Avion Express
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Avion Express is a provider of ACMI (aircraft, crew, maintenance and insurance) services to other carriers. Headquartered in
Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...
, it operates a fleet of 55 Airbus A320-family aircraft and holds Air Operator Certificates in Lithuania, Malta and Brazil, with additional certificates under development in the Philippines and Mexico.


History

Avion Express was established in 2005 as Nordic Solutions Air Services. At that time, the airline was operating four
Saab 340 The Saab 340 is a Swedish twin-engine turboprop aircraft designed and initially produced by Saab AB and Fairchild Aircraft. It is designed to seat 30–36 passengers and, as of July 2018, there were 240 operational aircraft used by 34 differen ...
cargo and passenger aircraft. In 2008 the company was re-branded to its current name Avion Express. In 2010 Avion Express was acquired by French investment company Eyjafjoll SAS, formed by Avion Capital Partners of Switzerland along with other investors. In 2011 Avion Express introduced its first
Airbus A320 The Airbus A320 family is a series of narrow-body airliners developed and produced by Airbus. The A320 was launched in March 1984, Maiden flight, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was introduced in April 1988 by Air France. The first membe ...
, which was the first Airbus aircraft to be registered in Lithuania. In December, two more Airbus A320s were added to the fleet. In 2013, Avion Express passed the IOSA Operational Safety Audit and obtained an
IATA The International Air Transport Association (IATA ) is an airline trade association founded in 1945. IATA has been described as a cartel since, in addition to setting technical standards for airlines, IATA also organized tariff conferences tha ...
registration. The last Saab 340 cargo aircraft was removed from operation in March 2013. By summer of 2014, the airline was operating a fleet of nine Airbus A320s and two Airbus A319s. That same year Avion Express established a subsidiary company Dominican Wings, a low-cost airline based in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. In summer 2017 Avion Express introduced
Airbus A321 The Airbus A321 is a member of the Airbus A320 family of short to medium range, Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body, commercial passenger Twinjet, twin engine jet airliners; it carries 185 to 236 passengers. It has a stretched fuselage which was ...
aircraft.In June 2017, Avion Express announced that it had sold its 65% stake in Dominican Wings to the president of the company. In August 2017, Avion Express signed partnership agreement with the Lithuanian Aviation Academy (VGTU A. Gustaitis’ Aviation Institute). Since autumn 2017 Avion Express has also been collaborating with BAA Training on the cadet programme. In 2019 Avion Express established Avion Express Malta, a subsidiary company based in Malta. The company started operations in May the same year. In early 2025, the company’s Brazilian subsidiary, Avion Express Brasil, received its Air Operator Certificate, with plans to operate up to 25 aircraft by 2028. As of 2025, Avion Express holds Air Operator Certificates in Lithuania, Malta, and Brazil, with an AOC under development in the Philippines and Mexico. Avion Express is in the process of obtaining an Air Operator Certificate (AOC) in Mexico.


Fleet

As of January 2025, Avion Express operates the following fleet:


Incidents and accidents

* On 3 February 2024, Vilnius International Airport was closed after Avion Express Flight 8242 (registration LY-NVL), landing from
Milan Bergamo Airport Milan Bergamo Airport (), also formerly known as Orio al Serio International Airport, is the third-busiest international airport in Italy. The airport is also officially called Il Caravaggio International Airport after the Baroque painter Mic ...
veered off the runway and onto the grass whilst landing, the aircraft maneuvered back onto the runway and taxied to the terminal. The belly has received substantial damage.


References


External links

* {{Aircraft leasing companies Airlines of Lithuania Aircraft leasing companies Airlines established in 2005 Lithuanian companies established in 2005