A long-term lease placement of a single used Airbus A330-200 from Air Lease Corporation (ALC) is billed for a summer arrival. But to which airline you ask? Find out here, plus see what its initial plans are…

The firm is Sentra Airways, which has its head office based on the outskirts of Bradford, and eyes niche point-to-point scheduled destinations. The carrier reveals that Manchester is to be its “operating home base”.

At present, Accra, Ghana is earmarked to become its launch destination, either from in Q3 or Q4 this year. Meanwhile, the UK-based start-up has also hinted at further routes to Africa, as well as the USA.

At the time of writing, the identity of the inbound A330-200, set to be the very first aircraft for Sentra, was understood to be an ex-Sichuan Airlines example, B-6517 (c/n 1138).

Ishmael Musah, chairman and accountable manager of Sentra Airways, said: “Sentra Airways is delighted to have finally reached this significant milestone.” Meanwhile, Bruce Fenton, executive director of the airline, added: “We would like to express our thanks to ALC for being our lease partner for the first Sentra Airways A330-200. We look forward to further collaborations with ALC and completing the regulatory approvals to gain our UK AOC certification later this year.”

Lauren Kervick, assistant vice president of marketing of Air Lease Corporation, also added: “ALC is pleased to announce this lease placement for one A330-200 with Sentra Airways. Sentra has an exciting growth and business plan operating from the UK to West Africa, and we look forward to growing our relationship over the coming years.”

The UK is currently home to several new start-ups, including flypop and Hans Airways – both which have opted for the Airbus A330 too.