Maldivian (Q2, Malé) has issued a new Request for Proposals (RFP) for the six-year dry lease of a single B787-8. The airline issued a dry-lease RFP for an A330-200 earlier this month.
Eligible B787-8s should be configured with at least 270 seats, including 15-20 in Business Class. They must also have a Maximum Take Off Weight of 227 Tonnes with 180 minutes ETOPS. Maldivian did not outline specific preferred age, hours, or cycles for the airframe but will award more points to newer aircraft.
The airline expects to take delivery of the aircraft in the second quarter of 2024, although delivery dates failing past this timeline can also be considered. The plane will be based out of Maldivian's Malé hub.
To assist with the entry into service of the aircraft, the lessor also has to provide Maldivian with a training or additional support package, the company announced in its RFP. The carrier said it would prefer lessors that can provide a spare engine at no extra cost; it prefers the General Electric GEnx engine type but also accepts the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000.
Maldivian expects interested parties to submit their bids by 1430L (0930Z) on January 25, 2024. To participate, respondents must also provide an expression of interest by mailing a completed EOI form.
The RFP follows a recent decision by President Mohamed Muizz to equip the state-owned carrier with two widebody aircraft for operations to Europe and China. The ch-aviation fleets module shows that the airline's current fleet comprises one A320-200, one ATR42-600 (with two more due for delivery), two ATR72-600s, eleven DHC-6-300s, one DHC-8-200, one DHC-8-Q200, and seven DHC-8-Q300s.
