Air Transport

Australian company Australian Indian Ocean Territories Airlines (AIOTA) has stopped its Kuala Lumpur-Singapore-Christmas Island service, and plans to have a Perth-Christmas Island-Singapore service.

The once-weekly Kuala Lumpur-Singapore-Christmas Island service stopped the week commencing 19 October. On 31 October, AIOTA will start a once-weekly Singapore-Christmas Island service using a SilkAir Airbus A320-family aircraft, says AIOTA CEO Marcus Diamond. The service from Kuala Lumpur used a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 737-400.

The wet-leased SilkAir aircraft is a temporary measure, says Diamond, who adds that they have applied to Australia's International Air Services Commission for traffic rights to Perth-Christmas Island-Singapore route.

If it gets the approval, it plans to have a twice-weekly service on the route using a wet-leased 737-300 from Our Airline, says Diamond.

He also says AIOTA is pitching to win the Australian Federal Government contract to serve Christmas Island and the Cocos Islands. The government pays for air services to Christmas Island and the Cocos Islands to ensure the communities there have transportation links to the Australian mainland.

National Jet Systems (NJS) April has had a temporary contract with the Federal Government since April as the incumbent carrier - SkyAirWorld - became bankrupt in March. NJS operates a BAe Avro RJ70 on the routes.

AIOTA is proposing to have a twice-weekly 737-300 service that would be Perth-Christmas Island-Singapore-Christmas Island-Cocos Islands-Christmas Island-Perth, says Diamond.

Diamond says that as early as next year, AIOTA plans to dry-lease its own aircraft. This depends on many factors, including whether its 737-300 wet-leased aircraft proves a success, he adds.