Air India to buy 100 more aircraft in four years

National carrier Air India (AI) is all set to ensure regional air connectivity across India. Highly placed sources from the airline revealed that starting January 2017, AI plans to possess one ATR and one airbus every month and after inducting 100 more aircraft into its fleet, regular regional connectivity of tier three cities with tier one, tier two, and tier three cities will be started.

The sources further informed The Asian Age that airline management has categorised sectors as A (main cities), B (middle cities), and C (small cities) and initially, A will be connected to A, B to B, and A to B. They said that after the recently drafted civil aviation policy stressed that Indian civil aviation should have more regional connectivity, the airline decided to start connecting flights from main and middle cities to middle cities.

The process will start from January 2017 when AI adds one ATR and one airbus to its fleet. Thereafter, the airline will add one ATR and one airbus to its fleet every month. Sources said that management of the airline was expecting to induct 100 aircraft into the fleet in the next four years. Commenting on the planning, an official close to the development informed, “After the airline gets 100 more aircraft, connectivity between level C cities and level C cities and level C and level A and level B cities will start. Till such time, we are focusing on B to B and A to B.”

An official from AI said, “As cities are located nearby, travelling will be less than an hour on such routes, so, as per direction of the Prime Minister, the fares of below one hour flights will stick to '2,500 and we are hoping that these low fares will attract passengers towards the national carrier.”