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At a simple ceremony at Downsview Airport in Toronto, Canada on Friday 26th August, Indian low cost carrier SpiceJet took delivery of the first four Bombardier Q400 NextGen turbo-prop aircraft.
SpiceJet has ordered 15 aircraft. The first aircraft VT-SUA named Saunf left on its ferry flight to India immediately after the ceremony. In fact the formal delivery ceremony was conducted in front of the third aircraft in the fleet VT-SUC named Tulsi while VT-SUA was in the process on commencing its four day long ferry flight. The second aircraft VT-SUB named Heeng has also departed to India earlier this morning.
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| Bombardier and SpiceJet officials see off VT-SUA on its ferry flight to India |
The ferry flights will route from Toronto to Goosebay, Labrador, to Reykjavik, Iceland, Bournemouth, England, Malta Valletta, Luxor, Egypt, Muscat, Oman, and will land in Delhi around 14:00 on August 30, 2011.
The fourth aircraft VT-SUD named Tejpatta will be ferried along with VT-SUC next week on September 1st, to ensure SpiceJet will have four aircraft when it commences its Q400 operations from Hyderabad on September 21st.
Aircraft five and six are undergoing flight testing and certification ahead of their delivery in September and October respectively. The airline will continue taking delivery of one Q400 every month to reach a fleet strength of 11 before the close of the fiscal year in March 2012.
SpiceJet will use its Q400 NextGen aircraft for high-frequency, point-to-point services to regional cities, complementing its metro cities services operated by a Boing 737-800 and -900Er fleet.
Accepting the ceremonial keys to the aircraft, SpiceJet Chairman Kalanithi Maran said
“As India experiences substantial growth, many cities and industrial towns remain underserved,”
“SpiceJet is focused on connecting these burgeoning areas with more than 60 airports that could not be served by larger jets. After an evaluation of all the aircraft in the 60- to 80-seat category, we selected the Q400 NextGen aircraft, which combines excellent reliability, economics and passenger comfort.”
SpiceJet has configured its Q400s in a high density 78 seat configuration.
Stayed tuned for more videos and photos from Toronto.
