Aercap and Airbus Upgrade Services have agreed a deal to facilitate the transition of seven leased A319s for operations with Shaheen airlines based in Karachi, Pakistan. The modifications package from Airbus includes a newly branded interior, the integration of new seats in a 150 passenger layout (taking benefits of the recent extended seating capacity certification), a suite of systems and avionics upgrades (including ‘ADS-B Out’) to meet forthcoming Air Traffic Management (ATM) regulations, an increased take-off weight capability of 75.5 tonnes to suit forthcoming operations and new Shaheen livery.
The embodiments are scheduled from the fourth quarter of 2016. Thanks to the deal, Shaheen will be able to significantly grow its fleet and operations in order to explore new markets. This deal also reinforces Services by Airbus’ integrator role for aircraft transition services with leasing companies. These principally cover modification services including engineering, certification, parts, logistics management and even livery changes – with the solutions being certified worldwide.