Pawan Hans copters to carry passengers

Mumbai: Pawan Hans, India's largest helicopter-operator, has begun exploring plans to enter the regional airline market, with a fleet exclusively made of small fixed-wing aircraft that can seat about 20 passengers in it.
After the government-owned Vayudoot suspended operations a decade ago, the market slot for a purely regional airline has been lying vacant despite the bullish growth in domestic aviation.
Presently, the smallest aircraft flown are the 40-plus seater ATR-42s which are operated by four airlines on routes like, say Delhi-Bhopal for instance, which cannot be termed as a regional sector.
"Pawan Hans may buy/lease Dornier aircraft or other 20-seater aircraft to serve as a scheduled operator and a charter operator to destinations in the Lakshwadeep, Andaman and Nicobar islands and North East region. We are not looking at larger passenger aircraft or jets,"said a highly-placed source from Pawan Hans.
The matter was discussed in a meeting last week between civil aviation secretary Ashok Chawla and R K Singh, chairman and managing director, Pawan Hans.
17/02/07 Manju V/Times of India

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Categories: General Aviation feb 2007, New feb 2007