TRANSASIA Airways officially received delivery of its first Airbus A330-300 aircraft this week, which it will deploy on its international routes to Japan and Singapore. Destinations within a nine-hour radius from Taiwan, including Sydney, New Zealand, Guam and the Middle East are also on the radar.
From 2013 to 2022, the airline will receive a further 31 new aircraft, which includes its second A330-300, six A321-200s, 12 A321neos, and 12 ATR-600 – three of which are optional.
“The delivery of A330 is another milestone for TransAsia Airways,” said Vincent M Lin, chairman of TransAsia Airways. He added: “Together with the 2nd A330-300 expected to be in operation early next year, we will see an annual growth of 40 per cent in passenger capacity on international routes. As the first wide-body jet, A330-300 aircraft will facilitate new destination expansion and enhance our competitiveness among peers.”
“The A330-300 model has many commonalities with the A320 series, which provides us with cost savings in terms of pilot training, maintenance and operation,” said Lin.
Since 2010, TransAsia Airways has doubled its number of scheduled international routes to 16 destinations including Singapore, Macau, Vietnam, South Korea and Japan.
