Mafira Air Charter

Mafira Air Charter was a small Malaysian company specializing in charter flights, established during the 1990s. Its activity focused on providing non-scheduled air transport for companies, tour groups, and official bodies, operating from Malaysia to various destinations in Southeast Asia. Unlike the large airlines in the region, Mafira Air Charter developed a small-scale structure and a fleet composed of very few aircraft, geared exclusively toward the charter market.

The Fokker F28 Fellowship was the company's primary jet aircraft. In March 1997, it acquired the F28-4000 c/n 11168, registered as 9M-AMZ, an aircraft with an extensive prior history in the United States, where it had successively served with Altair Airlines, Empire Airlines, Piedmont Airlines, and USAir. Following Fokker's bankruptcy, the aircraft briefly returned to the manufacturer before being acquired by Mafira Air Charter to begin a new chapter in Asia. Thanks to its capacity to carry around 85 passengers and its solid performance on short- and medium-haul routes, the Fellowship adapted well to the company's needs. In addition to charter flights, the F28 was leased in 1999 to the fellow Malaysian carrier Pelangi Air, continuing its commercial activity there before returning to Mafira Air Charter.

In June 2000, the F28 was sold to Bali International Air Service in Indonesia, where it received the registration PK-KFD. It subsequently went to Batavia Air as PK-YCM, remaining in service until the mid-2000s, when it was finally retired and scrapped at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta in May 2008. With the departure of this aircraft, Mafira Air Charter practically disappeared from international aeronautical registries, leaving as its main legacy having been one of the few Malaysian operators of the Fokker F28 Fellowship.

Mafira Air Charter F-28 fleet
* msn. 11168 Mk.4000 9M-AMZ dd 13Sep1997 – Jun2000 sold to Bali International Air Service (PK-KFD).

Never delivered #39

 

In March 1978, on the return trip from what was the final American continent tour of a Fokker F-28 Fellowship, and prior to its last stop, the F-28 Mk.4000 PH-JPV (cn.11130) performed a demonstration on the island of Guadeloupe in the Lesser Antilles, Caribbean Sea.

 What would have happened if Air Guadeloupe had purchased the Fokker F-28 Mk.4000?

Let's keep in mind that the airline was operating Fokker F-27 aircraft back in 1978.

Borrowed colours II

 

Between 1988 and 1991, Time Air acquired several Fokker F28s from US Air, at a time when the company was undergoing a process of fleet reorganisation and standardisation following the absorption of other airlines, including Piedmont Airlines. In such circumstances, the transfer of a second-hand aircraft could result in particularly curious combinations of colours and paint schemes. Such was the case with Fokker F28-1000 C-FJRI, -msn. 11103- whose history provides a fascinating example of a true “mixture” of liveries: possibly originating from US Air, it carried Time Air titles, whilst its fin and nose retained the colours associated with Canadian. Rather than displaying a clearly defined livery, the aircraft ended up wearing a singular combination of corporate identities — a veritable “blend” of colours that visually reflects the complex processes involved in the transfer and integration of aircraft during those years.

# We received the following comment from the Time Air Historical Society Facebook page—one that we certainly welcome: Time Air during this period was snapping up F-28’s very quickly. The majority had a Garuda to Piedmont to US Air lineage. Many F28’s were used to supplement Canadi>n Airlines 737 routes, or replace them altogether. C-FJRI was purchased in March of 1991 during Time Air’s 25th Anniversary year, and one year before being renamed Canadi>n Regional. To get the aircraft into service quickly, the Piedmont/US Air light blue cheatline was hastily painted the dark blue of Canadi>n. It remained this way until the name change, when it received the full Canadi>n livery.