AirAsia’s India Venture To Take-off In June

: Jun 5, 2014 - : 12:17 am

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AirAsia India will start its flight operations from next month and sale of tickets from May 30, the chief executive of the Malaysian carrier says. The first commercial flight of AirAsia India, the country's latest no-frill carrier, will take-off on June 12, Tony Fernandes, group chief executive of AirAsia, informs on his official Twitter account. “Very very proud to announce AirAsia India open for sale tomorrow (May 30). First flight June 12th,” Fernandes says. AirAsia India, which will operate a low-cost airline, got the flying license - the last key approval required by the airline to begin commercial operations in the country - from India's aviation regulator on May 8. The flying permit is valid for one year since the airline currently has one aircraft in its fleet. It plans to have a 10-aircraft fleet within a year. The budget airline took delivery of its first aircraft Airbus A320 in March after getting permission from the Indian government last year to import 10 aircraft. It will take delivery of additional nine Airbus A320 aircraft for its Indian operations later this year. AirAsia India - a joint venture between Malaysia’s low-cost carrier AirAsia Group Bhd and local investors –the Tata Group and Arun Bhatia’s Telestra Tradeplace announced the start of the new airline in February 2013. Later during the year, the airline crossed mostly all major hurdles, including a permission from India's Foreign Investment Promotion Board to invest 800 million rupees ($13.4 million) in the new airline and a no-objection certificate from the civil aviation ministry. The airline’s previous plans to start operations in India earlier this year has been marred by regulatory delays and legal hurdles. But regulatory authorities concluded their last leg of inspections, including two demonstration flights on Airbus A-320 aircraft earlier this month following which the Directorate General of Civil Aviation granted it permission to operate in India. AirAsia India’s announcement to launch its services from June brings good news during peak holiday season for air travelers waiting to fly in the airline which promises to bring in the cheapest air tickets in the country. At the same time, the airline’s entry is likely to rekindle price competition among local carriers such as IndiGo and SpiceJet that currently dominate India’s aviation sector and facing financial crisis due to spiraling fuel costs and stiff competition leading to plummeting profits. To begin with, AirAsia India will focus on providing domestic tier 2/tier 3 city connections to Indian travelers. The Airports Authority of India (AAI) has already allotted space for the airline to set up its offices in the old domestic terminal in Chennai in southern India, from where it is commencing operations.