Regional Jets In India Headed For Extinction Or Rebirth?

Don’t think of Regional Jets as extinct birds. Instead, think of them as rising like a Phoenix.

- Byron Bohlman

THE LIST OF AIRLINES that once flew regional jets – Paramount Airways, Air Costa – and some that never got off the ground or are struggling to take off – Star Aviation and Flyeasy – seems to be growing.

Given the double-digit annual jump in passenger enplanements, why hasn’t the regional jet revolution landed in India? It transformed air travel in North America and Europe, and has a strong foothold in China, the three biggest air travel markets in the world. Even Brazil and the African continent are home to a sizable fleet of 70 to 100-seat regional jets. Yet in India, a country poised to become the globe’s fourth largest air travel market in the next decade, you have to ask “where are all the regional jets?”

A DISAPPEARING SPECIES. Look hard and you’ll find fewer than ten RJs – 50-seat Embraer RJs at Hornbill Airlines and Bombardier CRJs at SpiceJet – compared to more than 500 single-aisle commercial jets registered to Indian airlines. RJs account for fewer than 2 percent of the national fleet. That low percentage contrasts with the more than 25 percent share in the North American and European markets, both of which have huge secondary and tertiary cities, much like India.

FORMULA FOR SUCCESS.. With fewer seats and flights on shorter sectors, RJs don’t generate the same volume of available seat kilometers as larger, single-aisle jets. Even though an RJ’s trip cost is lower than that of a bigger jet, amortizing the lower trip cost over fewer seats produces a higher cost per available seat. One way to reduce that number is to increase daily utilization.