Deccan Aviation takes delivery of new aircraft

The GA8 Airvan, the latest addition to the Deccan fleet will start flying from May 20.

The GA8 Airvan manufactured in Australia comes with a customised interior and avionics suite and will be the latest aircraft to take to the skies over Sri Lanka.

The arrival of the new aircraft marks a period of growth for Deccan Aviation, enabling the company to expand its market catchment to include passengers who would not normally fly by air and will augment Deccan's existing helicopter services throughout the country. The GA8 is set to transform the concept of travel around Sri Lanka for business and leisure.

With upscale clients already served by Deccan's helicopter service, the GA8 will greatly expand the airlines capabilities, and to maintain the position as the leading domestic airline in Sri Lanka.

After launching in 2004, Deccan is the only airline that did not interrupt operations or close down at any time. It has built a reputation with corporate and other clients for reliability and dependability. Deccan will offer novel applications, such as whale watching by air, sports skydiving, photography and cargo missions. It has also developed seasonal applications for pilgrims to locations such as Katagarama.

The GA8 is a leader in its class of aircraft with the ability to land at all airports, unpaved runways and beach strips.

The aircraft comes with a state-of-the-art avionics package geared for IFR flights even in the worst of weather conditions.

A custom fitted three-blade propeller offers significant lower noise footprint, which is of great benefit when operating in environmentally sensitive areas such as national parks and wildlife reserves.

With robust construction and powered by the reliable Lycoming family of engines, the Airvan offers an unbeatable costs per seat-mile, ensuring an economical, low maintenance and reliable operations platform.

The GA8 is manufactured by Gippsaero Australia, a subsidiary of Mahindra Aerospace India. Mahindra Aerospace is a part of the $US 7.1 billion Mahindra Group.

CEO of Gippsaero Pty Ltd, Terry Miles said, "We are pleased to be part of the new and growing civil aviation market in Sri Lanka.

With the delivery of our first Airvan we are confident that the owners of the aircraft will be delighted with their choice, as will the operator selected by the owners.

We see great potential for our family of aircraft in Sri Lanka in the years ahead.

As local corporations expand their reach to all parts of the country, the economics of owning an aircraft for corporate purposes becomes very good indeed." "The Airvan has more than twice the cabin volume of comparable aircraft and has the lowest operating costs of any aircraft in the country.

This is not the first time Deccan has identified the needs of the industry.

In 2007 we inducted a twin engine pressurized Beech 1900C aircraft to serve as a mainstream mode of transportation between Colombo and Jaffna.

Later we expanded our operations to regional destinations such as Maldives and India and now we are launching the GA8 to deliver a low cost service that we hope will radically transform the aviation landscape in Sri Lanka.

Our goal is to make domestic business, tourism and sightseeing to happen by air.

No matter how many roads are built or how fast our country is growing, aviation will grow along with it", said Director/CEO Deccan Aviation, Denham Schokman.