FLY91’s Manoj Chacko said the airline remains firmly in growth mode with its ATR aircraft fleet giving it better fuel efficiency
Regional carriers are curtailing flights by 3-8 per cent and rationalising their non-fuel expenses as high crude oil prices and weak rupee hurt their earnings.While the airlines have cut only a handful of flights they are closely monitoring the cost and demand situation.Star Air Chief Executive Officer Simran Singh Tiwana said several cost optimisation measures have been implemented across the organisation. Crew and maintenance planning has been optimised and vendor contracts are being renegotiated. Star Air is also focusing on improving ancillary revenue, he said.Alliance Air is reducing non essential costs such as those related to support services and office transport. The airline has also secured better rates from hotels for crew accommodation. While these would have a minimal impact, the airline is doing whatever possible to reduce its operating cost, a source said.Alliance Air which recently secured ₹460 crore financial support from the government hopes to use the proceeds to repay dues and restore grounded aircraft. While the increased fuel prices has widened the cost and revenue mismatch for Alliance Air (it operates only 10 of its 21 aircraft), the management is hopeful of reducing losses going forward. “Our costs will start coming down once we bring more aircraft into operation,” the source added.Fewer flights in JuneIn the January-March quarter four regional airlines (Alliance Air, FLY91, IndiaOne Air and Star Air), collectively flew 5.5 lakh passengers. The airlines operate a mix of Udan (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) and non-Udan routes and together they have a share of 1.3 per cent of domestic traffic.The airlines have scheduled fewer flights in June compared to May, data from aviation analytics firm Cirium shows. While IndiaOne has cut flights by around 3 per cent, Alliance Air and Star Air have scheduled 6-8 per cent fewer flights month on month basis. Cirium data shows FLY91’s flights increasing by a modest 0.9 per cent over May.Tiwana said the slight adjustment in scheduled flights during June is primarily linked to the current geopolitical situation along with seasonal demand trends and operational optimisation.Growth ModeCEO and managing director of FLY91 Manoj Chacko said the airline remains firmly in growth mode with its ATR aircraft fleet giving it better fuel efficiency compared to larger aircraft. This along with our lean operating model has helped us save costs, he said.“Recently we have expanded operations with new routes including Hyderabad-Rajahmundry, Hyderabad-Vijayawada and have added flights between Pune and Goa,” he said.New services are also being planned to Mangaluru and Tirupati. “We have not seen any meaningful drop in demand. On the contrary, demand on our core regional sectors remains stable,” Chacko added.“Our Indian portfolio is performing in line with expectations. India remains a key strategic market for us and we continue to see strong long term demand for regional aircraft across the country,” said Abhineet Awasthi, Sales Director of leasing firm TrueNoordPublished on May 26, 2026
