MASwings Takes Delivery Of First ATR 72-500 Aircraft
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 29 -- MASwings, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines, Friday took delivery of its first ATR 72-500 aircraft at a ceremony held in Toulouse, France.
The airline has put in a firm order of seven ATR 72-500 value at US$128.1 million with options for an additional three aircraft valued at US$54.9 million, it said.
The other six aircraft will be delivered next year and all the planes will be deployed in Sabah and Sarawak.
MASwings managing director Dr Amin Khan said the fleet renewal was taken in response to the government's request to enable the airline to expand its services in Sabah and Sarawak.
"These new aircraft will enable us to expand our capacity by 150 percent, meeting the future demand in air travel within Sabah and Sarawak and connect more customers worldwide to the two states which are ideal destinations for business and tourism," he said in a statement.
"With the environmentally friendly ATR 72-500s, we will be contributing to the development of the sustainable tourism in East Malaysia," he added.
At the same ceremony, Firefly, another subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines, took delivery of its second ATR 72-500. The community airline has a total order of 10 ATR 72-500 valued at US$183 million with an option to purchase 10 more.
The aircraft delivered to MASwings and Firefly are the first ATRs to operate in the country.
"With the delivery of these aircraft, we are entering a new market with strong growth potential while strengthening our position as the leader in the turboprop market in Asia," said ATR chief executive officer Stephane Mayer.
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