WHY would one of the world’s fastest-growing airlines buy a ten-seat propeller plane, when most of its customers fly on 200-seat jets? Switching to smaller, less efficient aircraft defies commercial logic. But it is an appealing thought for those living in isolated communities far from big airports. That is what India’s new regional connectivity scheme, Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) or “let the common man fly”, promises to offer. It uses subsidies to improve the commercial viability of seldom-used routes. It also caps half of the fares on such routes at 2,500 rupees ($38) per hour of travel. If properly implemented and funded, the scheme could become a powerful tool for spreading India’s economic wealth more evenly.
When Gulliver last reported on the aviation policies of Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister, there was little cause for optimism. At the time, Mr Modi was stonewalling a new policy aimed at resuscitating the ailing sector. Airlines...Continue reading
from Business and finance http://www.economist.com/blogs/gulliver/2017/10/letting-them-fly?fsrc=rss
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