MASwings Takes Delivery of First ATR 72-600

Malaysia Airlines' regional subsidiary MASwings has taken delivery of its very first ATR 72-600 aircraft.

Malaysia Airlines and ATR inked a deal in late 2012 for the purchase of a total of 36 ATR 72-600s (20 firm orders plus 16 options) to be operated by the airline's regional subsidiaries, MASwings and Firefly.

Based on the agreement between ATR and Malaysia Airlines, MASwings, which currently operates a fleet of 10 ATR 72-500s, will introduce 9 ATR 72-600s until 2017, mostly for further expanding its total fleet.

The arrival of the new ATR 72-600s, configured with 72 seats, will enable MASwings to increase frequencies and open new routes in its network across East Malaysia, as well as to new destinations across Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines.

The airline carried 1.5 million passengers in 2012 and it is confident that with this new addition to its fleet it will be able to reach the targeted 2 million passengers for 2013.

Datuk Captain Mohd Nawawi Awang, Chief Executive Officer of MASwings said, “We are pleased to further expand MASwings with aircraft featuring outstanding operational capabilities, while burning up to 50% less fuel than regional jets. The development of the environment is a key point of our strategy of growth, and the ATRs have consolidated themselves as the greenest regional aircraft in the market.”

MASwings currently operates 140 flights daily connecting the community in Borneo and beyond.