maintenance hangar operated by MESA – a group subsidiary.

In May 2015, Saudi-Arabian airline Saudia immediately terminated a long-term leasing contract with Hi Fly over two Airbus A330s after one of them was seen at Ben Gurion Airport in Israel wearing the full Saudia livery. According to Israeli media reports, the A330 was undergoing routine maintenance with Israel Aerospace Industries MRO wing Bedek as per its contract with Hi Fly. However, Arab News reported that even though the aircraft was not operating a commercial service for Saudia at the time, the Saudis claimed the Portuguese had violated the terms of their contract by sending the jet to a country with which Saudi Arabia has no official diplomatic ties.

Destinations

Hi Fly has specialised in worldwide aircraft leases and ACMI services on medium to long term contracts for airlines, tour operators, governments, companies and individuals. It is certified to fly to Europe, the US, Canada, Australia, Japan, Brazil, Mexico, India and elsewhere.

Fleet

As of March 2017, the Hi Fly fleet - excluding its subsidiary Hi Fly Malta - consists of the following aircraft: