Hans Airways made this announcement:
Proving flights depart from Birmingham Airport
Hans Airways is pleased to confirm it performed its formal route proving flight for the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on Wednesday, 31 August, aboard its newly re-registered Airbus A330-200, G-KJAS. Two sets of flight and cabin crew, led by COO Captain Nathan Burkitt and Neeru Prabhakar, Manager – Cabin Safety and Service, operated the flight, whilst Simon Prower, Director of Ground Operations, focused on dispatch and logistics, with ground handling managed by Swissport. With over 100 guests on board, flight time was a little over two hours, flying along the west coast towards the North Atlantic and back to Birmingham Airport.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNlNTFTIeG8&w=560&h=315%5D
The previous day, 30 August, CEO and founder of Hans Airways, Satnam Saini proudly welcomed 55 guests made up of family, friends and airline partners, for a familiarisation test flight replicating a full-service offering. The A330, still a white aircraft, took off from Birmingham and made landings at Glasgow Prestwick, Doncaster, and then back to Prestwick, before returning to Birmingham Airport.
“It is my honour and privilege to take the controls on our first A330 flight,” exclaimed COO and Captain Nathan Burkitt. On the first leg, to Prestwick, he was joined by Senior Captain Graham Ness (ex Oman Air, easyJet) – one of the first pilots to join the company.
Satnam Saini thanked STS Aviation Services at Birmingham Airport for working swiftly and enthusiastically over weekends to ready the aircraft for first flight – and praised all his team – who have, collectively, “contributed so much to making this day happen, a culmination of four years’ planning and shaping.“
The route proving flight for the CAA is the penultimate regulatory milestone in being able to start commercial revenue operations. On the award of its UK Air Operator’s Certificate, Hans Airways will apply to India’s equivalent regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for its licence to fly from India.
It has ambitions to be the UK’s now third long-haul scheduled carrier, operating a hybrid, affordable, full-service model.
Hans Airways, with its community airline mission, intends to make Amritsar in Northern India its first destination from Birmingham Airport, and expects to be able to start flying in October (subject to licence approval).
The company is currently recruiting and looking to add 20 more cabin crew from its Birmingham, UK base.
About Hans Airways
Hans Airways is the UK’s newest hybrid, long-haul airline venture, blending value for money fares with a quality inflight service offering. Hans Airways will offer two classes of cabins: Economy class (called “Anand”), with a 31-inch seat pitch and 274 seats, and Premium Economy (called “Anand Plus”), offering a 56″ pitch and 24 seats. It will offer high quality complementary inflight entertainment and catering as standard.
A loyalty program is planned. To be known as FlyHAPEEI (Hans Airways Passengers Environment Education Initiative), 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.
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.
It intends to have a close working relationship with travel agencies and travel management companies.
Hans Airways submitted its UK AOC application in March 2020, following extensive discussions with the UK Civil Aviation Authority and Department for Transport.