Antananarivo chooses Embraer to rebuild Madagascar Airlines' regional fleet
Since December 2021, Madagascar Airlines has been operating the assets of Air Madagascar and its subsidiary Tsaradia, which is currently being restructured, under a management lease. The Malagasy President has committed to capitalize on the operational assets that will finally ensure the viability of the national flag.
Madagascar Airlines will soon receive an Embraer aircraft. The announcement was made by President Andry Rajoelina (photo), this Friday, October 28, 2022, at the opening of the national investment forum in Ivato. "We have already signed a partnership. The company's fleet will be reinforced by an Embraer. The aircraft will arrive soon," he said.
The Malagasy Head of State thus confirms the commitment made last August on the fringes of his visit to Sainte-Marie Island, where he was taking part in the "Baleines en fête" festival. At that time, he promised that the aircraft would arrive before the end of the year.
The Malagasy government has been in talks with Embraer since last year to assess the operational suitability of the Ejet-E2 family of aircraft. The Brazilian manufacturer's E190-E2 (Profit Hunter) was in Madagascar earlier this year, on 25 February, where it made a demonstration flight between Antananarivo and Antsiranana airports.
The government hopes to use its new aircraft to strengthen the national airline's domestic offer but also to serve neighbouring islands such as Reunion and Mauritius. This will have the effect of boosting the local economy which is heavily dependent on tourism revenues.
As a reminder, Madagascar Airlines is currently the exclusive operating company for the activities of Air Madagascar and Tsaradia, the pair having been placed in receivership last year after accumulating losses of 80 million dollars for a total debt of 72 million dollars. The procedure for acquiring its own operating licence and AOC is underway. Its own fleet includes one Airbus A340-300 and three DHC6-300s, all of which are out of service. It also operates two ATR72-500 and one ATR72-600. For its operations to France, it has chartered an Airbus A330-200 operated by Maleth-Aero. On the long-haul side, the government is also considering a Dreamliner 787 for its own acquisition.
