The problem with Indian skies

The aviation ministry has cleared three new regional airlines in a bid to spur competition. This won't be easy

- SURAJEET DAS GUPTA

He has been advocating more competition in the skies especially after the meltdown of IndiGo Airlines last month — which led to mass cancellations of flights across the country and chaos at airports.

So in the last week of December, Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu granted no objection certificates (NOC) to three regional airlines to take to the skies and boost regional connectivity. His aim is to have at least five airlines with more than 100 planes each to spur competition.

Many say this is an unrealistic ambition — only two airlines currently meet that criteria, IndiGo and Air India group. The others — SpiceJet, Akasa, IndiaOne Air, Star Air, and Fly91— even collectively do not hit that number.

Noida-based Shankh Airlines promises to be first off the block among the three new NOC holders. It plans to start operations in March with three Airbus A320 planes leased from Bulgaria, and add another two by July or August. It will connect Lucknow with Delhi and Mumbai and Bengaluru, as well as Varanasi, Ayodhya, and Gorakhpur.

Giving it company in the south is Kerala-based alHind Air. It had planned to launch in the middle of last year, but its NOC got delayed. It is now scouting around for at least two ATR 72-600 aircraft to start its operations, with Kochi as its base.

THE QUESTION IS WHETHER THE NEW OR EVEN SOME OF THE EXISTING PLAYERS HAVE THE ACUMEN TO RUN AN EFFICIENT AND PROFITABLE AIRLINE WITH AN EQUAL ABILITY TO DISRUPT THE DUOPOLY IN THE SKIES.

Finally, there is the Hyderabad-based FlyExpress, which wants to connect tier-2 and - 3 cities.