Monarch Plans 45-Jet Order Next Year in Low-Cost Carrier Pursuit

Monarch Airlines Ltd. said it will order 45 single-aisle aircraft before the end of 2013 as it retires older jets and seeks to transform itself from a charter carrier into a discount operator along the lines of EasyJet Plc. (EZJ)

The planes would be delivered through 2021, Executive Chairman Iain Rawlinson said in an interview. While Monarch’s fleet is mainly from Airbus SAS’s A320-series, it will consider buying 737s from Boeing Co. (BA) and models from other manufacturers.

“This is going to be a very important element to making Monarch properly benchmarked with the low-cost carriers,” Rawlinson said today by telephone. The airline, which has typically operated a mixture of jets, will seek to streamline the fleet around a single type, he said.

Monarch, based at Luton airport, north of London, will take delivery of two Airbus A320s and two A321s next year, boosting the total to 38 aircraft.

To contact the reporter on this story: Kari Lundgren in London at klundgren2@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Chad Thomas at cthomas16@bloomberg.net