Charter aircraft biz soars in B-towns

Mumbai: For several decades, a majority of the country's charter aircraft were owned and parked in Delhi, and some in Mumbai. Now suddenly, over the last three years, the airfields of Imphal, Chandigarh, Vadodara, Chennai, Lucknow, Davangere, Puducherry, Patiala, Sagar and others have become home to birds like the Cessna Caravan, Beechcraft King Air C90, Learjet and Bombardier Global Express.
The decentralization of the charter aircraft fleet has meant different things to different people. For the residents of Imphal, for instance, it's been a definite answer to a very tricky question: How long does it take to travel from Imphal to Aizawl? "It used to take ten hours — if the weather gods were indulgent that is. Otherwise it could take 12, 15, even 20 hours," says Roshni Kumar, talking about rains, landslides and other factors typical of road travel in the northeast.
Then in 2008, North East Shuttles Ltd, a private charter company, began operations with its six-seater Cessna Caravan between these two towns. The Mizoram government subsidized the flight, and now for Rs 2,875 one can board the aircraft from Aizawl at 11am daily and be in Imphal a flat 40 minutes later, come rain or sunshine.
12/10/10 Manju V/Times of India

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Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Oct 2010, New Oct 2010