Star Air: A regional air scaling up is a new thing in India

The airline has signed up four E175s, two of which have already started commercial operations.

The airline has signed up four E175s, two of which have already started commercial operations. For a market which is growing, but has seen marquee failures in the aviation space, a regional carrier’s expansion is great news, especially when it comes close on the heels of Go FIRST voluntarily declaring bankruptcy.

But it took nearly three months from the time the E175 aircraft landed to start commercial operations, post regulatory approvals, etc., — a costly proposition as these planes are leased.

Bucking the trend

TruJet sustained for the longest period in the regional space, but just as it was on the cusp of growing, it went down. Like other carriers that had sunk, it made tall claims about signing up new planes, getting recapitalised, and expanding, all of which came to naught.

Star Air started operations in January 2019 and most of its life has been under the cloud of the pandemic. The airline currently operates five Embraer E145s, which are configured with 50 seats each. The airline has contracted four E175s from lessor Nordic Aviation Capital.

What separates Star Air from its peers of the past is probably silence. While Paramount Airways and Air Costa were in the news for many reasons, Star Air has hardly made headlines.

The launch of the Bengaluru-Hyderabad flight was a small affair with the traditional lighting of the lamp, followed by cake-cutting by the first set of passengers, and a photography session. The fight will feature business class seats, a first for the airline. In fact, it is the only airline to offer the same on this route.

Star Air: growth since inception

The airline has deployed the E175 on the Bengaluru-Hyderabad-Jamnagar-Bengaluru route, and intends to launch three new destinations and add two new aircraft by September. Speaking on the occasion, Simran Singh Tiwana,  CEO, announced the launch of Jaipur as the next destination on the network.

The airline will also progressively add routes which are not under UDAN, and will have about 20 percent of its flights on non-UDAN routes.  UDAN stands for Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagarik, a scheme to develop smaller regional airports.

Tiwana added that the airline is currently offering special discounted rates for business class seats which are being sold through its website and call centres, and will be rolled out to  OTAs (online travel agents) subsequently.

Navigating Covid and next phase of UDAN

Tiwana said that India is a good market for business and Star Air has always received the necessary support from the ministry. However, infrastructure challenges continue, especially at smaller airports where the airline operates.

The airline will be participating in the next phase of UDAN, dubbed UDAN 5.0, and hopes to win some routes under the programme. The airline intends to start the routes with the E145s, all of which the airline owns, and shift to leased E175s when the routes mature.

Owning planes helped Star Air navigate Covid better than having leased planes, added Tiwana.

Embracing the Embraer

Star Air is an all-Embraer operator and will deploy the E175s on routes connecting Bengaluru with Hyderabad, Hyderabad with Jamnagar, and Jamnagar with Bengaluru. The routes to Jamnagar from Bengaluru and Hyderabad are the longest routes in the airline’s network. The aircraft seats a total of 76 passengers, with 12 seats in business configured with 2 x 1 seats, and 64 economy seats in 2 x 2 seating.

In terms of comfort, the airline offers higher legroom and seats with better padding compared to low cost carriers (LCC). Tiwana says the airline is operationally profitable. But can they charge a premium and will passengers pay for these perks?  We’ll know soon.

The author was onboard the first flight with an invitation from Star Air.