Additional Twin Otter for Air Vanuatu
TUESDAY, 20TH SEPTEMBER 2016
Air Vanuatu is awaiting the arrival of an additional Twin Otter aircraft to join its domestic fleet, chief executive officer Joseph Laloyer announced.
The aircraft will be on long-term lease from Capstone Aviation PTE Ltd. It is currently undergoing maintenance checks and being painted in Air Vanuatu livery before its expected arrival in Vila at the end of the month.
The new aircraft will be registered as YJ-AV12.
“The Twin Otter will be a welcomed addition to our domestic fleet and we plan to lease or purchase more of these aircraft before the end of the year,” Mr. Laloyer said.
“They are known as the workhorse of the regional market, particularly popular in the Pacific and other island nations,” he said.
It is hoped the twin otter will be based in Santo to service the northern islands, resulting in better schedules and a tourism boost to those islands.
“We have recently upgraded several Ni-Vanuatu pilots working in our domestic operations who have successfully attained qualifications to fly and captain the Twin Otter and ATR-72 aircraft,” Mr. Laloyer said.
The pilots are Patterson Tariwisi (Captain on the Twin Otter and First Officer on the ATR-72); Lesley Shing (Captain on the ATR-72) and Ketike Tatireta (Captain on the ATR-72).
“As our Ni-Vanuatu pilots complete their training and certification, they qualify to be moved on to larger aircraft, thus allowing us to recruit more Ni-Vanuatu pilots for our domestic fleet,” Mr. Laloyer said.
Media inquiries
Tiffany Carroll
+678 7747153 (Vanuatu)
+61417512233 (Australia)
tcarroll@airvanuatu.vu