Charter operators looking eastward

Eastern India, which has not been too well connected with the rest of the country, is now on the radar of airline operators. At least five non-scheduled airlines are all set to start operations out of Kolkata airport. Of these five, three operators have already secured a go-ahead from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for non-scheduled operations.

The operators taking wing include Dove Airlines, Sky Airways and Zav Airline. Sources from Kolkata airport said that more airlines had shown interest in starting non-scheduled operations based out of Kolkata to connect the north-eastern region of the country. The new non-scheduled airline, MDLR Airlines, is also planning to add more flights from Kolkata.

"These operators are targeting business travellers. Initially, they plan to use helicopters and Cessnas, but they are firming up plans to acquire other small aircraft such as Dorniers and ATRs. These operators are usually floated by big business groups," airport sources added. Dove Airlines, for instance, which will be deploying the Cessna Citation, is promoted by the Usha Martin Group, while MDLR is promoted by a Gurgaon-based real estate group.

Sources said some of the airlines were planning to start scheduled operations under the licence of non-scheduled. But Kapil Kaul, a leading aviation analyst and CEO (Indian subcontinent & West Asia) of Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA), is not convinced. "Ideally, the north east region requires reliable scheduled services. With Air Deccan, Kingfisher Airlines and Alliance Air planning to increase their presence in this region, non-scheduled operators will have a tough time," says Kaul.

Scheduled operators have fixed timings for operations and can publish the same, while non-scheduled operators cannot publish the timings or sell tickets online.

Meanwhile, the Centre is planning to set up a separate airline for the north-east region to provide better connectivity. The government promoted North Eastern Council (NEC) has commissioned the Foundation for Aviation and Sustainable Tourism (FAST) to conduct a feasibility study on starting a regional airline in this region.