NEW DELHI: As demand for air travel is back on track after covid-19 wrecked havoc on the sector, a former Kingfisher Airlines’ executive and the former India head of Fairfax Financial are joining hands to launch a new regional carrier.
The new airline, to be called Fly91, will be headed by Harsha Raghavan, current managing partner at Convergent Finance LLP. He will be the Chairman of the proposed airline. Manoj Chacko, who was previously associated with now-defunct Kingfisher Airlines, will be the CEO. Fly91 aims to begin operations by December 2023 and will have its base in Goa.
According to a statement by Convergent Finance, other members of the management team have past experience at various aviation companies including Jet Airways, Gulf Air, SpiceJet, Air Asia, and Vistara. This is not the first time that industry veterans or entrepreneurs are coming together to start a regional airline. However, in majority of cases, most airlines succumb to external challenges in a short span of time.
During the covid-19 era, regional carriers such as Trujet and Zoom Air ceased all their operations.
Convergent Finance said Fly91 will operate in the short-haul segment, in which flights last between 45 and 90 minutes. The company that owns Fly91, Just UDO Aviation Private Limited, has applied for a No Objection certificate and for requisite security clearances from the Ministry of Civil Aviation.