Far Eastern Air Transport recently stopped all flights without warning. On the morning of May 29, airline Chair Fenno Chang finally made an appearance. He said apart from exhibiting new ATR aircraft, the airline would retire its aging McDonnell Douglas aircraft ahead of schedule in August. Chang guaranteed there would be no more sudden flight stoppages in the future.
Far Eastern Air Transport will soon launch its new ATR 72-600 passenger aircraft. On the 29th, airline Chair Fenno Chang finally addressed the airline's sudden suspension of flights.
So, we are now using 10 ATRs to replace the four MDs originally serving domestic routes. During the transition phase, there will be some -- this lapse -- we also admit there was a lapse on our part and we are very sorry. As soon as the phasing-out process starts, no more (flights will be suspended). I promise the people of Taiwan this issue is at an end.
There is one McDonnell Douglas plane undergoing maintenance in the hangar. The airline says it will start phasing out its four MD aircraft later this year due to public sentiment and potential flight safety issues stemming from the advanced age of the planes. The planes will be replaced by new ATR aircraft between August and the end of the year and domestic flights won't be affected.
There are no flight time quotas on the new ATR fleet because there are no (flight time restrictions). Their president has been meeting with his flight safety team virtually every month. We have been monitoring all their flight safety standards.
The Civil Aeronautics Administration says the monthly flight time quota of 1,350 hours was primarily for the aging MD planes and there will be no such restrictions on the new fleet.