Air India is to launch “India Hopper” with about 40 aircraft believed to be a mix of ATR and Bombardier CRJ aircraft as early as by March 2011. The service will be operated under the Air Operator Permit of what was Alliance Air, which was a subsidiary of Indian Airlines.
The service will cover over 115 destinations including Chandigarh, Kullu, Shimla, Tirupati, Mysore, Udaipur, Kota, Bhopal, Agartala, Bagdogra, Silchar and Ranchi.
Air India Regional currently has 7 ATRs and 4 CRJs in the fleet. The airline is currently looking at having another 21 ATR and 20 CRJs in the fleet. The airline is yet to take a decision on whether it should lease or acquire these aircraft. All depends on financing of some sort.