Fewer jumbo jets on domestic routes are better than lots of smaller planes

It's just that no govt so far has forced airlines to use bigger planes on Indian trunk routes

For the last two weeks, Indian aviation, generally, has been in the news for all the wrong reasons. For example, thanks to overcrowding, Delhi and Mumbai, India’s busiest airports, have restricted the number of flights — and the airlines have jacked up fares. As traffic grows, we can expect more of this sort of thing.

Having learnt transport economics at the university and also having worked for two decades as a consultant to an institute devoted to transport, I can say with complete confidence that India’s aviation policy has always been quite unfathomable.

Take the aircraft acquisition policy of India’s several airlines. They are entirely focused on medium-range aircraft with a carrying capacity of around 200-250 per aircraft. For domestic routes, this medium-range focus is understandable. These aircraft give the best cost efficiency for flights of about 3 hours.

But what about the other side of the coin, capacities? In a market that’s growing as fast as the Indian one, surely that’s important too? Basically, the question is this: on the major trunk routes, is it better to fly ten aircraft to transport 2,500 passengers or just five to fly around the same number? The former suits the airlines but no one else.

I am referring to the choice between large, wide-bodied jets like the A380 that can carry up to 600 passengers in one flight and the smaller ones that carry just 250 or 275 — requiring two planes where one would do. Which is better?

This is the question that the ministry of civil aviation and the airlines must answer. As always, the ministry has been happy to accept whatever the airlines say.

The problem with this approach is that while it takes care of airlines’ interests, it completely neglects the aviation industry as a whole — and passengers, too.

In sharp contrast, surface transport has always chosen bigger carriers or vehicles, and more of them. Be it ships when they were operating, buses and railway trains, they have always preferred bigger over more. That is, they have chosen to run bigger vehicles to reduce the number of services that would otherwise be needed.

But globally, the airlines have done the opposite. The result is that since December 2021, the production of the A380 has been restricted to existing orders. In other words, it is being phased out after just 15 years.

However, Boeing 777, which is now around 30 years old, is soldering even though its maximum capacity is 380. But it has a huge range and better fuel efficiency.

Therefore, India needs to buy more of these large aircraft and smaller ones to fly the non-trunk routes. The airlines may see higher operating costs, but proper pricing strategies and revenue, instead of profit, maximisation, which is a well-known aspect of network pricing, should be able to compensate. Besides, the industry as a whole will gain.

Ground facilities will be a problem, but they can be sorted out at a far lower cost. In fact, the two new airports for Delhi and Mumbai must focus mainly on these large-capacity aircraft. I don’t know if that’s the intention or not.

But if the current policy must continue, Delhi and Mumbai need to be served by at least four airports but are getting only one more each. That’s not good enough. All major cities in the world have at least three large airports serving them.

But coming back to the A380 and Boeing 777, Air India should take the lead. It can learn a lot from its partner, Singapore Airlines, which has nearly a dozen A380s and 25 Boeing 777s.

The airlines know how to route these jumbos so that operating costs can be minimised. It’s just that no government so far has forced them to use bigger planes on Indian trunk routes. It’s time to start now.