Goa-based regional airline FLY91 plans to increase its fleet size to ten in a year from now with a mix of owned and leased planes, Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer Manoj Chacko said.
FLY91, which began commercial operations on March 18 last year, has three ATR-72 aircraft and is due to receive its fourth one in May. Both the third and fourth aircraft are owned by the airline giving it better control over its costs. Chacko did not disclose how airline financed the acquisition but said it has zero debt on its books.
“We are very happy with our performance. Our product has been well received by our customers. Our flights are generating healthy loads and revenue. While there have been some delays in aircraft induction due supply chain issues, our focus in the first year has been on getting the basics of operations and business right. We will start scaling up in the second year,” he said.
FLY91’s first year of operations marks a remarkable journey to transform domestic air travel,” added Harsha Raghavan, Managing Partner of private equity firm Convergent Finance, a majority investor in the airline.
“We have raised ₹250 crore of equity and have alternate financing lines available. We have no need to raise additional funds for expansion,” Raghavan stated.
Last March the airline had indicated it would have six planes in a year. Growth however has been slow. At present, the airline is operating a curtailed schedule with two of its planes unavailable due to maintenance and regulatory approval reasons.
Chacko said that the airline has used the lean period of February and March for scheduled heavy maintenance checks on their aircraft. “The induction of the fourth aircraft in the summer season will enable us to add additional destinations and daily flights,” Chacko said.
At present FLY91 is operating 12-16 flights covering six destinations. From mid-May it will have 24 daily flights.
“We plan to increase flights to Sindhudurg and Lakshadweep and launch new destinations such as Solapur and Hubli,” Chacko said.
According to aviation sector experts, the challenge for FLY91 will be quick expansion and competition from existing and new players.
While start-ups like Air Kerala, Al Hind Air are waiting in wings, FLY91 also faces competition on routes like Hyderabad -Goa and Pune – Goa from IndiGo and other carriers. FLY91 is also no longer flying to Bengaluru which was its first destination.
Chacko said airline has focused on smart revenue management to overcome challenges like directional traffic flows on newer routes
