De Havilland Aircraft of Canada is hoping to win over 80% of India’s small plane market share, as the country aims to advance its regional connectivity scheme focusing on smaller Tier II and Tier III cities, said Yogesh Garg during the Airline Economics Growth Frontiers India conference recently held in New Delhi.
The company expects India to have 120 small aircraft with a configuration of less than 20 passenger seating in the next decade. India is one of the fastest growing civil aviation markets and small planes are a key for the developing aviation sector to connect to the small towns and hilly terrains with first time flyers.
According to the recent forecast by Airbus SE, India will need 2,210 aircraft by 2040, with most of them being smaller jets. India with its huge topography of approximately 3000 kilometers spreading across the length and breadth of the country has a need of various types of aircraft for a variety of airline missions, said Vasuki Prasad of Embraer.
“India has a pressing need for a market segment which is beyond turbo prop and below 180-seats” said Vishok Mansingh, CEO of Vman Aviation, one of the first leasing company in India, leasing 70-seat turboprops to regional airlines in India.
The regional market in India is dominated by 19-seat Dornier 228 aircraft, built by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd along with Textron Aviation with regional operator IndiaOne flying the nine-seater Cessna Grand Caravan EX.
The government has allocated $ 544 million under a regional connectivity program to develop 100 inadequately served airports, heliports and water aerodromes, in addition to opening 1,000 new routes by next year. It is also giving subsidies to airlines to offer passengers cheaper fares on regional routes.
Currently SpiceJet is in talks with De Havilland for five Twin Otter seaplanes. The airline currently operates 32 Dash-8 Q400 turboprop planes, which seat between 78 and 90 people while IndiGo has 78 ATR small planes.
“An airline like Azul in Brazil has the largest network, flying Cessna Caravans, ATR 72s, E195 and E195-E2, A320neo, A321neo, A330s and A350s. Brazil is the "B" in BRIC nations; India is the "I". India has a scope - and a pressing need - for an aircraft of all types, to cover the length, breadth and corners of the nation,” concludes Prasad while stressing the importance of regional jets in India in coming years.