Air Malta has successfully concluded an agreement with Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways by which it is wet-leasing two Airbus aircraft for the winter period, from last Saturday. The Maltese airline has also concluded another agreement to provide operational support on another Airbus A320 aircraft owned by Etihad.

The two Air Malta A320 wet-leased aircraft, with registration 9H-AEP and 9H-AEQ, are to be operated by Air Malta cockpit and cabin crew. They are expected to fly on Etihad’s routes from Abu Dhabi to Beirut, Dammam, Karachi, Muscat, Bahrain, Cairo, Doha, Kuwait, Amman, Damascus and Teheran.

Following another agreement reached between the two airlines, another A320 aircraft recently purchased by Etihad will also be maintained by Air Malta engineers and flown by Air Malta pilots.

In a statement issued by Etihad, the airline said it was adding the first narrow-bodied aircraft to its fleet as it expanded regional flights with the aim of developing its regional network.

Commenting on these agreements Air Malta Chief Executive Joe Cappello said, “We are looking forward to this operation. This is more good news for Air Malta as through these agreements with Etihad we managed to lease our excess winter capacity while generating additional revenue for the airline. This lease has also created new opportunities for our pilots and engineers to work abroad and we believe that in the course of these wet-leases our employees will continue garnering further experience in their professional careers. Last winter we had also managed to wet-lease two other Airbus aircraft to two foreign operators; an Air Malta aircraft operated from Santiago in Chile while another aircraft operated from Tripoli.”

Etihad has a fleet of 27 wide-body aircraft and has placed a US$2.2 billion order with Airbus for 12 new wide-body aircraft. The order includes four A340-600s, five A330 passenger aircraft and three A330 freighters.