MEGA Maldives is planning to hike frequencies to Beijing and Shanghai, and will be adding three more aircraft to its fleet this year.
The charter airline launched operations last January using a single Boeing 767-300ER plane with 252 seats, and took delivery last month of its second 767-300ER, which is configured with 24 business-class and 233 economy-class seats.
“We have the capacity to add two more aircraft this year, in addition to the two we already have,” Mega Maldives CEO George Weinmann told TTG Asia e-Daily during a recent interview in Male.
Mega Maldives also serves Hong Kong, Seoul (Incheon) and Chongqing, operating six to eight flights to each destination every month.
“We are looking to fly to Japan, and (in the) long term to Australia,” said Weinmann.
China is the Maldives’ largest source market—contributing 198,000 visitors in 2011, a 67-per cent jump over the year before.
Weinmann said: “We think we are part of this growth (in Chinese inbound traffic). The challenge is to make this a repeat market. We are already starting to see repeat customers. It’s a small percentage of the total, but it’s important to cultivate this segment.”
