UDAN scheme: TruJet to add 10 destinations with 7 aircraft

The airline started operations in July 2015, currently catering to 7 destinations with 16 flights

Hyderabad-based TruJet, one of the private airlines, which has bagged travel routes under UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) scheme is planning to add 10 destinations with seven aircraft.

The airline started operations in July 2015 and is currently catering to seven destinations with 16 flights.

Antara Dey, spokesperson of the airline said that over the next two years, the airline is planning to add 10 destinations with seven aircraft. Of this, five will be under UDAN scheme, including Mysore, Bidar, Hosur, Salem and Vidya Nagar.

Alliance Air, the regional arm of Air India, SpiceJet and TruJet have won rights to operate flights under the government's regional air connectivity scheme, which seeks to give people from Tier-II and Tier-III cities a chance to fly at a ticket price of Rs 2,500.

Company News : Airlines operating under the UDAN scheme have to ensure that the prices of at least 50 per cent of the seats on their flights are available at a price of Rs 2,500 each for an hour of flying.

The Centre and state will provide viability gap funding for the airlines operating on the UDAN routes to ensure profitability of these flights.

Trujet is planning to deploy ATR72-500/600 with a 72-seat capacity.

Dey, mentioned earlier, said that the airline is looking at 77 per cent PLF (passenger load factor) and expects to make money in a year.

She added that the airline is funded directly by promoters and do not have any plans immediately to look at external funding. (more)

Want Rs 2,500 tickets under UDAN? Please book in advance on popular routes

Shimla-Delhi flights are sold out but others are available much below the capped limit of Rs 2,000

Five days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the “Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik”, or UDAN, scheme from Shimla airport, Tushar Patel tried to book tickets from Delhi to the hill station. To his surprise, he couldn’t find the subsidised Rs 2,500 fare. Instead, the cheapest fare in May was Rs 8,049 and on some days, it was as high as Rs 15,090.

Travellers lapped up the cheaper tickets soon after the scheme was launched. “On Delhi-Shimla route, all tickets reserved under UDAN scheme are sold out until June end. What’s available now are few seats that have market-linked rates,” says CS Subbiah, chief executive officer of Alliance Air, an Air India subsidiary.

This is quite a contrast to the other three routes that are operational at present. If you were to take a round trip between Mumbai and Nanded, the fares are Rs 4,000 – below the cap of Rs 2,500 one way. But if you are flying between Hyderabad and Kadapa or Nanded and Hyderabad, you can get a return ticket even for around Rs 2,000.

Shimla stands out among all other operational routes because of the holiday season. “The city is one of the most popular holiday destinations in India, hitherto inaccessible to many tourists due to lack of convenient air connectivity. It is also a state capital. There is a huge unmet demand,” says Amber Dubey, partner and India head of aerospace and defence at global consultancy KPMG.

The number of seats available on the route are much lower, too, because the airport is at a high altitude. "From Delhi to Shimla, the 42-seater aircraft can only carry 35 passengers. Read more