Turbo Megha Airways may start regional airline TruJet in 2 months, post final approval

HYDERABAD: Turbo Megha Airways, the third regional airliner from south India, backed by Telugu superstar Ram Charan Tej, hopes to receive first two ATR flights and final approval from regulator DGCA in a month to commence operations by April.

Vankayalapati Umesh, founder and managing director of Turbo Megha, said the airliner has finalised the brand as ‘ TruJet’ and final touches were now being given to the two ATRs to be delivered over the next few weeks to help begin operations of the first phase.

“Ram Charan Tej would act as the brand ambassador for our re gional airliner,“ Umesh, a 46-yearold aviation engineer with interests in ground handing business, told ET. “We are buoyed by the falling aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices in general and more so in the two Telugu speaking states in the South.“

The Hyderabad-headquartered regional airline was among the six to receive nod from the civil aviation ministry in November 2014.Air Costa was the other regional player to come out of Vijayawada, now in residual Andhra Pradesh, commencing operations in October 2013.

Andhra Pradesh has already announced slashing value-added tax (VAT) on ATF and Telangana had also announced its intensions in this direction. “This should help bring down operational costs significantly,“ he said.

Umesh's first venture Turbo Aviation is currently providing ground handling services to the domestic carriers like SpiceJet, apart from operating private nonschedule charter services for the corporate houses, film stars and politicians using Cessna aircraft.

Turbo Jet Engines, a subsidiary of Turbo Aviation, is now in the process of setting up an aircraft maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility for aircraft components at the GMR Aero Park near the Hyderabad International Airport.

Turbo Megha Airways proposes to fly to Vijayawada, Tirupathi, Rajahmundry, Bangalore and Aurangabad in the first phase.