Daily Air (德安航空) could start using new aircraft to offer flights to some of the nation’s remote areas, the airline said on Monday.
The airline owned four Dornier Do 228 aircraft and offered flights on five routes for more than 10 years, including between Taitung and Orchid Island (蘭嶼, also known as Lanyu); Taitung and Green Island (綠島); Kaohsiung and Penghu County’s Cimei (七美); Kaohsiung and Penghu’s Wangan (望安); and Cimei and Penghu’s Magong (馬公).
Two of the Dorniers have been retired and the airline has purchased four DHC6-400s.
The airline said its new aircraft are scheduled to undergo flight tests next month and services could be launched in September.
A DHC6-400 is able to carry 19 passengers at a time, but the seating arrangement in the cabin is different from that of the Dornier.
The airline first secured the right to offer flights on the five routes that were formerly operated by Uni Air and Mandarin Airlines in October 2004. The two airlines also let Daily Air use their Dorniers to offer flight services.
The Civil Aeronautics Administration placed the right to operate the five routes to a public tender in 2013, as the Dorniers that Daily Air used were set for retirement.
Although Daily Air became the exclusive operator of the five flight routes again, it was later disqualified by the CAA because of a funding problem.
The CAA reopened a bid for the five routes in 2014, and the right was granted to Global Airlines (全球通航空).
Global Airlines was scheduled to begin operation in January this year, but it was disqualified by the CAA last year due to a separate funding issue.
The bid was then won by Daily Air, the second-best candidate in the bid.
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