The promoters of Stallion Airways, Delhi-based entrepreneurs Mohini and OP Malhotra, purchased the aircraft with a $20 million foreign loan from a group of NRIs. The loan is repayable over ten years.

Stallion Airlines got a green signal from the ministry of civil aviation to start operations last year.

``Now that we have the aircraft we expect to start flights in another two months'' said co-promoter Mohini Malhotra of Stallion Airways. The airline will be based at Ahmedabad and will operate short-haul feeder routes.

Stallion Airways has received government permission to import the five Dornier aircraft. However, the import permission is subject to the airline raising its prescribed equity capital to the minimum prescribed level ofRs 10 crore.Stallion Airways is the first Indian customer of the Texas-based Fairchild Dornier aircraft company. The latter is eager to launch its Metro 23 aircraft in the Indian market.The government has been attempting to encourage small, privately-owned airlines to ply feeder routes in the country. However, most airlines prefer to fly on the busy Category I routes which include those between metro cities. Private airlines argue that these routes prove much more lucrative in revenue terms. ``Revenue from a metro route flight, such as one between Delhi and Mumbai, can be used by small airlines cover costs of non-metro routes'' said Malhotra.