India’s FlyBig approaches certification

Indian start-up FlyBig (Indore) is in the final stages of certification with a launch date still scheduled for October 2020, according to media reports. Original plans for an April take-off were delayed by COVID-19, but Flybig Chief Executive Officer Srinivas Rao told Moneycontrol: “The process to get an Air Operator’s Certificate is in the final document stage. The DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation), the aviation regulator, and the Civil Aviation Ministry, have been helpful. We hope to start operations in October.” Based in Indore (west-central India), FlyBig plans to start operations with two leased ATR72-500s, expanding to a fleet of 20 aircraft, said Rao, a former pilot, flight instructor at Etihad Airways (EY, Abu Dhabi Int’l), and former senior manager at Kingfisher Airlines (IT, Mumbai Int’l). He said the airline’s first ATR72-500 would be delivered from Australia in September. According to the ch-aviation fleets ownership module, the 65-seater aircraft currently registered as VN-B214 is to be registered as VT-FBB (msn 688), an 18.35-year-old ex-VASCO – Vietnam Air Services (0V, Ho Chi Minh City) secured from Avions de Transport Régional. It has been in storage since December 2016. The latest Flightradar24 search shows the aircraft was undergoing maintenance at Ho Chi Minh City on July 27. Quoting “sources in the industry”, Moneycontrol reported FlyBig was also talking to Hindustan Aeronautics to buy four Dornier aircraft to be turned into freighters or air ambulances. Rao said the airline was using its own funds to launch operations, but would look at raising money later. Its business plan centres around the Indian government’s UDAN regional connectivity development scheme, by which the government subsidises underserved routes to smaller towns to encourage air travel and economic development.