Airliners-India

KALINGARAJAN · Member Joined: 05 Jul 2015 Posts: 53

Looks like this airline is not gonna last long, too much overcapacity and less demand.

747-237 · Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2016 8:59 am Post subject:

http://www.india.com/business/trujet-announces-non-stop-hyderabad-kochi-flight-1622637/

Trujet announces non-stop Hyderabad-Kochi flight

October 30, 2016

Trujet today announced a new non-stop flight from Hyderabad to Kochi from November 20 to January 18, especially for the devotees going to Sabarimala in Kerala. The special flight, targeted at pilgrims visiting Sabarimala which houses the famous hill top temple devoted to Lord Ayyappa in Pathanamthitta district will operate daily.

“We are proud to offer Sabarimala special flights between Hyderabad and Kochi. After Tirupati (AP), Shirdi (Maharashtra), Sabarimala is in line with our network strategy of offering smooth connectivity to various pilgrimages. The schedule will ensure optimum utilisation of our guests’ precious time even as they can minimise their hotel costs,” MD of Turbo Megha Airways Pvt Ltd Vankayalapati Umesh said.

“We also take care of last mile connectivity by providing Kochi airport-Pamba bus service (on chargeable basis). We hope patrons will avail of this unique schedule in big numbers,” he said. The Kochi airport is located around 190 km from Sabarimala and Pamba is the main halting point on the way to the popular hill shrine, whose main pilgrimage season is from November to January.
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747-237 · Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2016 9:34 pm Post subject:

TruJet adds Hyderabad – Kochi service from Nov 2016

Indian regional carrier TruJet later this week is launching new domestic service on Hyderabad – Kochi sector, which sees the airline operating night-time/red-eye service on this market.
From Hyderabad, first flight is scheduled on 20NOV16, using ATR72-500 aircraft.

2T108 HYD2230 – 0050COK AT7 D
2T109 COK0115 – 0335HYD AT7 D

Source: Airlineroute.net
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justbala · Member Joined: 11 Jan 2007 Posts: 1895 Location: Bangalore

Saw an Ad for new Trujet flights from BLR to RJA and GOI.

iah87 · Member Joined: 17 Apr 2007 Posts: 2559

binaiks · Member Joined: 15 Jul 2007 Posts: 162 Location: VOBL/VOCI

747-237 · Posted: Wed Dec 21, 2016 6:23 am Post subject:

TruJet has added an ATR72-600 to the fleet today, as VT-TMC.
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abhijith16 · Posted: Sat Apr 22, 2017 7:24 pm Post subject:

Trujet commences its first set of UDAN routes starting 27APR

1 daily Hyderabad-Kadapa

2T421 HYD1040 - 1145CDP AT7 x234
2T421 HYD1510 - 1615CDP AT7 234

2T422 CDP1210 - 1315HYD AT7 x234
2T422 CDP1640 - 1745HYD AT7 234

1 daily Hyderabad-Nanded-Mumbai

2T411 HYD0925 - 1020NDC1045 - 1205BOM AT7 D

2T412 BOM1245 - 1405NDC1430 - 1525HYD AT7 D

Under the RCS routes awarded by MoCA - trujet also plans to commence the following -

* Kadapa - Vijayawada/Chennai (possibly by September 2017)
* Bidar - Bengaluru (approval awaited)
* Vidyanagar (Ballari/Bellary) - Hyderabad/Bengaluru (possibly by June 2017)
* Mysore - Chennai (possibly by September 2017)
* Hosur - Chennai (approval awaited)
* Salem - Chennai (possibly by September 2017)
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747-237 · Posted: Thu May 18, 2017 6:37 am Post subject:

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/brandwire/trujet-first-to-get-clearance-under-udan-scheme/articleshow/58722461.cms

Trujet first to get clearance under UDAN Scheme

May 17, 2017

Trujet Airways on Wednesday received the Air Operator Certificate (AOC) from India's aviation regulator Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) allowing it to expand flight services to all metros in the country, the company said in a statement.

It is also the first airline operator in India to be awarded Scheduled Commercial Operator (SCO) permit and can now connect Nanded to Mumbai, Hyderabad to Nanded and Hyderabad to Cuddapah under Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) scheme.

Vankayalapati Umesh, managing director, Turbo Megha Airways, promoter of Trujet, said “We will now connect the underserved cities with the big metros and contribute towards the overall economic growth. We are very hopeful that the response will exceed our expectations”.
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justbala · Member Joined: 11 Jan 2007 Posts: 1895 Location: Bangalore

Has Trujet cut down services to BLR? Their GOI and RJA flights have been regularly cancelled for the last few days.

747-237 · Posted: Tue May 30, 2017 9:55 am Post subject:

TrueJet will acquire two ATR 72-500 and one ATR 72-600 aircraft in the coming month to expand its fleet to seven ATR aircraft.

http://www.financialexpress.com/industry/udan-truejet-alliance-air-set-to-spread-wings-check-out-the-fares-structure/692118/
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Aseem · Member Joined: 15 Dec 2006 Posts: 2841 Location: YYZ

It seems one of them has already arrived

TruJet ATR72 VT-TMU Bangalore (BLR/VOBL) by Nitin, on Flickr

VT-ASJ
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[url=http://openflights.org/user/aseemsjohri]

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747-237 · Posted: Sun Aug 20, 2017 7:17 am Post subject:

https://telanganatoday.com/trujet-operate-18-routes-centres-udan-scheme

Trujet to operate in 18 routes under Centre’s UDAN scheme

20th Aug 2017

Under UDAN, the company has obtained licence to operate in 18 routes providing the opportunity to expand its operations across India by adding routes such as Bidar, Mysore, Salem, Hosur and Vidyanagar.

It currently operates four ATR72-600 aircraft with the fifth aircraft about to be added to its fleet by the first week of September. By the 2019, the company will have 15 aircraft in its fleet.
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The_Goat · Posted: Sun Aug 20, 2017 12:53 pm Post subject:

I had feared the worst for this airline. Looks like they are doing ok. Touchwood!

But going from 5 to 15 planes in little more than a year is an overkill methinks. I hope they have got their plans in place.

Would be sad if they went the Air Costa way.
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iah87 · Member Joined: 17 Apr 2007 Posts: 2559

I flew them recently from HYD to Tirupati and back, and they were nearly full both way. Prices were lower than Spicejet and Air India and but not that cheap. They do offer a snack on the plane.

Still going from 5 to 15 is a concern as some of the routes may not have much traffic. For example on the same day I went to Tirupati they cancelled the HYD to RJA flight.

abhijith16 · Posted: Sat Sep 02, 2017 6:08 am Post subject:

trujet to commence 2 more UDAN routes effective 15SEP17

1 daily Hyderabad-Vidyanagar (Bellary) [unavailable for booking yet]

2T416 HYD0600 - 0705VDY AT7 D

2T417 VDY0730 - 0835HYD AT7 D

1 daily Chennai-Mysore

2T426 MAA1725 - 1840MYQ AT7 D

2T427 MYQ1905 - 2020MAA AT7 D
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abhijith16 · Posted: Tue Oct 31, 2017 6:29 am Post subject:

trujet to commence 2 more routes from mid-November

* the much delayed daily Nanded - Mumbai effective 16NOV

2T413 NDC1100 - 1220BOM AT7 D

2T414 BOM1255 - 1420NDC AT7 D

* daily Chennai-Kadapa effective 16NOV

2T429 MAA0950 - 1045CDP AT7 D

2T430 CDP1410 - 1505MAA AT7 D
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747-237 · Posted: Wed Jan 24, 2018 6:35 am Post subject:

TruJet has added an ATR72-600 to the fleet today, as VT-CMP.
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bob · Member Joined: 22 Jul 2007 Posts: 173 Location: bom

VT-TMT
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Mig

747-237 · Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2018 3:43 pm Post subject:

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/amaravati/trujet-expanding-fleet-adding-new-destinations-soon/articleshow/63245234.cms

Trujet expanding fleet, adding new destinations soon

Mar 10, 2018

Trujet is all set fly a new service from Chennai to Selam on March 25. It will be expanding its services to another couple of months from Ahamedabad and Guwahati. Trujet got permission to fly on 20 routes additionally to operate from Ahmadabad to Porbandar, Jaisalmer, Nasik, Jalagaon; Guwahati to Kuchbihar, Buranpur, Teju, Tejpur etc.

Trujet is planning to add seven more aircraft.

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bob · Member Joined: 22 Jul 2007 Posts: 173 Location: bom

Trujet is first airline to start the operation of all 18 sectors allocated in UDAN 1
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Mig

747-237 · Posted: Sat Jul 14, 2018 2:14 pm Post subject:

https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/68939-indias-trujet-to-wet-lease-atr-turboprops-for-growth

India's TruJet to wet-lease ATR turboprops for growth

TruJet Chief Financial Officer, KG Vishwanath says the Indian regional specialist will wet-lease seven additional ATR turboprops by March 2019. TruJet currently operates three ATR72-500s and two -600s on scheduled flights to 14 cities across India's central and southern regions.

Speaking to The Hindu newspaper, Vishwanath said the use of wet-lease aircraft would allow TruJet to more rapidly expand its network. He did not specify from whom the aircraft, presumed ATR72s, would be leased but TruJet has been linked to talks with Jet Airways over its use of their unwanted Avions de Transport Régional fleet.
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bob · Member Joined: 22 Jul 2007 Posts: 173 Location: bom

Only regional ( now commuter airline ) in operation , completed all UDAN one Route ( first airline to complete same ) .. other four regional airline either closed or stopped operation in same period …. good turn around with stabilized operation ….
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Mig

747-237 · Posted: Fri Aug 17, 2018 6:24 pm Post subject:

https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/india/trujet-in-talks-with-jet-airways-to-sublease-up-to-7-atrs-2853701.html

TruJet in talks with Jet Airways to sublease up to 7 ATRs

Aug 17, 2018

Jet Airways is in advanced stage of discussions with TruJet to sublease up to seven of its ATR planes to the regional carrier as it seeks to reduce costs and mop up additional revenues amid cash drought, according to an industry source.

These planes are likely to be subleased with its complete crew, maintenance and insurance.

The Naresh Goyal promoted full service carrier currently has 15 ATRs in its fleet. TruJet, which started operations in July 2015 has an all ATR fleet. The deal may be stitched by this month, the source privy to the development said.

The Mumbai based carrier had attempted to phase out these regional jets in the past as well. "Both Jet Airways and TruJet are in the advanced stage of negotiations on the ATR deal. As per the on-going discussions, TruJet will initially lease seven ATRs from Jet Airways," the source said.

While TruJet confirmed its discussions with Jet Airways, the latter said that "it continues to evaluate all possible alternatives".

The source said that the sublease period was likely to be for five years, and under a wet lease arrangement, adding, "If the deal gets through, TruJet could opt for more such planes from the airline."

"We are working options to induct up to seven aircraft for short period from Jet Airways," a TruJet spokesperson said.

The Hyderabad based airline had last month said it plans to acquire five to seven ATRs and expand the network to 20 more routes by the end of FY19.

The carrier currently has five ATR-72s and connects 14 destinations including some under the Centre's regional connectivity scheme, Udan.

“Jet Airways continues to evaluate all possible alternatives to ensure optimum utilisation of its fleet," a Jet Airways spokesperson said.

"Owing to our quiet period, we're unable to respond to further specific queries," the spokesperson added.
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747-237 · Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2018 6:05 am Post subject:

https://www.india.com/news/agencies/jet-airways-plans-to-wet-lease-atrs-to-trujet-hit-air-pocket-3393295/

Jet Airways’ plans to wet lease ATRs to TruJet hit air pocket

October 22, 2018

Jet Airways’ plans to lease up to seven of its regional jets to TruJet has hit air pocket due to regulatory issues and pilots’ problems, a source has said.

The two carriers had attempted to stitch a deal on ATR planes earlier last year as well, but even after months of bak and forth, Jet Airways failed to phase them out.

“The plan to wet lease up to seven ATRs from Jet Airways is on hold as of now. If it comes back to the negotiation tables at all, it will be only next year,” an industry source told PTI.

“Jet Airways is not in a position to provide adequate number of ATR pilots along with the aircraft as a number of pilots have quit the carrier in the recent past. Instead, it wants TruJet to dry lease these planes, which is an economically viable proposition for the regional carrier,” the source said.

“Leasing in an ATR from the market is not an issue but getting trained pilots for this type of aircraft is certainly a problem. So, a dry lease does not make economic sense at all,” the source said.

The source also said that TruJet will have to make an upfront payment of over Rs 35 crore to Jet Airways towards the “advance” lease rentals, adding that the full-service carrier is also facing certain regulatory approvals in wet leasing its planes.

“However, considering the deteriorating financial health of the carrier, certain apprehensions around its future remain. This is another reason for deferring the deal at this stage,” as per the source.

A TrueJet spokesperson had in August old PTI that the carrier was working on options to induct up to seven aircraft from Jet Airways.

TruJet had earlier said that it is planning to acquire five to seven ATRs and expand the network to 20 more routes by the end of FY19.

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747-237 · Posted: Tue Jul 16, 2019 3:52 pm Post subject:

https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/79919-indias-trujet-to-add-up-to-13-atrs-mulls-ipo

India's TruJet to add up to 13 ATRs, mulls IPO

16.07.2019

TruJet plans to take delivery of five ATR72s by November this year, doubling its fleet to ten of the Avions de Transport Régional turboprops, before the addition of a further five to eight of the type in 2020-21. Then, having consolidated its position, the regional carrier will also consider plans to undertake an Initial Public Offering (IPO) "in the coming two to three years, once we reach a reasonable size", director K V Pradeep told a news conference on July 12.

With up to eighteen aircraft, the regional airline expects to consolidate its position as a strong player in the niche segment connecting tier-two and tier-three cities across India.

Even though TruJet posted a loss of INR840 million rupees (USD12.3 million) for its 2017-18 financial year on revenues of INR1.65 billion (USD24 million), CFO K G Vishwanath said it anticipated a 50% growth in revenue for FY2019 and the same again for FY2020, propelling it into a net profit, and then a further 70-80% revenue growth for FY2021.

The two executives said that TruJet was looking at northeastern India as a significant growth area. Five additional aircraft would enable it to commence services to a number of new destinations over the coming 12 to 18 months, including launching Guwahati in Assam as its third base after Hyderabad Int'l and Ahmedabad and starting flights from there to Tezu, Rupsi, and Cooch Behar.

TruJet is also considering connecting Hyderabad to Belgaum, Bangalore Int'l to Tirupati, Jalgaon to both Mumbai Int'l and Ahmedabad, and Hyderabad to both Vishakhapatnam and Nagpur, they added.

Pradeep said that as it was preparing to expand, the LCC had already recruited about one hundred former Jet Airways personnel, expanding its workforce to approximately seven hundred.

TruJet currently operates three ATR72-500s and two ATR72-600s.

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747-237 · Posted: Tue Nov 19, 2019 4:42 pm Post subject:

TruJet has added a former Jet Airways ATR72-500 to the fleet, as VT-TMM.
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747-237 · Posted: Fri Sep 11, 2020 8:18 am Post subject:

https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/95057-indias-trujet-reaches-deal-with-lessors-to-reactivate-atrs

TruJet reaches deal with lessors to reactivate ATRs

10.09.2020

TruJet hopes to resume a full flying schedule having reached deals with lessors covering overdue payments and future rates for five out of its seven turboprops.

"TruJet has cleared its past dues and has further negotiated the lease agreements with the lessors. Negotiations with one have reached an agreement while the conversations with the other lessor are still ongoing," a source told The Hindu Business Line.

According to the ch-aviation fleets ownership module, the Indian regional specialist operates five ATR72-500s and two ATR72-600s. Three -500s are dry-leased from Elix Aviation Capital, two from Aergo Capital, and the two -600s from DAE Capital. The airline has only been operating the two -500s leased from Aergo Capital, VT-TMM (msn 825) and VT-TMN (msn 843) in recent days, although the former was reactivated on September 3 after a period of storage, Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows.

The other five aircraft have been stored since at least mid-July 2020. At that time, The Hindu broke the news that all five were grounded by the respective lessors over non-payment of debts.

TruJet's debts to lessors stood at around INR2.7 billion rupees (USD36.8 million) in mid-2020, when the aircraft were grounded.

The airline currently deploys one ATR to western India connecting Ahmedabad, Nashik, Porbandar, Kandla, and Jalgaon, while the other one plies services in central India out of Hyderabad Int'l.

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GF1011 · Member Joined: 02 Jan 2015 Posts: 86

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/logistics/interups-inc-picks-up-49-stake-in-trujet/article34214875.ece/amp/

Interups Inc, a New York-based firm, has struck a deal with regional carrier Trujet to pick up 49 per cent stake in the airline.

According to the deal, Interups will acquire 49 per cent stake in Turbo Megha Airways, which owns and operates the regional carrier. Trujet connects 21 stations, including tier-2 cities, with 7 ATR aircraft.

The stake divestment will enable TruJet to expand its operations and connect to new destinations. The transaction details were not disclosed.

KV Pradeep, Group Director, MEIL, and Palepu Lakshmi Prasad, Chairman of Interups Inc, in a joint statement, said, “The funds raised through 49 per cent FDI in the company, will be utilised to expand its operations pan India and explore the newer opportunities in the civil aviation sector. We will finalise the exact final amount at a later stage.”

747-237 · Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2021 8:01 am Post subject:

https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/102308-indias-trujet-to-buy-54-a220s-54-e2s-says-new-investor

Trujet to buy 54 A220s, 54 E2s, says new investor

09.04.2021

Barely a week after the New York-based investment firm Interups bought a 49% stake in TruJet (2T, Hyderabad Int'l), the regional carrier is reportedly in talks with both Airbus and Embraer to acquire fifty-four A220s and fifty-four E190-E2s, orders that are expected to be finalised by the end of May.

Laxmi Prasad, the chairman of Interups, which claims to manage assets worth USD10 billion in the US, told the Indian online business news site Moneycontrol that the airline aims to expand its network across India and overseas while also venturing into other segments as part of what he claimed was a USD1.9 billion plan for the airline.

“We plan to expand services to the length and breadth of the country, overseas, and get into segments such as cargo, private charters, and helicopter ambulance services. We will be operating at full scale,” he said.

“We had set aside USD1.89 billion for the planned investment in Air India (AI, Mumbai Int'l). That is not happening now. We would like to put that money into this investment. This will be over the next three years,” he elaborated.

The fleet expansion would propel Trujet to compete with airlines such as AirAsia India, GoAir, and Vistara. According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced and ch-aviation capacities modules, the Hyderabad Int'l-based carrier currently operates just seven aircraft with an average age of 9.6 years - five ATR72-500s and two ATR72-600s - on a network of 23 Indian domestic routes, many of them Tier-II cities under Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS)/Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik (UDAN), the Indian government’s regional air connectivity development scheme.

In February 2021, Trujet had a market share in India of 0.6%, down from 0.7% for the same month the previous year.

“Embraer will supply three aircraft every two months. The arrangement with Airbus will see one aircraft coming in every 1.5 months, or a maximum of nine planes a year. So, it may take about six years for the Airbus order to be delivered, lower for Embraer,” Prasad explained.

Asked by ch-aviation to elaborate on the two expected orders and the decision to go with a split fleet, Prasad said: “We are expecting to finalise the order placement within the next 45 days. Our choice to split the requirement is for core strategic reasons and with due apologies I cannot disclose our decision matrix on this.”

He told Moneycontrol that “Airbus and Embraer have already identified some aircraft. And with the addition of these, it will take us to [a fleet of] 21 almost immediately.”

According to rules imposed on the aviation sector, Indian carriers must have at least 20 aircraft in the fleet before launching international operations.

Prasad said that “we will be fully involved in the management” of Trujet and that he was in the process of appointing a former chief executive “and a previous tech head” of Indian Airlines, which merged into Air India in 2007. He also projected that his plan would see Hyderabad emerge as a significant hub, adding: “I have an emotional connect with Hyderabad, as this is where I grew up.”
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iah87 · Member Joined: 17 Apr 2007 Posts: 2559

Another pie-in-the-sky project. With air travel down (especially higher paying business travel) due to Covid and may be years before it will recover, where will TruJet deploy these aircraft.

Hope they grow modestly, otherwise they will end up in bankruptcy like many Indian carriers.

The_Goat · Posted: Tue Apr 13, 2021 3:20 pm Post subject:

747-237 · Posted: Tue Jul 20, 2021 1:24 pm Post subject:

https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/105869-indias-trujet-seeks-new-investors-as-interups-drags-feet

TruJet seeks new investors as Interups drags feet

19.07.2021

TruJet is scouting the market for new investors to help it meet urgent financial obligations as US-based fund Interups, which pledged to inject INR15.157 billion rupees (USD203 million) into the carrier, will not make the payment before mid-August, The Hindu BusinessLine has reported.

Interups Chairman Laxmi Prasad said that while the fund remained committed to the acquisition of a 49% stake in TruJet, it would likely only transfer the money between August 15 and August 30. The initial investment agreement, signed in April 2021, foresaw the payment by June. While Prasad did not give a detailed explanation for the delay, he said that the fund was still awaiting approval from the Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to appoint new board members.

As the transaction was not closed according to the original schedule, TruJet defaulted on its payments due in June and is currently struggling to meet its current expenses. It has also deferred salary payments to its employees. Another investor could help it survive until Interups' injection is transferred.

Following the initial agreement to acquire the stake, Interups outlined ambitious plans to add fifty-four A220s and fifty-four E190-E2s for the airline. However, as the actual financial injection has been delayed, the airline is struggling to keep even its current fleet of seven Avions de Transport Régional turboprops. After the airline defaulted on its payments, Elix Aviation Capital reportedly issued grounding notices for three of its ATR72-500s and DAE Capital for both of its ATR72-600s. This left TruJet with only two available aircraft, both ATR72-500s leased from Aergo Capital - one of which, however, has been under repair since November 2020. However, the airline has since reached an agreement with Elix and reactivated two of its -500s in mid-July 2021, Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows.
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The_Goat · Posted: Tue Jul 27, 2021 3:50 pm Post subject:

iah87 · Member Joined: 17 Apr 2007 Posts: 2559

747-237 · Posted: Thu Oct 14, 2021 11:51 am Post subject:

https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/108666-indias-trujet-changes-ownership-report

TruJet changes ownership - report

14.10.2021

India’s infrastructure giant Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Ltd (MEIL) has reportedly divested from Turbo Megha Airways Ltd. t/a TruJet (2T, Hyderabad Int'l), with former promoter Vankayalapati Umesh having regained ownership of the airline, according to the Hindu Business Line newspaper.

Neither of the companies was immediately available for comment.

Business Line reported that MEIL had sold the cash-strapped airline back to Umesh for an undisclosed amount and that he had taken over as managing director of the company on October 9, 2021, while most of the board had resigned.

The newspaper was citing an email from Umesh to the airline’s employees, in which he claimed to be in advanced discussions with Irish lessor Elix Aviation Capital for an equity stake in the airline and the lease of 10 turboprop aircraft.

Elix Aviation did not immediately respond to an emailed query from ch-aviation.

Umesh had claimed the Irish turboprop lessor was keen to come on board as an equity partner besides leasing the aircraft, two of which were to be acquired immediately. “Our existing lessor, Elix Capital, is also keen on leasing 10 aircraft to us with two aircraft immediately. They also want to be equity partners in the airline and will bring in value by way of aircraft induction and their global relationship in the aviation industry,” he said.

“I am at advanced stages of discussion with entities for institutional funding and to raise funds for the airline and I believe to be able to conclude the same in the next three months,” he told Business Line in the e-mail. “I am restructuring TruJet,” he confirmed.

“MEIL realised that this was not part of its core business functions and wanted to hand over the airline business to someone capable and keen on its safekeeping and continuous expansion,” Umesh was quoted.

Turbo Megha Airways Ltd. was incorporated on March 14, 2013, with Umesh as the promoter. In 2014, he sold a 90% stake in the airline to MEIL in order to fund the operations.

The airline adopted the brand name TruJet in February 2015 and received its AOC for regional operations from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation on July 7, 2015. It commenced operations later that July with a flight from its Hyderabad Int'l hub to Tirupati. In May 2017, it changed its AOC to become a scheduled commuter operator, allowing the carrier to operate flights to other regions in India under the government's UDAN Regional Connectivity Scheme.

The carrier had expanded gradually but was hard hit by the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown in India. From July 12, 2020, five out of seven of its ATRs were grounded by lessors due to unpaid dues.

In April 2021, TruJet and US-based fund Interups Inc. signed an agreement under which Interups agreed to pick up 49% of the company, for an undisclosed amount. The deal was seen as a huge relief to the cash-strapped airline, but months later, Interups was yet to infuse the funds. A source told the newspaper that TruJet needed INR3 billion rupees (almost USD40 million) immediately to stay afloat.

As reported previously, TruJet had been scouting unsuccessfully for an investor for the past six months.

When Business Line contacted Interups’ chairman Laxmi Prasad, he maintained that he was still a part of the airline but declined to comment further.

According to ch-aviation fleets advanced data, TruJet currently has one aircraft, an ATR72-500, in active service. The rest of its fleet is stored. Its fleet comprises two ATR72-600s leased from DAE Capital, and five ATR72-500s, three leased from Elix Aviation Capital, and two from Aergo Capital.
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747-237 · Posted: Tue Dec 21, 2021 12:12 pm Post subject:

https://www.ch-aviation.com/portal/news/110884-dae-deregisters-two-atr72s-leased-to-indias-trujet

DAE deregisters two ATR72s leased to India’s TruJet

21.12.2021

Dubai Aerospace Enterprise leasing unit DAE Capital has asked the Indian civil aviation authority to deregister two ATR72-600s it leased to TruJet (2T, Hyderabad Int'l) because of lapsed lease payments, sources have told the newspaper Business Line.

“DAE applied for two ATR72-600s to be deregistered due to default in the payment of dues by TruJet. DAE submitted an IDERA [Irrevocable De-Registration and Export Request Authorisation] to the DGCA [Directorate General of Civil Aviation] earlier this week,” the source said.

According to the ch-aviation fleets advanced module, TruJet currently operates a fleet of seven Avions de Transport Régional turboprops, including the two ATR72-600s and five ATR72-500s (two leased from Aergo Capital and three from Elix Aviation Capital). Only one, Elix-leased ATR72-500 VT-TMP (msn 875), is currently active, a fact sources confirmed to the newspaper citing “funding constraints”.

DAE Capital has been leasing VT-TMC (msn 1364) via its DAE Leasing (Ireland) 8 Ltd special purpose vehicle since December 2016, and VT-TMT (msn 1385) since January 2018. Both had been leased under 12-year contracts but are currently stored at Hyderabad Int'l. The DGCA’s IDERA de-registration requests did not list either aircraft at the time of going to press.

Hit hard by pandemic-inflicted lockdowns in India, cash-strapped TruJet has spent most of this year trying to find new investors while struggling to meet lease payments and pay staff. Sources told Business Line that employees had not been paid for months.

In October, reports emerged that Indian conglomerate Megha Engineering & Infrastructures Ltd (MEIL) had divested the carrier, selling it back to former owner Vankayalapati Umesh for an undisclosed amount, with Umesh taking over as managing director as most of the board resigned.

There has since been little clarity on the dynamics of how the company has been operating since then, although the sources told Business Line that it carried 27,000 passengers in August, 15,000 in September, and 19,000 in October.

TruJet and DAE Capital were not immediately available for comment.
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The_Goat · Posted: Fri Dec 24, 2021 1:17 pm Post subject:

According to AirFleets, TruJet's entire fleet of seven ATRs is parked. The airline is effectively dead.

Pity that they came to this. They had carved out a niche in serving destinations like Nanded, Kadapa and Rajahmundry from Hyderabad. Then IndiGo entered the party by basing a few ATRs in HYD, and everyone else had to shut shop.

I don't know why nobody files a MRTP lawsuit against Indigo.
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I don't know which is the more pampered bunch : AI's widebodies (the aunties) or Jet's widebodies (the planes).
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iah87 · Member Joined: 17 Apr 2007 Posts: 2559

Yes I found that TruJet is not operating now. Recently I tried to book a flight on Trujet to RJA, it had good timings, but was forced to book Indigo earlier than I would have liked.

When I go to Indian airports, all I see is Indigo and more Indigo. In many small airports they are the only player.

Even Tata will have a tough time in competing with them. It is not healthy for India to have one airline dominate the skies.

747-237 · Posted: Thu Feb 17, 2022 8:07 am Post subject:

https://www.cnbctv18.com/aviation/regional-airline-trujet-temporarily-suspends-flights-12517192.htm

TruJet suspends all flights, airline says in talks with investor for $25 million funding

Feb 16, 2022

Regional airline TruJet has suspended all flight operations. The airline has been a forefront player in the government’s regional connectivity scheme of UDAN.

"The operations are temporarily hampered because of various administrative and technical reasons and rest be assured that TruJet will resume its operations at short notice," the airline said in a statement.
This is the first airline which has suspended flights in India since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

The airline has been facing a financial crisis since 2020 and was also in discussions with Interups fund from the US for a potential investment in 2021. The airline today said that it is days away from sealing a funding deal with a potential investor for $25 million.

"TruJet is in the final stage of discussion with a potential investor who is funding $25 million within the next few days. The investor would like to bring his own panel of management and in the same process Mr. Yoga has been appointed as CFO w.e.f 14th Feb 2022," the company said in the statement.

"The investor is also in the process of finalising a new CEO who is well versed and experienced in aviation and will be totally taking charge as CEO on 1st March 2022. Till such time Mr. Umesh, MD will be the acting CEO for the company," the statement added.
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