GETTING THERE

Domestic air travel is set to expand in a big way with a clutch of regional carriers taking to the skies connecting smaller towns and cities with the metros  

- Ashish Sinha

COME MARCH 18, Goa-based airline FLY91, the newest regional carrier, will take to the skies and start its commercial services with flights connecting Goa to Bengaluru and Hyderabad. It will also operate flights to Sindhudurg on the western coast in Maharashtra from Bengaluru and Hyderabad. FLY91 will join a fast-growing elite club of regional carriers like Star Air, operated by Bengaluru-based Ghodawat Enterprises, and Zooom, run by Gurugram-based Zexus Air Services.

Then, there are other players waiting in the wings to cash in on the fast-growing domestic air travel business in India. Very soon, JettWings Airways, the first airline operator from the country’s northeast, will begin its operations. It has received the government’s clearance to operate scheduled commuter air transport services in the country. It has announced that it has been awarded 12 sectors under the UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik) RCS (Regional Connectivity Scheme) 5.3 to serve airports in the Northeast, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar amidst fierce competition from full-service and budget carriers including IndiGo, SpiceJet, Vistara, Air India Express and Air India, among others.

FLY91 received its air operator permit from Director General of Civil Aviation, the aviation regulator, on March 6. It takes to the skies from March 18 with two aircraft, and expand its fleet to six ATR 72-600 planes in six months. “We aim to connect Bharat. Initially, we will connect 13 city pairs. We will also start flights to Lakshadweep from April,” said Manoj Chacko, CEO and MD, FLY91. In the next five years, FLY91 plans to have around 35 planes, connect