Titan Airways to register Airbus shuttle aircraft in Malta

Titan Airways has confirmed a five-year contract with Airbus for factory shuttle flights between Toulouse and Hamburg-Finkenwerder. An earlier report had said the British charter carrier took on the service.

The aircraft on the route is an Airbus A320 with 180 seats. It still carries the UK registration G-POWM but has already been leased to the group's subsidiary Titan Airways Malta. Titan said the jet will be registered in Malta as 9H-ZTE during September. It is the company's first passenger aircraft to hold a Maltese air operator certificate.

Titan said the change gives European operators and charter customers direct access to its aircraft without what it called the complexity of a British registration. The A320 will also be available for ad-hoc charter and wet-lease across Europe, according to Titan Airways Group.

Titan Airways Malta already has three aircraft on the Maltese register. All three are Airbus A321 converted freighters, the group said.