HiSky

HiSky is one of the youngest airlines in Southeast Europe – and one of the most unusual. Behind the name are two companies in two countries, a small all-Airbus fleet and a single widebody jet connecting Bucharest with New York. For you as a spotter, that means: few aircraft, but each with its own story. This page shows you how to assign HiSky correctly and what to look out for at the spot.

HiSky at a glance

HiSky is an airline group with roots in the Republic of Moldova and a focus on Romania. The company was founded in September 2019 in Chișinău. At its head is Iulian Scorpan, a former pilot who previously ran the state-owned Air Moldova. Co-founder is the finance specialist Victor Sula.

The start was bumpy. In early 2020, the Moldovan aviation authority initially refused the air operator certificate (AOC) because it saw irregularities. In spring 2020, HiSky was already selling tickets but was not yet allowed to fly – and then the pandemic hit. Several announced start dates were postponed.

The breakthrough came via Romania: in December 2020, the Romanian company HiSky Europe received its AOC, and in February 2021 the Moldovan HiSky followed. On March 5, 2021, the first commercial flight went from Chișinău to Hurghada in Egypt. Since then, the airline has grown step by step – with bases in Romania, flights to Western and Southern Europe, charter service for tour operators and, since 2024, a long-haul route to the USA.

Two companies, two sets of codes

For passengers, HiSky is simply HiSky. For you as a spotter, a closer look pays off, because the two companies have their own codes, their own registrations and their own operating licenses.

Company	Headquarters	IATA	ICAO	Callsign	Registration
HiSky Europe SRL	Bucharest, Romania	H4	HYS	SKY EUROPE	YR-
HiSky SRL	Chișinău, Moldova	H7	HYM	SKY MOLDOVA	ER-

Most of the fleet flies for HiSky Europe. The Romanian company has a big advantage: as an EU airline, it can freely launch routes within the European single market. The Moldovan sister, by contrast, depends on traffic rights agreed between the Republic of Moldova and the destination countries. That explains why HiSky Europe is the backbone of the group today.

How IATA and ICAO codes work in general and why an airline can have several of them is explained in the article IATA and ICAO codes explained.

The fleet: small and all Airbus

HiSky relies exclusively on Airbus. The aircraft are leased, the two A321neo LRs and the A330, for example, from the US lessor Air Lease Corporation. How such contracts work is explained in the article Aircraft leasing explained. According to publicly available fleet data (as of August 2025), the fleet looks roughly like this:

Type	Number (approx.)	Company	Use	Spotter note
Airbus A320-200	4	HiSky Europe	Europe, Mediterranean, charter	The workhorse of the fleet
Airbus A321neo (LR)	2	HiSky Europe	longer medium-haul routes	Delivered in 2023, largest engines in the narrowbody fleet
Airbus A330-200	1	HiSky Europe	New York JFK	One-off: YR-KID
Airbus A319-100	1	HiSky (Moldova)	from Chișinău	ER- registration

The numbers are a snapshot. Small airlines often add aircraft seasonally or return them, so the picture may have shifted by October 2026.

The Airbus A320 is the type you see most often at HiSky. The two A321neos in LR version joined in spring 2023. The LR variant has additional fuel capacity and therefore more range than a regular A321neo – for HiSky, practically for long routes to the edge of Europe and to the Middle East. You find the smaller A319 at the Moldovan sister in Chișinău. The manufacturer of all types is Airbus.

If you cannot yet reliably tell the A320-family variants apart, the guide Telling the A318, A319, A320 and A321 apart will help. For the difference between first-generation A320s and neo models, there is the article A320neo or ceo?.

The A330 YR-KID: a widebody for Romania

The most interesting aircraft in the fleet is the Airbus A330-200 with the registration YR-KID. It landed in Bucharest on December 19, 2023, and is considered the first A330 ever registered in Romania. The Romanian state airline TAROM also used other types on its earlier long-haul routes.

The aircraft’s history goes further back: in July 2010, it was delivered to its first operator, Sichuan Airlines, in China. Later it went via a maintenance stop in Shannon, Ireland, and introduction checks in Timișoara to Bucharest at last. The jet is powered by two Trent 772B engines from Rolls-Royce. On arrival, it reportedly had 245 seats in two classes – 36 in business and 209 in economy. Newer sources give a different split; the cabin may therefore have been reconfigured.

How to reliably tell the A330 and A340 apart is shown in the article A330 or A340?.

Long-haul: Bucharest–New York

In June 2024, HiSky Europe launched the connection from Bucharest to New York JFK with the A330. That meant a direct flight between Romania and the USA for the first time since 2003 – when TAROM discontinued its connection to New York. For such a small airline, it is a bold step: with only one widebody jet, there is no spare if the aircraft has a technical failure.

For spotters, the route is doubly exciting. In Bucharest, the A330 is one of the few widebody aircraft regularly stationed at the airport. And in New York, an aircraft with a Romanian YR registration is among the rare visitors. If you are spotting in New York, you will find tips in the article Plane spotting in New York and on the page for New York JFK Airport. A well-known photo spot with a view of the apron is the TWA Hotel at JFK.

The route network

HiSky connects Romania and the Republic of Moldova with Western and Southern Europe, plus vacation destinations on the Mediterranean and the Red Sea. According to an October 2024 report, HiSky Europe was then serving 26 routes to 23 destinations in eleven countries. Typical destinations of recent years included:

• Romania: Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Iași, Timișoara, Oradea, Baia Mare and Satu Mare
• Western Europe: Dublin, Brussels, Paris (Charles de Gaulle and Beauvais), Frankfurt and Milan Bergamo
• Vacation destinations: Hurghada, Sharm el-Sheikh, Antalya, Monastir and Agadir, partly seasonal
• Other destinations: Tel Aviv, Istanbul and New York JFK

HiSky has dropped some routes again, such as to Lisbon, Málaga or Târgu Mureș. The earlier flights to Moscow and St. Petersburg are also gone. The network is therefore fluid – take this list as orientation, not as a timetable.

Striking is the strong tie to Ireland. Cluj-Napoca–Dublin was already among the first scheduled routes in 2021 – the connections to Ireland are aimed at the large Romanian and Moldovan community there. Dublin is even named in sources as a focus destination of HiSky Europe. If you are spotting at Dublin Airport, the guide Plane spotting in Dublin will help, and The Mound on Old Airport Road is a good starting point.

How to recognize HiSky

The aircraft carry the “HiSky” titles on the fuselage. Because the fleet is so small and partly flies leased aircraft with traces of previous owners, you are better off relying on two other features:

1. The registration: YR- stands for Romania and thus for HiSky Europe, ER- for the Republic of Moldova. You will find all the basics on prefixes in the guide Understanding aircraft registrations.
2. The ICAO code in the tracker: HYS or HYM tells you which company is operating the flight.

Then there is the type: if you see a twin-engine widebody jet with HiSky titles, it is almost certainly YR-KID. For the narrowbody jets, a look at length and engines helps: the A321neo is much longer than the A320 and has the large engines of the neo generation.

Spotting HiSky

Your best chances are at Bucharest Henri Coandă Airport. That is where HiSky Europe is headquartered, and the A330 is based here. Besides HiSky, in Bucharest you see TAROM and the big bases of Wizz Air – a good mix of state airline, low-cost carrier and young private airline.

Cluj-Napoca has been one of the important departure airports since the first scheduled flights in 2021, and Chișinău is home to the Moldovan sister. In Western Europe, HiSky is a rare guest: at big airports like Paris or Frankfurt, the airline quickly disappears in the traffic, so a look at the schedule or the tracker is worthwhile.

HiSky in the Romanian market

Romanian air traffic has seen a lot of movement in recent years. The former private airline Blue Air ceased operations in 2022, TAROM remains the state airline, and low-cost carriers like Wizz Air have large bases in the country. HiSky moved into that gap: according to a 2024 report, HiSky was the second-largest Romanian airline with a classic service offering after TAROM. The smaller AnimaWings is also part of the Romanian market.

HiSky does not belong to an alliance. The airline sells its flights itself and relies on its own network with connections in Bucharest.

Common mix-ups

• Taking HiSky for a purely Moldovan airline – most of the fleet is operated by the Romanian HiSky Europe.
• Mixing up H4 and H7 – H4/HYS belongs to HiSky Europe, H7/HYM to the Moldovan company.
• Taking every A330 in Bucharest for HiSky – visiting airlines also bring widebody jets; the registration YR-KID decides.
• Logging an A321neo (LR) as an A320 – the A321 is much longer and has additional pairs of doors.
• Confusing HiSky with other airlines’ “Sky” names – look at the ICAO code HYS or HYM rather than just the name.

Conclusion

HiSky is a small, young airline with big ambitions: two companies in two countries, an all-Airbus fleet and, with the A330 YR-KID, even a long-haul route to New York. Precisely because the fleet is so manageable, it is worth collecting every registration individually. If you can tell YR- and ER- as well as HYS and HYM apart, you can assign every HiSky sighting cleanly.