Infotechs adds style, speed to peaceful skies of Lanka with Cessna Grand Caravan

By Shena Shums

Acknowledged the world over as the safest, most reliable and adaptable aircraft that can be privately owned, the Cessna Grand Caravan arrived in Sri Lanka yesterday with the promise of taking air travel in the country to new heights.

The Textron Group’s Cessna The Cessna Aircraft Company, Wichita, Kansas, USA together with Infotechs Ltd., the Cessna Authorised Sales Representative for Sri Lanka and the Maldives scheduled many high profile demonstrations for the Cessna Grand Caravan, C208 Aircraft (US Registration No: N258CC) at the Ratmalana Airport yesterday.

“In a country where development is changing its landscape, transforming an idyllic tropical setting to one of the fastest growing countries in the region and a much sought after tourist destination, the arrival of the Cessna Grand Caravan augurs well,” Infotechs Group General Manager and Director Michelle Pinto told journalists who took a flight to Kandy yesterday. The interior of the aircraft is plush and luxurious with cushioned leather seats.

The 20 minute journey to Kandy itself was as comfortable with minimum turbulence felt and the takeoff and landing was smooth.

“Soon the need to languish on busy roads when commuting, will be a thing of the past, The Cessna Grand Caravan will fly across the country, carrying its passengers to any destination far and wide in Sri Lanka. To fly to Jaffna will take only one hour while you will be in Trincomalee or Arugumbay in 45 minutes and Kandy will be just 20 minutes away,” Pinto added.

The fleet of Cessna aircrafts of over 190,000 and counting, manufactured by The Cessna Aircraft Company, USA is in use the world over and have the approval of the Civil Aviation Authorities of over 70 counties worldwide, endorsing the brand’s international acceptance and credibility.

With luxurious, executive interiors, time saving travelling options and low cost operation and maintenance, Pinto added that she is confidant that soon many giant corporate entities, especially those in the travel and tourism industries, are bound to own an aircraft or two in their fleet.

“We have a family of Cessna models which can be customised to suit each company’s requirement, whether the need is for freight forwarding, passenger travel, special missions of floats for water based operations,” said Cessna Aircraft, Vice President International Sales, Robert Gibbs.

“The Caravan consists of tough landing gear which facilitates landing on any terrain including gravel, grass, pavements and even water (with floats),” he added.

Noting that the single jet engine is as safe and reliable as a twin, Gibbs said: “What’s more, it has an exceptional flying range of 1698 km without refueling and the take off distance needed by a Cessna Caravan in just 1365 feet to 2500 feet. So with low operating cost of just $ 2.23 per Nautical mile, it is definitely making its way to be a trendsetter in the sky.”

As a provider of leading aviation brands, Infotechs has been promoting air transportation through domestic operators in Sri Lanka and the Maldives for more than two decades to date.

As the independent Representative for Bell Helicopter Textron of USA and as the Authorised Sales Representative for Cessna Aircraft Company, Infotechs has always believed in introducing advanced aeronautical solutions to the Sri Lankan and Maldivian markets.

“Strength, diligence and determination has propelled us to where we are today,” said Pinto adding “ it is with great pride that we are today able to identify ourselves as a leading edge supplier of Aerospace, Electro Medical, Telecommunications, Power and Energy, Dental and Geo-Spatial solutions to a multi-sector customer base.”