CHENNAI: As part of its plans to expand domestic base, AirAsia India has decided to resume flights to and from Chennai, more than two years after it had discontinued operations from the city.
The Tata-AirAsia joint venture airline will fly five times a day in and out of Chennai to Bengaluru and Bhubaneswar starting February 24, AirAsia India said in a statement on Monday.
“We ended 2017 on a highly positive note and are delighted to continue the same momentum in 2018. We are happy to make this announcement in the first quarter of 2018, and reinforce our commitment to enhancing connectivity and making air travel affordable,” said Amar Abrol, managing director and CEO of AirAsia India.
However, AirAsia seems to be a laggard when it comes to its announcements. The no-frills airline on Monday announced the induction of the 15th aircraft in its fleet and operates slightly more than 100 daily flights. Abrol had said last April that it would scale up a to a fleet size of 20 planes by October and kick-start international operations thereafter. It had 10 aircraft then, which means it has added half of what Abrol announced. The airline now plans to add at least eight annually for the next five years. The airline increased its domestic market share to 4.2 per cent in November 2017 from 2.86 per cent in January.
A week ago, AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes hinted at raising a potential initial public offering for its Indian unit. It is seeking a partner for its services business.
“Analysts giving zero value to AirAsia India. Not far from 20 planes and a potential IPO,” he said in a tweet. India’s aviation policy mandates at least 20 aircraft for an airline to fly abroad.
The company expects to hit profit with the introduction of its foreign operations and claims to have had the lowest cost of operation among all airlines.
AirAsia has also been able to narrow its losses by 74 per cent to `16.4 crore for the July-September quarter.