Alliance Air to induct Made-in-India Dornier planes for North East routes

First Indian airlines to operate these planes, signs MoU Hindustan Aeronautics to dry lease the 19-seater aircraft

Alliance Air will induct two Made in India Dornier 228 aircraft to focus on North East routes. 

Alliance Air, which is Air India's regional arm, signed a memorandum of understanding with plane manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Limited to dry lease the 19-seater planes. 

The agreement was signed at Aero India event in Bengaluru today. Alliance Air will be first airline to use Dornier 228 planes for passenger flights, it said in a statement. Currently the Dorniers are being flown by Indian armed forces.

 

The airline's chief executive officer Harpreet A De Singh said it will hire pilots from Indian Air Force and Coast Guard for the planes and will depend on HAL and Air India's engineering division for their maintenance. "Our focus will be to connect North East region," she said and added the aircraft would be based in Guwahati or Dibrugarh.

"The 19-seater non-pressurised Dornier 228  has a lavatory with an air-conditioned cabin capable of day & night operations. The light transport aircraft will facilitate regional connectivity and cater to solve the challenges of connecting hinterland areas of the country. The commercial passenger operations are expected to commence in Arunachal Pradesh by March," the airline said.