Another Kerala-Based Airline Set to Take Off — India Report

21.08.2024 - 07:58 / skift.com / Jyotiraditya Scindia / Bulbul Dhawan

Travel services operator Alhind Group based in Kerala’s Kozhikode has received the Indian aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA)’s initial approval to start an airline. Alhind aims to commence operations of Alhind Air by the end of 2024. 

According to reports, the company is planning an initial investment between INR 2-5 billion ($24-60 million) with three ATR-72 turboprop planes. The airline’s initial focus is expected to be in South India: Kochi, Bengaluru, Thiruvananthapuram and Chennai, after which it will become eligible to operate flights between Kerala and West Asia. 

Last month, low-cost airline Air Kerala also received the no-objection certificate (NOC) from India’s ministry of civil aviation. Run by Dubai-based businessmen Afi Ahmed and Ayub Kallada, Air Kerala hopes to commence operations by next year and connect Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities using ATR 72-600 aircraft. It is eventually hoping to branch out into international operations. Air Kerala is set to become the first regional airline from Kerala, unless Alhind Air begins operations earlier.

In March this year, Manoj Chacko’s Fly91 commenced operations from its base in Goa. The airline operates between Goa, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Lakshadweep, Pune and Jalgaon.

Boom in Indian Aviation: The Indian aviation industry is currently witnessing a boom. India has now become the third-largest domestic aviation market, after the U.S. and China, data by aviation analytics firm OAG showed. In this growth, budget carriers played a key role, accounting for 78.4% of the domestic airline capacity in the month of April.

The growth of the aviation industry is being supplemented by the increase in the number of airports, which doubled between 2014 to 2023. The annual passenger capacity at Indian airports is also set to increase by 60 million. The market, however, is underserved, as former aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said earlier this year. This provides significant opportunity for new entrants, such as Fly91 and Akasa Air, to enter the aviation industry.

India’s regional connectivity scheme UDAN is also playing a role in encouraging private players to establish regional airlines, which can then scale into international operations.

Earlier this month, IndiGo’s managing director Rahul Bhatia said that a country like India deserves more than two airlines. In India, IndiGo held a market share of about 61% in the domestic market in the April to June quarter. The Air India group, including Vistara, was a distant second at nearly 29% market share.

Indian Hotels Company (IHCL) has announced the opening of its budget brand Ginger in Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore. The 68-room Ginger Coimbatore Airport, Avinashi Road property marks the