Seaplanes In India

[Speedy737]

G'day everyone!
Anyone got news about seaplane ops in India. I know of the one in the Andaman Islands and have heard news of something starting in kerala. Interesting times for aviation in India!

[Three.Green]

There is one operator in islands by the name of MEHAIR. They operate 1 Caravan Amphibian with all foreign pilots. They wont be hiring again till probably next year.

Kerala Seaplane was initiated by Kerala Tourism and they've been trying to start operations since April 1st, however lack of funds and resources have halted the program even till now. They are most likely going to outsource the entire operation and management to a foreign company which will bring its own equipment and pilots and run it on a trial basis to see its feasibility.

Those are the only 2 seaplane operators i'm aware of at the moment.

[lake250]

MEHAIR says they will start after monsoons and that's a good idea. Ideal start was January of this year but so many issues delayed the projects till now. Kairali Aviation has made a statement that their Caravan will arrive from UAE mid May. I am not sure why they'd want to start just before monsoon, even if they manage to, as all flights will be day VFR flights. Other contenders are nowhere near start including turbo aviation (HYD) who's been talking about leasing a Caravan but won't open purse strings.

Kerala Seaplanes mentioned by three.green is trying it out with a C206 floatplane first. Recent articles in Indian news suggests that lack of Indian pilots to fly Seaplanes has resulted in huge salaries, even MEHAIR admits to very high cost of operations due to high pilot package for expats. Some things in India are never thought through. This is one of them and while 5 contenders have applied with Kerala Tourism, the post monsoon season may seen talkers and walkers separated.

[blackbirdsr72]

Turbo aviation owner Mr Umesh has also applied to the ministry of civil aviation to start a regional scheduled airline as well.

[Speedy737]

It would definitely make sense to start after the monsoon. No point in bringing the aircraft in and then having them sit on the ground losing money for the operators! Looks like MEHAIR will be starting ops in Maharashtra as well.

[lake250]

Posted a reply and that went missing..OK here's the latest on Kairali Aviation's leased C206H floatplane from yesterday: Seaplane lands in Kochi | Deccan Chronicle (http://bit.ly/11IU6q6)

Maybe he's got deep pockets to sit around with a leased plane and foreign pilot..looks more like a first mover publicity thing..may get rough with competition post monsoon.

[lake250]

News has it that the first flight did not take place effectively. Bad weather and fishermen protested by blocking the Punnamada Lake that the seaplane was supposed to land. Not a good way to start, here's the link to this news: Seaplane takes off amidst protest | Deccan Chronicle (http://www.deccanchronicle.com/130603/news-current-affairs/article/seaplane-takes-amidst-protest)