Pure play regional airline, FLY91, has appointed aviation veterans Krishnan Balakrishnan as President & Chief Operating Officer and Jitendra Kushwah as Chief Financial Officer. Both executives will report directly to Founder, Managing Director and CEO Manoj Chacko and will be part of the airline's core leadership team.
The change in leadership at the regional airline follows changes of guard at two of India’s largest airlines - IndiGo and Air India. The two airlines recently appointed new CEOs to drive growth.
FLY91 said that the appointments follow their measured expansion across southern and western India, with the airline presently operating across 12 destinations in its growing regional network.
Balakrishnan brings more than three decades of experience across the global aviation industry. He joins FLY91 from Jazeera Airways, Kuwait, where he spent eight years and most recently served as Deputy CEO. Prior to that, he was Chief Financial Officer at GoAir and also held several senior leadership positions at Jet Airways and Transwest Helicopters in Canada.
At FLY91, he will lead the airline's day-to-day operations, drive operational excellence across the organisation and work closely with aircraft manufacturers and strategic partners to support the airline's continued expansion.
Kushwah joins FLY91 from FSTC, where he was part of the founding leadership team and served as Chief Financial & Operating Officer. He has previously held senior finance leadership positions at SpiceJet, IndiGo and The Oberoi Group.
Commenting on the appointments, Manoj Chacko, Managing Director & CEO of FLY91, said, "As we prepare for our next phase of growth, I am delighted to welcome Krishnan and Jitendra to our leadership team. Their depth of experience, proven leadership and shared commitment to excellence will be invaluable as we continue building a world-class regional airline that connects underserved communities and creates lasting value for our customers, employees and stakeholders."
FLY91 currently operates a growing regional network spanning 12 destinations over 280 weekly flights, across India, connecting Goa (Manohar International Airport, Mopa), Hyderabad, Rajahmundry, Vijayawada, Sindhudurg, Jalgaon, Solapur, Pune, Bengaluru, Hubballi, Agatti in the Lakshadweep Islands and Kochi.