Air India is exploring opportunities to expand its presence in India’s regional air travel market, as reported by Mint. Internal discussions within the airline are reportedly focused on competing more aggressively with IndiGo Airlines (6E) by increasing connectivity between major cities and smaller tier two and three cities, as well as introducing point-to-point services.
An Air India official, speaking anonymously, confirmed these discussions, stating, “These are internal discussions and further assessments will be conducted before any final decisions are made. The regional market presents a significant opportunity, and our aim is to offer comprehensive travel solutions to Indian passengers.”
Historically, Air India subsidiary Alliance Air handled regional routes while the main carrier focused on trunk routes and international flights. Following the transfer of Air India’s ownership to Tata Sons in 2022, Alliance Air remained under government control, leaving Air India without a robust regional network. The government’s UDAN scheme, designed to subsidize airlines operating on underserved regional routes, has enhanced the financial viability of regional operations for various carriers.
The official highlighted that considering ATR – Avions de Transport Régional turboprops is among the options being seriously considered by the Air India Group. This move comes in response to IndiGo’s extensive regional operations utilizing a fleet of forty-five ATR72-600 aircraft. Recently, IndiGo announced plans to potentially order around 100 additional regional aircraft, underscoring the competitive dynamics in the regional aviation sector.
SpiceJet (SG) and several startup airlines have also ventured into regional services with varying fleet sizes and success rates. Currently, Air India does not operate any turboprop aircraft, unlike its competitors in the regional market.
Air India did not provide a comment when approached for further details on its regional expansion plans.
