Jetcraft Purchases 14 Bombardier CRJ1000 from HOP!

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DALLAS – Jetcraft Commercial has announced the purchase of 14 used Bombardier CRJ1000 regional jets from HOP! (A5), Air France (AF) regional subsidiary. The company will take delivery of these jets until the end of the year, and will then lease the aircraft to its customers worldwide.

Jetcraft Commercial is the commercial aircraft division of Jetcraft, a global aircraft trading firm. Created in 2015, the subsidiary already offers a diverse inventory and a wide variety of customers around the world, according to the company.

The deal means A5 will not operate any Bombardier CRJs anymore. Indeed, the airline had already retired its CRJ700 fleet last year due to the pandemic, and these CRJ1000s were the only Bombardier aircraft left. The regional jets will be delivered between March and December 2022.

Raphaël Haddad, the President of Jetcraft Commercial, said, “This is a significant acquisition for Jetcraft Commercial and I’m proud that three of these aircraft are ready to be placed. There is high demand for the remaining jets, emphasizing the need within commercial aviation for aircraft capable of regional missions.”

A5 operated most of its CRJs from and to its hub in Lyon (LYS). Photo: Alberto Cucini/Airways

Air France Hop!


Air France Hop, formerly branded HOP!, is a regional airline created in 2013 following the merger of three different AF regional subsidiaries. The airline now operates a bit more than 40 regional jets. Except for these CRJs, A5’s fleet features about 30 Embraer E170 and E190. However, A5 is currently lowering its capacity to improve its financial results.

The regional carrier is currently undergoing restructuring to improve its profitability. Following this agreement, the airline will only operate Embraer Regional Jets (ERJ). It is clear that the airline is reducing its capacity and fleet. However, we are not sure about its future under the AF brand.

Air France-KLM (AF-KLM) CEO, Mr. Ben Smith, clearly explained that what he envisioned was only three brands for the group: Air France, KLM, and Transavia. Again, the future of A5 is still unclear, but the purchase does not bode well for the regional airline, which also has hubs in French regions such as Lyon (LYS).

TO is expanding in the french domestic market, but also internationally in Europe and North Africa. Photo: Malcolm Nason/Airways

Transavia Expansion


The Air France-KLM (AF-KLM) group does not abandon the French domestic market either. Indeed, Transavia France (TO), the group’s new expanding low-cost, entered the French domestic market in 2020, and is already the third most important airline in terms of capacity for the year 2022, according to airlinedata.com.

Transavia France operates some routes from its main hub at Paris-Orly Airport (ORY), but also between airports in smaller French cities, such as Brest (BES), Nantes (NTE), or Nice (NCE). The low-cost carrier uses the Boeing 737-800 on all its flights but has orders for A320neo family aircraft as part of its fleet renewal.

Here is TO’s domestic route map for this summer, according to airlinedata.com. Map: airlinedata.com

We can clearly see that the AF-KLM group is reducing A5 operations while expanding TO’s within the French domestic market, as this new deal shows the gradual reduction of A5’s fleet in the coming months.


Featured image: This order means A5 won’t operate CRJ1000s anymore in 2023. Photo: Fabrizio Spicuglia/Airways

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