Thailand's Siam Seaplane outlines operational plans

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 Cessna...

A Quest Aircraft Kodiak 100 seaplane owned by India's Seabird Seaplane (Kochi Int'l) was seized at Kochi Int'l airport given the stillborn carrier's debt, The Times of India has reported.

A liquidator appointed by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) K K Jose said that no resolution regarding the aircraft's fate was reached during the ongoing insolvency proceedings.

Seabird Seaplane originally acquired the aircraft in 2015 with a plan to deploy it on non-scheduled services from Kochi to the Lakshadweep archipelago off the western coast of India. The airline operated a number of test flights between Kochi and Sri Lanka but failed to launch commercial operations.

In order to finance its launch, Seabird Seaplane took a INR42 million rupee (USD590,000) loan in 2014. By 2019, the unserviced debt increased to INR59.5 million (USD840,000). The airline has not been paying for the maintenance of its only seaplane which, as a result, is currently in a poor state.