MEGA Maldives Airlines will this month introduce a third aircraft into its fleet this year as it embarks on further expansion across the Asian continent and potential future growth into the African and European markets. The company, dubbed the international airline of the Republic of Maldives, is an integrated service provider specialising in holiday travel to, from, and within Asia.
As exclusively first revealed by The HUB at Routes Asia in Chengdu, China earlier this year, MEGA Maldives is to acquire a Boeing 757-200 to support its current fleet of 767-300ERs and this aircraft is due for delivery this month. It will be used to initially operate the carrier’s existing services from Malé to Hong Kong, Chongqing and Chengdu but will provide new network opportunities for the company.
As we revealed in April, the carrier is making a slight change to its business model to explore new niches within Africa and Europe, although Chief Executive Officer, George Weinmann, says growth will also continue in Asia and in particular China.
“There is tremendous demand for traffic between China and the Maldives, a market that has grown from around 60,000 passengers in 2009 to 198,000 last year. The arrival of the 757 with winglets will afford us the capacity flexibility to enter new markets as it will have a similar eight hour range to the larger 767,” said George Weinmann.
Alongside the planned links to Seoul, South Korea and Tokyo, Japan that The HUB revealed earlier this year, MEGA Maldives is understood to also be targeting the Australian and South African markets with flights to Melbourne and Johannesburg on the radar. These new destinations will likely all be served on a weekly basis.
According to the airline, Johannesburg had been a strong source of traffic for the Maldives in past years. “The lack of convenient air services after the conclusion of charter flights many years ago has reduced demand. With new convenient direct services, we believe South Africa will once again be a strong market,” it said.
The arrival of the 757 also makes Europe an attractive market, although the airline’s boss makes it clear it will not step onto the toes of existing operators. “The European market is huge, but there are some major players including British Airways, Condor and TUI Airlines. We are a niche player and will remain a niche player and so we will not go head-to-head with major competitors,” explained George Weinmann. “However, there are two current markets in Europe that we see a strong potential and we expect to enter these.”
MEGA Maldives launched operations with a single Boeing 767-300ER in January 2011 and provides international links from both Malé Ibrahim Nasir International Airport and Gan International Airport in the archipelago. It currently operates two 767-300ERs configured with 12 Business Class seats, 42 Premium seats, and 196 Economy seats and is understood to be in talks to add a second 757-200ER as well as additional 767s over the coming 12 months.
Ahead of the airline’s launch its backers had spent a couple of years developing the right business model for the venture to support changes in the operating environment. “We identified some niche markets and we like niche markets,” acknowledged George Weinmann. And, it appears that the airline’s model has been successful as when it was launched it envisaged flying three to five aircraft within its first five years. Now, according to its boss, this has been revised to around ten aircraft.
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