PNG Air (CG, Port Moresby) is planning to resume international operations by the end of the current year airline Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Muralee Siva has told CAPA.
In an interview, Siva said the Papua New Guinean carrier was eyeing Jayapura in Indonesia for its maiden forray abroad since the closure of its Port Moresby-Cairns, Australia route in late 2013. Currently, it offers scheduled flights to twenty-three destinations around Papua New Guinea.
The CEO also disclosed that, in addition to the seven ATR72-600s it is expecting from ATR - Avions de Transport Régional (EVX, Toulouse Blagnac), PNG Air holds options for fourteen additional aircraft from the Italo-French manufacturer.
As such, with deliveries of the current seven aircraft due to be completed by November 2017, PNG Air is now looking at ordering a further three to five turboprops. Among the types under consideration are the ATR42-600 or even a planned new Short Take-off and Landing (STOL) variant which is due to become available from 2020.
Siva says he expects his airline to phase out its Dash 8-100 fleet by 2020 or 2021. The Bombardier Aerospace (BBA, Montréal Trudeau) turboprops are used primarily for cargo operations as well as services to smaller, more restricted airfields.
