Trujet to Return to Indian Skies: Eyes November Launch

Skift

6 hours ago

India's aviation space is bustling with increasing number of regional airlines, aided by government's support. But in a change of pace, a defunct regional airline is now returning as a full-fledged national carrier to meet the growing demand.
The Indian government has approved the revival of regional airline TruJet, formerly known as Turbo Megha Airways. The airline is set to operate as a national-level scheduled carrier.
The airline is looking to resume service using an Airbus A320 plane with Visakhapatnam as its primary hub. The airline earlier had its hub in Hyderabad. It plans to launch its first flight by November this year connecting Visakhapatnam to one of the following cities — Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, or Hyderabad.
The decision follows extensive discussions between officials from the ministry of civil aviation and the airline's leadership. TruJet began operations in 2015 as a regional carrier but ceased services in 2022 due to pandemic-induced financial challenges.
At the time of its shutdown, the airline primarily served smaller towns in South India and had plans to expand to 18 additional Tier-2 cities in the region.
In February, Indian aviation company WinAir had announced it is acquiring a 79% stake in TruJet for INR 2 billion ($23 million). With the acquisition of the majority stake, WinAir had said it will take over the management control and operations of the company.
TruJet's Plans: TruJet has now secured the approval to operate as a national carrier, a significant upgrade from its earlier regional carrier status. TruJet would need to get its Air Operators Permit renewed from Indian aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) before it can resume operations.
Need For Indian Carriers: Among the top 10 airlines in India in June this year, five are carriers operated by other nations, including Emirates, Etihad Airways, and Qatar Airways, according to aviation analytics company OAG.
IndiGo held the largest share in the Indian aviation market, with over 12 million seats this month, up 12.4% as compared to June 2024. Among the top 5 airlines, 3 were low-cost carriers, including Air India Express, Akasa Air, and SpiceJet.
Last August, IndiGo Promoter Rahul Bhatia said that India deserved more than just two major airlines - IndiGo and Air India. While international carriers seek more bilateral rights to operate in India, Indian airlines are increasing capacity to gain more share in the country's aviation market.
Air India CEO Campbell Wilson last year said that granting more bilateral rights would feed the economies of those countries instead of India's as they would take traffic from India and transfer about 80-90% of it to other parts of the world.
OAG noted that in June this year, the domestic and international capacity in the country increased by over 7% year-on-year. However, the share of mainline carriers in the Indian aviation industry declined in June 2025 as compared to the same month last year. In June 2024, mainlines accounted for nearly 35% of the total seats in the country at nearly 8 million. This figure has now come down to 30.85%.
MakeMyTrip to Cut China's Trip.com Group Stake
Indian online travel agency MakeMyTrip said it is raising over $2.6 billion to buy back shares from its long-time investor China's Trip.com Group, Skift has reported. 'The interests of Trip.com and its affiliates may be different from or conflict with the interests of our other shareholders,' MakeMyTrip said in a stock exchange filing on Monday.
"Their influence may result in the delay or prevention of a change of management or control of our company or other significant actions affecting our company, even if such transactions or actions may be beneficial to our other shareholders," it added.
For this, MakeMyTrip has announced two big fundraising efforts: it's issuing 14 million new shares, with an option to add 2.1 million more, and it's also raising up to $1.25 billion through convertible bonds. This will reduce Trip.com Group's stake in MakeMyTrip to under 20%, down from over 45% today.
This decision also comes at a time when Indian authorities are scrutinizing Chinese investments in companies more closely, especially in sectors like tech, travel, and finance. Calls to reduce Chinese influence have grown louder since the border clashes between India and China in Ladakh in 2020. During that period India banned TikTok in June 2020 along with 58 other Chinese apps, citing national security concerns.
The recent India-Pakistan military standoff has also added to the pressure, with China and Turkey seen by some as aligned with Pakistan.
DCGA Says 'No Major Safety Concerns' in Air India Fleet
The surveillance of Air India's Boeing 787 fleet has not revealed "any major safety concerns" so far, Indian civil aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said Tuesday night. DGCA added that "the aircraft and associated maintenance systems were found to be compliant with existing safety standards."
Air India flight AI 171 from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick crashed shortly after take-off last week killing 241 of the 242 passengers and crew onboard. Post this India had ordered safety checks on the 787-8 and 787-9 aircraft last week.
The airline has 26 Boeing 787-8 planes in its fleet. It also has seven Boeing 787-9s that were added through its merger with Vistara. DGCA had asked Air India to conduct a one-time inspection of these planes before any departure from India, including checks on the aircraft's engines, cabin air compressors, take-off parameters, and more.
The safety checks are not yet complete. DGCA said that as of Tuesday afternoon, the required check was completed on 24 planes. It added that four aircraft were undergoing 'major checks' at various maintenance-repair-operations (MRO) facilities.
DGCA also held a high-level meeting with Air India and its low-cost arm Air India Express to review the 'operational robustness' of the airlines. It discussed the delays in operations due to maintenance procedures and the disruptions caused by recent airspace closures over Iran.
Dehradun Leads India's Hotel Boom
Amid the boom in branded hotel rooms India, Uttarakhand's capital Dehradun led this growth between fiscal years 2023 and 2024. According to data from consulting platform Hotelivate, the number of rooms in the city increased by 67.5% year-on-year during the period.
It noted that cities like Navi Mumbai, Agra, Jaipur, and Udaipur recorded double-digit growth. Further, while the average occupancy rates in Tier-1 cities remain the strongest at over 73%, Tier-2 and 3 cities are also recording strong occupancy numbers with 66% and 57.4% occupancy respectively.
Skift reported earlier this year that India's hospitality boom was reaching untapped markets. Hotelivate said that as India's branded room inventory is expected to reach 250,000 by 2028-29 financial year, emerging markets such as Amritsar, Lucknow, and Noida are expected to contribute significantly to this growth. Tier-3 cities are projected to account for nearly half this growth.
AbhiBus Renews Partnership With Actor Mahesh Babu
Online travel company Ixigo's bus business AbhiBus is extending its long-standing partnership with Indian film star Mahesh Babu as its brand ambassador. The company said that for nearly a decade, the company and the actor have worked together to drive campaigns.
Rohit Sharma, COO of AbhiBus, said, 'From 2016 to 2025, his presence has helped us build deeper connections with audiences across the South and beyond.' The company added in the statement that an all-new campaign is set to be launched this summer.
In a recent Skift feature, Asia Editor Peden Doma Bhutia noted that Bollywood is a strong driver for travel among Indian travelers. Travel services aggregator Skyscanner also said in its 2024-25 horizons report that 52% of Indian travelers said they are largely influenced by television and films.
Bottega Debuts Branded Residences in India
Italian brand Bottega has announced its first international hospitality collaboration. The company has partnered with Atmosphere Living, the branded residences arm of hospitality company Atmosphere Core to launch luxury branded suites in India.
While further details are awaited, Bottega said that the branded suites will provide residents with a neo-lifestyle experience designed around experimental wine culture.
'India is a thriving market with boundless potential and the partnership will bring the golden Italian sparkling life to India, redefining the hospitality landscape here,' said Giulia Pellegrino, global key accounts manager at Atmosphere Living. 'Our collaboration with Bottega is set on defining a new lifestyle movement.'