ANDREW DOYLE / SINGAPORE
Malaysian regional carrier Berjaya Air is evaluating the Bombardier Dash 8-200 as a possible replacement for its short take-off/landing-capable, four-engined de Havilland Dash 7s. The airline's general manager Lim Kian Hui says the Dash 8-200 could offer the short-field performance Berjaya needs, subject to restrictions. "If we want to modernise the fleet, the Dash 8 is the only aircraft we can look at," says Lim.
Although the twin-engined Dash 8 would cost less to operate than the ageing Dash 7, Lim says the capital cost of acquiring new aircraft is key since the airline has low utilisation as it can only fly into most of its remote destinations in daylight. Lim says the Dash 8 "can fly faster so we could get more utilisation during daylight".
Acquiring cheaper, second-hand Dash 8s could be an "alternative solution, because we would be able to reduce capital costs", says Lim. Another concern is the severe payload restriction the Dash 8 would face flying into Pangkor's very short runway. The Dash 8 seats up to 39 passengers, while Berjaya's four Dash 7s are configured with 48 seats.
Berjaya is preparing to fly to a new airstrip on the Malaysian island of Redang, from Subang airport in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore's Seletar airport. The Kuala Lumpur-based carrier serves the islands of Pangkor and Tioman from Subang, and Tioman from Seletar.
Source: Flight International
