Asia, Oceania airline suspensions, country closures 18APR

Trans Maldivian Airways to add ATR turboprops

Trans Maldivian Airways (TMW, Malé) is set to resume Avions de Transport Régional operations with plans to use the incoming turboprops to offer round-the-clock transfers to all of the resorts in the Maldives.

The privately-owned carrier, which currently operates a fleet of fifty-six DHC-6 seaplanes across all variants, said that unlike its seaplane fleet whose hours of operations are restricted to daytime, the fixed-gear aircraft would allow it to operate at all hours. As such, the ATRs will be based out of the upcoming Madivaru Airport in Lhaviyani Atoll where a maintenance hangar will also be built.

The press release did not disclose variants or timelines.

According to the ch-aviation fleets history module, TMA used to operate two ATR42-300s between 2007/8 and 2010 on trunk inter-island routes. However, these were phased out after the airline experienced heavy losses.

The airline said it would induct four more Twin Otter amphibians into its fleet during the third quarter of the year. The ch-aviation fleets advanced module shows TMA operates...

Lenders take control of indebted Trans Maldivian Airways

Maldivian expands seaplane operations

Maldivian (Q2, Malé), the national airline of the Maldives, is to expand its seaplane operations to connect four southern atolls in the Indian Ocean archipelago.

This follows the signing of an agreement on October 3, 2020, between Maldivian’s parent company Island Aviation Services (Q2, Malé) and Addu International Airport Pvt Ltd, which operates Gan Island, to commence seaplane operations between Addu City and Huvadhu Atoll. According to the agreement, the operation will connect Addu City, Fuvahmulah City, Gaafu Alifu Atoll and Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll.

According to the ch-aviation fleets ownership module, Maldivian currently owns ten DHC-6-300 seaplanes and leases another one from Unity Group.

Maldivian seaplane operations started in 2014, catering to the tourism industry with scheduled and chartered flights, according to the company website.

The new operation would start in a matter of weeks following the renovation of a seaplane terminal at Gan Island, said Economic Minister Fayyaz Ismail. He said it was not expected to be profitable in the short-run, but was aimed at fulfilling...

Virgin Australia administrator chooses two final bidders

Deloitte has announced that it has selected two US private investment firms, Bain Capital and Cyrus Capital Partners, as the final bidders for Virgin Australia Holdings.

The decision leaves three non-binding proposals out of the running, which local media had named as being from Indigo Partners, BGH Capital, and Brookfield Asset Management.

The five non-binding proposals were received on Friday, May 29, and “over the weekend and the past two days,” the administrators assessed the proposals. As the administrator for Virgin Australia Holdings, Deloitte is seeking a binding agreement with the winning bidder by June 30.

“Both Bain Capital and Cyrus Capital Partners are well-funded, have deep aviation experience, and they see the real value of the business and its future,” said joint administrator Vaughan Strawbridge. “We will now spend the coming weeks facilitating in-depth bidder engagement with the stakeholders of the business and work closely with the preferred bidders in the lead up to binding final offers being received.”

He clarified that “the strong interest coming from all parties has generated the competitive...