AVGEEK
TezJet’s older-aircraft strategy and regional airline economics
Arun Kumar Singh explains TezJet’s MD-83 and RJ85 choices and its India connection, drawing on regional airline experience to discuss subsidies, unit economics and pricing technology.
The conversation
Episode 55 with Arun Kumar Singh, the CEO of Kyrgyzstan-based TezJet.
From the hyper-regulated regional skies of India’s UDAN scheme to the mountainous terrain of Central Asia, Arun’s journey is as unique as the fleet he operates. With TezJet launching its direct Bishkek-Delhi service this week, we dive deep into the operational reality of connecting India with Kyrgyzstan. But this isn't just a route launch conversation—it is a deep dive into fleet strategy, unit economics, and aviation history. In this episode, we discuss:
The Return of the Mad Dog: Why TezJet operates the MD-83 (including the last one ever built!) and the Avro RJ85 in an era of A320neos and 737 MAXs.UDAN Reality Check: Having led IndiaOne Air, Arun gives a brutally honest take on why regional connectivity in India cannot survive without subsidies.Kingfisher Untold Stories: Arun shares shocking anecdotes from his time at Kingfisher Airlines, including the story of how Vijay Mallya ordered a fleet of Airbus A340s during a lunch at a London pub—a meal that cost $550 million.Old Jets, New Tech: How TezJet balances flying 28-year-old analog jets while using cutting-edge AI pricing tools like RateGain.Engine Woes: Why Arun is taking Pratt & Whitney’s recovery timeline with a "pinch of salt".
Whether you are an aviation professional tracking CASK and yields or an enthusiast nostalgic for the MD-80 series, this episode is packed with unfiltered insights. Tune in now!
Arun Kumar Singh - @AKS9955 Vishal Mehra - @vishal1mehra
Key Takeaways
- Aircraft choice is constrained by availability, capital, parts and operating authorisations—not only theoretical fuel efficiency.
- An older aircraft can be economical to acquire but materially harder to maintain.
- Revenue-management software cannot remove the physical reliability and certification limits of the fleet.
- A direct route competes on total time and journey cost, not fare alone.
- Launching a destination is partly market creation and tourism promotion, not simply taking a known share of existing demand.
- Air-service subsidies and airport readiness are distinct policy problems.
- Financial discipline and governance matter in airline collapses, but the guest’s broad return claims require independent financial records.
Editorial analysis
An airline operator’s costly perspective
Arun Kumar Singh’s career across Indian airlines and his subsequent work at Kyrgyzstan’s TezJet turn this interview into an unusually candid study of aviation trade-offs. The provocative element is the aircraft: older MD-83 and Avro RJ85 jets that appear incompatible with a technology-led industry. Singh argues that acquiring an airworthy, economically available aircraft can be preferable to pursuing newer equipment that a small operator cannot presently obtain at a viable price. This is a financing and availability argument, not proof that older aircraft are intrinsically cheaper on every route or safer than newer aircraft.
The real economics of ageing fleets
The conversation addresses the constraints often omitted from simple fleet comparisons. Older aircraft can bring lower capital costs but greater exposure to fuel burn, maintenance events, engine overhaul capacity and life-limited parts. Singh describes specific partners supporting these engines and explains how supply pressures shaped the alternatives he considered. He also describes aircraft certification and operating permissions, including why a particular aircraft type cannot simply be purchased and introduced into any international market. These are the practical boundaries within which a chief executive must work, not footnotes to a route-launch press release.
Selling a route before the market exists
His Delhi–Bishkek plan goes beyond a contest of fares against connecting services. A direct flight competes on door-to-door journey time and can help create demand to a destination Indian tourists know less well. Singh describes the need for destination awareness, partner promotion and repeated service. TezJet formally announced an intended weekly MD-83 Bishkek–Delhi service from 7 December 2025. The airline’s announcement establishes the plan, but must not be used by itself to claim that services subsequently operated continuously or profitably.
Regional policy and airport readiness
The most pointed section concerns India’s regional connectivity policy. Singh argues from his IndiaOne Air and airport-operating experience that subsidies cannot compensate for basic runway, obstacle-clearance and infrastructure deficiencies. His criticism is strongly framed and should remain attributed. He describes operational setbacks at a regional airport and says targeted public infrastructure investment could do more than subsidising seats on an airport that is not serviceable. The lasting editorial question is where state support produces a durable network rather than merely a brief scheduled flight.
What failed airlines can teach investors
Finally, Singh reflects on Jet Airways, Kingfisher and India’s airline failures. He rejects the easy claim that airline investment is inherently doomed and instead places weight on governance, capital discipline and unrealistic fleet decisions. He offers anecdotal financial comparisons and candid recollections of widebody planning; neither should be mistaken for audited industry-wide return data.
Questions & answers
Why keep operating older jets?
Singh says availability, condition and affordability constrained his replacement options, alongside operational support arrangements.
What can go wrong in old-aircraft economics?
Engine overhaul/LLP issues, spare availability, maintenance and type-approval restrictions can defeat an attractive purchase price.
What does Delhi–Bishkek offer travellers?
An alternative to indirect routings and surface transfers, with the potential to create interest in Kyrgyzstan as a destination.
What is Singh’s objection to UDAN?
He argues that airport readiness, runway obstacles and basic certification problems may matter more than subsidised airline operations.
What did he learn from India’s airline failures?
He emphasises leadership choices, financing discipline and fleet procurement; the episode supplies his experience, not audited comparative failure research.
Sources & attribution
Original interview: The Indian AvGeek — Episode 55. Published 30 November 2025.
Editorial context: This is a researched interpretation of the original conversation, not a verbatim transcript. Guests’ statements, forecasts and business or policy assessments are presented in their original 2025 context; they should not be treated as independently verified current conditions.
Editorial Q&A: Questions and answers are explanatory paraphrases, not quotations from the speakers.
Verification note: The interview’s accounts of airline failures, shareholder returns and regional-air-service subsidies are attributed to the guest; independently audited financial and regulatory findings require separate verification.