If you felt the government would encourage airlines to expand their fleets after the closure of Kingfisher caused fares to spike, think again. Low-cost carrier IndiGo wanted to import 16 aircraft this year but the aviation ministry has allowed them to bring in only five.
For the remaining 11 aircraft, IndiGo has been asked to submit detailed plans on how it intends to use them. This process may take time as the ministry is in the process of finalizing new norms for schedule airlines to fly to tier II and III cities. And, the nod to import more planes would be linked to meeting the new norms under which it may be mandatory for all airlines to have smaller turboprops in their fleet to fly to smaller towns. IndiGo has so far placed orders for 280 Airbus A-320 aircraft and is yet to receive over 200 of them till 2025. Its currently has 63 aircraft, with three of the five cleared planes being inducted this year and two more expected this fiscal.The aircraft acquisition committee is headed by aviation minister Ajit Singh and the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) had even objected to this hierarchy some months back due to fears that this could delay the process of importing aircraft.
11/02/13 Times of India
