National carrier Air India’s subsidiary Alliance Air will be the first airline to start operating flights between Delhi and Shimla under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS).
The first flight, under the government’s pet scheme ‘Udey Desh ka Aam Nagrik’ or UDAN, will be flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Shimla on April 27. Alliance Air will operate regular flights using a 48-seater ATR-42 all-economy class aircraft from April 28. Due to the short runway length, height and temperature restrictions, the aircraft will not be able to fly the total capacity of 48 passengers.
Viability Gap Funding
“On the Delhi-Shimla leg, we will carry 35 passengers while on the return only 15 passengers will be able to fly. The government will compensate for the loss with a Viability Gap Funding of about ₹3,000 per seat,” Alliance Air CEO C.S. Subbiah told The Hindu .
Officials pegged the annual loss at ₹ 4-5 crore on account of this penalty on carrying capacity. The last flight to Shimla’s Jubbarhatti airport had operated from Delhi by Air India on September 6, 2012.
“There have been no flights to the Himachal Pradesh capital since because of soil erosion leading to the shrinking of the runway,” the airline spokesperson said. Last year, Air India had received a rap from the Supreme Court for lack of air connectivity to Shimla.
The airline estimates a total expenditure of ₹ 4.06 lakh per return flight. However, the revenue it will be able to generate will be a mere ₹2.64 lakh, including the viability gap funding from the Centre. Therefore, the airline has requested the Himachal Pradesh government for the balance amount of ₹1,41,960 per return flight.
128 routes
During the inauguration, Prime Minister Modi is expected to announce Alliance Air’s RCS flights between Amritsar-Nanded and Kadapa-Chennai.
A total of five airlines — Alliance Air, SpiceJet, Turbo Megha, Air Odisha and Air Deccan — are set to start operating on 128 routes this year.
An Alliance Air spokesperson said bookings were open for the Delhi-Shimla sector with a fixed fare of ₹2,036. Online booking portals, however, were selling the route tickets for ₹2,318 on Tuesday evening.
PTI adds:
AI plans premium economy class
Air India plans to introduce premium economy class seats on some of its flights in the aftermath of Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad assaulting its staffer because he had to travel economy despite being entitled to a business class seat. Mr. Gaikwad had insisted on travelling business class on an all-economy flight, and later hit an airline staffer “25 times” with his slipper, triggering a row between him and Air India.
