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A388 wrote:I wonder if a few Comac ARJ21's and C919 will find their way to Cubana. They need a fleet modernization and these aircraft might as well be the right fit and cheapest option for them.
A388
Polot wrote:A388 wrote:I wonder if a few Comac ARJ21's and C919 will find their way to Cubana. They need a fleet modernization and these aircraft might as well be the right fit and cheapest option for them.
A388
Cubana has no money. That is the problem.
usdcaguy wrote:Whatever happened to CU's IL-96? The problem with exotic equipment like the C919 or the SSJ is that parts are generally unavailable in the timeframe needed, and neither Sukhoi nor COMAC have demonstrated that they have overcome those hurdles. Interjet lost massive income when their SSJs were grounded due to maintenance issues. Since Cuba cannot easily replace parts, they need to go with the most common aircraft types. I don't see what the issue would be in getting a used 767, 320, CR9, or E75 from a "friendly" country. There are also a lot of CR2s on the market CU might want to consider given the need to serve thin markets that are within close proximity. It would seem that a company like Conviasa or Mahan could find some used aircraft for Cubana pretty easily, but it's not clear whether Cubana has built relationships with them.
dcajet wrote:usdcaguy wrote:Whatever happened to CU's IL-96? The problem with exotic equipment like the C919 or the SSJ is that parts are generally unavailable in the timeframe needed, and neither Sukhoi nor COMAC have demonstrated that they have overcome those hurdles. Interjet lost massive income when their SSJs were grounded due to maintenance issues. Since Cuba cannot easily replace parts, they need to go with the most common aircraft types. I don't see what the issue would be in getting a used 767, 320, CR9, or E75 from a "friendly" country. There are also a lot of CR2s on the market CU might want to consider given the need to serve thin markets that are within close proximity. It would seem that a company like Conviasa or Mahan could find some used aircraft for Cubana pretty easily, but it's not clear whether Cubana has built relationships with them.
Cubana and Conviasa are birds of a feather. Cuba's president (Miguel Diaz Canel) as well as Raul Castro travel on Conviasa's E190s or single VIP A319 when traveling abroad. AFAIK, Cuba and Iran are not particularly close, the way Venezuela is.
Cuba is literally broke. Cubana has long stopped being a priority for the revolution and little precious funds are allocated to the airline. They wet lease a Plus Ultra A343 (EC-MQM) for flights to Madrid. Presumably this plane will be used for the EZE flights. The aircrat has a Cubaba logo painted on it. See a picture here: https://www.aviacionline.com/2023/03/cu ... argentina/
FLALEFTY wrote:dcajet wrote:usdcaguy wrote:Whatever happened to CU's IL-96? The problem with exotic equipment like the C919 or the SSJ is that parts are generally unavailable in the timeframe needed, and neither Sukhoi nor COMAC have demonstrated that they have overcome those hurdles. Interjet lost massive income when their SSJs were grounded due to maintenance issues. Since Cuba cannot easily replace parts, they need to go with the most common aircraft types. I don't see what the issue would be in getting a used 767, 320, CR9, or E75 from a "friendly" country. There are also a lot of CR2s on the market CU might want to consider given the need to serve thin markets that are within close proximity. It would seem that a company like Conviasa or Mahan could find some used aircraft for Cubana pretty easily, but it's not clear whether Cubana has built relationships with them.
Cubana and Conviasa are birds of a feather. Cuba's president (Miguel Diaz Canel) as well as Raul Castro travel on Conviasa's E190s or single VIP A319 when traveling abroad. AFAIK, Cuba and Iran are not particularly close, the way Venezuela is.
Cuba is literally broke. Cubana has long stopped being a priority for the revolution and little precious funds are allocated to the airline. They wet lease a Plus Ultra A343 (EC-MQM) for flights to Madrid. Presumably this plane will be used for the EZE flights. The aircrat has a Cubaba logo painted on it. See a picture here: https://www.aviacionline.com/2023/03/cu ... argentina/
That pretty much sums it up for Cubana. Planespotters.net shows the airline with a fleet of 14 planes, but only 3 are listed in service. These include an Il-96-300 (CU-T1250), a TU-204 (CU-T1702) and an ATR72-212 (CU-T1548). Checking Flight Aware at HAV, there haven't been any recent flights by these aircraft, although the Cuban government might be blocking tails ( I imagine that the Il-96 is being reserved for government VIP ops these days). The Plus Ultra A340-300 wet lease flew the only recent Cubana flight showing up on Flight Aware. It goes from HAV to SCU, then on to MAD and it appears to be operating just once a week.
https://www.planespotters.net/airline/Cubana
https://flightaware.com/live/flight/CUB ... /MUHA/MUCU
usdcaguy wrote:Since Cuba cannot easily replace parts, they need to go with the most common aircraft types. I don't see what the issue would be in getting a used 767, 320, CR9, or E75 from a "friendly" country.
planenutz wrote:As far as I can find out through research, CU is operating twice weekly HAV-MAD, and sometimes a daily flight from HAV to Nueva Genova using an ATR.
I had heard that there was an intent to restart EZE later in 2023.
planenutz wrote:As far as I can find out through research, CU is operating twice weekly HAV-MAD, and sometimes a daily flight from HAV to Nueva Genova using an ATR.
I had heard that there was an intent to restart EZE later in 2023.
Information is so scarce on any future plans and the exact status of its fleet, or even if there are plans to lease in equipment.
Specifically, are there any plans to resurrect services to MEX, CCS, YUL, and YVR?
Are the TU-204s grounded or operating at all, such as for cargo?
What ever became of the AN-158s (I believe there were four operating at one time).
dcajet wrote:planenutz wrote:As far as I can find out through research, CU is operating twice weekly HAV-MAD, and sometimes a daily flight from HAV to Nueva Genova using an ATR.
I had heard that there was an intent to restart EZE later in 2023.
Information is so scarce on any future plans and the exact status of its fleet, or even if there are plans to lease in equipment.
Specifically, are there any plans to resurrect services to MEX, CCS, YUL, and YVR?
Are the TU-204s grounded or operating at all, such as for cargo?
What ever became of the AN-158s (I believe there were four operating at one time).
You will find most answers to your questions in this Cubana thread.
The An-158s were grounded by the Cuban authorities in 2018 for recurring technical issues that affected their flight safety and their certificate of airworthiness was cancelled. They have been stored at HAV since then. With the current state of affairs in Ukraine, I think it is safe to say that those planes have next to zero chances of ever flying again.
The Cuban city you mention is Nueva Gerona, not Nueva Genova.
Clydenairways wrote:I don’t understand why they can’t pick up an A340 of something like that dirt cheap. Surely the amount of downtime on those Russian aircraft costs them more in the long run. acmi is not cheap either.
Flogskipari wrote:Clydenairways wrote:I don’t understand why they can’t pick up an A340 of something like that dirt cheap. Surely the amount of downtime on those Russian aircraft costs them more in the long run. acmi is not cheap either.
Easy. Because they're broke. In order to even lease an aircraft, you need money. And guarantee the leasing company that the aircraft will operate in accordance with international law. Cubana can do neither of that. It's really like if no bank trusts you with a credit card and you're broke. You can't buy a car. You can't rent a car. But you can take a taxi. Is it more expensive? Sure. But what options do you have?
Flogskipari wrote:Clydenairways wrote:I don’t understand why they can’t pick up an A340 of something like that dirt cheap. Surely the amount of downtime on those Russian aircraft costs them more in the long run. acmi is not cheap either.
Easy. Because they're broke. In order to even lease an aircraft, you need money. And guarantee the leasing company that the aircraft will operate in accordance with international law. Cubana can do neither of that. It's really like if no bank trusts you with a credit card and you're broke. You can't buy a car. You can't rent a car. But you can take a taxi. Is it more expensive? Sure. But what options do you have?
dcajet wrote:The An-158s were grounded by the Cuban authorities in 2018 for recurring technical issues that affected their flight safety and their certificate of airworthiness was cancelled. They have been stored at HAV since then. With the current state of affairs in Ukraine, I think it is safe to say that those planes have next to zero chances of ever flying again.
A388 wrote:I wonder if a few Comac ARJ21's and C919 will find their way to Cubana. They need a fleet modernization and these aircraft might as well be the right fit and cheapest option for them.
migair54 wrote:Flogskipari wrote:Clydenairways wrote:I don’t understand why they can’t pick up an A340 of something like that dirt cheap. Surely the amount of downtime on those Russian aircraft costs them more in the long run. acmi is not cheap either.
Easy. Because they're broke. In order to even lease an aircraft, you need money. And guarantee the leasing company that the aircraft will operate in accordance with international law. Cubana can do neither of that. It's really like if no bank trusts you with a credit card and you're broke. You can't buy a car. You can't rent a car. But you can take a taxi. Is it more expensive? Sure. But what options do you have?
Cubana can't afford any plane, and the wet lease will run until they stop paying for it, however Plus ultra is good friend with the Venezuelans so they could do something around it.
I see a problem in the near future, Plus Ultra has signed and agreement to operate for Azores airlines and serve Boston and Oakland in the US, we will see what the US government thinks about that when they start working for the Cubans and operating to the US, in the past some airlines had issues with the USwhen leasing planes to Cubana.dcajet wrote:The An-158s were grounded by the Cuban authorities in 2018 for recurring technical issues that affected their flight safety and their certificate of airworthiness was cancelled. They have been stored at HAV since then. With the current state of affairs in Ukraine, I think it is safe to say that those planes have next to zero chances of ever flying again.
I think less than 0, those planes were rubbish before even started flying but they served the purpose they were bought for.A388 wrote:I wonder if a few Comac ARJ21's and C919 will find their way to Cubana. They need a fleet modernization and these aircraft might as well be the right fit and cheapest option for them.
The An158 are not that old, but useless, any plane they buy will have the same problem, it's been like that forever, Cubana was about to buy new ATR's but it won't worked, they had several lease planes, A320's mainly and nothing worked also, it's a recurrent story.
The Chinese planes will bring more problems than solutions, maybe even worse than the Antonov.
A388 wrote:I wonder if a few Comac ARJ21's and C919 will find their way to Cubana. They need a fleet modernization and these aircraft might as well be the right fit and cheapest option for them.
A388
migair54 wrote:Flogskipari wrote:Clydenairways wrote:I don’t understand why they can’t pick up an A340 of something like that dirt cheap. Surely the amount of downtime on those Russian aircraft costs them more in the long run. acmi is not cheap either.
Easy. Because they're broke. In order to even lease an aircraft, you need money. And guarantee the leasing company that the aircraft will operate in accordance with international law. Cubana can do neither of that. It's really like if no bank trusts you with a credit card and you're broke. You can't buy a car. You can't rent a car. But you can take a taxi. Is it more expensive? Sure. But what options do you have?
Cubana can't afford any plane, and the wet lease will run until they stop paying for it, however Plus ultra is good friend with the Venezuelans so they could do something around it.
I see a problem in the near future, Plus Ultra has signed and agreement to operate for Azores airlines and serve Boston and Oakland in the US, we will see what the US government thinks about that when they start working for the Cubans and operating to the US, in the past some airlines had issues with the USwhen leasing planes to Cubana.dcajet wrote:The An-158s were grounded by the Cuban authorities in 2018 for recurring technical issues that affected their flight safety and their certificate of airworthiness was cancelled. They have been stored at HAV since then. With the current state of affairs in Ukraine, I think it is safe to say that those planes have next to zero chances of ever flying again.
I think less than 0, those planes were rubbish before even started flying but they served the purpose they were bought for.A388 wrote:I wonder if a few Comac ARJ21's and C919 will find their way to Cubana. They need a fleet modernization and these aircraft might as well be the right fit and cheapest option for them.
The An158 are not that old, but useless, any plane they buy will have the same problem, it's been like that forever, Cubana was about to buy new ATR's but it won't worked, they had several lease planes, A320's mainly and nothing worked also, it's a recurrent story.
The Chinese planes will bring more problems than solutions, maybe even worse than the Antonov.
bennett123 wrote:migair54 wrote:Flogskipari wrote:Easy. Because they're broke. In order to even lease an aircraft, you need money. And guarantee the leasing company that the aircraft will operate in accordance with international law. Cubana can do neither of that. It's really like if no bank trusts you with a credit card and you're broke. You can't buy a car. You can't rent a car. But you can take a taxi. Is it more expensive? Sure. But what options do you have?
Cubana can't afford any plane, and the wet lease will run until they stop paying for it, however Plus ultra is good friend with the Venezuelans so they could do something around it.
I see a problem in the near future, Plus Ultra has signed and agreement to operate for Azores airlines and serve Boston and Oakland in the US, we will see what the US government thinks about that when they start working for the Cubans and operating to the US, in the past some airlines had issues with the USwhen leasing planes to Cubana.dcajet wrote:The An-158s were grounded by the Cuban authorities in 2018 for recurring technical issues that affected their flight safety and their certificate of airworthiness was cancelled. They have been stored at HAV since then. With the current state of affairs in Ukraine, I think it is safe to say that those planes have next to zero chances of ever flying again.
I think less than 0, those planes were rubbish before even started flying but they served the purpose they were bought for.A388 wrote:I wonder if a few Comac ARJ21's and C919 will find their way to Cubana. They need a fleet modernization and these aircraft might as well be the right fit and cheapest option for them.
The An158 are not that old, but useless, any plane they buy will have the same problem, it's been like that forever, Cubana was about to buy new ATR's but it won't worked, they had several lease planes, A320's mainly and nothing worked also, it's a recurrent story.
The Chinese planes will bring more problems than solutions, maybe even worse than the Antonov.
When does the agreement with Azores Airlines start?.
USAirKid wrote:Given that the ARJ21 has GE engines and the C919 has CFM engines, are they allowed to be exported to Cuba given the US export restrictions?
scbriml wrote:asically, anything Cubana operates is a pile of rubbish. There's only one common factor....
Maybe the problem isn't the planes?
dcajet wrote:This morning Cubana reinstated its nonstop flights between Havana and Buenos Aires EZE. Flights will be operated by Plus Ultra for Cubana with their A340-300s, with a once-a-week frequency.
https://twitter.com/SpottersArg/status/ ... 1481333760
USAirKid wrote:A388 wrote:I wonder if a few Comac ARJ21's and C919 will find their way to Cubana. They need a fleet modernization and these aircraft might as well be the right fit and cheapest option for them.
A388
Given that the ARJ21 has GE engines and the C919 has CFM engines, are they allowed to be exported to Cuba given the US export restrictions?
planenutz wrote:As far as I can find out through research, CU is operating twice weekly HAV-MAD, and sometimes a daily flight from HAV to Nueva Genova using an ATR.
I had heard that there was an intent to restart EZE later in 2023.
Information is so scarce on any future plans and the exact status of its fleet, or even if there are plans to lease in equipment.
Specifically, are there any plans to resurrect services to MEX, CCS, YUL, and YVR?
Are the TU-204s grounded or operating at all, such as for cargo?
What ever became of the AN-158s (I believe there were four operating at one time).
aviator2000 wrote:Cubana is starting next Thursday HAV-BCN, with flights being operated with Plus Ultra's A340s.
mark1484 wrote:Something to note -
CU-T1548 ATR-72-212 has been active for a while but now shows on FR24.
Recent photos from Havana show various maintenance being Carrie out on the IL96s and TU204s, very slow maintenance I may add!
N661UA wrote:How long will cubana keep A340?Plus Ultra only have this A340 in fleet!
ualcsr wrote:Out of curiosity, does anyone know if Cubana (or Aerovias Q) ever flew American planes prior to 1959?
ualcsr wrote:Out of curiosity, does anyone know if Cubana (or Aerovias Q) ever flew American planes prior to 1959?
dcajet wrote:ualcsr wrote:Out of curiosity, does anyone know if Cubana (or Aerovias Q) ever flew American planes prior to 1959?
Not usually the most trustworthy source, but a good read nonetheless:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_o ... aci%C3%B3n
bennett123 wrote:The simple answer is 'yes'.
Pre WW2 there were a variety of types. Post WW2, apart from the DC-3 and DC-4, they operated a C-46 and L-049.
I will provide a list (from the Key Publishing book) in a couple of days.
VirginFlyer wrote:dcajet wrote:ualcsr wrote:Out of curiosity, does anyone know if Cubana (or Aerovias Q) ever flew American planes prior to 1959?
Not usually the most trustworthy source, but a good read nonetheless:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_o ... aci%C3%B3nbennett123 wrote:The simple answer is 'yes'.
Pre WW2 there were a variety of types. Post WW2, apart from the DC-3 and DC-4, they operated a C-46 and L-049.
I will provide a list (from the Key Publishing book) in a couple of days.
The database here has a few examples:
Not American, but still interesting in the context of the Cold War: the Bristol Britania
And finally a couple in Cubana colours post-1959 to really make you pause…
DC-8 (leased from Air Canada)
V/F
scbriml wrote:
Basically, anything Cubana operates is a pile of rubbish. There's only one common factor....
Maybe the problem isn't the planes?
WesternDC6B wrote:scbriml wrote:
Basically, anything Cubana operates is a pile of rubbish. There's only one common factor....
Maybe the problem isn't the planes?
Which brings up a question. Is the An-158 a bad airplane, or just bad in the hands of an airline that does bailing wire and chewing gum repairs?
WesternDC6B wrote:scbriml wrote:
Basically, anything Cubana operates is a pile of rubbish. There's only one common factor....
Maybe the problem isn't the planes?
Which brings up a question. Is the An-158 a bad airplane, or just bad in the hands of an airline that does bailing wire and chewing gum repairs?
mark1484 wrote:CU-T1702 had a test flight from Ulyanovsk (ULY) on 12/9 and is now planned to fly ULY to Reykjavik on 14/9.
Let’s see what happens.
dcajet wrote:mark1484 wrote:CU-T1702 had a test flight from Ulyanovsk (ULY) on 12/9 and is now planned to fly ULY to Reykjavik on 14/9.
Let’s see what happens.
On FR24 it shows now that the ULY-KEF flight scheduled for tomorrow (14SEP) has been cancelled. Typical...