Maldivian's new ATR aircraft enters service with Addu flights
The main reason behind the company's shift to ATR planes is because the Dash-8 planes are no longer being produced.
By
Ahmed Mizyal
The new ATR aircraft, which has been added to the national carrier's fleet, is scheduled to start operations on Saturday.
Maldivian announced on Friday that the first ATR flight will be from Velana International Airport (VIA) to Gan International Airport. The plane will depart from VIA at 3.40pm Saturday.
Maldivian bought three ATR planes and signed an agreement in this regard in January 2021. There are two ATR-72 planes and one ATR-42.
Out of the three planes, two of the ATR-72s were brought to the country on January 4.
Aishath Jennifer, deputy managing director of Maldivian, had earlier told Atoll Times that the ATR-42 would be commissioned by the end of this month. She added that the plane would also be used for scheduled flights within a couple of weeks of being brought in.
Last year, the company decided to sell its long-standing Dash-8 planes and change to an ATR fleet. To do so, the nine Dash-8 planes will be sold over the next seven years and they have announced that they will find buyers.
Earlier, Jennifer had told Atoll Times that the main reasons for the company's move to an ATR fleet were:
-
The suspension of production of Dash-8 planes
-
Difficulty in finding spare parts required for this type of plane
-
Taking too much time for repairs
-
High maintenance costs
After signing the agreement with the company in January last year to buy ATR planes, it was said at the time that an ATR fleet would:
-
Reduce fuel costs by by 3%
-
Reduce maintenance costs by 20%
-
Low carbon footprint will lead to adoption of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF)
