Regional airlines look for a slice of the sky

Mumbai/New Delhi: The rush for ‘regionals’ or commuter airlines has begun. A string of new carriers is awaiting specific details on fiscal benefits, before they begin providing small and medium-haul air services connecting smaller communities with larger cities and hub airports. The Bird group, a Delhi-based travel and IT firm which markets travel booking software Amadeus in India, could be among the first to take off in North India, after the new policy was announced by the minister for civil aviation Praful Patel last Thursday. Four unnamed South Indian airlines are also waiting in the wings for takeoff.
In all, at least half a dozen start-ups including Premier Airways’ airline brand Easy Air and Air Dravida in the south, Mega Airlines from the North-East and North Star in the west are planning to seek licence under the new category. Most are awaiting details on the fiscal benefits for regional airlines, say industry experts.
The Union civil aviation minister last week announced the policy that creates a new category of airlines which will operate primarily between airports of any of the four regions classified as North, South, West and East/North-East.
The policy, announced with much fanfare, does not offer any sops to the carriers for the moment. Incentives like exemption from navigation and airport charges and a lower 4% sales tax on ATF are available to both regional as well as pan-India carriers, as long as the weight of the aircraft is below 40,000 kg.
14/08/07 Cuckoo Paul & Sudipto Dey/Economic Times

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Categories: General Aviation Aug 2007, New Aug 2007