The opening day of the Singapore Airshow 2022 has started to see dealmaking at Asia’s premier Airshow. Alliance Air, which till about a fortnight ago was operating as a subsidiary of Air India and has been retained by the government of India, has signed up for a lease of two brand new ATR42-600. The airline already operates an all-ATR aircraft fleet with 18 ATR 72-600 in its fleet. Day 1 Singapore Airshow: India’s Alliance Air gets more ATRs.
Alliance Air will lease the two ATR 42-600s from TrueNoord, with the first to be delivered by the middle of this year. A tender for the bids was released in October 2021 by Alliance Air.
The former regional subsidiary of Air India chose to complement its fleet with brand new ATR 42s as their unique credentials, both in terms of versatility and economics, make it the perfect aircraft to serve even the least accessible regions of India. The aircraft will be able to operate on the short runways of the Shimla and Kullu airports, both located at high altitudes, and exposed to high temperatures.
Alliance Air has had ATR 42 aircraft as a part of its fleet between December 2002 and March 2020. These were used to operate flights to Agatti from Kochi, along with Kullu and Shimla in the north, and in the Eastern part of India as well. The re-introduction of sub-fleets will mean Alliance Air will need to find more routes to support the aircraft for the whole day. As per ATR, in 2021, 40 new routes were created in India with ATR aircraft.
Vineet Sood, Chief Executive Officer of Alliance Air, said: “Our relationship with ATR started 20 years ago, and ever since we have been building a network that truly serves Indian communities, delivering comfortable, reliable, and affordable air services. Thanks to the unique features of the ATR 42-600, Alliance Air will proudly fulfill the mission assigned by the Indian government to make the most inaccessible regions accessible.”
TrueNoord focuses on leasing aircraft in the 50 – 150 seat segment. The lessor already has a presence in India with IndiGo being its customer. Five ATR72-600s of IndiGo have been leased from TrueNoord.
Ajay Awtaney is the Founder and Editor of Live From A Lounge (LFAL), a pioneering digital platform renowned for publishing news and views about aviation, hotels, passenger experience, loyalty programs, travel trends and frequent travel tips for the Global Indian. He is considered the Indian authority on business travel, luxury travel, frequent flyer miles, loyalty credit cards and travel for Indians around the globe.
