Civil Regional Aviation airports in the metros, airports in Tier-II and Tier-III cities are being neglected. The Indian government may be somewhat reluctant to allocate sizeable funds to remote airports because air passenger growth there cannot keep pace with the large cities. State governments have also experienced mixed success in roping in private players for many of the smaller airports. For years, it has been recognised that the Northeast region is in dire need of air connectivity. For years, the North-east Council has been trying to promote the establishment of a dedicated regional airline. But besides some inadequate non-scheduled services the efforts are yet to bear fruit. Experts agree that there’s practically unlimited scope for air services to expand in India. At present, scheduled carriers have around 260 narrow-body aircraft of 150-200 seat capacity like the Airbus A320 and the Boeing B737. These are difficult to fill except on the main routes. Providing airconnectivity to smaller cities needs regional aircraft of capacity less than 100, of which the airlines have a combined total of perhaps 60 planes. Embraer estimates that around 250 low-to-medium-density routes remain unused. Another 133 routes have less than one flight a day since the major airlines do not consider such routes profitable. These routes can be viable only for small regional airlines with rightsized aircraft enjoying suitable concessions and incentives. Regionally Rewarding
Just two decades ago, when regional jets began to appear with increasing frequency, especially in the US and Canada, they were mainly small aircraft with 50 seats or less. In fact, regional airlines pioneered low-cost travel long before the term ‘no-frills’ became fashionable. They served to economically convey little streams of passengers from small, remote airports to the nearest hub. At the hub, the streams would become a river ready to be channelled into large airliners belonging to the major carriers and transported over great distances to other major hubs. Regional jets are growing in size nowadays, with capacities of around 70 to 110 passengers. And the trend seems to be towards even larger aircraft of up to 150 seats, thus blurring the distinction between regional jets and narrow-body airliners. The reason is clear. With oil prices rising, though still well below the $147 (`7,000) per barrel peak of July 2008, in India, fuel forms around 40 per cent or more of an airline’s operating cost. Some analysts are of the view that oil prices will rise sharply yet again over the next couple of decades. Regional jets are at some disadvantage since their perseat fuel burn (and hence operating cost) works out higher than for the bigger narrow-body airliners.
However, in India, when remote airfields open for the first time, strict capacity management will play a crucial role in achieving high operational efficiency and providing economically viable air services. Airlines may find it difficult to fill 150-200 seat planes, at least to begin with. Smaller aircraft are also appropriate for Category II and Category III routes—which the major airlines are required to operate to meet their social sector obligations. A potentially huge Indian market exists for regional jets with a capacity of up to 120 seats that are economical to operate. Embraer’s EJets line and Bombardier’s CRJ series are eminently suitable choices in the quest for high load factors. And Bombardier’s eagerly awaited next-generation C Series CS100/300 would raise the bar for fuel-efficient regional jets. Turbocharged
Turboprops and regional aviation also seem to be made for each other. Half a century ago, turboprops were a frequent sight, but the craze to go all-jet sounded their death knell. The operational savings these fuel-efficient machines offered was ignored as speed became the order of the day. In the mid-1980s, however, advanced turboprops were introduced and these proved highly successful. Since then, there has been no looking back. Most of the credit must go to Bombardier of Canada and ATR, the Italian-French manufacturer. The much admired Bombardier Q series and ATR 42/72 took turboprops all over the world. Both have seen continuing improvements as well, ensuring their stubborn survival in the face of fierce regional jet competition. Compared to jets, turboprops typically burn just twothirds of the fuel needed to fly one passenger. In fact, for distances between 500 km and 800 km, turboprops are faster and more economical than pure jets. They do not need to climb as high as jets, reach cruise parameters earlier and descend faster. Turboprop engine technology has progressed enough to make Inaugurated on June 15: Mysore Airport was these aircraft operate at completely refurbished at a cost of `60 crore ($12.5 million)
The regional airline policy introduced by the Ministry of Civil Aviation in August 2007 has proved a dismal failure
Issue 9 • 2010 SP’S AVIATION 25