Thailand's Siam Seaplane outlines operational plans

India's SpiceJet to debut seaplane operations in 4Q20

SpiceJet (SG, Delhi Int'l) will "likely" launch its long-touted seaplane operations in the state of Gujarat on October 31, 2020, the ANI newswire has reported.

Flights will operate between Ahmedabad, the state's largest city, and Kevadia, the site of the Statue of Unity, the world's largest statue, which commemorates one of modern India's founding fathers, Sandar Patel. Services on the 175-kilometre route are scheduled to run 4x daily. Aircraft will depart from the Sabarmati river in Ahmedabad and from the Narmada river in Kevadia. Ticket prices will be fixed at around INR4,800 rupees (USD65) one-way.

SpiceJet plans to deploy an unspecified 19-seater aircraft on the route. The airline did not respond to ch-aviation's request for further details about its seaplane fleet plans.

Earlier, the airline trialled Quest Aircraft Kodiak seaplanes in India, although the type only seats up to 9 passengers.

Seaplane services in Gujarat have long been an ambition of Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, who served as the Chief Minister of the state prior to taking national power. The Statue...

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Siam Seaplane set to partner Florida's Tropic Ocean Airways

Siam Seaplane (Bangkok Suvarnabhumi) has signed a Letter Of Intent (LOI) with Tropic Ocean Airways (TI, Fort Lauderdale Int'l), a Florida-based seaplane operator, to "share expertise and skills as well as collaborate where relevant with any other third parties in their mutual objectives", including the sharing of aircraft.

As it works towards its launch, Siam Seaplane said it would employ Tropic Ocean Airways' existing amphibious airline business model, its US FAA-approved training program, and other existing resources for its operations. This includes its fleet of Cessna (single turboprop) 208B Grand Caravan EX amphibians.

Additionally, Tropic Ocean Airways and Siam Seaplane will work to develop and execute a territory-wide maritime search and rescue (SAR) and a disaster management program to improve resilience and responsiveness.

Tropic Ocean Airways will also assist Siam Seaplane to enact regulations for amphibious aircraft water landings through the sharing of best practices, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and internal controls. This will then enable Thailand to safely regulate amphibious aircraft traffic.

Tropic Ocean Airways currently operates eleven...

Thailand's Siam Seaplane targets 2Q20 launch