Mumbai/New Delhi: After months of anticipation, AirAsia India is set to take to the skies on June 12, with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Thursday approving the airline’s flight schedules.
Sources said DGCA had allowed AirAsia India to fly twice a day on the Chennai-Bangalore-Chennai route and once a day on the Bangalore-Goa-Bangalore route.
According to data available with DGCA, there are 14 daily flights between Chennai and Bangalore and five between Bangalore and Goa, according to the summer schedule for this year.
“As of now, they have only three aircraft. They have secured permission to start commercial operations with three daily flights on the Chennai-Bangalore and Bangalore-Goa routes. The approvals are subject to the airline having a total fleet of five aircraft at the end of the first year of operations,” said a source.
Budget carrier SpiceJet responded promptly to AirAsia’s announcement, offering tickets for as low as Rs 1,499, excluding taxes, on the Chennai-Bangalore and Bangalore-Goa routes. This limited inventory offer is for travel after June 12.
“As part of the ongoing policy of the airline to stimulate the market by offering attractive fares and grow the travel sector, SpiceJet is glad to come out with this special offer on high demand routes such as Goa and Chennai from Bangalore,” said Kaneswaran Avili, chief commercial officer, SpiceJet.
For AirAsia’s domestic services, tickets would be sold from Friday, group chief executive Tony Fernandes tweeted on Thursday. He, however, didn’t disclose the routes on which AirAsia India would commence services.
“Very, very proud to announce AirAsia India open for sale tomorrow. Wow! First flight June 12. See you all in India on the 12th,” Fernandes tweeted.
It was expected the airline would make a formal announcement on its first flight in the evening, but this was postponed. AirAsia India chief executive Mittu Chandilya said he was busy at meetings in New Delhi.
AirAsia remained tight-lipped about plans on its routes. Sources said earlier this week, the airline had told travel agents bookings for the Bangalore-Goa route would open on Friday. Earlier this month, the airline had secured an operating permit from DGCA. The approval, however, was contingent upon the outcome of suits against the airline — Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy and the Federation of Indian Airlines had moved court against the government’s approval to the airline, saying this violated foreign direct investment norms. The Delhi High Court is set to hear the petition on July 11.
AirAsia is known for its ultra low-cost fares and promotional offers; it offers free and discounted tickets. Earlier this month, Chandilya had said the airline would offer fares at 30-35 per cent discounts compared to rivals. Apart from its own website, the airline will sell tickets through online portals and leading offline agents.
“We will break even in four months. My partners will expect no less of me. We will be disruptive in pricing. My competitor is not other airlines operating in this country. My benchmark is the first class fare offered by the railways. Yes…the kicker for me is low fares. But quality of service, safety standards, reliability and on-time performance are very important hygiene factors,” Chandilya had told Business Standard.
AirAsia India, a joint venture between Malaysian low-cost airline AirAsia, the Tata group and Telesetra Tradeplace, indicated it would start operations from Chennai and connect tier-II and -III cities. Initially, the airline had said it wouldn’t fly to the Delhi and Mumbai airports because of high airport charges, but earlier this month, Fernandes said the airline was considering flights to these two cities, too.
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