Maldivian (Q2, Malé) is considering acquiring an A330 later this year as it looks to expand its international network. In its report, aviation resource CAPA said prior to that, the Maldivian airline will initially dry-lease an A321-200 from July onwards in a bid to exploit the lucrative Chinese market.

Using its only A320-200, Maldivian will launch services to Wuhan in June with the A321 and A330 likely to be used in opening up the north China market - Beijing Capital in particular. The push into the Chinese market comes as the country's tourists make up a significant proportion of visitors to the Indian Ocean archipelago with arrivals having increased by more than 500% over the last four years from about 60'000 in 2009 to 332'000 in 2013.

The state-backed airline's move to increase its international presence will, however, bring it into direct competition with local rival Mega Maldives Air (Malé) which recently announced plans to expand its longhaul network with the arrival of four 757s and an extra B767 in 2015 and 2016.

Maldivian also uses its A320 on flights from Malé to Chennai, Dhaka, Colombo International, and Thiruvananthapuram. Given its heavy domestic presence, the Maldivian fleet is currently dominated by turboprops: four Dash 8-300s, two Dash 8-200s. It is also reviewing bids to purchase an additional Dash 8-300.