A new regional airline based out of Goa, Fly91, on March 12 announced the commencement of flight operations from March 18 with services to Hyderabad and Bengaluru.
The airline has one 72- seater ATR-72 aircraft and would add three more aircraft by June, said Fly91’s MD & CEO Manoj Chacko at a press event here. It got the Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s air operator’s certificate last week and has raised $25 million in equity in its first round of funding.
In the first four months, the airline plans to start flights from Sindhudurg to Hyderabad and Bengaluru, followed by flights to Agatti and Jalgaon. All flights will be from Goa.
The routes to Agatti, Jalgaon and Sindhudurg from Goa have been awarded under the government’s regional connectivity scheme for which the airline will receive a viability gap funding (or subsidy) in exchange for which it has to offer half of its seating capacity at a discounted fare of ₹2,500 per hour of flight.
“The airline has won a total of 20 sectors under RCS. But our business plan stands on its own feet,” Mr Chacko said.
The airline has set ambitious targets for itself. It plans to be a “30-32” strong aircraft fleet in the first five years connecting as many as 50 cities. It says it will open a new base in a new city every year from where it will connect up to 10 cities.
