Hamburg International Orders 14 A319s, Six Options

German niche carrier Hamburg International announced Monday it has become a new customer for the Airbus A319 (file photo of type, right) with an order for 14 aircraft of the type, plus another six on option.

Airbus reports 10 of the new aircraft will replace the airline's current fleet of what the European consortium terms "previous-generation single-aisle aircraft" -- the rest of us call them Boeing 737s -- and the planes will be configured in a single-class layout seating up to 150 passengers.

Although the airline is just now announcing the deal, Airbus states the contract had already been signed in December 2005, one of several such deals that allowed Airbus to achieve a last-minute victory over rival Boeing for the 2005 sales crown.

"We are proudly looking forward to carrying the name of our home base Hamburg into the world on a modern fleet of Hamburg assembled Airbus aircraft," said Hamburg International Managing Directors Norbert Grella, Klaus-A. Schlichtmann and Christoph von Saldern in a written statement. "We believe that the renewal of our fleet with A319 aircraft will further improve the satisfaction of our customers in terms of comfort and flexibility to serve our niche markets."

Established in 1998, the Hamburg-based airline operates airtour and charter flights, as well as other niche markets like executive charters and corporate flight operations.

The airline will operate ten of the A319s on its European charter routes as well as on dedicated international flights to Africa, Asia and the Middle East.

"I am particularly delighted that Hamburg International, a well-reputed customer located in the same city as Airbus’ biggest site in Germany, has selected the A319 for their future fleet," said Airbus CEO Gustav Humbert. "This is another example that underlines the A320 Family's position as the reference aircraft for charter and low-cost carriers worldwide."

The A319 is a member of Airbus’ popular fly-by-wire single-aisle family, which also includes the A318, the A320 and A321 with passenger capacities ranging from 100 to 200 seats.

FMI: www.airbus.com, www.hamburg-international.de/