Fleet Plan News: First airline customers take delivery of new RUAG Do228NG

Japanese regional carrier New Central Airservice took delivery of the first production Do228NG (reg JA34CA, serial 8300) late last month (following a handover ceremony in Oberpfaffenhofen on 23 September 2010). The airline, based at Tokyo's suburban Chofu Airport, already operates three original model Do228-202s and two Britten-Norman BN-2B Islanders on scheduled and charter services to the scenic Izu Islands of Oshima, Nijima and Kozushima, off the coast of Honshu.

The first European customer was Norwegian rotary- and fixed-wing operator Lufttransport AS. Their first aircraft (reg LN-LTS, serial 8301) was delivered on 29 November 2010 for the operation of passenger and cargo flights between Longyearbyen and the unpaved airfields in Svea and Ny Ålesund on the island of Spitsbergen. Tromso-based Lufttransport, which also flies from several subsidiary bases across Norway and one on Svalbard, already operates two original model Do228-212s and no less than 17 Beech King Air B200s, most of which operate as air ambulances for Norway and Sweden. The company's helicopter fleet of ten includes AW139s, Dauphin 2s and A109E Powers, and is used primarily for EMS, air taxi and crew transfer missions.

The RUAG Do228NG is a modernised and enhanced version of the Do228, of which Dornier built over 250 examples between 1981 and 1998. The Do228NG features an all-glass digital cockpit, state of the art navigation and communications, new five-bladed composite propellers and a new upgraded passenger cabin with seating for up to 19 passengers.