AirAsia India

AirAsia India is an Indian low cost carrier headquartered in Bangalore, India. The airline is a joint venture with Tata Sons holding 51% stake in the airline and AirAsia Investment Limited holding 49% stake. AirAsia India commenced operations on 12 June 2014 with Bangalore as its primary hub.

AirAsia India
IATA ICAO Callsign
I5[1] IAD[1] RED KNIGHT[2]
Founded28 March 2013 (2013-03-28)
Commenced operations12 June 2014 (2014-06-12)
HubsBangalore
Secondary hubs
Frequent-flyer programBIG Loyalty
Fleet size30
Destinations21
Parent companyTata Group
HeadquartersBangalore, India[3]
Key people
  • Banmali Agrawala (Chairman)
  • Sunil Bhaskaran (CEO)
Websiteairasia.com/en/gb

AirAsia is the first foreign airline to set up a subsidiary in India and the company marked Tata Group's return to the aviation industry after 60 years, having ceded Air India in 1946. As of December 2019, AirAsia India was the 5th largest carrier in India, after IndiGo, SpiceJet, Air India and GoAir, with a market share of 7.0%.

History

In Feb. 2013, with the Indian government allowing a foreign direct investment of up to 49% in airlines, AirAsia Berhad applied to the Indian Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) seeking approval for commencing its operations in India.[4][5] In March 2013, AirAsia announced that it would establish a joint venture with Tata Sons and Telestra Tradeplace with Tata Sons representing the airline with two non-executive directors in the board.[6][7][8]

The airliner planned to operate with the world's lowest unit cost of ₹1.25 (1.8¢ US) per available seat Kilometre and a passenger break-even load factor of 52%. It also planned to hedge 100% of its fuel requirements for the first three years and to achieve an aircraft turnaround time of 25 minutes.[9]

AirAsia planned to begin operations to various tier 2 and tier 3 cities with Chennai International Airport as its main operating base.[10] According to KPMG, the introduction of AirAsia was expected to cause another price war, ultimately leading to an increase in air traffic and some consolidation in the Indian aviation sector.[11] AirAsia initially invested an amount of US$50 million and in preparation for its operations in India, it struck deals with online and offline travel agents.[12][13] On 3 March 2013, the FIPB officially permitted AirAsia to rent or lease aircraft and to carry cargo on its scheduled flights. The airline then applied for permission to schedule aircraft and transport passengers,[14] which the FIPB accepted on 6 March.[15]

AirAsia India was established on 28 March 2013 and became the first foreign airline to set up a subsidiary in India.[16][17] In April, the airline started recruiting candidates for pilots and cabin crew.[18] As the final procedure to obtain Air Operator Permit, a proving flight was conducted on 1 and 2 May 2014 flying from Chennai to Kochi, Bangalore and Kolkata.[19] On 7 May 2014, the DGCA issued an Air Operator Permit to the company.[20] On 30 May 2014, the airline announced the shifting of its base to Bangalore and its first flight from there to Goa.[21] AirAsia operated its maiden flight on 12 June 2014.[22][23] In June 2015, the airline made Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi its secondary hub for North Indian operations.[24] In August 2015, Tata Sons increased its stake to 40.06% from 30% earlier by injecting fresh equity while Telestra's share was reduced to 10% from 20%.[25][26] As of July 2019, AirAsia India is the fourth largest low-cost carrier in India, behind IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir, with a market share of 6.5%.[27]

In January 2018, managing director and chief executive Amar announced plans of the company to expect a fleet of 21 aircraft by the yearend, which will make it eligible to operate overseas flights.[28]

Corporate affairs

AirAsia India is headquartered in Bangalore, India.[29] Prior to the airline's formation, Tony Fernandes, founder of AirAsia group, announced that he would like Ratan Tata to be the chairman of the airline; however the latter refused, though he later consented to being the chief advisor to the AirAsia India management board.[30][31] On 15 May 2013, AirAsia India appointed management consultant Mittu Chandilya as CEO.[32] A month later, on 17 June, S. Ramadorai, the non-executive vice-chairman of Tata Consultancy Services, was appointed as the chairman of the airline.[33] In April 2016, Amar Abrol replaced Mittu Chandilya as the CEO of the airline.[34] In June 2019, Amar Abrol reportedly quit and in October 2018, AirAsia India announced that Sunil Bhaskaran had been appointed Managing Director and CEO of the airline.[35]

Destinations

AirAsia India operates over 100 daily flights connecting 21 destinations across India.[28]

State City Airport Notes Refs
Andhra PradeshVisakhapatnamVisakhapatnam Airport[36]
AssamGuwahatiLokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport[37]
ChandigarhChandigarhChandigarh Airport[38]
DelhiDelhiIndira Gandhi International Airport[37]
GoaDabolimDabolim Airport[23][39]
GujaratAhmedabadSardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport[40]
Jammu and KashmirSrinagarSheikh ul-Alam International Airport
JharkhandRanchiBirsa Munda Airport[41]
KarnatakaBangaloreKempegowda International AirportHub[23][42]
KeralaKochiCochin International Airport[43]
Madhya PradeshIndoreDevi Ahilya Bai Holkar Airport[44]
MaharashtraMumbaiChhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport[37][45]
NagpurDr. Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport[46]
PunePune Airport[47]
ManipurImphalImphal Airport[48]
OdishaBhubaneswarBiju Patnaik Airport
PunjabAmritsarSri Guru Ram Dass Jee International AirportTerminated[49]
RajasthanJaipurJaipur International Airport[38]
Tamil NaduChennaiChennai International Airport
TelanganaHyderabadRajiv Gandhi International Airport
TripuraAgartalaMaharaja Bir Bikram Airport[50]
West BengalKolkataNetaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport[51]
SiliguriBagdogra Airport[41]

Fleet
AirAsia India operates a fleet of Airbus A320 aircraft

As of January 2020, AirAsia India operates the following aircraft:[52][53]

AirAsia India fleet
Aircraft In service Orders Passengers Notes
Airbus A320-200 30 71[54] 180
Total 30

References
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