Hans Airways, UK’s newest hybrid, long-haul airline venture, is preparing to launch scheduled international flights to India later this year after it secured its first aircraft after signing a Letter of Intent (LoI) for an Airbus A330-200 (MSN 950) in the first week of January 2022.
The aircraft has been operating with a leading European airline since 2008, configured in a two-cabin layout, which Hans Airways will operate with 275 economy and 24 premium economy seats.
Hans Airways’ senior management has identified a high demand for regular secondary city air links between the UK and India, drawing on its CEO’s considerable experience instigating a series of charter flights for Monarch Airlines and FlyJet.
UK base in Birmingham Hans Airways has applied to the UK Civil Aviation Authority for its Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) in March 2020 and is hopeful of obtaining the status in time to start revenue service this summer. The airline will operate in secondary cities in India from Birmingham Airport.
Its application for an Operating Licence and Route Licence has already been published by the UK CAA. Financial support for the airline has come, inter alia, from the Indian community in the UK.
Commenting on the development, Satnam Saini, CEO, Hans Airways, said, “We are delighted to have achieved this very important milestone in our twoyear journey. Our scheduled operations centre on the Airbus A330, a popular and spacious long-haul widebody, excellent for cargo too, and we are grateful to everyone who has helped us to ratify this agreement at the start of the new year.”
Pilot and cabin crew training commences
The first set of flight crew (four pilots and cabin crew) commenced their first day of training from January 3 in Crawley, UK with Hans Airways’ flight training partner IAGO Flight Training and L3 Harris Commercial Aviation for the simulator. The recruits were welcomed by Saini, investor Kirpal Singh Jass, and Nathan Burkitt, the airline’s Director of Flight Operations and Crew Training. The A330 will be re-registered as G-KJAS, adopting the surname of one of Hans Airways’ principal early investors, who have believed in its community airline model since the project was conceived in 2019.
Loyalty programme
The airline said it is also working on a loyalty programme which will be known as HAPEEI (Hans Airways Passengers Environment Education Initiative) and it will reward passengers with all the regular benefits of a frequent flyer programme and with a strong emphasis on corporate social responsibility, create opportunities to donate to children’s educational charities in India or conservation and water preservation projects. The airline also intends to have a close working relationship with travel agencies and travel management companies.
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