Runway to Nowhere

Bereft of passengers, money and favourable policies, regional airlines are dying.

- Manu Kaushik

Koustav Dhar knows the aviation business like the back of his hand. He’s been an industry insider for over 15 years, first as the CEO of the now-defunct MDLR Airlines and then the CEO of Jagson Airlines. Dhar, 44, is now donning a new hat by becoming the promoter of an airline – Zoom Air, the latest carrier to fly in the Indian skies.

No one knows the pain of regional airlines better than Dhar. When the government opened up the aviation sector for regional carriers in 2007, MDLR became the first airline to acquire a permit. For over two years, the airline operated in the northern region but it struggled to fill up seats, resulting in frequent cancellation of flights. Finally, MDLR promoter Gopal Kanda, the flamboyant politician from Haryana, decided to quit the business.

In his next assignment, Dhar headed Jagson Airlines – it also had a regional licence, but didn’t fly. Since then, Dhar was waiting for the right moment. The booming aviation market prompted him to launch his own premium airline early this year. He opted for a national permit this time. “I have burnt my fingers in regional aviation and I knew the problem with regional airlines,” he says.

While Dhar has learnt it the hard way, other regional carriers are still struggling. Indeed, regional aviation has witnessed more failures than successes in India. In the past seven years, six regional airlines have shut shops. Air Costa took off in October 2013 and suspended operations in February 2017. Chennai-based full-service carrier Paramount Airways flew for a good five years before being grounded in August 2010. The case of Air Pegasus is even worse – it ran into financial troubles in just over a year of starting operations, and closed down in July last year.