Indian gov't allocates 235 routes under UDAN III ch-aviation PRO exclusive

The Indian government is working on expanding the Regional Connectivity Scheme (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik - UDAN) to cover popular tourist destinations in the country, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha has told parliament.

According to the Business Standard, the revamp of the government-run programme was launched at the request of the Ministry of Tourism.

UDAN currently covers under- and unserved airports, most of them in remote parts of India. The scheme offers exclusive traffic rights and, when needed, subsidies to the airlines which connect the secondary and tertiary airports with major hubs in the country.

The expansion would most likely also include only domestic services. The government earlier this year floated the idea of including international routes under the scheme but these plans have not yet materialised.

The announcement comes amid the decision of Kannur to pull out of UDAN and terminate its participation in the scheme. The new airport in the northern part of Kerala, one of the southernmost Indian states known for its tourism industry, has decided that by...

Embraer (EMB, São José dos Campos) has confirmed it is in talks with several Indian airlines over the sale of E175 aircraft.

The Brazilian manufacturer's Vice President (Sales & Marketing - Asia Pacific), Cesar Pereira, told the Press Trust of India news agency that among those being courted over their interest in the Regional Jet are IndiGo Airlines, SpiceJet, Air India, Jet Airways, and Vistara. Currently, the bulk of Indian airlines' regional fleets are composed primarily of Bombardier and Avions de Transport Régional turboprop aircraft with the now dormant Air Costa (LEP, Vijayawada) having been the E170's only Indian operator before it moved to E190s.

"[The Regional Connectivity scheme] RCS is an excellent programme to bring more passengers to the system," he said. "But some airlines look at long-term sustainability. They may fly for three years, but what after that? We know that IndiGo decided to go for ATRs. SpiceJet has their Dash 8-400s. So we are talking to all airlines to unlock...

SpiceJet (SG, Delhi Int'l) has yet to draw on any government-backed viability gap funding for its current Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS/UDAN) routes, chief executive Ajay Singh has said.

The budget carrier was awarded six RCS routes during the first round of allotment in March last year and a further 20 during last week's second round.

"On UDAN, our philosophy at SpiceJet is that wherever viability gap funding (VGF) is not required, we will not take it because the government should use the money where it is required," Singh told the Press Trust of India in an interview. "So far this has proved to be right because all the sectors we are flying as yet are financially viable without that viability gap funding."

Commenting on the response seen thus far to SpiceJet's RCS services, Singh said operations had thus far proven to be a "big success" given the activation of commercial flights to previously unused or underutilized airfields.

During the most recent round of awards, the Indian government allocated 325 routes to various operators. Fixed-wing...

India's Ministry of Civil Aviation has confirmed that a total of 325 route proposals for both fixed- and rotary-winged operations have been accepted under the second round of the government's subsidized Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS-UDAN).

According to the Airports Authority of India (AAI), the implementing agency, a total of 78 airports including 36 currently served airports, 13 currently underserved airports, and 29 currently unserved Airports (25 distinct airports after removing the 4 overlapping airports from UDAN-1) will be connected in states that include Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Manipur, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal. In addition, 31 helipads/heliports will be connected through helicopters in priority areas.

"In the second round, we have given RCS routes to helicopter operators also," Aviation Secretary R N Choubey said in a statement. "In all, we got 141 proposals for 502 routes (for both planes and choppers). Letters of award have been given to 90 proposals for 325 routes. Out of these, 129 routes are in a...