Air India eyes regional aviation space in challenge to IndiGo
₹18,000 crore as the airline's enterprise value. As a result, it acquired 100% stake in Air India, its subsidiary Air India Express and the entire 50% stake in ground and cargo handling joint venture Air India SATS. Among India's regional aircraft, SpiceJet has 21 De Havilland Canada Dash 8-400s, Alliance Air has a mix of 21 ATRs and one Dornier, and Indore-based Flybig has three de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter aircraft.
Star Air operates nine Embraers, Indiaone Air two Cessnas and FLY91 -- the latest entrant in the regional space - two ATRs. With an air travel penetration rate of 3-7% in India, rising income levels, and the growing propensity to travel by air in smaller towns and cities, Air India is looking to offer a comprehensive package to travellers, not just from metros, but also those who want to travel from the interiors of the country to faraway destinations, the first person added. Ameya Joshi, founder of aviation research platform Network Thoughts said that with SpiceJet reducing its presence, there remains scope for regional turboprop operations.
"With the government likely to extend the UDAN scheme, any airline which invests in regional network is likely to benefit for the next five years, if not more. From a volume perspective, the numbers are low; however, many have seasonal variations and yields which are higher than many metro routes at times," Joshi said. A regional aircraft is often called a turboprop jet as the airplane uses a turbo-prop engine to turn the propellers.
Read more on livemint.com
