Canada’s Viking Air and Mahindra Aerospace of India plan to form a strategic alliance aimed at the sub-continent’s ambitious plans to grow its regional air connectivity.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed aimed at leveraging the companies’ “unique and complementary resources for a mutually beneficial collaboration to develop regional air transportation solutions.”
Mahindra Aerospace and Viking will support each other’s non-competing aircraft business to boost market penetration in identified territories and provide potential customers with multiple options based on specific operational requirements.
Viking’s 19-passenger Twin Otter Series 400 is said to be well-suited to India’s varied geography, operating conditions and regional connectivity requirements. The twin-engine utility turboprop aircraft is larger than Mahindra’s Airvan 8, its 8-seat utility piston aircraft, and the Airvan 10, a 10-seat utility turboprop aircraft. Mahindra plans to offer ski and float-equipped variants of both aircraft in due course.
“Viking sees enormous market potential for the Series 400 Twin Otter in India, with a particular emphasis on the seaplane variant as it provides an unmatched transportation solution for servicing India’s thousands of kilometres of coastline and river systems,” said David Curtis, Viking president and CEO. “We are confident that our alliance with Mahindra Group, such a well-established and well regarded company, will provide the necessary traction the Series 400 deserves in India.”
Arvind Mehra, executive director and CEO, Mahindra Aerospace added: “Viking and Mahindra Aerospace have a natural fit when it comes to the supplying utility aircraft in point-to-point connectivity. These products complement each other well and offer our customers a wide choice depending on the size and scale of their operations. We are sure this is just a beginning and can open up many other opportunities for collaboration, including product development and support.”
