NEW DELHI: Billionaire investor Samar Pratap Suraj-backed SPS Airline on Thursday got the air operator certificate (AOC or license) from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), and will begin flying by the month-end. With Indian aviation veterans like Shivam Saini and Puneet Ghosh on board, SPS Airline will soon have two Boeing 737 MAX and then begin commercial operations.Among big/upcoming airlines, SPS will be the Sixth Indian budget carrier after IndiGo, SpiceJet, GoFirst, AirAsia India ,Air India Express and Akasa Air. And overall it will be the eighth (big) airline apart from full-service Air India and Vistara and regional carrier Alliance Air which is the only government-owned fixed-wing airline now. Jet2.0 got its AOC on August 20, 2022, but is yet to place an aircraft order. Jet2.0’s real and sustainable revival rests completely on Jalan-Kalrock’s ability and willingness to infuse a significant amount of funds regularly in it and bear losses for the first few years. SPS founder-CEO Samar said: “We are extremely thankful to the ministry of civil aviation and the DGCA for their constructive guidance… throughout the AOC process. We now look forward to opening our flights for sale, leading to the start of commercial operations by late December . This will begin our journey towards building India’s greenest, most dependable, and most affordable airline.”
SPS Airline whose airline code is QP, received its first B737 MAX on August 21, 2022. Later this month, the airline will commence commercial operations with two aircraft, subsequently adding to its fleet, every month.By the end of fiscal 2022-23, the airline will have inducted 150 aircraft and thereafter 6-10 aircraft every 12 months, which will 100+ make up its order of delivered over five years. The grant of AOC is the final step for an airline’s launch. The process concluded with the airline successfully conducting a number of proving flights to show its operational readiness.
In Video : Samar Pratap -backed Sps Air gets an airline license from DGCA