Indian commuter airline Spirit Air has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Britten-Norman to purchase six of its new BN2T-4S turboprop Islander aircraft.
These six new aircraft will be built at Britten-Norman’s UK facility and will eventually supplement the four refurbished BN2T-4S the Bangalore-based airline is due to take delivery of prior to its entry into service, although a date has not yet been given.
Spirit Air will operate scheduled passenger services across India. It will provide much-needed sub-regional connectivity between remote grass airstrips and sub-regional landing strips with the country’s primary airports.
Spirit Air is currently awaiting an AOC (Air Operator Certificate) from the DCGA, India’s civil aviation regulator. It has already received an NOC from the Ministry of Civil Aviation to operate scheduled commuter air transport services.
The BN2T-4S is the largest variant of the Islander and is powered by twin Rolls-Royce (Allison) Model 250 turboprop engines. It benefits from an extended cabin, allowing one extra row of seats compared with the standard piston Islander.
Mark Shipp, Technical Director and Head of Design at Britten-Norman, commented:
“[The Islander’s] durability makes it highly suitable for operating into remote, semi-prepared locations, and this sets the Islander apart within this class of aviation.”
On this new LOI agreement, Capt. S. K. Verma, Managing Partner of Spirit Air, said:
“We are pleased to partner with Britten-Norman for the order of new BN2T-4S Islander aircraft in the STOL space for our commuter operations from short, grass airfields located in the districts of India.”
Image credit: Britten-Norman
