New Delhi: It is obvious from the choice of aircraft of Tata-SIA that the new airline will initially fly only domestic routes. The airline has chosen to lease 20 Airbus 320 aircraft and apart from domestic flights, this aircraft can at best take wing to nearby international destinations. The new airline floated by Tata Sons and Singapore International Airlines was widely seen benefiting immensely by imminent relaxation of a current rule which makes it mandatory for airlines to have a 20 aircraft fleet and five years of domestic operations before being allowed to fly abroad. Now that there is palpable hesitation on the part of the Ministry of Civil Aviation to scrap what is called the 5/20 rule, is this the reason for Tata-SIA's choice of aircraft and "domestic only" business model for now?
A company spokesperson said that the 5/20 rule did not play any role in the choice of fleet and the airline was always meant to initially begin domestic operations only. Earlier, some Tata-SIA officials had indicated that the airline will open up international routes "the minute" the Government scraps the 5/20 rule. Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh has said multiple times in the past that the 5/20 rule will be lifted and his Ministry had even prepared a Cabinet Note on the issue. But now, there is a rethink on the proposal and 5/20 is unlikely to be scrapped in a hurry.
Read news in full 10/01/14 Sindhu Bhattacharya/first Post
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