SkyUp, a new Ukrainian airline, has received an air operator's certificate, which grants it the right to operate flights, the CFTS reports, citing avianews.com. The airline will begin operating flights approximately next week.
Initially, SkyUp will operate two 189-seat Boeing 737-800 airliners manufactured in 2013, which were previously operated by Malaysia Airlines. These airliners are currently being repainted in Bratislava and Istanbul. They have already been assigned the Ukrainian registration numbers UR-SQA and UR-SQB. The company will later add a 149-seat Boeing 737-700 to its fleet.
SkyUp will initially operate international charter flights for the Join UP! tour operator, the owners of which are the ultimate beneficial owners of the new airline.
Later, the company is expected to begin performing domestic budget flights on the Kyiv-Odesa and Kharkiv-Odesa routes.
Previously, the airline was expected to receive its air operator's certificate in April, but this did not happen. "The change of schedule is connected with the performance of the final airworthiness procedures for the aircraft and certification inspections of the airline," the SkyUp’s General Director Yevhen Khainatskyi explained at the time.
SkyUp announced in March that it had placed a firm order for five new Boeing 737 MAX airliners with a catalog price of USD 624 million, with an option for five more airliners of this family.
