Growth in regional air connectivity is driving up the demand for ATR aircraft, and the plane maker forecasts addition of up to 200 turboprop planes in India in the next decade.

Currently, India has 67 ATR aircraft in service, and is the second largest market for the planes after Indonesia.

Turboprops

Turboprops are small planes capable of operating on short runways. These carry upto 90 passengers, and are popular on regional routes. ATR competes with Canadian plane maker De Havilland and Brazil's Embraer in the regional aircraft category.

“India’s growing demand for regional air travel presents significant growth potential for ATR, with forecasts suggesting up to 200 turboprop additions over the next decade,” said Jean-Pierre Clercin, Asia Pacific head of sales, ATR.

He said ATR aircraft are capable of operating in various types of airports, including small regional airports with limited infrastructure and short runways. “This versatility enables serving anything from remote and underserved destinations to large and secondary hubs, broadening market opportunities,” he added.

IndiGo is the largest ATR operator in India with 45 ATR 72 in fleet, and another five on order. While deliveries of the five planes are expected to start from November, the airline is also said to be evaluating an order for another 100 small aircraft for its regional operations. IndiGo did not comment on its fleet expansion plans.

“Enhancing connectivity across India is a key pillar of IndiGo’s long term growth strategy. This includes expanding our presence in markets of all types including regional routes which see potential for sustainable demand and viable operations,” the airline said.

Small carriers

Government-owned Alliance Air has 20 ATR aircraft. Goa based FLY 91 which began operations with two ATR 72 aircraft in March will double its fleet by November-end. The airline operates 12-16 flights connecting seven cities daily. It will ramp up operations to 24-30 flights, strengthening frequencies on existing routes. This will include both regional connectivity scheme (RCS) routes and non-RCS routes. The airline operates flights to Jalgaon, Sindhudurg (both in Maharashtra) and Lakshadweep under the RCS.

“We are taking a measured approach to growth. There is enough demand in tier II and III markets. The key to sustainable operations is an efficient business model. Our plan is to have 32 aircraft in five years,” said Manoj Chacko, managing director and CEO of FLY91.

Upcoming airlines including Air Kerala and Alhind Air too have evinced interest in ATR planes. Air Kerala hopes to start operations from the first quarter of CY2025 with three ATR-72 aircraft and will have an initial investment of ₹60-100 crore. Last week it announced the appointment of Harish Moideen Kutty as its chief executive officer.

Upswing in air travel

Plans for launch of new airlines are being drawn up as India is seeing an upswing in air travel. The first six months of 2024 (January-June) saw the highest ever domestic air traffic with airlines flying 79.3 million passengers. In the same period last year airlines flew 76 million passengers. This accounted for 4.2 per cent year on year traffic growth.

While regional air connectivity in India has faced hurdles like delays in development of new airports and closure of airlines, the civil aviation ministry says that since its inception the RCS scheme has made air travel accessible to millions within the country. Over 14.2 million passengers have flown in 2.74 lakh RCS flights. 

The scheme has triggered air connectivity and regional growth for many airports which are now serving non-RCS commercial flights too. These include Belgaum, Kadapa, Hubballi, Salem, Darbhanga and Jharsuguda, civil aviation ministry said in a reply to the Rajya Sabha last month.

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