The latest entrant to Indian skies, new regional airline Fly91 is focusing on providing last-mile connectivity from its home base of Goa. The airline, whose logo is a flying butterfly with the tagline "Bharat Unbound", is hedging its bets on the ever-growing aviation industry in India and the expansion of the tourism sector centred around Goa.
It aims to fly to underserved locations by collaborating with larger airlines to connect to the smaller towns around Goa. In an interview with Moneycontrol, CEO Manoj Chacko said there is a need for professional players in regional aviation and Fly91 is looking to fill that gap.
Also Read: Betting on collaborations, tourism around Goa: Fly91 CEO Manoj Chacko
Fly91 is helmed by aviation industry veterans such as Chacko, formerly executive vice-president of suspended Kingfisher Airlines and CEO, Business Travel, SOTC, who has joined hands with Harsha Raghavan, former India head of Fairfax, the Canada-based financial company that has a stake in Bengaluru International Airport Ltd, to launch Just UDO (which translates to just fly) Aviation, the company behind the airline. Raghavan’s investment firm Convergent Finance earmarked Rs 200 crore as the project outlay for the upcoming airline.
The logo
The company waxed lyrical over its flying butterfly logo. "A symbol of India's mesmerising beauty and vibrant diversity, our wings embody the promise of opportunity, guiding you through ethereal landscapes and soaring ever closer to your dreams. So spread your wings with FLY91, and let us connect you to the Bharat of boundless opportunity," the company website read.
The airline said it connects every Indian to their dreams, passions, aspirations, adventures and beyond.
Take-off soon
Fly91 received the no-objection certificate from the Ministry of Civil Aviation in early 2023 and is now working to get an air operator's permit from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, which it hopes to get without delay.
The plan is to commence operations sometime between October and December from Goa’s newer Manohar International Airport at Mopa, in the north of the state, with two ATR 72-600 turboprop jets.
The company says it is looking to cater to the short-haul segment (45-90 minute flight duration) and fly to locations where bigger aircraft cannot land or has less demand that those bigger airlines can't viably cater to.
These underserved locations also have an advantage that Fly91 can profit from, which is the lower value-added tax that states levy on aviation fuel, which typically tend to be higher in high-traffic airports.
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