Regional carrier TruJet today said it plans to acquire five to seven ATRs and expand the network to 20 more routes by the end of the current fiscal.
The carrier currently has five ATR-72s and connects 14 destinations including some under Centre's Udan (Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik) scheme, CEO of Turbo Megha Airways Pvt Ltdwhich operates TruJet, Vishok Mansingh said.
"We have 14 destinations at present. We are adding close to 20 more destinations in coming months. At present we are operating five ATRs. We are looking to add five to seven more ATRs in the coming months."
"We will be adding those destinations by the end of this financial year. The routes will be in Western Maharashtra, Gujarat, some parts of Rajasthan and Northeast," Mansingh told reporters here.
Started in 2015, TruJet claims to be the first airlines to successfully fly all routes as part of the first bid under Udan.
Former Union Minister and movie star Chiranjeevi's son Ram Charan Teja is also one of the directors of the organisation.
Mansingh said there is an acute shortage of pilots and the airline industry including TruJet is getting affected by the development.
TruJet is currently operating at close to 85 per cent occupancy levels.
Replying to a query, the airline CFO, K G Vishwanath said presently they are nearly achieving the operational breakeven.
Vishwanath said typically for domestic routes it would take six to nine months for any route to get the operational breakeven.
"For the last three years, some of the earlier routes which we have started breaking even at operational level.
For an overall perspective,we are a more stabilised carrier and we are close to operational breakeven at this point of time," Vishwanath said.
Without giving a direct reply, the CFO said the airline is registering over 25 per cent margins at Earnings before taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBTDA) level.
On the occasionof its third anniversary, TruJet is offering fares starting at Rs 603 all inclusiveto make air travel affordable to common man, a press release from the airline said.
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