6E's turboprop ambitions

IndiGo's ATR fleet turns five and the carrier is going from strength to strength with its turboprop fleet. A dexterous use of the machines on the UDAN network and as a feeder to its trunk routes has made this machine critical to the 6E network. AMEYA JOSHI examines and reviews their performance and looks at the path ahead

- AMEYA JOSHI

IndiGo - India's largest carrier by fleet and domestic market share, has completed five years of ATR operations. In May 2017, in a very surprising announcement - IndiGo which hitherto restricted itself to a single fleet type and said that was the secret to its profitability announced the signing of a term sheet with ATR. In the month when the deal was announced, IndiGo's market share stood at 39.9 per cent. The airlines closed last year with over 50 per cent market share. On November 17th of the same year, IndiGo took delivery of its first ATR aircraft. An ATR 72-600 in IndiGo livery was on static display at Paris Air show in 2017.

Over the past 5 years, the fleet and network have grown, and the airline is currently serving 52 destinations with a fleet of 36 ATR aircraft. This network also serves the Government of India's UDAN "Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik" mission with multiple flights to Shillong, Kolhapur, Prayagraj, Agra, Deogarh etc. The UDAN mission is aimed at connecting small and medium towns to larger cities by air.

The airline had announced Hyderabad as its primary base for ATR operations with first flights beginning December 21, 2017, with its first flight being between Hyderabad and Mangalore. Today, an ATR aircraft in the IndiGo fleet serves an average of 8 sectors. IndiGo currently operates 276 daily flights through its ATR fleet. The airline has also recently introduced multiple flights with its ATR aircraft to stations such as Pantnagar, Kadapa, Jabalpur, Kurnool etc., opening new routes for trade and increasing connectivity. The ATR 72-600 aircraft flying with IndiGo have a seating capacity of 78 passengers.

The shift that happened