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Astra A320s | 2017-2018



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Astra A320s | 2017-2018

(TOP)
Airline - Astra
Aircraft - Airbus A320-200 | G-MEJC
Delivered to AerCap, 1997
Leased to British International, 1997
Sold to British International, 2002
Transferred to Astra, 2017
Livery - Standard 2017
Country - Great Britain

(BOTTOM)
Airline - Astra
Aircraft - Airbus A320neo | G-ANZA
Delivered to Astra, 2018
Livery - Standard 2017
Country - Great Britain

In 2017, the BritJet Group founded its second spin-off carrier (after BritExpress). Astra, as this new carrier was called, was meant to fill the less-premium travel market which British International, the group's main airline, had abandoned by focusing on introducing the best possible hard products and service, leading to an increase in average ticket price. Astra's purpose was to prevent the middle-ground sector of the market being snagged by some other airline, leading to a loss of market share on the part of the BritJet Group. The branding designed for Astra was much simpler than British International's new brand identity, using only two colors - blue and white. Stark, bold lettering, lack of a logo, and easily recognizable letter A on the tail all contributed to making the new carrier stand out from others fighting for the vacant middle-market sector.

The first step in creating Astra was the setting up of a hub in Gatwick airport and transfer of the third, fourth, and fifth oldest A320-200s from British International (the two oldest ones had already been removed from the fleet). These three aircraft were reconfigured with new interiors, with a total of 180 seats. The first seven rows, with slightly greater legroom, are convertible to Business Class (though because of the less-premium nature of the airline, the full Business capacity is rarely used). The A320 shown here, G-MEJC, is the oldest in Astra's fleet. Its seatmap, at the top of the image below, is shown configured with three rows of Business, for a capacity of 12 in Business Class and 162 in Economy. Using these first three A320s, Astra began service in mid-2017 from Gatwick to Manchester, Dublin, Glasgow, Amsterdam, Madrid, Barcelona, Geneva, Paris, and Rome.

Astra expanded further in 2018, receiving two more A320-200s from British International, and taking delivery of its first four A320neos (out of 12 total delivered to the BritJet Group in 2018, more on that later). These A320neos are configured similarly to the A320s, however the SpaceFlex v2 setup they come with uses much smaller and differently positioned lavatories, as well as more cramped galleys, accommodating two more rows than the A320-200s for a total maximum capacity of 186. Also with a maximum Business Class capacity of 28, it is shown on the image below configured with only 20 seats in Business. Using the new A320neos and newly transferred A320-200s, Astra expanded operations further in 2018, adding service to more European cities.

Note: Click on the image below to open a full-size version
Posted Image



    nice

    nice

     

    Thanks

    It's a lil bland. It would be fun if there was a gradient pattern or something to spice it up.