HiSky Launching Romania To United States Flights

This spring, I wrote about how Moldovan-Romanian low cost airline HiSky filed with the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) to request permission to operate flights to the United States. At the time there were more questions than answers regarding the potential route, aircraft used, etc.

There’s now a major update, as flagged by @IshrionA. HiSky plans to fly to the United States as of the summer of 2024, and flights are already on sale.

HiSky will fly from Bucharest to New York

As of June 7, 2024, HiSky will launch a new 4x weekly flight between Bucharest (OTP) and New York (JFK). The flight will operate with the following schedule:

H4101 Bucharest to New York departing 8:00AM arriving 11:25AM
H4102 New York to Bucharest departing 1:25PM arriving 6:15AM (+1 day)

The 4,755-mile flight will operate in both directions on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. The flight is blocked at 10hr25min westbound and 9hr50min eastbound. Flights are already on sale on HiSky’s website, and the airline has a variety of fares, and even offers business class.

For now, flights are on sale through October 26, 2024, which is right around the end of the IATA summer schedule. I suspect that this is intended to be a seasonal service, though it’s also possible that the airline just hasn’t gotten around to loading the winter schedule yet, or is seeing how demand evolves.

HiSky intends to use a leased Airbus A330-200 for the flight, which is being leased from Air Lease Corporation. According to the seat map, the plane will feature a total of 274 seats, including 24 business class seats in a 2-2-2 configuration, plus 250 economy seats in a 2-4-2 configuration.

It would appear that HiSky’s Airbus A330-200 will have the registration code YR-KID, and it’s an aircraft that first entered service in 2010, and until recently flew for China’s Sichuan Airlines.

I’ve reviewed Sichuan Airlines’ A330 business class, and I believe the airline will keep the same seats that were available on those planes, so expect angled business class seats. However, the airline will be removing some business class seats to add more economy seats, to better reflect the demand profile.

My take on HiSky’s new transatlantic flights

Most Americans have probably never heard of HiSky Airlines. For those not familiar, it’s a fairly new airline that was founded in 2019, but it has only really ramped up operations in the past couple of years, given the pandemic. The airline currently has a fleet of seven aircraft, including one Airbus A319, four Airbus A320s, and two Airbus A321LRs. The airline is also in the process of taking delivery of an A330, which will be used for the New York service.

While I haven’t flown with HiSky, the things that I have heard about the airline have been positive, and it seems to be pretty well regarded, and to offer good value and a solid experience.

When HiSky first filed with the US DOT for this permission back in spring, many of us were confused, since the A321LR isn’t capable of flying nonstop from Moldova or Romania to the United States. But with the airline now acquiring an A330, that makes a lot more sense.

As far as bold new airline routes go, I have to say that HiSky’s new service doesn’t seem like a bad idea:

• It’s easy enough to make money flying across the Atlantic in summer, given the amount of demand
• While US airlines have expanded a ton with summer seasonal flying to Europe, no US carriers have planned service to Romania, so HiSky will be the only airline operating this route
• The catch is that HiSky is only selling point-to-point tickets; the airline doesn’t have a robust connecting network in Europe (when you go to HiSky’s website, you’ll see the only option for flights from New York is to Bucharest), and no partner in the United States
• I think the question of economics with this route will come down to how the airline can use the A330 in winter in a profitable way
• HiSky definitely has a cost advantage in terms of flying an older A330 that’s probably not too expensive to lease, and I imagine the carrier has much better labor costs than US airlines (I doubt HiSky captains are making $400K+ per year)

I’m very curious to see how this evolves, as it’s always fun to see new airlines trying long haul routes (even if it often doesn’t end well).

Bottom line

HiSky intends to launch nonstop flights from Romania to the United States as of next summer. Specifically, the airline will fly from Bucharest to New York with a newly acquired Airbus A330 that used to fly for Sichuan Airlines.

I’ve gotta say, this is an interesting new route. It’s a European destination not currently served by any US airline, and for now the airline is just planning seasonal service, when transatlantic demand is typically strong. HiSky has been a pretty well managed airline up until now, so I could see this working. I’m just curious where the airline will fly in winter with decent yields.

What do you make of HiSky’s new Bucharest to New York flight?