Kartikeya, Editor, Aviation Update Interacted with Mr.Senthil
Raja Head of commercial for Trujet Airline regarding UDAN
initiative Mr.Senthil Raja is an engineering graduate from Anna
University. He has got over a decade experience in Aviation
in commercial aspects of airline including Network Planning,
Revenue Management, Sales and Marketing and Customer
Service. He is now head of commercial for Trujet Airline based
out of Hyderabad
AU - Q: How has been the progress for the airline over the
past two plus years and in the UDAN initiative of the
Government?
We have commenced our operation in July 2015 and took
several strides to connect to the hinterland of the country
whilst having a keen eye on price and customer service.
We have progressed in terms of expanding our services
to underserved market like Nanded, Cuddapah and Vidya
Nagar by participating in the UDAN scheme. Since the start
of the operation, we have progressively improved upon the
passenger yield and hence RASK.
AU - Q: What are your plans going forward when it comes to
fleet expansion and connecting more cities?
We are currently operating with three ATR72-500 and one
ATR72-600 and are in the process inducting four more
Aircraft very soon. We are currently operating to thirteen
destination including Mumbai in a Hub and Spoke model
from Hyderabad. With the new Aircraft joining the fleet, we
will operate to eighteen destinations in south and western
India in this year...Recently a brand new ATR 72-600 had
joined our fleet thus taking our fleet size to five.
AU - Q: I understand you are close to hitting one million mark
in a market which has seen a number of regional carriers
collapse. Can you explain how this was possible?
We could achieve this milestone with the dedicated efforts
of all 500+ employees in the organization..We all stood firm
in our mission to provide connectivity to the hinterland of
the country with most affordable fare and best customer
service possible which made us realise this dream..
AU - Q: Does the Udan scheme work out financially for airliners?
UDAN scheme has monopolised the routes for the airlines
for the period of three years. This gives an extended lead
time to realise the investment and efforts the airline has
made on the Sales & Marketing and other operational
activity thus financially favouring the airlines.
AU - Q: The Government is seeking to tweak norms in Udan II, what
are your views. How do you see yourself in this round?
Several new entrants have participated in the second round
of the scheme which is very welcome for the growth of
the untapped Indian Aviation Market. We have won bid to
operate 20 routes with full VGF support in UDAN II..
AU - Q: How many city pairs do you plan to add from the 13
now? What about pilots and aircraft growth?
We are planning to add five more city pair in this year. Our
Pilot induction programme is very comprehensive and will
augment the pilot strength to cater to the increase in fleet
size.
AU - Q: In a market which has seen a number of regional carriers
collapsing, how did Trujet manage to stay afloat? Kindly
explain in the industry context where many have failed
starting from Modiluft/Damania in 1999, Deccan in
2003 and now other carriers?
We have meticulously studied the needs of the customer
and hence market demand for a considerable period of time
before inducting the services. Our Aircraft type, category of
routes, kind of service etc. are all tuned to match this need
and demand...
AU - Q: Anything else you would like to comment on the
aviation sector potential and growth in the country.
Despite a raft of policy facilitations, domestic airlines are
flying into two major headwinds – crippling infrastructure
constraints at major airports, and an uptick in fuel prices
hampering the growth of the sector to a larger extent. With
the UDAN scheme, airlines are given an opportunity to
explore alternate means but there is a huge challenge to
cater to the increasing demand that exist in this sector..AVIATION INTERVIEW
AVIATION UPDATE 2018 FEBRUARY 17
We have meticulously
studied the needs of the
customer and hence market
demand for a considerable
period of time before
inducting the services.