(Farnborough, England, July 10th, 2012): Following on the heels of a successful Singapore Air Show and South East Asia aircraft demonstration tour, the Viking Twin Otter Series 400 has now broken into the Chinese market with new customers added to the sales roster.
The first Chinese company to sign on for the Series 400 Twin Otter nineteen passenger regional commuter is Meiya Air of Hainan Province, ordering five float equipped aircraft with deliveries commencing in 2013. Meiya plans to put the aircraft into service supporting their seaplane flight-seeing, charter, and corporate aircraft operations based in Sanya and the surrounding Hainan region on the South China Sea.
Adding to the growing sales list are repeat customers Zimex Aviation of Switzerland and Loch Ard Otters of Florida. Zimex Aviation was an integral product launch customer, and took delivery of the very first Series 400 Twin Otter two years ago at the Farnborough International Airshow. Since delivery, the Swiss company has been operating the Series 400 Twin Otter on charter operations in Uganda, and are so impressed with the aircraft’s performance that they have returned to Viking to purchase a second Series 400 aircraft to add to their fleet.
Loch Ard Otters also returns to Viking to order four additional aircraft after the successful delivery of their first three aircraft, making Loch Ard the largest non-military Twin Otter Series 400 customer to date and second only to the twelve aircraft order placed by the Peruvian Air Force.
“We believe the Series 400 Twin Otter is ideal for the Chinese market due to its optional landing gear configurations, proven reliability and low operating cost, so to welcome two new customers into this emerging market is a testament to the positive and growing reputation of the aircraft,” said Robert Mauracher, Viking’s vice president Business Development. When considering the continued growth of the program, he added, “there’s nothing more flattering than a repeat customer, so having both Zimex and Loch Ard return to Viking to purchase additional aircraft confirms their confidence and satisfaction with the new Series 400 Twin Otter.”
With Twin Otter Series 400 sales in 16 countries and a backlog exceeding $400M, the Series 400 is now confirmed as the best selling next generation19 passenger aircraft available today. Viking provides OEM support for the worldwide fleet of de Havilland legacy aircraft (DHC-1 through DHC-7) and forms part of Westerkirk Capital Inc, a Canadian private investment firm with substantial holdings in the hospitality, aviation, and real estate sectors.