Maldivian ferries first two ATR72-600s to Malé

05.01.2023 – 03:21 UTC

Two ATR72-600s going to Maldivian (Q2, Malé) have finally been ferried to Malé after delays at ATR – Avions de Transport Régional (ATR) saw the airline bring in a leased aircraft at short notice in order to meet its busy holiday season schedule. The two aircraft form part of a three-plane deal with ATR that will also see Maldivian receive one ATR42-600.

The deliveries were announced prior to Christmas but 8Q-IAY (msn 1654) and 8Q-IAZ (msn1655) remained in Toulouse Blagnac until January 2, 2023, before they commenced their ferry flights to Malé’s Velana International Airport via Heraklion, Hurghada, and Muscat. The two aircraft landed at Malé on January 4.

The 70-passenger brand-new aircraft will complement Maldivian’s current fleet of one A320-200, two DHC-8-200s, eight DHC-8-300s, and eleven DHC-6-300 Twin Otters. Maldivian had also temporarily leased an ATR72-600 from Swiftair (WT, Madrid Barajas) to cover capacity shortfalls owing to ATR delivery delays. The two ATRs were originally due to arrive at Maldivian in October…

Editorial Comment: Adjusted headline to correctly reflect the airline’s name (Maldivian instead of Maldivian Airlines) – 27.03.2023 – 16:36 UTC

Attestor Capital unleashes Marabu in Estonia

13.12.2022 – 11:41 UTC

Attestor Capital, the owner of a 51% stake in German leisure specialist Condor, has incorporated a new virtual carrier in Estonia. Marabu (MBU, Tallinn Lennart Meri) will launch in the Summer 2023 season with six chartered A320 aircraft based out of Munich and Hamburg Helmut Schmidt.

The start-up said it would charter all six aircraft from Estonia’s Nordica, although the Estonian carrier, in a separate statement, confirmed only that it would charter three A320-200Ns to Marabu. Nordica will also provide operational support for the new carrier. The Estonian ACMI/charter specialist has only recently entered the narrowbody segment and currently operates a single A320-200. However, it plans to grow this business rapidly. In October, it disclosed plans to establish a new AOC for operations in Germany, although at that time it did not identify the customer.

Marabu said it plans to eventually obtain its own Air Operator’s Certificate as soon as 2023. It did not respond to ch-aviation’s request for more details regarding its certification plans and whether it…

Maldivian adds interim wet-leased ATR72

18.11.2022 – 00:29 UTC

Maldivian (Q2, Malé) has wet-leased an ATR72-500 from Swiftair (WT, Madrid Barajas) to boost capacity over the peak Christmas / New Year tourist season while waiting for delayed aircraft deliveries from ATR – Avions de Transport Régional (ATR). EC-KKQ (msn 0763) was reportedly supplied by ATR after the scheduled October deliveries of two ATR72-600s and one ATR42-600 were pushed back by production lines glitches.

According to ADS-D tracking, EC-KKQ was ferried to Malé over three days, arriving on November 14. The plane left Madrid on November 12 and flew via Naples Capodichino, Cairo International, Muscat, and Mumbai International. On November 16, the aircraft entered into service for Maldivian, flying five domestic sectors that day.

“We have added an ATR 72-500 on wet-lease to our fleet,” said Mohamed Rishan, a network planning and revenue management specialist Maldivian. “It will cater for the coming festive and local holiday season before we take the delivery of our three brand new ATRs in late December. The new addition…