Max Kingsley-Jones/LONDON
Meridiana is planning to double its fleet of McDonnell Douglas (MDC) MD-80s over the next three years, but is studying a plan to switch to an all-Boeing or all-Airbus fleet in the longer term.
The Olbia, Sardinia-based regional airline, which is majority- owned by the Aga Khan, operates a fleet of four 79-seat British Aerospace 146-200s, six MDC DC-9-51s (125-135 seats) and nine 165-seat MD-80s. Steve Forte, Meridiana's vice-president of marketing and sales, says that the airline has a plan to replace its DC-9-51 fleet in the short term with more MD-80s, while a long-term decision will be timed in conjunction with its strategy to find a partnership. "We have just launched our first-ever codeshare operations, with Alitalia. We are studying our options for a long-term strategic partner," he says.
Forte expects the airline to add at least nine MD-80s by 2000, and also sees a need for one to two more BAe 146s. "We have begun considering a switch to a single-manufacturer fleet, but we cannot decide on this until we know who our partner is - there is no point in going with one supplier and then finding a partner who is operating a fleet of the other's," he explains.
The agreement with Alitalia, which follows aborted talks two years ago about franchising for British Airways, could lead to a link-up at the new Malpensa 2000 Airport when it becomes Milan's main gateway in 1998. "It is important that Meridiana has a strong position at Malpensa-we can either do it on our own, or with Alitalia," says Forte. Meridiana, which also has ties with KLM on its Amsterdam services, decided against the BA franchise because it was reluctant to give up its established identity.
While Forte does not see a requirement for a smaller, 50-seat, jet in Meridiana's fleet, he is examining options for a regional feeder service. He says: "If we could find an operator of an [AI(R)] ATR 72-type aircraft to fly some of our domestic services from Florence, it would free up the BAe 146s for the international routes."
The airline had been in a dispute with its pilots' union over reducing costs in 1996 and early 1997, which hit revenues, but this has been resolved. The new agreement is expected to net annual savings of around L20 billion ($11.7 million). "We are forecasting a small loss in 1997, but traffic figures suggest that a break-even, or small profit, could be possible," says Forte.
Source: Flight International
