Alliance Air to add 2 HAL Do228s

Air India-subsidiary Alliance Air has signed an agreement with Hindustan Aeronautics for two Dornier 228s. The duo is expected to arrive in March and will be used on thinner routes. The addition of the Do228s is part of the governments vision to expand domestic flights with domestically built aircraft.

Alliance Air currently has a fleet of a single ATR42 and eighteen ATR72s and was founded in April 1996, as a subsidiary of Indian Airlines. When Indian Airlines and Air India merged, the company became a fully-owned subsidiary of Air India. The government of India is currently in the process of selling off state-owned Air India, but has already said it would retain ownership of Alliance Air.

It is currently unclear if the two Dorniers are new-built. HAL has been producing the Do228 since 1985 and has built around 125 of them, mainly for the Indian military. Currently, it has a capacity of producing twelve Do228s per year and could increase this to 24 should the need arise.

Photo by Alliance Air.