A PIPEDREAM OR REALITY?
Despite impressive growth in civil aviation, regional aviation has not attracted entrepreneurs in proportion to its potential. Only one regional airline, Air Mantra, is operating today albeit anaerobically.
REGIONAL AVIATION IN INDIA
has been a nebulous model ever since it was conceptualised and its functionality rendered theoretically possible. The government’s dual track policies, the ‘stick’ of route dispersal guidelines and the ‘carrot’ of concessional aeronautical charges have not had the desired effect of substantially increasing the frequency of flights to Tier-II and Tier-III airports across the country. Indeed, the travesty lies in the figures. Despite impressive growth in civil aviation, regional aviation has not attracted entrepreneurs in proportion to its potential. Only one regional airline, Air Mantra, is operating today albeit anaerobically. Air Mantra is using just two Beechcraft 1900 D with a capacity of 17 seats each. Compare this with the two most popular single-aisle aircraft in Indian skies, the Airbus 320 and the Boeing 737, having about 180 seats. The real import of the picture is stark as even those 17 seats are not being filled up. Is there a strategic vision in the Civil Aviation Ministry for regional aviation? Or is regional aviation doomed to hobble on into the future with Tier-II and Tier-III connectivity remaining a pipedream?
AIRPORT INFRASTRUCTURE.
A simple, self-evident iteration is necessary to focus on airport infrastructure which is capitalintensive and requires high lead time. Both these factors imply that a great deal of perspective planning is required to meet the infrastructural demands of projected air traffic volumes. The growth pattern in aircraft numbers since 2003 has not been matched by corresponding enhancement in airport capacity. Undoubtedly, there has been progress on this front but it has largely been confined to the large airports with public-private participation (PPP)