Maldivian, the Airline Division of Island Aviation Services, recently announced its expansion plans with the launch of its direct services from Mumbai, Chennai and Dhaka to Male. To cater to the new direct routes, Maldivian will be adding a 154-seat Airbus 320 aircraft to its fleet by the end of October 2012. The airline will be operating three flights a week on the Chennai-Dhaka route on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, and to Mumbai on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. “The announcement reflects the importance Maldivian places on expanding its portfolio of destinations in India and providing more choice, flexibility and options,” Abdul Harris, Managing Director, Maldivian, said.
He added that Maldivian is eyeing a 70 per cent load factor from its expanded India operations, as well as a seven to eight per cent year on year growth in passenger traffic from India. “We will strive to increase it to 80 per cent in both the Chennai and Mumbai sectors as we consolidate over a period of time. We are also looking at cities such as New Delhi for further expansions,” he revealed.
Harris further informed that the airline sees huge potential in the Indian market and already has collaborations with Indian companies in the segment for providing different services to the carrier. “Our bank is State Bank of India, the catering services are provided by the TajSats, the ground handling job of our airline is taken care of by Air India-SATS joint venture, and even the insurance services provider is an Indian company,” he stated.
Maldivian will also be working closely with Apollo Hospitals Chennai to promote medical tourism from both Maldives and Bangladesh.
