SmartLynx acquires four Finnair A321s

Finnair has sold its oldest four A321-200 aircraft to a combination of Dutch part-out specialist APOC and Latvia ACMI operator SmartLynx.

The four aircraft are OH-LZA (msn 941), OH-LZB (msn 961), OH-LZC (msn 1185) and OH-LZS (msn 1241) and are between 22.0 and 23.3-years-old, and belong to the oldest aircraft in Finnair’s fleet.

They were withdrawn from use at the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis and were placed in storage at Helsinki and Prague. On 22 February 2022, OH-LZA and OH-LZB were ferried to Chateauroux, France, while OH-LZC and OH-LZD were ferried to Larnaca, on 22 April, for continued storage.

Most likely APOC will sell the engines and other parts of the aircraft to resellers/other airlines, after which the aircraft will be converted to freighters and put into service for cargo operations with SmartLynx in 2023.

With these four ex Finnair’s A321s, the total fleet of SmartLlynx A321 freighters will increase to fifteen active aircraft in 2023. SmartLynx aims to become the biggest operator of A321 freighters in the world.

Illustration: SmartLynx