Royal Class announced the acquisition of a Fairchild Swearingen SA 227 Metroliner 23, registered as LV-ZXA. This aircraft is notable for being the one intended for use by Humming Airways, a regional airline project in the Argentine Pampas region.
The turboprop was manufactured in 1997 but delivered in November 2000 to SAPSA – Servicios Aéreos Patagónicos S.A. (part of the Grupo Vía Bariloche). The aircraft has previously operated for American Jet, Pacific Ocean, and even connected Salta with Cafayate, Tartagal, and Oran for Andes Líneas Aéreas in 2011.
According to Royal Class, the Metroliner 23 is configured with 19 seats but can be adapted for 12 VIP places or medical flights. With this addition, their fleet grows to nine aircraft, joining the Falcon 7X (LV-JQF), Falcon 900EX (LV-GQK), Bombardier Challenger 601 (LV-BYG), Cessna 560 Citation Excel (LV-CBK), Cessna 525 Citation (LV-JUM and LV-JUN), Piper Seneca II (LV-IQG), and Robinson 44 (LV-JZK).
The Metroliner will be used this December 27 for the official presentation of Humming Airways at the destinations it will serve in 2025. Among them are Olavarría, Tandil, Venado Tuerto, and Villa Maria from Aeroparque.
A couple of weeks ago, the company surprised by launching ticket pre-sales, offering tiered pricing based on the number of tickets purchased. Those buying more than 150 tickets will pay $150 per segment, while those purchasing between 100 and 150 tickets will pay $175. For packages of 40 to 100 tickets, the cost per segment will be $200. This seems to distance Humming Airways, at least for now, from a more traditional regional airline model, operating instead as a kind of air broker.
