GOA- The Directorate General for Civil Aviation (DGCA), India’s aviation regulator, has issued the Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) to the newly established airline FLY91 (IC). Led by seasoned aviation professionals, FLY91 carries the tagline ‘Bharat Unbound.’
Having fulfilled all compliance requirements, the carrier is poised to commence commercial operations shortly, as stated in a release. FLY91 recently took delivery of its initial ATR 72-600, one of two aircraft leased from Dubai Aerospace Enterprise.
FLY91 Gets AOC from DGCA
According to the release, the airline has already been assigned its inaugural set of routes under the government’s regional air connectivity scheme, UDAN.
Under the UDAN scheme, FLY91 will connect with Sindhudurg, Jalgaon, Nanded in Maharashtra and Agatti in Lakshadweep.
Harsha Raghavan, former head of Fairfax India, and Manoj Chacko, former executive vice president of the now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines, are the airline’s promoters. FLY91’s primary base will be the new Goa airport constructed by GMR, with Goa also serving as the airline’s headquarters for the first time.
Initially targeting a launch in the October-December quarter of the previous year, FLY91 aims to position itself as an airline providing last-mile connectivity, catering to remote locations without infrastructure for larger aircraft like the Airbus A320 or Boeing 737.
Aims to Codeshare with Existing Airlines
According to Chacko, destinations in Maharashtra and Karnataka, such as Hubbali, Shirdi, Nashik, and Belgaum, are within the range of an ATR aircraft, making them accessible from Goa.
Chacko outlines that Fly91, instead of engaging in direct competition with major carriers, aims to establish codeshare and interline agreements with them.
He emphasizes the implementation of an open API for the airline’s system, allowing any global airline without service to remote airports to collaborate with Fly91. This collaboration would facilitate last-mile connectivity for their customers through a single-ticket solution.
Chacko notes that with the exception of IndiGo (6E) and SpiceJet (SG), no Indian airlines possess a fleet of smaller turboprop aircraft, making them potential partners for such arrangements.
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