Silver Airways Corp. announced last week that it has accepted delivery of the third of six Saab 340Bplus aircraft to be added to its fleet by July. Once cleared, Silver Airways’ Saab 340’s will be deployed along the carrier’s Florida-Bahamas routes.
Named “Ella’s Dream,” the new aircraft honors Ella McNellie, a seven-year-old cancer victim from Oil City, PA, whose dream vacation to Hawaii was helped made possible by Silver Airways and Victory Park Capital, a Chicago-based distressed private debt and equity investment firm.
“We came to know Ella through Ken Hargenrader, who works for us as a customer service agent in Franklin, PA. Her story touched our whole organization so much that we wanted to do something special to celebrate her life,” said Darrell Richardson, CEO of Silver Airways. “Ella’s memory will always soar in the hearts of all who knew her, and with all of us at Silver Airways.”
Diagnosed with the rare rhabdomyosarcoma strain of cancer at 19 months of age, Ella endured repeated rounds of chemotherapy and radiation treatments throughout her young life. She passed away on December 21, 2011.
The 34-seat Saab 340Bplus represents the most advanced turboprop aircraft-type in service today with an active noise reduction system and class-leading fuel-economy combining with comfortable seating, large, easy-to-access overhead bins, and convenient on-board lavatories to provide an exceptional in-flight passenger experience.
Each of the six Saab 340’s being added to the Silver Airways fleet will be subject to a period of inspection and certification to ensure full compliance with all safety and operational requirements prior to initiating scheduled passenger service. In-service dates for the new aircraft type will be announced upon receipt of regulatory approvals.
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