If the government will have its way, it is almost certain
that the current scheduled airlines operating from India might have to increase
the connectivity of the regional hubs with the adjoining smaller cities. The
government is likely to make it mandatory for the airlines to provide services
from these areas, connecting with the regional hubs. This rationale behind the
plan lies in the increasing demand of flight booking by the people from these areas to reach the hubs by using the air
mode of transportation rather than the road or rail based one. But, since these
areas are considered to be less lucrative by the airline companies, the
government plans to make this mandatory, just as flying to the north-eastern
region is made mandatory.
Currently, the people come to the hubs of the airlines using
the road and rail routes and the journey becomes quite long and exhaustive. By
opening the flight booking from
these areas and operating the cheap flights, commuting will become less tiring and time consuming and will even
suit the budget of many people. This is in consonance with the policy of
balanced regional development of all parts of the country.
The move is likely to make the airline companies change
their plans a bit to accommodate the mandate of flying to and from the nearby
regions of the hub. The budget carriers such as IndiGo airlines, which mostly operate on the Airbus aircraft and
for whom the fuel efficiency and overall operational efficiency matters a lot,
might have to maintain the turboprop airplanes in their fleet for meeting this
requirement. The turboprops are efficient due to the lower velocity of
propeller and exhaust. These would fit well in the overall business model of
the IndiGo airlines and other LCCs
as it would become possible to provide the cheap
flights to the people.
With all airlines, barring Go Indigo, reporting losses in current financial, the plan will
further add financial burden as it will require capital infusion to buy the turboprop
aircraft. There might also be shift in the operating strategies of the airlines
to accommodate the government requirements.
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