Spirit Air (Bengaluru International) has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Britten-Norman for six BN-2T-4S turboprops for its planned domestic scheduled operations in India.
The carrier will initially take four second-hand, fully refurbished aircraft of the type while its six new aircraft are built to accelerate the type's entry into service. They will then replace the used turboprops.
The BN-2T-4S is a variant of the 9-passenger Islander powered by two Rolls-Royce (formerly Allison Engine Company) M250 B17 turboprop engines.
Spirit Air did not disclose delivery dates any planned network. But it did say the BN-2s would allow it to serve short unpaved runways throughout India, connecting them with sub-regional hubs served by larger carriers.
The carrier was incorporated in 2008 and obtained its charter Air Operator's Certificate (AOC) in 2009. It was flying charter flights with Cessna (single piston) C172 and Cessna (single turboprop) C208 aircraft through 2015. Its recent job advertisements seek pilots for BN-2s and Beech (twin turboprop) King Air 250s, although it has yet to add any aircraft of the second type. It has already received a No-Objection Certificate from the Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation to operate scheduled commuter flights.
Spirit Air did not respond to ch-aviation's request for comment.
The airline was founded by Subodh K Verma, the former deputy general manager of operations at Air India.
