Spirit Air, a new airline targeting India’s regional commuter market, has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with the UK aircraft manufacturer, Britten-Norman, to purchase six BN2T-4S turboprop Islander aircraft.
Spirit Air will be the first operator of the BN2T-4S turboprop Islander, and the aircraft is in the process of receiving DGCA certification.
The domestic commuter airline will operate its fleet of BN2T-4S Islander aircraft on scheduled passenger services across India.
Capt S K Verma, Managing Partner, Spirit Air, said the order for new BN2T-4S Islander aircraft in the STOL space would be used for commuter operations from short, grass airfields located in the districts of India.
The airline will initially take delivery of four fully factory-refurbished BN2T-4S Islanders with which it will start operations. During this time, its new fleet of aircraft will be built at Britten-Norman’s newly established manufacturing facilities at Daedalus and Bembridge in the UK.
Spirit Air aims to provide much-needed sub-regional connectivity between remote grass airstrips and municipal sub-regional landing strips to India’s key primary airports.
Mark Shipp, Technical Director and Head of Design, Britten-Norman, said the Islander, both piston and turboprop, had a long-established history of operating successfully across India and the surrounding region. “Its durability makes it highly suitable for operating into remote, semi-prepared locations and this sets the Islander apart within this class of aviation,” he said, adding that the enhanced capabilities of the BN2T-4S would suit Spirit Air’s requirements perfectly.
The BN2T-4S is the largest variant of the Islander and features an extended cabin, allowing one extra row of seats compared with the standard piston Islander. It is powered by twin Rolls Royce (Allison) Model 250 turboprop engines offering 400shp (flat rated). It delivers 22% increase in disposable payload whilst maintaining short-field performance.
The BN2T-4S aircraft is fully Instrument Flight Rules (IFR) capable, and the cockpit will be equipped with the latest Garmin avionics and electronic engine instrumentation. Britten-Norman turboprop Islander aircraft were used by the Indian Navy between 1984 and 1999.