SpiceJet (SG, Delhi International) has confirmed it will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOR) with Japan's Setouchi Holdings for the acquisition of more than one hundred seaplanes as part of its continued expansion under India's regional connectivity scheme (UDAN), reports the Press Trust of India.
Setouchi Holdings is the owner of Quest Aircraft (Sandpoint), the Idaho-based manufacturer of the Quest Kodiak 100, and is also the parent firm of Japanese operators Setouchi Seaplanes (Hiroshima International) and Sky Trek Airlines (Tokyo Haneda), which both utilise Kodiak 100s. Setouchi's Executive Managing Director, Go Okazaki, has said that India is "the most important market in the world".
SpiceJet has already begun carrying out test flights of the aircraft on land at Nagpur and Guwahati, with amphibious tests to follow shortly, reports the Business Standard. The budget carrier's Chairman and Managing Director, Ajay Singh, says the aircraft are appealing not just because they can reach remote areas, but they also bypass the problem of slot allocations.
"These are rugged planes which can operate from a small strip or from water," Singh said. "With constraints of airports high in India, I believe there is tremendous opportunity for seaplanes."
Likely locations for the aircraft could be in the north east of the country, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (located in the Bay of Bengal), and Rajasthan in the north west. Singh has said that if the purchase goes ahead, it will be finalised within a year.
