Malaysia's Mofaz Group is close to finalising the acquisition of three ex-Air India Boeing 747-200s. It aims to set up a joint venture - either to lease the aircraft out, or to operate passenger charter flights.
According to Ahmad Tifli, chief operating officer of the group's aviation division, Kuala Lumpur-based Mofaz will know by the end of the month whether the acquisition will go ahead. "At this point-our plans are not finalised," he says.
Tifli says Mofaz has teamed with an unnamed foreign company which will become its joint venture partner. He adds that Mofaz's commercial flight subsidiary, Mofaz Air, will be the major partner in the new venture. Tifli declines to name the destinations under consideration by Mofaz if it decides to opt for charter operations.
The aircraft are on their way to the Garuda Maintenance Facility (GMF) in Jakarta, Indonesia, for life-extension work on the engine pylons, as well as other work, reports Flight International's sister on-line news service Air Transport Intelligence.
GMF says pylon modifications will be carried out on two of the aircraft and a Section 41 Airworthiness Directive will be undertaken on the third.
Mofaz's aviation subsidiaries used to operate passenger and cargo charter flights through Mofaz Air, as well as conducting pilot training at the Mofaz Air Flight Academy and offering engineering and logistics services at Mofaz FBO. Tifli says that some of Mofaz's businesses were closed down as a result of the Asia's economic troubles, but Mofaz Air still operates helicopter charters.
Source: Flight International