MUMBAI -- Viking Air of Victoria, British Columbia, and Mahindra Aerospace of Bengaluru, India, have signed a memorandum of understanding to form a strategic alliance to seize opportunities arising from India's growing regional air connectivity requirements.
Under the alliance, Mahindra and Viking are to 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 produces the Twin Otter Series 400, a 19-passenger, twin-engine utility turboprop aircraft that can land on multiple surfaces, including water. Mahindra builds the Airvan 8, an eight-seat utility piston aircraft, and the Airvan 10, a 10-seat utility turboprop aircraft, and plans to offer ski- and float-equipped variants of both models.
The two companies said that the various seating and landing gear configurations of their aircraft provide several solutions well-suited to India's varied geography, operating conditions, and regional connectivity requirements.
"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 kilometers 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 of Mahindra Aerospace, said, "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."
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