Orbest Airlines has become the third Portuguese carrier after TAP Portugal and Hi Fly to operate an Airbus A330neo. Photos of the leisure airline's new jet surfaced on social media yesterday after the European planemaker revealed the new A330neo at Toulouse.The new plane will now undergo land and flight tests before being delivered to the Lisbon Portela Airport-based holiday airline. While no firm date has been announced for its delivery, Orbest would like to have the aircraft ASAP.
Orbest plans to use the plane on Caribean routes
Before the global COVID-19 pandemic that has put the aviation industry into a tailspin, Orbest was planning to use its new Airbus for weekly flights to the Caribbean. As a part of the Barceló Group of hotels, Orbest was going to offer weekly flights to Punta Cana International Airport (PUJ) in the Dominican Republic and Cancun International Airport (CUN) in Mexico.
The Barceló Group is the second-largest Spanish hotel operator behind Meliá Hotels International, with more than 250 resorts in 22 countries around the world.
Orbest Airlines does not operate like a typical airline, preferring to make passengers feel as though they are already on holiday when they board the aircraft. With the arrival of the new Airbus A330neo, Orbest will double its fleet size pairing the new plane with its existing 13-year-old Airbus A330-300. Laid out in a single class configuration, the new A330-900 will be able to accommodate 388 passengers.
About the Airbus A330neo
The Airbus A330neo (new engine option) is a widebody long-haul aircraft that has been developed from the European planemaker's best-selling A330. Fitted with larger Rolls Royce Trent 7000 engines, the new version offers a 14% better fuel economy per seat.
The new Airbus A330-900 first entered service with TAP Portugal on 26 November 2018 and is in service on the Portuguese airline's routes to North America.
Orbest is a leisure airline
Orbest, like many other airlines, was committed to the new A330neo long before we heard about the coronavirus and may now struggle to fill the plane. There is no denying that not just the airline industry, but that tourism, in general, has been turned on its head. The entire travel industry faces an uncertain future as we try to escape from the COVID-19 crisis.
While so-called experts have come up with several scenarios of how we will bounce back from the coronavirus, there is no doubt that the financial impact could be long-lasting. This will have the most significant impact on the leisure travelers that Orbest is hoping to attract.
Looking at it in the best possible light, social distancing and the way each country will treat arriving passengers is a nightmare in itself. Nobody can predict what the protocol will be when we get to the airport other than perhaps the requirement to wear face masks. The thought of planning a holiday abroad right now seems hard to imagine and could very well see people vacationing closer to home.