Deccan bags int’l charter contract

Domestic airline, Deccan Aviation Lanka has been awarded the crew rotation contract for First Choice Airways, which operates flights from Europe to Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

For the second consecutive year, Deccan aircraft will be utilized to transfer crew and staff of First Choice Airways between Colombo and Maldives. The twice weekly rotation from May through October is being cited by industry sources as a strong signal of the long term commitment and interest in Sri Lanka by major charter airlines and tour operators.

Deccan Aviation Lanka has in recent years quietly emerged as a leading player in the domestic and regional general aviation market. Interestingly, Deccans largest shareholder, Deccan Aviation India, is now a part of Vijay Mallya controlled UB Group, which also owns Kingfisher Airlines.

The company however did not wish to comment on whether the entry of the UB Group would have any impact on their plans for Sri Lanka.

Operating a fleet of 32 aircraft from 15 UK airports, First Choice is a UK based permier airline that flies six million customers on more than 30,000 flights to around 60 destinations world-wide every year, including the Maldives, Mexico and resorts across the Mediterranean. Founded in 1987, the airline is now a part of travel giant TUI Travel PLC.

Operating a Beechcraft 1900 for the operations, Deccan will transfer crew twice weekly between Colombo and Male’ international airports for a 6 month period.

“Our 2008 contract is significantly than in 2007, arising from the increased frequency of flights by First Choice, which is definitely good for the tourism industry overall”