Maldivian (Q2, Malé) has issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the five-year dry-lease of a single A330-200, its first widebody aircraft.
The A330 should be configured in a two-class layout, seating at least 235 passengers with at least 20 business class seats. The state-owned airline prefers aircraft equipped with Wi-Fi connectivity, certified for 180-minute ETOPS operations, and with a maximum take-off weight of no less than 230 tonnes. It will consider units with both Rolls-Royce Trent 700 and General Electric CF6 engines. The aircraft must be delivered fresh from a C Check, and there must be no planned major maintenance events for at least the next 24 months, 9,000 flight hours, or 5,000 flight cycles, whichever is limiting.
Maldivian did not outline the preferred age, hours, or cycles of the airframe but will award more points to newer aircraft.
The lease term is tentatively set at five years but Maldivian is accepting other offers.
The lessor should provide training for pilots, cabin crew, maintenance, and ground handling specialists at its own cost. The carrier will prefer lessors who can provide a spare engine at no extra cost.
The carrier expects bids by January 22, 2024, and plans to select the lessor by February 10, 2024. The A330 will be based out of Malé, the only international gateway to the Maldives.
The RFP follows the recent decision by President Mohamed Muizz to equip the state-owned carrier with two widebody aircraft for operations to Europe and China. The ch-aviation fleets module shows that the airline's current fleet comprises one A320-200, one ATR42-600, two ATR72-600s, eleven DHC-6-300s, one DHC-8-200, one DHC-8-Q200, and seven DHC-8-Q300s.
