Wings Air

Wings Air
IATA
IW		 ICAO
WON		 Callsign
WINGS ABADI
Founded 2003
Operating bases Soekarno-Hatta International Airport
Fleet size 38
Destinations 24
Parent company Lion Air
Headquarters
Key people Rusdi Kirana (CEO)

Wings Abadi Airlines, usually shortened to Wings Air, is a scheduled commuter passenger airline based in Jakarta, Indonesia, operating out of Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. The company was established as a wholly owned subsidiary of Lion Air and started operations on 10 July 2003.

Wings Air was the airline chartered by Indonesian authorities [1] to fly Australian death row prisoners Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran to Nusakambangan Island for execution in March 2015 after carrier Garuda refused to fly the men after a social media campaign in Australia. Garuda stated on Facebook: "With reference to the news on Friday 13 February 2015 regarding the planned transfer of Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran, Garuda Indonesia would like to state that the airline will not be involved with this matter and will not be transferring Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran on our aircraft." [2]

Destinations

Main article: Lion Air destinations
Wings Air MD-80 at Sultan Mahmud Badaruddin II Airport

Wings Air serves the following destinations in Indonesia, Malaysia and Philippines:

Indonesia

Fleet

A Wings Air ATR 72–500
A Wings Air Bombardier Dash 8–300

As of April 2015, the Wings Air fleet consists of the following aircraft with an average age of 4.8 years:[3]

Wings Air fleet
Aircraft In Service Orders Passengers Notes
ATR 72–500 20 - 72
ATR 72–600[4] 18 17 72
Total 38 17

Aircraft orders

On 15 November 2009, Wings Air announced that they had signed a deal with ATR worth 600 million USD. The deal involved an order for 15 ATR 72-500 aircraft with a further 15 options for ATR's new ATR 72-600 aircraft. The new aircraft being required to replace the airline's aging McDonnell Douglas MD-80 and Dash 8 aircraft.[5] The first 3 ATR 72-500's were delivered in January 2010 and were inaugurated at a ceremony in the tourist and diving destination of Manado. The delivery of these aircraft follows the signature, last year, of a contract for the purchase of 15 ATR 72-500s, plus options for 15 ATR 72-600s, valued at some US $ 600 million, options included. The aircraft, configured with 72 seats and powered with Pratt & Whitney 127M engines have modern avionics and navigation technologies.[6]

On 25 February 2011 Lion Air signed an order for 15 new ATR 72-500s for the Wings Air fleet. When delivered these aircraft will bring to 30 the total fleet of ATRs operated by Wings Air. ATR and Lion Air had previously inked a contract in 2009 for the purchase of 15 ATR 72-500s and options for 15 additional (ATR 72-600) aircraft. The deal announced in February 2011 represented the conversion of all 15 options[7] Six 72-500s were delivered during 2010.[8]

Former aircraft

EU aviation blacklist

Wings Abadi Air is currently banned from operating in European airspace,[9][10] appearing on a list of carriers that do not meet necessary safety standards to fly to airports in the European Union.

"Fly is Cheap" Slogan

Wings Air previously used the slogan "Fly is Cheap", subsequently changed to "Flying is Cheap". The former version of the slogan received considerable attention for the English grammatical mistake, which might be interpreted as a suggestion that the airline provides a poor quality service, rather than the intended meaning that its fares are inexpensive. [11]

References

  1. ↑ "Bali nine duo Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran being moved to execution island". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2015-03-10.
  2. ↑ "Facebook". Garuda. Retrieved 2015-02-13.
  3. ↑ Wings Air Fleet – CH Aviation
  4. ↑ Buyck, Cathy (2012-02-17). "Wings Air set to become the largest ATR operator". ATWOnline. Retrieved 2012-11-07.
  5. ↑ ATR wins Wings Air deal
  6. ↑ Aviation News EU, Wings Air introduces First ATR 72-500s to Indonesia, January 6, 2010 by Marcel van Leeuwen accessed on 23.09.2010
  7. ↑ "Lion Air adds 15 new ATR 72-500s to Wings Air's fleet-Wings Air's fleet of ATRs increases up to 30 aircraft". 25 February 2011. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
  8. ↑ "ATR Aircraft". ATR Aircraft. Retrieved 2012-11-07.
  9. ↑ http://ec.europa.eu/transport/modes/air/safety/air-ban/index_en.htm
  10. ↑ http://ec.europa.eu/transport/modes/air/safety/air-ban/doc/list_en.pdf
  11. ↑ http://www.engrish.com/2010/08/not-what-i-wanna-hear-before-i-board/

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wings Air.