Maldivian Acquires Airbus A330, Plans China Flights

Maldivian, the Maldives’ government owned airline, has just acquired a wide body jet, representing a pretty significant expansion…

Maldivian takes delivery of first Airbus A330

Maldivian is the national airline of the Maldives. The airline operates a fleet of nearly two dozen aircraft, most of which are turboprops, though the company also has a single Airbus A320. The carrier primarily operates flights within the Maldives (not to be confused with Trans Maldivian, the world’s largest seaplane operator), though also operates short haul international flights to Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka.

For quite some time, we’ve known that the airline was planning on acquiring some wide body jets. For example, in early 2024, the company put out a tender to lease a Boeing 787. While that still hasn’t been finalized, the airline has just acquired its first wide body jet.

Today, Maldivian took delivery of an Airbus A330-200. The 14-year-old aircraft has the registration code 8Q-IAB, and just landed at Male’s Velana International Airport (MLE). The plane is already painted in the carrier’s livery, and is expected to enter service in the coming weeks.

The aircraft initially began commercial service in 2010, flying for KLM Royal Dutch Airlines. It remained in service there until 2022, at which point it was taken over by Airhub Airlines, a small Malta-based charter operator. Now the plane will be operated by Maldivian.

Maldivian has claimed that the A330 will feature 324 seats, including business class, premium economy, and economy. However, those numbers just don’t seem right. When the plane flew for KLM, it boasted 268 seats, including 18 business class seats and 250 economy seats. It seems unlikely to somehow add premium economy while also increasing the seat count by 56 seats, so it’s probably an error. My assumption would be that the same interiors are maintained.

It’s my understanding that Maldivian still plans to acquire further wide body jets, though we’ll see how that materializes.

Maldivian plans to fly Airbus A330 to China

What does Maldivian plan to do with its first wide body aircraft? Well, it’s all about China, as the plane is expected to initially fly between Male (MLE) and Beijing (PEK), Chengdu (TFU), and Shanghai (PVG).

Despite the airline already having this aircraft, none of these routes are on sale yet. If the service commences, the Chengdu route would cover roughly 2,700 miles, while the Beijing and Shanghai routes would cover roughly 3,600 miles.

As Maldivian’s Chief Commercial Officer, Ismail Amrah Umar, describes this:

“We are launching the wide-body aircraft to three destinations in China this month. That is to Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu. We will have direct access to all three destinations which in turn opens the door to cargo transportation. The wide-body aircraft can carry over 10 tonnes of cargo on each flight. So this will open a gateway of opportunity for our businesses.”

“If a tourist departs from Beijing and travels on Maldivian, then the door will be open to travel seamlessly with just one ticket to the final destination. Tourism can become complete with this.”

I suppose it’s not surprising to see the focus on China, given the close ties between the two countries. After all, the bridge connecting Male to the airport was initially called the China-Maldives Friendship Bridge, given where the funding for it came from. For that matter, the airport has also heavily been funded by China.

As the airline adds more wide body service, the goal is reportedly to serve Europe next, though there are no additional details beyond that.

My take on Maldivian acquiring an Airbus A330

What can really be said here? Generally I’m skeptical about the economics of airlines acquiring wide body jets in this way, though I’m sure this will work out fine:

• I can’t imagine the lease payments on this plane are that high, so at least Maldivian isn’t acquiring a brand new A350, or something
• With China funding so much of the growth in the Maldives, closer ties between the countries make sense
• The Maldives does have a lot of cargo demand, given how isolated it is, so I’m sure this plane’s belly will be full
• The fact that the airline is government owned and that labor costs are quite low in the Maldives will certainly help with making the economics semi-palatable

Of course it’s important to mention that demand to the Maldives is somewhat seasonal, and overall capacity is limited by the number of resorts. But still, I’m sure demand for mainland China can be strong in the low season if the price is right, given how popular package holidays are there.

Frankly, I find this all a bit more logical than Beond Airlines, the all-business class carrier that flies out of the Maldives. Maldivian has the benefit of being able to carry a lot of cargo due to the wide body jet, and the fact that it’s government owned also creates more upside, in terms of increased economic ties.

Bottom line

Maldivian, which is the government owned airline of the Maldives, has just acquired an Airbus A330. The 14-year-old jet previously flew for KLM, and Maldivian plans to use it to operate flights to China. Given that the airline is owned by the government, plus the close ties between the Maldives and China, this doesn’t seem that outlandish to me.

What do you make of Maldivian acquiring an Airbus A330?