Private charter to fly alone as state fails to keep promise

Disappointed over the delay by the state government to carry out its promise to subsidize seats on charter flights to remote places, a private aviation company has decided to go ahead on its own with its original plan, albeit on a smaller scale.

The company, Supreme Aviation, says it had received in-principle approval for its proposal to operate flights to places in the state, like tier II and tier III cities and towns. It had suggested that the government subsidize 4 or 5 seats on each flight and it was in fact the government that assured it would subsidize up to seven seats. That was way back in April, but nothing got confirmed even after numerous meetings.

A similar charter programme in northeast states has been crucial to build air connectivity and grow tourism in the region. dna first reported the plan on April 25, 2014. Now, Supreme Aviation has alleged that its plan was held up deliberately by the chief minister's office and was passed on to its competitors. It has pointed to a Nagpur-based private charter operator that approached the government with a similar plan recently.

Chief minister Prithviraj Chavan was not available for comment. Dr PS Meena, additional chief secretary, did not respond to calls. "Despite numerous meetings and assurances there has been no headway on the proposal due to indecision by the chief minister's office," said Amit Agarwal, president and CEO, Supreme Aviation.

The Andheri-based firm is unhappy that it would have to go over the process all over again with a new government and it has decided to go ahead with its plan with a limited launch next month. "We have all permissions in place. Even the aircraft and staff have been hired to operate the flights. So we have decided to go ahead with the project on some main sectors, but without the subsidies," Agarwal said.

Company officials also said that the chief minister's office is now talking about inviting more operators for these services. "We don't have any problem with the government issuing tenders to invite other players. But why have they delayed to do this? Besides, no operator will agree to operate on limited seats, leaving certain sectors for certain operators. Also, more operators would make business unfeasible," said Agarwal.