LEITHEN FRANCIS / SINGAPORE
Taiwanese carrier Mandarin Airlines is to double its Fokker 100 fleet to four aircraft after discovering it was unable to make money operating larger aircraft on domestic routes.
Mandarin has signed a contract with Debis AirFinance to lease two Fokker 100s, with the first to be delivered in mid-January and the other in June. One aircraft will be used on domestic routes and the other on regional routes, possibly to Phnom Penh in Cambodia as well as cities in the Philippines and Japan. Mandarin says it is doubling its Fokker 100 fleet because operating Boeing 737-800s on domestic routes has proven to be unprofitable.
In Taiwan, domestic carriers must contend with price competition from railway companies that are expanding in the country, making it harder for airlines to achieve high passenger loads on larger aircraft. Mandarin expects to return at least one of its three 737-800s to International Lease Finance when the lease expires next year. It plans to phase out its fleet of seven Fokker 50s and four Dornier 228-200s.
The airline is seeking Taiwanese government approval to replace the 228s with B-N Group Islanders on these routes. It already has four Islanders, two owned and two leased from Taiwan's UNI Airways. Mandarin says it will probably need more aircraft of this type if it gets a government go-ahead, but there is no guarantee of this.
Source: Flight International
