Full service carrier Jet Airways has decided to phase out the ATR aircraft from its fleet as it is increasingly revolving its operations on larger aircraft.
Market leader IndiGo had announced recently that it would buy 50 ATR 72 aircraft to foray into regional operations. Airlines uses the ATR-72 turboprop aircraft on short haul routes with shorter runways, on which bigger aircraft like the Airbus and Boeing cannot land. According to information provided on the website, Jet Airways has a fleet of 18 turboprop aircraft, out of which 15 are ATR 72-500 planes while the remaining are ATR 72-600 aircraft.
With Jet Airways focusing more on its international routes, the airline management felt that the ATR planes did not fit its scheme of operations, said company sources. Among other factors acting as a deterrent are scarcity of pilots who fly smaller planes and the high maintenance costs.
At present expat pilots operate most of the turboprops for the airline that leads to a higher cost. For an airline, the cost of hiring an expat pilot is at least four times higher than an Indian pilot. “ATR does not suit our strategy anymore, their maintenance costs are higher, getting pilots for them is difficult and for the management too it was becoming too difficult as the network strategy of operating an ATR is very different from that of a Boeing 737 or Airbus A330,” said a source close to the development.
For the past few months, Jet Airways has taken some significant strategic steps for the phasing out of the turboprop planes. The airline tweaked its route planning to upgrade operations in shorter routes like Delhi-Bhopal-Delhi, Pune-Hyderabad-Pune and Kolkata-Aiawl-Kolkata with the Boeing 737 aircraft.
The Kolkata-Silchar-Guwahati route was also extended to Delhi, while replacing the ATR 72-500 plane with the Boeing 737 aircraft. The airline has also shut its ATR bases in Mumbai and Kolkata. A Jet Airways spokesperson said, “Jet Airways continues to evaluate and work on consolidating its markets and capacity deployment on various routes. ATRs have long constituted an integral part of our fleet and network and Jet Airways continues to operate ATR 72s on a host of sectors. The airline’s strategic and long term planning applies to our ATR fleet as well.”
The airline has been deploying wide-body aircraft like the 236-seater A330 plane on domestic routes with a travel time of two and a half hours. According to the company, the move was taken after customer feedback revealed that passengers preferred larger planes due to increased space.
Jet Airways has been planning for a restructuring of their fleet since it decided to operate as a single brand in 2015. Industry sources say that the decision was not implemented because it was unable to find a taker for its fleet. “Jet Airways has to find someone willing to take back the planes preferably a lessor or another airline,” the person said. Last year, the airline got the approval of its shareholders tocarry out a merger with its low cost subsidiary JetLite.