Alliance Air to lease 10 planes from Dubai Aerospace

Air India's subsidiary Alliance Air will lease 10 small aircraft from Dubai Aerospace Enterprise (DAE) as the airline looks to serve more routes under the government's regional connectivity scheme.

Alliance Air began the first flight under the scheme connecting Shimla with the national capital last week.

Dubai Aerospace today said it has signed long-term lease agreements for 10 ATR 72-600 aircraft with Alliance Air.

Generally, an ATR 72-600 plane has around 72 seats.

The ten planes are scheduled to be delivered "throughout 2017", Dubai Aerospace said in a release.

These aircraft would be used to Alliance's network as well as to connect under-served or un-served airports under the regional connectivity scheme -- UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagrik).

"We are delighted to welcome Alliance Air as our newest customer," Dubai Aerospace Chief Executive Officer Firoz Tarapore said.

He also said the company is pleased to support Alliance Air's growth ambitions and its efforts to be the first airline to start operations under the scheme.

DAE is a leading lessor of ATR 72-600 aircraft.

Alliance Air flies to 34 destinations and has a fleet of eight ATR 72-600 apart from two ATR 42-320 aircraft. The airline has 306 flight departures per week, according to its website.

In the first round of UDAN bidding, Alliance Air and four other airlines have been selected.

Under UDAN -- which seeks to make flying more affordable by connecting under-served and un-served airports -- fares for a fixed number of seats are capped at Rs 2,500 on one-hour flights.