Smartwings Wet-Leases Boeing 737 MAX to Air Seychelles, Keeping Czech Crews Flying Through Winter Slump

Czech carrier Smartwings has clinched another winter ACMI (aircraft-crew-maintenance-insurance) contract, positioning a Boeing 737 MAX 8 (reg. OK-SWH) at Mahé to operate regional services for Air Seychelles. From this week the jet is flying to Johannesburg, Colombo, Abu Dhabi, Tel Aviv and Mauritius, the airline confirmed on X on 12 February.

Wet-lease deals are a lifeline for Central European charter airlines whose fleet utilisation plunges after the ski-charter rush. Smartwings lost a major Canadian customer after the WestJet–Sunwing merger and now offsets that gap with winter contracts for SpiceJet in India, Flynas in Saudi Arabia and Eurowings in Germany. The Seychelles assignment guarantees flying hours for Czech pilots and cabin crews at a time when domestic demand is still 22 % below the pre-pandemic average, according to Prague Airport statistics.



For Czech mobility managers the contract has two practical implications. First, employee-travel planners should expect tighter seat supply on some winter sun routes from Prague as spare aircraft are redeployed overseas. Second, the deal underscores the growing importance of ACMI partnerships in securing capacity for the upcoming summer peak; travel buyers are advised to lock in group allocations early as fleet flexibility shrinks.

Industry analysts note that wet-leasing abroad also spreads operational risk. By earning hard currency in Africa and Asia, Smartwings hedges against volatile Central European yields and high energy costs. The arrangement is emblematic of a wider trend: European carriers shifting aircraft to opposite-season markets to maintain cash-flow and crew currency while strengthening global footprint ahead of the 2026 summer expansion that will see seven new city-break routes from Prague.