FLEET / NEW LIVERY - Skymark received its first Boeing 737-MAX 8, JA738A.

It is the first Japanese company to receive this type of aircraft.

Photos: SkyMark

ORDER - Japan's Skymark Airlines orders more B737-10s

Skymark Airlines (BC, Tokyo Haneda) has placed a new firm order for three B737-10s and converted two previously ordered B737-8s into the larger variant. The deliveries of the newly ordered units are scheduled to begin in the fiscal year 2027 (starting April 1, 2027).

The aircraft will be financed through a sale-and-leaseback financing with Atlantis Aviation Corporation. The lessor will provide approximately USD104 million in financing starting in June 2025, which the airline will use to finance pre-delivery payments to Boeing. The financing will be offset against the proceeds from the sale-and-leaseback deal on the delivery of the aircraft.

The Japanese airline said in a stock market filing that its fleet renewal will begin with the addition of six leased B737-8s starting in March 2026. Its direct orders from Boeing now comprise an additional seven B737-8s (one due in FY2027 and the other six after FY2030) and seven B737-10s.

The aircraft will partially replace Skymark's current-generation fleet comprising twenty-nine B737-800s.

ORDER - Skymark orders more MAXs

Skymark Airlines has announced it has decided to increase its number of Boeing B737MAXs on order with Boeing with six additional frames.
In total, it now has ten MAXs on firm order, eight B737-8s and two B737-10s.
According to the statement from Skymark Airlines, it will take delivery of its first MAX in 2030.

The airline announced its first order for four MAXs in November 2022. Back then it also signalled its intention to lease six B737-8s but it seems these have now been ordered directly.
Currently, Skymark is operating a fleet of 29 B737-800s.
Illustration:  Boeing.

Skymark Airlines Announces Intent to Acquire Boeing 737 MAX Airplanes

Japanese airline will leverage superior fuel efficiency of 737 MAX family as part of plans to improve sustainability

Skymark Airlines plans to add 737-8 and 737-10 models to all-Boeing fleet

PRNewswire/ -- Boeing [NYSE:BA] and Japan's Skymark Airlines today announced the airline's plan to add up to 12 737 MAX airplanes as part of its fleet modernization efforts. The carrier intends to order four airplanes including the 737-8 and 737-10 variants with options for two additional jets. Separately, the airline will add six lessor-owned 737-8s to its fleet.


Based in Tokyo's Haneda Airport, Skymark Airlines is Japan's third largest carrier by revenue and currently operates an all-Boeing fleet of 29 Next-Generation 737-800s.


"As Skymark Airlines looks to sustainably grow its fleet, the 737 MAX family offers market-leading efficiency and environmental performance," said Ihssane Mounir, Boeing's senior vice president of Commercial Sales and Marketing. "With commonality and enhanced capabilities, the 737-8 and 737-10 will enable Skymark Airlines to optimize its fleet across all operations."


The 737 MAX reduces fuel use and carbon emissions by 20% and the noise footprint by 50% compared to the airplanes they replace. The 737 MAX family has the latest CFM International LEAP-1B engines, advanced technology winglets and other aerodynamic enhancements to improve performance and reduce operating costs. Nearly 50 airlines globally are currently operating approximately 3,000 daily revenue flights with the 737 MAX. Since late 2020 the in-service 737 MAX fleet has made over one million revenue flights totaling more than 2.5 million flight hours with 99.5% schedule reliability.


This order will be reflected on Boeing's Orders and Deliveries website once finalized.

SKYMARK AIRLINES / B737-800W / JA73NG - Pokémon livery, New Pokemon special livery.

Photo:HHD0221

Taipei Taoyuan Int'l Airport - RCTP, Taiwan

Skymark unveils Pikachu Jet

                                

On 21 June, Skymark unveiled a special Pokémon-livery on B737-800 JA73AB (63408). The aircraft, which is dubbed the Pikachu Jet will not only be branded on the outside but will also have Pokémon-decals on the inside like the headrests. The airline will also have dedicated Pokémon self-service check in machines to complete the experience.

Skymark cooperated with Pokémon Ltd. "to contribute to society by bringing people together and enabling them to make real contact to each other". If you want to spot the aircraft, you can do so at Fukuoka, Ibaraki, Kobe, Miyako, Nagoya, Naha and Tokyo-Haneda.

Photos by Skymark Airlines.

 

SKYMARK - B737-800W - JA73NG

SKY

SKYMARK AIRLINES - B737-800W - JA73NG

SKY

Bankrupt Skymark Airlines Considers Changing Name and Rebranding

Skymark Airlines' new logl and livery/Photo by CARNOC user "Nimoca"
Japanese bankrupt Skymark Airlines is considering a complete brand makeover, changing its name and logo, and revamping their products along with staff uniforms, in a bid to support the company's reconstruction, Kyodo News reported.

"SKY bee" is one of the top candidates for the new identity for the Japanese company, said Nobuo Sayama, President of Integral Corporation in a weekend news program.

On April 6, Skymark's President Masakazu Arimori confirmed "We have come a long way, so we want to renew the airline. We can't tell if it will be SKY bee, but SKY will remain part of it."
The rebranding could take place as early as late July, provided it wins majority approval from creditors at a meeting to be held in late June.

WCARN

Skymark terminates all Airbus A330 leases.

Skymark Airlines [BC/SKY] has apparently decided to permanently dispose of their Airbus A330s, the entire fleet of which was grounded  effective February 1st, only three days after filing for bankruptcy protection.

According to the Yomiuri Shimbun, lease contracts for all 10 A330s ordered were terminated by March 13th.

A total of seven were to be leased from Intrepid Aviation, of which four had been delivered, and three from CIT Aerospace, of which one had been delivered.
Alan Charpentier

Japan’s Skymark to stop flying Airbus A330 in favor of Boeing-only fleet

Skymark Airlines said it will stop flying Airbus A330 jets in favour of a single-model fleet of Boeing Co 737 aircraft to cut costs after the discount carrier filed for protection from creditors late on Wednesday.

“We will stop using the A330s from February,” Skymark’s chairman, Takashi Ide, told reporters at a news conference in Tokyo on Thursday.

Japan’s leading independent budget airline, Skymark sought protection from creditors blaming a weak yen and a dispute with Airbus for its financial straits. It said in a statement on Wednesday its liabilities were 71.09 billion yen (400 million pounds) as of its filing with the Tokyo District Court.

Skymark, which had planned to introduce ten leased A330s into its fleet, currently operates five of the European jets. In July the carrier cancelled an order for six Airbus A380 superjumbos.

In addition to the weaker yen, pushing up leasing costs and other expenses, Skymark is blaming Airbus’s demand for a $710 million dollar cancellation fee for its financial troubles.

Skymark’s new president, Masakazu Arimori, in Tokyo declined to say how the carrier’s filing will affect negotiations with Airbus over the cancellation fee. Skymark, which has a fleet of 28 Boeing 737s, said on Wednesday that Tokyo-based private equity firm Integral Corp has agreed to provide financing to help the airline restructure, pending court approval.

An Airbus spokeswoman said on Wednesday that the European plane maker was aware of the Skymark filing. “This is now a matter for the courts,” she said.

Skymark said using one type of aircraft will help cut monthly operating expenses, a strategy the airline adopted when it began flying in 1998 in an effort to undercut its bigger rivals, ANA Holdings and Japan Airlines.

The loss of Skymark as an operator of its jets marks a partial reversal of recent gains by Airbus in Japan, a market long dominated by Boeing. The U.S. firm has deep ties to local aerospace firms in one of Asia’s biggest aircraft markets.

Airbus made its big breakthrough in Japan in October 2013, in a landmark deal for JAL to buy 31 wide-body A350 jets with a combined $9.5 billion list price.
Source… http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/01/29/uk-skymark-airlines-fleet-idUKKBN0L20HP20150129

Skymark Air Files for Bankruptcy After Airbus A380 Deal Flops

Skymark Airlines Inc., Japan’s third-largest carrier, filed for bankruptcy protection after running short of cash, hastening the downfall of a low-fare airline and its growth ambitions that climaxed in an ill-fated purchase of six Airbus A380 superjumbos.

The carrier filed at the Tokyo District Court with 71 billion yen ($603 million) in liabilities, according to a statement to the Tokyo stock exchange. President Shinichi Nishikubo is stepping down and Chief Financial Officer Masakazu Arimori will take the role. The company will be delisted from the exchange March 1, the bourse said in a separate statement.

Skymark will get financial support for restructuring from private-equity firm Integral, according to the statement.
Skymark first flagged in July there was “material uncertainty” over whether it will remain a going concern as it may have to pay a penalty to Airbus Group NV, reiterating that position again in November. In July, Airbus terminated an order for six A380s from the Japanese carrier, a decision the planemaker said stemmed from “the airline’s expressed intentions for the aircraft.”

Takahiro Nosaka, a Tokyo-based spokesman for Airbus, declined to comment.
Skymark’s plans to consider bankruptcy comes five years after Japan Airlines Corp. filed for the country’s fourth-largest bankruptcy under a 900 billion yen turnaround plan.

Japan Air Bankruptcy

Four government bailouts had failed to revive Asia’s most indebted carrier, which on Jan. 19, 2010 applied for protection from creditors at Tokyo District Court with 2.32 trillion yen in liabilities. JAL, which re-listed in 2012, was Asia’s first major flag carrier to seek bankruptcy.

Skymark had 4.5 billion yen in cash and near cash items as of Sept. 30, down 75 percent from the same time a year earlier, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The airline had 2,275 employees as of March last year.
The carrier had a net loss of 5.7 billion yen in the six months to Sept. 30, amid increasing competition, the costs of introducing A330 planes, and a weaker yen pushing up fuel costs. Tokyo-based Skymark was planning to halt unprofitable flights from Narita airport and return two planes it leased from November, it said in October. The airline will also sell and lease back engines, a flight simulator and other assets to increase cash.
Skymark paid 26.5 billion yen in pre-delivery payments for the double-decker planes, including money to the engine and other parts makers, it said in July. 

JAL, ANA
It also sought a tie up with Japan Airlines Co. and ANA Holdings Inc. to continue operations. Last month, the airline said it was considering selling shares to an investment fund to raise cash.
Skymark shares rose 0.6 percent to 317 yen at the close of trading in Tokyo today. The shares have slumped in each of the past four years.

Shares of Skymark had plunged after Airbus terminated the order for six A380s — worth $2.5 billion in list prices. The European planemaker lost its only superjumbo customer in Japan.
The carrier could face demands for as much as 70 billion yen in penalties, Kyodo News reported in July, citing people familiar with the situation that it didn’t name. The airline and the planemaker were negotiating to reduce the penalty.

Skymark announced a decision to buy double-decker A380s and start an international business-class service in 2010, breaking from the company’s model of low-fare travel using single-aisle Boeing Co. 737s. Nishikubo said at the time he planned to win market share by charging less than half the price of rivals.
Skymark initially signed a firm contract for four A380s in 2011 and later came back for two more. Airbus said in April that Skymark’s first A380 performed its maiden flight and was heading for cabin installation and final painting in Germany.
More… http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-01-28/skymark-said-to-file-for-bankruptcy-after-airbus-a380-deal-flops

SKYMARK AIRLINES - A380 - F-WWSL

Paul Bannwarth - TLS

SKYMARK - A330-300 - F-WWKR

 

Alain Charpentier - TLS

SKYMARK AIRLINES - A330-300

Willy and Eef - TLS

Is AirAsia considering an investment in Skymark Airlines?

Skymark Airlines has been retrenching. Besides the cancellation of its Airbus A380 order by Airbus, the low-fare carrier has also announced it will leave Tokyo Narita and concentrate its flights at Tokyo (Haneda). Now according to ZipanguFlyer, there may be a new development:

“On August 19, the Nikkei Shimbun reported that the AirAsia Group has started considering an investment in ailing Skymark Airlines (BC/SKY), including a possible takeover. It said that the Malaysian LCC, a very important customer for Airbus, is also talking with the European manufacturer to reduce the penalties they are seeking with Skymark for the canceled Airbus A380 order.”
AirAsia is currently working with new Japanese partners to launch the second version of AirAsia (Japan) next year. If this report is correct and it is consummated, it would probably be the end of Skymark Airlines and Boeing would lose a loyal Japanese customer.
Airliners Gallery

Photo:Ryotaro Shinozaki - Tokyo Narita
JA73NF One of new special sticker from Japanese airline, this time, Skymark's "ONE PIECE" jet."ONE PIECE" is one of Japanese cartoon

Airbus terminates purchase order with Skymark Airlines for A380s

Following discussions with Skymark Airlines and in light of the airline’s expressed intentions in respect of the A380, Airbus has in accordance with its contractual rights, notified Skymark Airlines that the purchase order for the six A380s signed in 2011 has been terminated. Airbus is reserving all its rights and remedies.

SKYMARK AIRLINES - A330-300 - F-WWCS

Japan's Skymark Airlines to début A330 operations on June 14

Skymark Airlines will at long last début its maiden A330-300 operations on June 14 with Tokyo Haneda to Fukuoka flights. The date, which follows three previous postponements, will also mark the type's first flights within Japan.

Skymark Airlines’ first A380 completes its maiden flight

Skymark Airlines’ first A380 has successfully made its maiden flight, following completion of the airframe assembly and system tests in Toulouse, France. The carrier’s A380 will be entering the next phase of production, covering cabin installation and painting at Hamburg, Germany.



Skymark Airlines will become the first A380 operator in Japan when it takes delivery of its first aircraft later this year. The airline has six A380s on order. Skymark Airlines will deploy their A380s on international trunk routes, in particular linking Narita to destinations in the US, offering its passengers the unique experience of space and comfort when flying the A380.