http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/07/11/stories/2006071102611900.htm
HAL offers Dornier for North-East
G. Srinivasan

Aircraft could easily take off and land from all airports in NE 

New Delhi , July 10

Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) has made a sales pitch for the Dornier-228 aircraft for regional air operations in North-East, as its 19-seater commuter aircraft being produced at its Transport Aircraft Division, Kanpur, is the suitable "cost-effective solution for connectivity" in the far-flung areas.

Sources in the Government told Business Line here that the Bangalore-based HAL has approached the Department of Commerce in this connection to get round the other wings of the Central Government to buttress its business in this regard. HAL has been producing DO-228s since 1985 and has so far delivered 87 aircraft to various civil and defence customers, including two aircraft exported to the Government of Mauritius for maritime applications.

Production to remain open

The sources said as per the orders in pipeline now, the DO-228 production line is likely to remain open for another seven to eight years and HAL has established extensive facilities for production and maintenance of this aircraft. They point out that one of the significant reasons for selection of the DO 228 aircraft for India was to develop the North-East sector with the help of this platform as a cost-effective answer for connectivity to places, debarred by distance. Other reasons for DO-228 include use by Armed forces for maritime surveillance and commuter roles.

Limited service

They said majority of the air traffic in the country is currently carried by trunk route operators with limited service in North-East. Besides, surface transport in North-East is time consuming. As effective air operations in North-East demand small, short haul turbo-prop aircraft, the sources said this could be ideally met by 19-seater DO-228 as such aircraft was extensively deployed by Vayudoot in North-East during 1980s and early 1990s.

As many as 18 airports in North-East were served by DO-228 during 1980s and early 1990s - 13 with Kolkata as hub and five in Arunachal Pradesh with Guwahati as hub. But at presentl, there are services to only 11 airports in North-East and there is no air link to Arunachal Pradesh.

Explaining the operational scenario with DO-228, HAL said such aircraft could easily take off and land from all airports in the North-East. City pairs up to 300 km apart could be covered by DO-228 in approximately one hour, while the deployment of 19-seater DO-228 would ensure higher occupancy (load factor) and operational economy even on low traffic density routes.

Most of the north eastern routes fall within 300 km radius from Guwahati, which could use as hub for North-East operations.

Traffic growth

Moreover, an independent study for air transportation in North East unambiguously shows that future air traffic growth rate in North East is around 7.5 per cent per annum, even as present air operations on intra-north east routes suffer from high fares, poor frequencies/timings and very low seat factors.

Stating that development plan of the north eastern region demands low-cost regional air operation with smaller aircraft, HAL is of the view that an initial fleet of 7 DO-228 could cater to 33 intra North-East routes while bringing in 23 new routes on North-East air map.

When contacted about the HAL offer, the Minister of State for Commerce, Mr Jairam Ramesh, told Business Line here that in response to his inquiry about the possibility of deployment of DO-228 aircraft in North East, HAL has apprised him of its production and experience of such aircraft. He said he would take up this matter with the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Department of North Eastern region as also the Planning Commission to ensure that the UPA government's focus on faster connectivity to North-East bears fruition.