Goa: India’s regional aviation market has received a major vote of confidence from FLY91, with the Goa-based airline placing an order for 40 new ATR 72-600 aircraft as it prepares for a much bigger expansion across smaller cities.
The deal, announced on September 3, is valued at about $1 billion at list prices and is the largest ATR order placed by a regional airline, according to the company. FLY91 currently operates just six ATR 72-600 aircraft. The new order could take its fleet to more than 60 aircraft over the coming years.
For FLY91, the aircraft are not simply about adding capacity. The airline is building its business around routes that larger jets often cannot serve easily.
The ATR 72-600 is a turboprop aircraft designed for regional operations. Its smaller size and operating economics allow it to serve airports with shorter runways and connect cities that do not have regular services from larger aircraft. That is where FLY91 sees its opportunity.
The airline currently operates close to 280 flights a week to 12 cities. Its network includes destinations such as Sindhudurg, Solapur, Jalgaon, Hubballi, Tirupati, Vijayawada and Rajahmundry, alongside larger cities including Bengaluru, Goa, Kochi and Hyderabad. A 13th destination is expected to be added later this month.
The new aircraft will not arrive all at once. Deliveries are expected to begin in the second half of 2027 and continue through the following years, giving the airline time to build its network and arrange financing.
FLY91 also plans to lease another six to eight aircraft before the newly ordered planes begin arriving. That would allow the airline to expand its operations sooner rather than waiting several years for the full order to be delivered.
The expansion comes as the Indian government is putting fresh money behind regional air connectivity.
The modified UDAN scheme, known as UDAN 2.0, has an allocation of ₹28,840 crore for the period from 2026–27 to 2035–36. The programme includes plans to develop airports from existing airstrips and expand connectivity to smaller and underserved locations.
That government support is important for airlines trying to make regional routes work. Some smaller routes do not immediately generate enough passenger revenue to cover operating costs, which is why the regional connectivity programme provides viability-gap funding on selected services.
FLY91 already has a significant exposure to that model. The airline operates around 280 weekly flights and has flown more than 15,000 flights since beginning operations in March 2024.
The scale of Thursday’s order is striking for an airline that is still relatively young.
FLY91 was launched only in 2024 and is now preparing to multiply its fleet several times over. The company says the larger fleet will allow it to connect more unserved and underserved cities directly instead of forcing passengers to travel through major aviation hubs.
For passengers in smaller cities, that could eventually mean fewer long road journeys just to reach an airport with a wider choice of flights.
The challenge, however, will be turning that ambition into a profitable network. FLY91 is still a young airline, and expanding from six aircraft to more than 60 will require substantial investment, aircraft financing and enough passenger demand to support the new routes.
The company is also raising additional funds as it prepares for the expansion.
For now, the order sends a clear signal about where FLY91 believes the next opportunity in Indian aviation lies. The biggest cities already have strong air links. The harder market is the one between smaller towns, regional centres and the country’s major economic hubs.
That is the market FLY91 is betting $1 billion can help unlock.
