India's flybig signs LOI for 5+5 Twin Otter-400s

India's flybig eyes ATR fleet expansion

flybig (S9, Indore) has wet-leased a DHC-8-Q400, ET-ANV (msn 4317), from Ethiopian Airlines (ET, Addis Ababa) for direct flights between Delhi Int'l and Shillong from May 2, a source close to the Ethiopian airline has confirmed to ch-aviation.

The aircraft will operate twice-weekly rotations on the route, with plans for another of the type to be added on dry-lease, Managing Director Sanjay Mandavia told The Times of India.

He said the Indian regional carrier plans to expand its fleet to ten undisclosed Avions de Transport Régional aircraft by March 2023.

In addition, Mandavia said, the airline has secured an investor in India’s RDB Group - one of the leading real estate companies in Eastern India – and has ordered ten DHC-6-400s for flights between tier-three and tier-four cities in the country.

flybig's current fleet totals one ATR72-500 leased from Avation and one ATR72-600 leased from DAE Capital, ch-aviation fleets advanced data shows.

As reported, in March 2022, a...

Editorial Comment: Updated with the registration details of the DHC-8-Q400. - 09.05.2022 - 09:22 UTC

Lessor looks to recover ATR72s from India's TruJet

Elix Aviation Capital has set in motion efforts to recover three ATR72-500s currently on operating leases with troubled Indian carrier TruJet (TRJ, Hyderabad Int'l).

The Hindu newspaper reported last week that the Irish lessor had asked the Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to remove VT-TMK (msn 858) (stored at Ahmedabad) as well as VT-TMP (msn 875) and VT-TMU (msn 949) (both stored at Hyderabad Int'l) from the Indian register.

TruJet operates an all-Avions de Transport Régional fleet with two more ATR72-500s leased from ENT!AERG and a single ATR72-600 leased from DAE Capital, all of which are parked. Last year, DAE recovered one of two ATR72-600s from TruJet which has since been placed with flybig (S9, Indore). Despite earlier claims that TruJet would resume scheduled operations with a single plane, the flights never lasted beyond a few days.

“They (Elix) applied for three, however, only one aircraft is getting deregistered but that also we are trying to get it resolved. We are paying Elix...

India's Meghalaya state regrets flybig subsidy plan - report

India’s Meghalaya state government made a costly mistake when it signed a deal with flybig (S9, Indore) to provide subsidised services between the state capital Shillong and Delhi Int'l, according to state Transport Minister Dasakhiatbha Lamare.

The Meghalaya administration paid more than INR20 million rupee (USD263,421) to flybig which had operated only 16 flights between Shillong and New Delhi since December 2020. Services had stopped in September 2021 after the carrier could not secure the required DHC-8-Q400 from SpiceJet (SG, Delhi Int'l) for the route, reported Shillong Times newspaper and East Mojo news.

Responding to questions during the budget session of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly, Lamare admitted the agreement with flybig had been signed in a hurry and that his department had learned a hard lesson.

As reported previously, the contract had stipulated that the Shillong route be operated with De Havilland Aircraft of Canada Dash 8-Q400 aircraft. flybig had failed to secure such an aircraft from SpiceJet.

Lamare said the government had sent a show-case notification...

India’s Flybig looks to rapidly expand fleet

flybig (S9, Indore) is in talks with lessors to acquire as many as 36 more aircraft as demand for domestic travel in India surges, with potential in particular seen in the country’s more remote regions, an unnamed spokesperson for the Indian regional carrier has told the news website Smart Aviation Asia-Pacific.

Travel within India is resuming strongly as the market recovers from the pandemic, and Flybig’s board of directors has reportedly authorised the sourcing of more aircraft to meet demand to add to its current fleet of two Avions de Transport Régional turboprops.

The airline can see a great deal of demand for travel from areas under the Indian government’s UDAN regional airport development programme, “especially in the tier-two and tier-three markets where the remote regions are,” the spokesperson said. “We see this as an opportunity to grow our presence strategically and organically. We are looking to [gradually] get 36 aircraft to fulfil this increase in capacity and are currently in talks with different lessors.”

However, the spokesperson declined to give a timeframe...