Aircalin brings in Wamos A330-300 after wave of disruptions

By Andrew Curran.

Aircalin has wet-leased an A330-300 from Wamos Air after a disastrous run of cancellations and delays caused by its two long-haul aircraft unexpectedly going out of service due to technical issues.

The aircraft, EC-ODQ (msn 1077), ferried from Madrid (MAD) to Nouméa (NOU) via Singapore (SIN) late last week and went into service for the New Caledonian carrier on August 22.

Aircalin says the Wamos jet will strengthen its fleet and offer “greater flexibility and comfort in its flight scheduling”.

As reported by Aero South Pacific last week, one of Aircalin’s two A330-900s was grounded because of a persistent oil odour, while the other was grounded after an engine blade was damaged. Both aircraft have now returned to service.

But the groundings, which were unscheduled and occurred at the same time, threw Aircalin’s schedules into chaos. Twenty-three flights were either cancelled or delayed over an 11-day period, mostly long-haul flights to Asia and Europe.

It is unclear how long the Wamos A330 will remain at Aircalin. However, it is not unusual for Aircalin to wet-lease widebody aircraft from European operators when it needs the extra capacity.

Meanwhile, in a bit of good news for Aircalin, images are circulating on social media of its first A350-900 having just left the paint shop in Toulouse. The first of two A350-900s due to the airline is expected to ferry into Nouméa in December and will make a material impact on Aircalin’s shaky reliability record.

In addition to its two A330-900s, Aircalin operates two A320-200s across a network of eleven airports, including Nouméa, Port Vila (VLI), Nadi (NAN), Papeete (PPT), Auckland (AKL), Wallis (WLS), Sydney (SYD), Brisbane (BNE), Singapore (SIN), Bangkok (BKK) and Paris (CDG).

Photo: Wamos Air.
Contact the writer: andrew@aerosouthpacific.com