Alliance Air plans to connect India with neighboring Countries

According to Alliance Air's CEO Vineet Sood, the state-owned airline intends to link regional hubs to neighbouring nations.

As a result, the regional player obligated to divest intends to broaden its network to include nearby nations like Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar.

“Our key focus would be to connect Regional India to these countries,” he said without divulging any other flight details or timelines. In the pre-Covid era, Alliance Air operated to Jaffna in Sri Lanka.

India's sole state-owned airline now connects cities throughout the nation. The majority of the 55 destinations that Alliance Air serves in India are Tier II and III cities.

The airline is also working to expand into Tier II and Tier III cities.

With a particular emphasis on ALGs (Advance Landing Ground) for Arunachal Pradesh connectivity via our Dornier Do-228, we have plans to further enhance our connectivity in North-East India, according to Sood.

Recently, Alliance Air began operating flights from the ALG airport in Ziro (Arunachal Pradesh).

We have been consistently adding new flights to Northern and Central India, but our increased focus going forward will be on launching high-terrain routes in North India with our recently introduced ATR42-600.

The airline now has a fleet of 18 ATR72-600 planes and one Dornier Do-228 manufactured in India. Alliance Air intends to take delivery of a second Dornier soon.

"We recently introduced two ATR42-600 aircraft," he stated. "These aircraft can operate on the short runways in Shimla, Kullu, as well as other airports working at high altitudes."

Sood claims that a significant amount of the operating costs of any airline are attributable to rising fuel prices. Domestic ATF prices in India are significantly higher than global benchmarks because of the substantial state-level taxation. To lessen the impact of rising prices, many state governments have decreased the VAT on fuel.

Notably, around 40–45% of the total operating costs of airlines in India are fuel-related. Additionally, these prices reflect the rupee's decline in value against the US currency. The industry has been pressing for the introduction of a new pricing system or the inclusion of the fuel type in the GST's purview.

“The financial impact can be especially acute for airlines when it relates to sizeable changes in the value of the US dollar. This is because a large proportion of airline costs (including fuel) are denominated in US dollars, and many carriers need to convert domestic currency into dollars each year to meet their obligations,” he said.

“A more stable pricing will allow us to operate more profitably.”

Source: MC Exclusive

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