Diamond Aircraft announced today it has completed a deal with Air India for three new DA42-VI twin-engine aircraft. Air India’s new Flight Training Organization, located in Amravati, Maharashtra, also has an option for six additional DA42s, with the deal representing a new relationship with the carrier for Wiener Neustadt, Austria-based Diamond.
With four seats to accommodate extra observers, the Diamond DA42-VI represents the latest iteration of the innovative light twin. The fact that its piston engines burn jet-A rather than avgas yields fuel savings of up to 50%, according to Diamond. The first trainer is scheduled for delivery to Air India next summer. The Flight Training Organization is scheduled to begin operations in the second half of 2025 with the goal of turning out 180 new pilots per year, making it South Asia’s largest flight school, according to Air India.
Sunil Bhaskaran, director of the Aviation Academy, said, “We see this as the beginning of a partnership with Diamond to support Air India’s vision to strengthen the aviation training ecosystem in India and become self-reliant.” Jane Wang, director of sales, marketing and flight ops at Diamond Aircraft Austria, said, “The DA42-VI is designed to make transitioning from single- to multi-engine aircraft training much easier, and Air India’s future cadets will benefit from this. The glass cockpit will help prepare them for their future careers flying large commercial jets.”
