Beriev, Indian Airlines in Be-200 Talks
by Neelam Mathews Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation-owned Beriev has begun negotiating the sale of Be-200 amphibians with Indian regional airlines. The development follows the inclusion of seaplanes under the recently announced third phase of India’s Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), which allows seaplanes to serve 18 routes. The seaplane operations would add more than 100,000 seats. The RCS provides initiatives for aircraft operators to connect underserved and remote airports. Initially designed for fire extinguishing, the Be-200 flies to a range of 1,780 nm and can land on the ground, ice-covered airfields, and on water. Beriev has now begun a program to re-engine the amphibian with PowerJet SaM146 turbofans built by a joint venture between Russia’s NPO Saturn and France’s Snecma. The new engine will increase its operational ceiling to 33,000 feet and improve fuel efficiency by 17 percent compared with its present Ukrainian D-436TPs. “This is a uniq...