Ultra-low-cost airline startup Zinc is signaling a possible change to its fleet and business model due to possible difficulties in obtaining new aircraft.
The airline, which had planned to take off from Western Sydney International Airport (WSI) with a fleet of Airbus A320neo family aircraft, admitted it may need to consider older A320ceo aircraft (current engine option) as part of its fleet.
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“Our financial model and related business plan still maintains the new A321neo and A320neo as our preferred aircraft type. However, we are also modeling mid-life A320ceo and A321ceo aircraft as optional scenarios,” said Zinc founder Peter Kelly.
“This is to ensure we have the necessary information in case we have to resort to mid-life aircraft if we are unable to acquire our preferred aircraft at the time we need it.”
Airbus’ current order book for new commercial aircraft exceeds 9,000 by the end of March 2026. According to Kelly, the potential shift to older aircraft is “simply an option model.”
“It involves a considerable amount of work, as the financial model for mid-life aircraft requires us to include many elements that do not apply to new aircraft,” he said.
“For example, new seats and the renovation of the cabin and toilets: just three elements of a series of elements that must be considered, then precisely calculated and included. Of course, another consideration is the different fuel consumption.”
The news comes as reports circulate that Vietnamese low-cost airline Vietjet plans to enter the Australian market, with The Australian citing industry sources who claim the airline applied to CASA for an AOC and was allocated more than 2,250 slots at Sydney Airport.
Kelly says he is not concerned about Vietjet potentially launching an Australian subsidiary.
“Naturally, I have read several reports about VietJet establishing a national airline in Australia. Zinc is structured to be able to compete head-on with the incumbents, as well as any new entrants,” he told Australian Aviation.
“We have no fear if they decide to enter the Australian domestic air travel market. We always consider the potential of new players in the market. We would be in default if we didn’t, right?”
Last month, the ACCC expressed cautious optimism about the potential launch of Zinc and startup Koala Airlines, while Qantas Group and Virgin Australia currently operate 98.5 per cent of passenger flights.
