Hi Fly Malta

Hi Fly Malta is a Maltese charter airline based at Malta International Airport and a subsidiary of the Portuguese charter airline Hi Fly.

This article is about the Maltese charter airline. For its Portuguese parent company, see Hi Fly (airline).
Hi Fly Malta
IATA ICAO Callsign
3L HFM MOONRAKER
Founded2013 (2013)
AOC #MT-24
Operating basesMalta International Airport
Fleet size11
Parent companyHi Fly
HeadquartersSkyparks Business Centre, Malta International Airport
Websitehifly.aero

History

Hi Fly Malta started operations in early 2013 with one Airbus A340-600 formerly operated by Virgin Atlantic with one more pre-owned on order.[1] The airline had also applied for an Air Operators Certificate[2] and planned to start scheduled operations to destinations in North America.[3] During 2015, all of the airlines' aircraft had been stored and in May 2015 the A340-600s were sold to Al Naser Airlines, a front company for Mahan Air.[4]

Hi Fly Malta was reactivated in September with the re-registration of one A340-300 from the parent Portuguese company on the Maltese Business Registry and a second A340-300 was added in early 2016 that had previously flown for Sri Lankan Airlines.[5] Several former Emirates A340-300 frames were added in 2017.

In the summer of 2018, Hi Fly became the first airline to order secondhand Airbus A380 aircraft, placing an order for two aircraft. In autumn 2017, Hi Fly, in a sponsorship of the Turn the Tide on Plastic yacht team in the Volvo Ocean Race, painted one of its A330s in a livery similar to the yacht, with the port side bearing a dirty oceans livery and the starboard side a clean oceans livery.[6][7] On 19 July 2018, its newly painted Airbus A380, registered as 9H-MIP, arrived at the Farnborough Airshow, carrying the Save the Coral Reefs livery.[8] Hi-Fly's A380 saw a brief lease to Norwegian Long Haul in August 2018, which operated the aircraft following engine problems with its Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet.[9] Norwegian leased the A380 again in late 2018 to help deal with the passenger backlog as a result of the Gatwick Airport drone incident. In July 2020, following the downturn of passenger flight traffic resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the A380 was reconfigured for use as a freight carrier, with most of its seats removed.[10] In November 2020, the company announced that the A380 will be retired at the end of its three-year lease period.[11] On 17 December 2020, the A380 made its final flight to Toulouse.[12]

One A319 was chartered to the defunct Brazilian Itapemirim Transportes Aéreos. In November 2021, it landed at Rio de Janeiro–Galeão International Airport to be transformed in regular passenger carrier at TAP Hangar, but this never happened. The license changed to PS-SIL was changed back to 9H-XFW and after 3 months in Brazil, was scheduled to fly back to Europe.[13]

Destinations

Hi Fly Malta has no scheduled destinations. Its planes operate on a charter and ACMI basis. One of its planes was to have been reconfigured for Swiss Space Systems prior to its liquidation, and retained a black livery with the Swiss Space Systems logo on the stabilizer prior to its retirement, while all other frames are unmarked except for registration.

Fleet
A Hi Fly Malta Airbus A340-300
Hi Fly Malta's only Airbus A380-800, with the former "Save the Coral Reefs" livery

Current fleet

As of October 2023, the Hi Fly Malta fleet consists of the following aircraft:[14][15][16]

Hi Fly Malta fleet
Aircraft In service Orders Passengers Notes
F C W Y Total
Airbus A319-100 1 — – – – 150 150 Leased to Fly Lili
Airbus A330-200 4 — – 18 36 214 268 Leased to TAAG Angola Airlines
– 18 – 251 269
– 31 – 267 298
– 24 – 275 299
Airbus A330-300 1 — – 46 – 203 249
Airbus A340-300 4 — 12 42 – 213 267
– 36 – 218 254
– 24 – 267 291
Airbus A380-800 1 — 12 30 – 399 441 To be reactivated and operated for Global Airlines[17]
Total 11 —

Former fleet
Hi Fly Malta former fleet
Aircraft Total Introduced Retired Notes
Airbus A321-200 1 2019 2021
Airbus A330-900 1 2019 2022 Operated for Air Senegal
Airbus A340-600 4 2013 2015

See also

References
  1. Hi Fly-ers head to Malta
  2. Hi Fly apply for air operator certificate
  3. HiFly Malta profile at CAPA
  4. Mahan Air notice at airliners.de (in German)
  5. Hi Fly supplies A340 for commercial zero-gravity flights
  6. "New Turn the Tide on Plastic aircraft". Mirpuri Foundation. 20 October 2017. Retrieved 16 December 2017.
  7. "Portuguese Hi Fly acquires two used Airbus A380". www.airlive.net. Retrieved 2018-05-19.
  8. "PICTURES: Colourful Hi Fly A380 makes Farnborough bow". FLIGHTGLOBAL. 19 July 2018.
  9. Morris, Hugh. "Budget fliers to New York could be upgraded to luxurious first class after Norwegian forced to lease A380". The Telegraph Online. The Telegraph. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  10. "In Photos: Hi Fly Reveals The World's First Cargo Airbus A380". Simple Flying. 7 July 2020. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  11. "Breaking: Hi Fly Set To Retire Its Only Airbus A380". Simple Flying. 2020-11-03. Retrieved 2020-11-03.
  12. "Onboard Special Farewell Flight of Hi Fly A380". SamChui.com. 2020-12-18. Retrieved 2020-12-19.
  13. "Airliner lost brazilian license". 10 February 2022.
  14. "fleet". hifly.aero. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
  15. "Global Airline Guide 2019 (Part One)". Airliner World. October 2019: 20.
  16. "Hi Fly Malta Fleet Details and History". www.planespotters.net. Retrieved 2020-02-10.
  17. Seth Miller (October 10, 2023). "Global Airlines taps Hi Fly for A380 maintenance and retrofit". Paxex.aero. Retrieved October 11, 2023.
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