Ukraine's SkyUp air carrier signs wet lease contract with US-Bangla Airlines
MOSCOW. April 16 (Interfax) - Ukraine's SkyUp Airlines has signed a two-year wet lease contract with Bangladesh's US-Bangla Airlines and will operate flights from the air carrier's base in Dhaka to destinations including the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Malaysia, Singapore and the Seychelles, Ukrainian media outlets said, citing a statement circulated by SkyUp Airlines on social media.
"We are pleased to announce a new partnership as an ACMI provider. SkyUp has signed a two-year contract with US-Bangla Airlines," the Ukrainian company said. ACMI stands for an aircraft, a complete crew, maintenance and insurance.
The first flight took place on April 7, it said. Under the contract, flights to destinations such as the UAE, Oman, Qatar, Malaysia, Singapore and the Seychelles will be operated from the base in Dhaka in 2024-2025.
US-Bangla Airlines, registered in Bangladesh and the United States, was founded in 2010. According to information on its social media accounts, US-Bangla Airlines is Bangladesh's first and only air carrier to have been awarded the IOSA certificate. Initially, it operated regular passenger flights on domestic routes to or from Dhaka, Chittagong, Cox's Bazar, Jessore, Sylhet, Saidpur, Rajshahi and Barisal. The air carrier's development strategy envisages launching flights to regional and key international destinations. US-Bangla Airlines has a fleet of three 76-seat Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 planes.
As reported earlier, SkyUp Airlines has continued cooperation with Hungary's Wizz Air low-cost airline, signing a contract for the provision of wet-leasing services from April 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025.
SkyUp Airlines has been developing the wet-lease segment since 2022, after the crisis began and the airspace over Ukraine was closed. In 2022, the airline worked under ACMI contracts with ten other airlines, including Wizz Air. SkyUp operate flights on wet lease terms with Tunisair, FlyOne, HiSky SRL, HiSky Europe SRL, Wizz Air Malta, Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, Corendon Dutch, Tailwind Airlines and FlyEgypt. In the summer of 2023, the ch-aviation company added SkyUp Airlines to the list of the top 20 largest providers of ACMI services in Europe.
SkyUp Airlines recorded a 24% rise in its passenger traffic to 1.546 million in 2023 year-on-year. The airline also performed 10,528 flights to 53 countries along 664 routes, which is 36% more than in 2022.