The aircraft was on an internal flight, although Mozambican military claimed that the aircraft had violated Mozambique's airspace. In June 1989, the airline ordered two Boeing 737-500s, but before delivery the order was reduced to one Boeing 737-300, the first of which arrived in May 1991. In April 1991, the airline ordered two Boeing 737-300s in a deal valued at US$65 million. The HS-748 was also replaced in 1991 with an ATR 42, and a Dornier 228 was introduced into the fleet in December 1993. Financial and ownership difficulties (2000–2011) In April 2000, it was reported that Air Malawi was in financial difficulty, and that it may have had to sell assets in order to stay afloat, however the airline public relations department refused to comment on the situation. The government decided to privatise Air Malawi in 2000. 110 employees were laid off in March 2002 in order to help keep costs under control, with Mathews Chikaonda, the former Malawian Finance Minister noting that the airline was overstaffed and was a drain on the coffers of the government. After the Malawian government approved a bid by South African Airways (SAA) and Crown Aviation to take a stake in Air Malawi, in April 2003, the deal with SAA to support the airline fell through. The Malawi Privatisation Committee stated that the bidders would not pay a US$250,000 security bond, and the government wanted SAA to take an equity stake in the airline, whilst an SAA executive said that the airline had an interest in supporting Air Malawi, but it was more important for the airline to make its investment in Air Tanzania work. In November 2007, it was announced that the Malawian government was in talks with Comair of South Africa over a partnership deal with Air Malawi. The deal would have seen Comair acquiring the air traffic rights of Air Malawi, some of the assets including a Boeing 737-300, and the launching of a new airline to be called Comair Malawi. It was alleged that Comair was only interested in acquiring the 737-300 In the 2007 financial year, Air Malawi posted a profit of K135 million, an improvement on the K854 million loss it posted in 2006. In early 2008, negotiations with Comair broke down in dispute over the terms of the arranged deal; the Malawian government preferring a strategic partnership, whilst Comair wished to take an 80% stake in