Indian start-up Paramount Airways, which is set to become the first carrier in India to operate Embraer 170s, plans to perform its inaugural flight on 7 September and launch scheduled services the following day.
Paramount says the inaugural flight will be from Madurai to Coimbatore using a 70-seat E-170, due for delivery on 3 September.
Madurai-based textile firm Paramount Group is behind the establishment of the airline, which will be based in the southern Indian city of Coimbatore.
Paramount says that it hopes to start daily Kochi-Delhi and Delhi-Coimbatore services on 8 September and will launch a daily Coimbatore-Chennai service on 22 September.
At the Paris air show in June the carrier announced that it would be leasing two E-170s and three E-175s, which would make it the first commercial airline in India to operate Embraer jets.
The carrier expects to secure its air operator’s certificate soon and a request has already put to India’s minister for civil aviation Praful Patel, says Paramount Airways managing director M Thiagarajan.
The five E-Jets will be delivered over eight to nine months, with the first E-175 to arrive in March. The two E-170s, on lease from Embraer, will be in an all-business class configuration; and the three E-175s, on lease from GE Capital Aircraft Services, will be in two classes, business and first.
Thiagarajan says Paramount Airways will be positioned differently to other carriers in India and that having Embraer regional jets is integral to its strategy. He says:“Paramount will be a premium-service scheduled airline offering a full business-class service at prices comparable to normal economy class fares.”
Paramount has recruited around 50 pilots, of which 25 are locals and 25 are foreign pilots. The foreign pilots are being supplied under an arrangement with Embraer, which has agreed to provide pilots for a 42-month period.
LEITHEN FRANCIS/SINGAPORE
Source: Flight International
