TruJet, an Indian regional airline promoted jointly by entrepreneur Vankayalapati Umesh and actor Ram Charan, is set to start its operation from Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport, Nagpur. In Maharashtra, TruJet is currently operating from Nanded, Aurangabad, Nashik, Mumbai.
Now, it is set to start operation from July. Interestingly, July is considered as a slag season for the airlines because of the onset of monsoon in most part of the country. In Vidarbha too, monsoon is likely to set in over the new few days. Hence, the time of TruJet’s entry in Nagpur has surprised many.
Sources said, Trujet will start four flights from Nagpur to Hyderabad and Ahmedabad. For this, the airlines is likely to use its 72 seater ATR 72, a twin-engine turboprop, short-haul regional airliner developed and produced in France and Italy by aircraft manufacturer ATR (Aerei da Trasporto Regionale or Avions de transport régional), a joint venture formed by French aerospace company Aérospatiale (now Airbus) and Italian aviation conglomerate Aeritalia (now Leonardo S.p.A.).
Earlier, it was planning to start operations in June, but is learnt from the sources that the domestic player would now enter Nagpur in July. The flight number 2T 180 from Ahmedabad to Nagpur is scheduled at 5 pm while 2T186 from Nagpur to Hyderabad will depart at 7.25 pm. Similarly, flight number 2T185 from Hyderabad to Nagpur will reach here at 4.55 pm. Nagpur to Ahmedabad, flight number 2T179 will depart from Nagpur at 7 pm.
It is pertinent to note here that TruJet is starting operations from Nagpur for the second time. Earlier too it had started a few flights from Nagpur but it could not continue for a long. Sources said, Trujet decided to start operations from Nagpur again after Jet Airways suspended its operation and grounded all its flights.
Being pocket-friendly, the TruJet is expecting to get good response from Nagpur. However, it may get tough competition from another budget airlines IndiGo, which too has flights to Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.
IndiGo’s flight to Ahmedabad via Pune departs at 12.40 pm while for Hyderabad it has a daily flight at 6.40 pm. IndiGo used to operate with a small ATR aircraft of 72 seater capacity. But from June it started using 180 seater Airbus. However, TruJet still holds the advantage of having a direct flight to Ahmedabad.
