Pelangi Air was incorporated in 1987 to service the domestic sector and international destinations.[2]
In August 1993, Pelangi Air began scheduled flights to Pangkor, opening new access for tourists and locals alike.[3]
In March 1999, Pelangi Airways announced plans to expand into jet operations by leasing two Fokker F28 aircraft under a US$7 million agreement with Singapore-based Transasian Aviation.[4]
In April 2000, the Malaysian Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) revoked Pelangi Air’s air operator certificate (AOC) due to safety and maintenance deficiencies. The DCA cited the airline’s lack of an engineering department and failure to maintain one of its Fokker 50 aircraft according to required maintenance schedules. An appeal by Pelangi Air for reinstatement was denied.[5] They ceased operation in late 2001 following the take over of international route to Singapore by Berjaya Air. After ceasing operation, their aircraft were abandoned at Subang Airport, Selangor and Senai International Airport, Johor.
Pelangi Air started services using De Havilland DHC-6 Twin Otter and Fairchild Dornier Do-228 aircraft. Pelangi Air leased 2 Fokker 50 from Malaysia Airlines during 1994 until 1997 before returning them back to Malaysia Airlines. The airline ordered the Dash 8-300, but cancelled the order before delivery in 1997, but one Dash 8 was already painted in Pelangi Air colours.
Pelangi Air ordered some De Havilland Canada Dash 8 in 1997 which were never delivered. They used to wet-lease a 737-200 passenger configurations from Transmile Air Services and wear Aero Asia livery to fly some domestic route for a short period in 2000. The same 737-200 from Transmile Air Services is also used to service regional airline or charters in Malaysia by an operator for a short while.
Incidents and accidents
On 18 October 1995, Air Maldives Flight L63312, operated by a Dornier 228-212K (9M-PEQ) leased from Pelangi Air, crashed into the sea near Malé International Airport during landing. The aircraft struck a sea wall and overturned into shallow water; there were minor injuries but no fatalities.[6]
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