Jet Airways yesterday announced the launch of operations under the ‘Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik’ (UDAN) scheme. The airline has been awarded four routes under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) and will launch operations on three of the four routes awarded, and will subsequently begin Lucknow – Bareilly – Delhi – Bareilly – Lucknow.

Before Jet Airways participated in the scheme, other airlines have already been operating routes on the UDAN scheme for a while. SpiceJet, Air Deccan, Air Odisha and IndiGo are some of the key participants in the scheme.

Starting mid-June, the flights will be operated as per the following schedule.

The Delhi Nashik route will be serviced by a Boeing 737 aircraft while the rest will be served with an ATR aircraft.  The services to Nashik will have 40 seats in each flight to be sold at the capped rate applicable under the RCS.

Interestingly, till a year ago, it seemed that Jet Airways was on its way to exit the ATR operations completely, as reported by various newspapers. Now, it looks like TruJet, the regional airline which was going to take Jet’s ATRs on lease, is inducting them at a slow pace.

Bottomline

It should not look unusual that Jet Airways got back into this lucrative market for regional connectivity. It sort of signals a shift in strategy where Jet Airways is no longer just focussing on being the international carrier of choice for Indians, but also building a local network, as would this move, and the move to add 144 flights in the summer schedule show.