Maldivian Air Express [PW#2061]

[george7378]

"Pull up a deck chair and grab a beer - it's Maldives time!" was the quote from the overjoyed CEO of the brand new flag carrier airline "Maldivian Air Express", which started operations today. The airline is running five Boeing 737-200 aircraft on services from the island airport of Male to India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Myanmar and Doha, with a total of 18 routes to date. The aircraft looked very impressive as they were officially opened for business this morning, with all five taxiing in a beautiful train of colour as they prepared to haul their first paying passengers across the Indian Ocean on their inaugural flights.

When asked about his future forecasts for the airline, the CEO told us "We're hoping to get some large tourist contracts, which would involve Maldivian Air Express transferring European passengers between the major stopover hubs such as Doha and Dubai. Then there's no stopping us!"

The airline also ran a competition among the resorts of the Maldives, with the winner becoming the subject of a special aircraft livery. The logojet took off on a flight to Doha airport this morning, with the winning island (Bandos Island Resort) proudly displayed on the side.

[george7378]

Island Times, Feb 1986:

Maldivian Air Express has been working hard over the past few months - not only have they re-organised their fleet, but they have acquired a brand new ATR-42 turboprop aircraft, and placed an order for another. The airline has set its sights on long-range tourist transfer flights, and the first ATR is performing amiably at this task. Not only is it flying sun-seekers from the far reaches of Indonesia and China; it is also flying daily transfer flights to the second-largest airport in the Maldives - Gan Island. Gan is a former military airbase, currently setting its sights on international passengers.

"While our Boeing 737 fleet is the main source of income, we cannot stress how valuable these new ATRs are going to be. Their longer range, coupled with their shorter runway requirements means that we can get to many places currently inaccessible for our jet fleet. Now, we can truly start serving the Maldives as a national airline." Bold words from an excited CEO.

The airline has also commisioned a modernised livery, which was designed and created by a local artist. The livery was first seen on the delivery day for the airline's first ATR-42:



Many citizens of the Maldives agree that this new 'tropical island' - style livery will draw attention to the beauty of the Maldives wherever Maldivian Air Express decides to reach for next.


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