HYDERABAD: Planning a visit to Godavari Pushkaralu? You can fly cheap, thanks to regional carrier, TruJet, whose maiden flight will take off for Rajahmundry on July 12. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Tuesday gave the nod to TruJet, promoted by Umesh Vankayalapati and actor Ram Charan Teja, to commence operations coinciding with the auspicious Pushkaralu.

“We will be flying only to Godavari (Rajahmundry) from July 12-25 and intend to operate 10 flights a day connecting passengers from Hyderabad, Chennai and Bangalore to Godavari,” Umesh, MD, TruJet told Express. From July 26, the city-based carrier will fly to tier II cities such as Aurangabad, Hubli, and Tirupati. TruJet is the third regional carrier in south India after Air Costa (Vijayawada) and Air Pegasus (Bengaluru). “We believe in low-fare, high-passenger business model to achieve growth,” Umesh said. The carrier, along with co-founder Ram Charan, will announce the promotional fares on July 10.The company, which currently has two leased 72-seater ATR-72 turbo prop aircraft, is likely to induct five more by next March and connect about 10 cities.  “Metros are over-crowded but over 60% of regional areas remain unconnected. We want to explore this potential,” explained Umesh. As per estimates, TruJet is pumping in Rs 100 crore and employs over 200. It is also planning a base in Vizag by Sept.