The Mexican low-cost carrier Interjet ceased operations in December 2020 after a complex financial fallout which was accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, an Airbus A320-200 aircraft painted in full Interjet livery is still flying commercially scheduled passenger flights. I reckon you wouldn’t imagine where it is flying… Pakistan. Why? Let’s find out.

An Interjet aircraft flying in Pakistan?

On Saturday, Twitter user @phaniegm, a Mexican cabin crew member, tweeted that she found a former Interjet aircraft still with the livery of the now defunct livery in Pakistan. She took a photo in which an Airbus A320 with Interjet’s colors – two lines of different tones of blue, the airline’s name on the front of the fuselage, and the logo on the tail – can be seen in front of two AirBlue aircraft.

Quickly the tweet gained traction on social media. A Mexican pilot – Eduardo Vargas or @CapLaloVargas – explained why a former Interjet aircraft is flying in a faraway country.

This Airbus A320ceo was delivered to Interjet on July 27, 2017, according to data from ch-aviation. Seraph Aviation Group owns the plane. After a stint with Interjet between 2017 and 2020, Seraph Aviation took the narrowbody back and kept it with an Austrian registration number, OE-IOR, until 2021.

That year, the leasing company found a new operator for the aircraft, Pakistan International Airlines, which gave the plane a new registration number, AP-BOK. Pakistan International has been using this plane ever since, but hasn't repainted it. As such, a fully Interjet-liveried aircraft may be seen flying routes such as Quetta-Islamabad, Kuwait City-Sialkot, and Lahore-Dammam, according to data from FlightRadar24.com.

An Interjet aircraft on final approach
Photo: Joe Kunzler | Simple Flying.

What happened to Interjet and its fleet?

Interjet was a big Mexican low-cost carrier. In 2019, it was the third-largest airline in the country, carrying around 15 million passengers a year, behind Volaris and Aeromexico. Interjet had a unique fleet of 88 aircraft, including 66 Airbus A320-family-based aircraft and 22 Sukhoi Superjet 100 planes – the only operator of the Russian-made narrowbody in the Americas.

The Mexican airline entered 2020 facing a complex financial landscape later exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Shortly after the crisis forced airlines to halt flights globally, the leasing companies began taking back Interjet’s Airbus A320-family-based fleet.

Many of the newer planes have found new homes in the last few months. For instance, Interjet had eight Airbus A321neos, of which three are currently flying for Icelandic ultra-low-cost carrier PLAY. One is now receiving maintenance at Newquay Cornwall and is looking to go to SKY Express in Greece. The other four are stored at Goodyear (Arizona) and Manchester (UK).

Interjet also had seven Airbus A320neos. All of these planes have found new operators. Avianca, Air Cairo, and smartavia have received two each, while one has gone to PLAY.

The Mexican carrier had six A321ceos. These planes have also found new homes, with Air Arabia and West Air (a Chinese carrier) receiving three each.

Finally, Interjet had 52 Airbus A320ceos. Many of these planes have been scrapped. Some are on display at Toluca International Airport in Mexico. Nonetheless, some still fly for airlines such as Trade Air, Qanot Sharq, Avion Express Malta, Pakistan International, and Colombia’s Ultra Air.

Have you seen other cases like this in which a plane flies for an airline while still having the livery of a former operator? Let us know in the comments below.

Source: ch-aviation, @phaniegm, @CapLaloVargas, FlightRadar24.com.