Domestic Airlines in India

In the recent past Indian civil aviation sector has grown manifold. The rapid growth of Indian economy has resulted in a spillover effect on the airline industry in India. Several new players have entered the industry and many more are about to enter the arena. The arrival of cheap airline carriers in India has spiced up the whole affair. Suddenly the air travel is no more the monopoly of the rich and the mighty. Now it has become a common man’s vehicle and revolutionized the way a common Indian traveler used to travel. Here is a brief preview of domestic airlines in India. This includes private airlines as well as low cost airlines in India.

Here is a list of domestic airlines in India:

• Air India
• Indian Airlines
• Jet Airways
• Air Sahara
• Kingfisher Airlines
• Air Deccan
• GoAir
• SpiceJet
• IndiGo
• Jagson Airline
• Paramount Airways

Air Deccan

Air Deccan is India’s first low-cost airline. It is a part of Deccan Aviation Private Limited, India's largest private heli-charter company. Air Deccan was established in 2003 and started operations in August that year with regular scheduled flights from Bangalore to Mangalore and Hubli. Captain G R Gopinath, is the Managing Director of Air Deccan and is one of the founders of Air Deccan. The other founder is Captain KJ Samuel.

Air Deccan has grown rapidly since it first started air operations in 2003. It has revolutionized air travel in India and has brought air travel with in the reach of common man. Air Deccan was the first airline in India to link second rung cities like Hubli, Madurai and Visakhapatnam to metros like Bangalore and Chennai. The airline went public in May 2006. The proceeds from the IPO will be used to set up a training centre in Bangalore and a maintenance facility in Chennai.

Presently, Air Deccan covers 57 destinations in India, which is more than any other airline in India. The Air Deccan fleet consists of 31 aircrafts. These include 13 Airbus A320-200, 5 ATR 42-320, 9 ATR 42-500, and 5 ATR 72-212A. Air Deccan has massive expansion plans. The company has acquired 30 Airbus A320s, which are to be deployed starting in 2007.

 

Air India

Air India is India’s national Airline. Air India’s history can be traced to October 15, 1932. On this day J.R.D. Tata, the father of Civil Aviation in India and founder of Air India, took off from Drigh Road Airport, Karachi, in a tiny, light single-engine de Havilland Puss Moth on his flight to Mumbai via Ahmedabad.

Air India was earlier known as Tata Airlines. At the time of its commencement, Tata Airlines consisted of one Puss Moth, one Leopard Moth, one palm-thatched shed, one whole time pilot, one part-time engineer, and two apprentice-mechanics. Tata Airlines was converted into a Public Company under the name of Air India in August 1946.

On March 8, 1948, Air India International Limited was formed to start Air India’s international operations. On June 8, 1948, Air India started its international services with a weekly flight from Mumbai to London via Cairo and Geneva with a Lockheed Constellation aircraft.

In early 1950s due to deteriorating financial condition of various airlines, the Government decided to nationalize air transport. On August 1, 1953 two autonomous corporations were created. Indian Airlines was formed with the merger of eight domestic airlines to operate domestic services, while Air India International was established to operate the overseas services. The word 'International' was dropped in 1962. With effect from March 1, 1994, the airline has been functioning as Air India Limited.

Air India's worldwide network today covers 44 destinations by operating services with its own aircraft and through code-shared flights. Important destinations covered by Air India are Bangkok, Hongkong, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Osaka, Singapore, Tokyo, Seoul, Dar-es-Salam, Nairobi, Frankfurt, London, Paris, Birmingham, Abu Dhabi, Al Ain, Bahrain, Dammam, Doha, Dubai, Jeddah, Muscat, Riyadh, Kuwait, Los Angeles, Chicago, Newark, New York, and Toronto.

Air India’s fleet consists of 38 aircrafts. These include 12 Boeing 747-400, 1 Boeing 747-400 COMBI, 2 Boeing 747-300 COMBI, 19 Airbus 310-300, and 4 Boeing 777-200.

 

Indian Airlines

Indian Airlines, India’s premier airline, has now been renamed as Indian. But Indian Airlines (IA) had establish itself as such a strong brand name that majority of people are still not aware that its name has been changed to Indian. Indian Airlines is fully owned by the Government of India and came into came into being with the enactment of the Air Corporations Act 1953.

Indian Airlines began its operation on 1st August 1953 and was entrusted with the responsibility of providing air transportation within the country as well as to the neighboring countries. Indian Airlines came into existence after nationalization of eight private airlines. At the time of nationalization, Indian Airlines inherited a fleet of 99 aircraft consisting of various types of aircrafts. With nationalization Indian Airlines started modernization in Indian civil aviation industry. Year 1964 heralded the beginning of the jet era in Indian Airlines when the Caravelle aircraft was inducted into the fleet. Continuous upgradation in its fleet has been going on ever since.

Presently, Indian Airlines, together with its fully owned subsidiary Alliance Air, has a fleet of 70 aircraft (3 wide bodied airbus A300s, 47 fly-by-wire airbus A320s, 3 Airbus A319s, 11 Boeing 737s, 2 Dornier Do-228 aircraft and 4 ATR-42). Another 43 new aircrafts (i.e. 19 A319s, 4 A320s & 21 A321s ) are expected to be inducted in Indian Airlines by November 2006.

Indian Airlines transport network spans from Kuwait in the west to Singapore in the east and covers 76 destinations (58 within India and 18 abroad). The Indian Airlines international network covers Kuwait, Oman, UAE, Qatar and Bahrain in West Asia; Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Myanmar in South East Asia and Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Maldives in the South Asia sub-continent.

 

Jet Airways

Jet Airways is India’s premier private airlines. Naresh Goyal is currently the chairman of Jet Airways. Jet Airways operates over 320 flights daily to 43 destinations in India and currently controls about 40% of India's aviation market. Jet Airways was the first private airline of India to fly to international destinations. It operates daily international flights to Colombo, Kathmandu, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and London (Heathrow). Jet Airways has won a number of awards in recognition of standards of its service and has also received the ISO 9001:2000 certification for its In-flight Services.

Jet Airways was established on 3 May 1991 with a fleet of 4 Boeing 737-300 aircraft, with 24 daily flights serving 12 destinations. Jet Airways presently operates 55 aircrafts and is now a public limited company. Its fleet of 55 aircrafts include 3 Airbus 340-300E, 4 Boeing 737-800, 1 Airbus 330-200, 1 Boeing 737-700, 18 Boeing 737-800, 8 ATR 72-500, 2 Boeing 737-900, 12 Boeing 737-700, and 6 Boeing 737-400.

Jet Airways was recently involved in a controversy. On January 19, 2006 Jet Airways announced its decision to buy fellow airlines Air Sahara for $500 million in an all-cash deal. The deal was touted as the biggest in India's aviation history. But the deal fell midway and now the two parties are involved in a fierce court battle.

 

Air Sahara

Air Sahara is one of India’s leading private airlines. It is part of the multi-crore Sahara India Pariwar. Air Sahara was established on September 20, 1991 and began operations on December 3, 1993 with a fleet of two Boeing 737-200 aircrafts. It was then known as Sahara Airlines. Sahara Airlines was rebranded as Air Sahara on October 2, 2000. On March 22, 2004 Air Sahara became an international carrier with the start of flights from Chennai to Colombo.

Presently, Air Sahara connects to 24 domestic and 4 international destinations with 134 daily direct flights and offer 13900 seats per day. Domestic destinations include important cities like Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Kolkata, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Pune, Chennai along with regional destinations like Ahmedabad, Gorakhpur, Allahabad, Bhubaneshwar and Ranchi. International destinations covered by Air Sahara are Colombo, Kathmandu, Singapore, and Chicago. Four more international destinations: Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Hongkong and London are proposed to be covered soon.

Air Sahara currently has a fleet of 27 aircrafts. These include 1 Boeing 767, 5 Boeing 737-800, 8 Boeing 737-700, 4 Boeing 737-400, 2 Boeing 737-300, and 7 CRJ -200. Air Sahara also provides chartered helicopter services from Delhi & Mumbai. Its fleet of helicopters include 3 ECUREUILS AS-355-NM2, and 1 DAUPHIN AS-365-NM2.

 

Kingfisher Airline

Kingfisher Airline is a private airline based in Bangalore, India. The airline is owned by Vijay Mallya of United Beverages Group. Kingfisher Airlines started its operations on May 9, 2005 with a fleet of 4 Airbus A320 aircrafts. The airline currently operates on domestic routes. The destinations covered by Kingfisher Airlines are Bangalore, Mumbai, Delhi, Goa, Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Cochin, Guwahati, Kolkata, Pune, Agartala, Dibrugarh, Mangalore and Jaipur.

In a short span of time Kingfisher Airline has carved a niche for itself. The airline offers several unique services to its customers. These include: personal valet at the airport to assist in baggage handling and boarding, exclusive lounges with private space, accompanied with refreshments and music at the airport, audio and video on-demand, with extra-wide personalised screens in the aircraft, sleeperette seats with extendable footrests, and three-course gourmet cuisine.

Kingfisher Airlines currently operates with a brand new fleet of 8 Airbus A320 aircraft, 3 Airbus A319-100 aircraft and 4 ATR-72 aircraft. It was the first airline in India to operate with all new aircrafts. Kingfisher Airlines is also the first Indian airline to order the Airbus A380. It placed orders for 5 A380s, 5 A350-800 aircrafts and 5 Airbus A330-200 aircrafts in a deal valued at over $3 billion on June 15, 2005. Delivery of the A330s is due to start in late 2007, followed by the A380s in 2010 and the A350s in 2012.

 

GoAir Airlines

GoAir Airlines is a low-cost budget airline based in Mumbai, India. The airline is promoted by Wadia Group, which has been synonymous with leading Indian companies, through its brands Britannia and Bombay Dyeing. Go Air Airlines has been showcased as “The People's Airline” and is the brainchild of Jeh Wadia, who is the Managing Director of GoAir Airways.

GoAir Airlines Director, is looking at 'commoditising air travel' by offering airline seats at marginally higher train prices to all cities in India. The airlines theme line is “Experience The Difference” and its objective is to offer its passengers a quality consistent, quality assured and time efficient product through affordable fares. GoAir's business model has been created on the 'punctuality, affordability and convenience' model.

GoAir's route network spans prominent business and leisure destinations, across India. Currently it covers 13 destinations. These are Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Cochin, Coimbatore, Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Jammu, Mumbai, Pune, and Srinagar. Go Air operates with state-of-the-art Airbus A320 aircraft fleet.

 

SpiceJet Airlines

SpiceJet is a low-cost airline based in New Delhi, India. Spice Jet’s mission is to become India’s preferred low cost airline, delivering the lowest air fares with the highest consumer value, to price sensitive consumers. Its vision is to ensure that flying is no longer confined to CEOs and business travelers, but is affordable for everyone.

SpiceJet airlines is promoted by Ajay Singh, the Kansangra family and Sanjay Malhotra. Spice Jet airways began its operations in May 2005. It was earlier known as Royal Airways, a reincarnation of Modiluft. SpiceJet has chosen a single aircraft type fleet which allows for greater efficiency in maintenance, and supports the low-cost structure. It has a fleet of 6 Boeing 737-800 in single class configuration with 189 seats.

SpiceJet's new generation fleet of aircraft is backed by cutting edge technology and infrastructure to ensure the highest standards in operating efficiency. It has maintenance support and state of the art technology from world leaders like KLM, Star Navigation, Russel Adams and Tech Log. Spice Jet currently flies to 11 destinations. These include: Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, Jammu, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune, and Srinagar.

 

IndiGo Airline

IndiGo is the latest entrant to the domestic civil aviation space in India. The low cost carrier took off its inaugural flight from Delhi to Imphal on August 4, 2006. IndiGo is targeting those people who are cost conscious and are looking for affordability, punctuality and hassle-free processing.

IndiGo presently has a fleet of four aircrafts and plans to expand its fleet and network in a phased manner. By the end of 2006, IndiGo is aiming at six aircrafts and 12 cities and has plans to expand its fleet to 15 by the end of 2007. IndiGo proposes to serve around 30 Indian cities with a fleet of 40 Airbus A-320s by 2010. IndiGo would have fleet of only one type of aircraft, the A-320 that has a capacity of 180 passengers.

Some of the sectors on which IndiGo is concentrating are Delhi - Imphal, Delhi - Pune - Bangalore, Delhi - Kolkata - Guwahati, Delhi - Hyderabad, Delhi - Mumbai, and Delhi - Nagpur.

 

Jagson Airline

Jagson Airline is a private low-cost budget airline based in Delhi, India. In 1991 when the aviation sector was opened for the private sector, Jagson Airlines, was the first private airline to avail of this opportunity. It commenced its operations in 1992.

Jagson Airline presently flies to select destinations in Himachal Pradesh, Uttaranchal and Rajasthan. It also operates a helicopter service between Srinagar, Baltal and Amarnath. Jagson Airlines has decided to expand its operations and would cover Delhi, Patna, Bangalore, Mumbai, Kolkata, Guwahati, Jaipur, Dibrugarh and Goa in initial phase. In the second phase, services would be expanded to Lucknow, Kochi and Hyderabad. For its initial operations Jagson Airlines has taken six Airbus aircrafts on dry-lease.

The destinations currently covered by Jagson Airline are:

• Delhi
• Jaipur
• Udaipur
• Jaisalmer
• Kullu
• Shimla
• Dharamshala

 

Paramount Airways

Paramount Airways is a low-cost private airline operating in India. Paramount Airways was launched on October 19, 2005 by the Paramount Group, a leading Indian textile manufacturer based in Madurai. The headquarters of Paramount Airways is in Coimbatore.

Paramount Airways is unlike any other low-cost Indian airline. It provides exceptional value for money, unparalleled comfort and convenience to the passengers. Paramount Airways offers several value added facilities such as valets to assist in boarding the plane, gourmet meals, and a range of in-flight services and entertainment.

Paramount Airways has number of firsts to its credit. It is the first airline in India to launch the New Generation Embraer 170/190 Family Series Aircrafts. It is the first to offer full business class services but at prices that are equivalent to the economy class fares of other carriers. Paramount Airways is also the premium service schedule airline offering first time direct services to a number of commercial Hubs in India, connecting them to primary metros across the country.

Paramount Airways presently operates only in South India connecting Bangalore, Chennai, Cochin, Coimbatore, Hyderabad and Madurai.