Cook Islands-based Air Rarotonga has invested in a Saab 340B+. The aircraft will be leased from Montrose Global Aircraft Leasing and was sold by C&L Aerospace. This is the second Saab 340 B+ sold by C&L that will be utilised by Air Rarotonga in the last year.

Air Rarotonga operates inter-island scheduled services throughout the Cook Islands. It also operates chartered flights to French Polynesia, Niue, Samoa and Tonga. Its main base and hub is Rarotonga International airport.

“We had a customer who was in need of an aircraft and wanted to lease. We were able to connect them with Montrose Global to make that happen,” said Chris Kilgour, CEO of C&L Aviation Group. "Being able to not only provide an aircraft to someone but also a path to financing the transaction is critical in today's market.”

“The process between the lessee, C&L and us went very smoothly,” adds Ray Eyre, owner at Montrose Global. “The result was a quality aircraft and financial solution that met the customer's needs.”

This latest aircraft is one of ten Saab 340B aircraft C&L agreed to purchase from Japan Air Commuter (JAC) as part of its fleet renewal. Deliveries began in 2016 and will run through early 2020. Those aircraft are all being made available for sale or lease and will be refurbished or customised as necessary to meet customer's needs.