Cook Islands’ Air Rarotonga Modernising Saab 340 Fleet
Air Rarotonga, which flies inter-island services in the Cook Islands, is in the midst of a fleet modernisation as it prepares to receive delivery of another Saab 340B+ turboprop. The South Pacific airline received the first of two Saab 340B+…
Servicing Rural Papua New Guinea with Mission Aviation Fellowship
Picture credit: Mission Aviation Fellowship
RUAG Delivers New Dornier 228 to Japan’s New Central Airservice
Switzerland’s RUAG MRO International has delivered a new Dornier 228 to Japanese domestic operator, New Central Airservice (NCA). The 19-seat short take-off and landing (STOL) aircraft is NCA’s fourth next generation (NG) version Dornier 228. NCA uses the Dornier 228…
Air Vanuatu Expanding Operations with New A220s, Domestic Fleet Plans
Air Vanuatu is renewing its fleet with new Airbus A220s and plans to make changes to its domestic turboprop operations. It has four A220s on order and will take delivery of one A220-300 and one A220-100 in 2020, as well…
Sri Lankan Carrier FitsAir Starts Scheduled Passenger Operations
Sri Lankan international cargo and domestic passenger charter airline FitsAir has moved into scheduled operations by launching a regular passenger service from Colombo to Batticaloa. The twice-weekly scheduled service using Cessna Caravans between Colombo’s Ratmalana Airport and Batticaloa, on the…
Best on the Web | April 2019
Our round-up of Asia-Pacific regional aviation news this month includes interesting stories on South Korea’s National Institute of Environmental Research, Malaysia’s Firefly, Indonesian Aerospace, and India’s Spicejet South Korea Flying Beechcraft 1900D to Observe Fine Dust Pollution https://pulsenews.co.kr/view.php?year=2019&no=177746 South Korea’s…
Piloting New Zealand’s Regional Aviation Market
A key issue facing regional airlines in New Zealand is a shortage of pilots, because many leave to join Air New Zealand. The chief executive of local regional carrier Fly My Sky, Keith McKenzie, says his pilots stay with his…
New Maldivian Carrier Manta Air Keen to Shake Up Competition
Maldivian start-up Manta Air has been expanding aggressively with its three-ATR fleet and it plans to add seaplanes soon. The airline, which only started flying its first domestic services in February, will be taking delivery of six de Havilland Canada…
Tropicair Appoints New CEO
Papua New Guinean charter carrier Tropicair has appointed Craig Chapple as CEO, with a remit to grow the airline. Chapple was previously general manager of safety and corporate strategy at PNG Air and replaces Tim Madgwick who has re-joined the…
Inside Greg Asner’s Airborne Observatory
The airborne observatory developed by American scientist Greg Asner is a Dornier 228 modified with imaging equipment that is used to study ecosystems. Asner, who is the director of the Arizona State University (ASU) Centre for Global Discovery and Conservation…
NZ’s Air Chathams Finally Planning To Replace Convair 580s
Air Chathams plans to phase out its Convair 580 aircraft within the next three years, possibly replacing it with ATR 72s and a Boeing 737 combi. The airline’s CEO and co-owner, Craig Emeny, tells Smart Aviation APAC that the airline…
New Zealand’s Sounds Air Adding More PC-12s
New Zealand regional carrier Sounds Air plans to add more Pilatus PC-12 aircraft, so it can cater to growth in New Zealand’s regional aviation market. The airline’s managing director, Andrew Crawford, says the carrier evaluated Beechcraft 1900D aircraft about two…
