After successfully operating its fleet of new Bombardier Q400 planes in south and western India, low cost carrier SpiceJet is planning to deploy the aircraft to connect tourist destinations in north India.
"The fleet of new Q400 planes may come to north India and the possible states where it may fly are Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh," an official associated with the development said, refusing to be named.
This would help bridge the gap in air connectivity of places of tourist interest in northern India. It would also be helpful in expanding the SpiceJet's footprints in tier-II and tier III cities of north India, he said.
SpiceJet is the first and only airline in India to deploy Q400 aircraft in the country. The Q400 NextGen turboprop plane can accommodate 78 passengers and is widely accepted as the best short-haul plane globally.
The airline has placed an order for 30 such aircraft. It has already taken delivery of the first seven Q400 NextGen turboprop aircraft from Bombardier of Canada.
Kalanithi Maran, a media baron-turned airline owner who took over as Chairman of SpiceJet in November 2010 after buying out American investor and turnaround king Wilbur Ross, also aims to enhance air connectivity to tier-II and tier-III cities and towns.
In the first phase of the Q-400 operations, the airline had connected Hyderabad to 12 popular tier-II and tier-III destinations like Aurangabad, Bhopal, Goa, Indore, Madurai, Mangalore, Nagpur, Pune, Rajahmundry, Tirupati, Trivandrum and Vijayawada.
