Heritage Aviation (Delhi International) has placed orders for two Airbus Helicopters (ECF, Marseilles) ahead of starting passenger operations under the Indian government's regional Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) connectivity scheme. Doing business as a rotary wing charter operator to date, Heritage has ordered a single H125 and H130T2 helicopter . The order follows Heritage picking up several new helicopter routes under the latest UDAN tender.
”UDAN scheme is a game changer and is proving to be a turning point for helicopters in India," said Rohit Mathur, CEO of Heritage Aviation. "I am grateful to the Ministry of Civil Aviation for streamlining several norms for helicopters in the UDAN scheme and making it much more attractive for operators.”
The UDAN scheme is designed to connect smaller towns with bigger cities and, among other things, provides operators with a subsidy for operating specific routes. In return, the operator has to commit to sell a certain number of seats on each service at a subsidised rate. The subsidy is known as Viability Gap Funding (VGF). In addition, the Indian Airport Authority has waived airport fees for UDAN flights and services such as security, electricity, and fire-fighting facilities are provided at no cost.
Mathur says the scheme and the ministry's support has given Heritage the "courage and confidence to invest more in helicopters. He told ch-aviation that the six-seater H125 is due in March 2024 and the seven-seater H130T2 is due in November.
"They will be deployed on regional connectivity scheme routes in states of Uttarakhand and Sikkim and operate as scheduled flights," he said.
Sunny Guglani, Head of Airbus Helicopters in India and South Asia, told local news outlets at an aviation conference last week that the manufacturer was seeing growing demand out of India. "Over the past few years, there has been a slow progression for this sector in India, and obviously, Covid did not help," he said. "However, in 2023, we have seen green shoots... There's a real opportunity for passenger shuttle services in India, especially with charter operations."
In addition to the Heritage order, Airbus last week signed a by-the-hour services contract with HeliGo Charters (Mumbai Juhu) for six H145 helicopters.
