India's Mehair to start seaplane air taxi services in 3Q

India's Mehair granted Gujarat seaplane contract

Mehair (Mumbai International) has been awarded a contract by the Indian state of Gujarat to relaunch seaplane services between Ahmedabad and Ekta Nagar (previously known as Kevadia), close to the Statue of Unity tourism attraction, using a nine-seater Cessna (single turboprop) 208B Grand Caravan amphibian.

The service was previously operated by SpiceJet (SG, Delhi International) subsidiary SpiceShuttle, which suspended the route on April 10, 2021, on the back of financial difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Now the Gujarat State Aviation Infrastructure Company Limited (GUJSAIL) has awarded the tender to Mehair, which is in the final stages of importing a pre-owned Cessna Grand Caravan 208 amphibian from the United States. The aircraft is expected to arrive by mid-August to begin proving flights, according to GUJSAIL Director for Civil Aviation and Chief Executive Officer Ajay Chauhan.

"The letter of operations has been handed out to Mehair, and they were given 120 days to procure the aircraft from the US. They are currently in the last phase of the procedure...

India's SpiceShuttle failed seaplane project cost $1mn

The government of the Indian state of Gujarat spent INR77 million rupees (USD1 million) to start an ill-fated seaplane project that operated for less than six months in 2020/2021, according to recent disclosures in the National Legislative Assembly in the state capital Gandhinagar.

Responding to questions on March 23, 2022, state transport minister Purnesh Modi said the seaplane service that had launched on October 31, 2020, had been down for maintenance for 47 days during those months before it folded on April 10, 2021, reported The Indian Express newspaper.

As reported, the venture was short-lived because its single DHC-6-300 amphibian, 8Q-ISC (msn 321) on wet-lease from Maldivian (Q2, Malé), had to be sent for mandatory maintenance in the Maldives as there were no wet- or dry dock facilities in Ahmedabad.

The seaplane service was supposed to have connected the Sabarmati riverfront in Ahmedabad to the Statue of Unity in Ekta Nagar in the Narmada district under the government-subsidised UDAN regional connectivity scheme.

An unnamed official told The Indian Express the...

Gujarat gov't retenders for seaplane contract

The Gujarat government has invited tenders from national and international companies to relaunch India’s first scheduled seaplane service between Ahmedabad and Kevadia, according to Gujarat State Aviation Infrastructure Company (GUJSAIL) Director, Ajay Chauhan.

Indian media report that January 11, 2022, is the deadline for applications for the three-year contract under the government-subsidised UDAN regional connectivity scheme. Three carriers are reported to have already expressed interest, including a private firm from Gujarat as well as seaplane operator Mehair (Mumbai International), and Ventura AirConnect (Ahmedabad).

The Ahmedabad Mirror reports India’s Parliament has been informed that the previous operator, SpiceJet subsidiary SpiceShuttle (SG, Delhi International), has abandoned its plan to revive the service, which it had suspended in April 2021 on operational grounds.

The airline was not immediately available for comment.

As reported, SpiceShuttle began commercial seaplane operations on October 31, 2020, but the venture was short-lived because its single DHC-6-300 amphibian, 8Q-ISC (msn 321), wet-leased from Maldivian (Q2, Malé) had to be sent for...

India's Ventura AirConnect re-attempts interstate services

Ventura AirConnect (Ahmedabad) has relaunched intra-state flights from Surat to four other cities under a Gujarat government subsidy scheme aimed at providing affordable air services in the Indian state.

On January 1, the airline launched non-stop daily flights to Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Amreli, and Bhavnagar, using two nine-seater Cessna (single turboprop) C208B Caravans. Launch fares in January start at INR1,999 rupee (USD26.7) one-way.

Ventura AirConnect director Ishver Dholakiya told reporters at the launch event the discounted fares would be offered for a month, whereafter tickets would increase to between INR2,500 (USD33) and INR3,500 (USD47) one-way, reported The Times of India. He said more routes would be added depending on feasibility.

This is the airline's fourth attempt to provide intra-state flights since 2014, with previous unsuccessful attempts having been made in 2016 and 2018. Other interstate operations in 2015 with GSEC Aviation (Ahmedabad) and Mehair (Mumbai International) also failed to gather sufficient support.