Island Aviation Services, the parent and operator of Maldivian (Q2, Malé), issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the purchase and lease of five incremental new or second-hand ATR42-600s.
The carrier plans to source the aircraft in the following order:
- one aircraft for sale-and-leaseback under an operating lease with delivery expected in the fourth quarter of 2023,
- three aircraft under operating leases with deliveries in 2024, and
- the final aircraft under finance lease with delivery in the first quarter of 2025.
Maldivian plans to lease the aircraft for 12 years if they are new or for six years in case of proposals covering second-hand aircraft. The bid requires the turboprops to be cleared in terms of all airworthiness directives and mandatory service bulletins for at least the next 2,800 flight hours or 1,200 cycles (whichever is limiting). The second-hand aircraft must be free of major maintenance events planned within the next 24 months, 8,000 flight hours, or 6,500 flight cycles, and delivered fresh from a C-Check. The engines must have at least 5,000 cycles remaining on their service life.
The airline said the aircraft would be based out of Malé. It expects proposals for aircraft configured for 46 passengers in a single-class layout.
The deadline to submit proposals is on May 4, 2023. The carrier plans to notify the three top bidders on May 21, 2023.
The ch-aviation Commercial Aviation Aircraft Data module shows that the carrier's fleet currently comprises one A320-200, two ATR72-600s, one ATR42-600, seven DHC-8-Q300s, one DHC-8-Q200, and eleven DHC-6-300s. Maldivian's sole ATR42-600 was delivered in early April 2023 directly from the manufacturer and is owned by the airline.
