FLY91 to start flights to Lakshadweep from April
Regional airline FLY91 will begin commercial services on March 18 and begin flights to Lakshadweep in April.
The Goa-based carrier, which will have a fleet of 70-seat ATR 72-600 aircraft, has raised USD 25 million, and plans to add 50 cities in 5 years, its MD and CEO Manoj Chacko said on Tuesday.
At a briefing at Mopa airport, Chacko said it would start commercial services from March 18 with flights from Goa to Bengaluru and Hyderabad. There will also be flights to Sindhudurg from Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
The carrier will start flights to Agatti in Lakshadweep from April. FLY91 will have a total of six ATR 72-600 aircraft in six months. At present there are two aircraft in its fleet.
“Our goal is to connect India,” Chacko said. He said that initially, it will connect 13 cities. Over the next five years, Chacko said, FLY91 plans to have about 35 aircraft, add 50 cities and 6 bases. Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia virtually inaugurated the symbolic flight of FLY91 on Tuesday.
The carrier, operated by Just Udo Aviation Pvt Ltd, wants to increase air connectivity in tier 2 and tier 3 cities. In his address, Scindia said that earlier there were reports of closure and bankruptcy of airlines.
In the last 10 years, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, six new regional airlines have emerged. About the airline, Chacko said it is well capitalized and currently has about 200 employees. For each new aircraft, FLY91 will add 25 people and for each new station, about 20 employees will be added.
“We have a conservative, restricted growth path,” he said. The airline received an air operator permit from aviation regulator DGCA on March 6. Chacko said Goa, the airline’s first base, is a big attraction for pilots.
The airline is promoted by former senior Kingfisher Airlines executive Chacko, former Fairfax India chief Harsh Raghavan and others. It is also the first Indian airline to use Goa’s Manohar International Airport as its home base.
The airline also operated a ceremonial flight from Goa to Agatti in Lakshadweep on Tuesday.
In April 2023, the carrier received a no objection certificate for the flight from the Ministry of Civil Aviation.
This story is sourced from third party syndicated feeds, agencies. Mid-Day does not accept any responsibility or liability for its accuracy, reliability, reliability and data of the text. Mid-Day Management/Mid-Day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove any content (without notice) at its sole discretion for any reason.