Riding high on its swing to profits for the first time in financial year 2014-’15, Air India Express, the Kochi-headquartered low-cost arm of Air India, is all set to expand its presence up north.
“We are looking at commencing services from New Delhi and other Tier-II cities such as Madurai and Varanasi with the addition of eight new aircraft to our fleet in 2016 and to increase our overall presence by near 50 per cent,” said K. Shyam Sundar, Chief Executive Officer of Air India Express.
The airline has already kick-started the process to induct eight brand new B737-800 NG aircraft to be taken on dry lease and the planes will start arriving from March next year.
According to him, the plan is to start services in routes such as Delhi-Tehran or Varanasi-Doha, where its legacy carrier, Air India does not have a significant presence. “This will also enable us to provide seamless connectivity to the passengers of Air India on their onward journeys,” he added.
Alongside, the airline will also focus on commencing more point-to-point services to cater to Keralites across Gulf nations. Further, the frequency of services in the domestic sector will be also raised simultaneously.
On the back of cost savings and better market conditions, the airline has recorded a net profit of nearly Rs. 100 crore in the financial year ended March 2015. “The fall in global crude prices, which touched almost $60 per barrel, helped us cut down operating cost to a great extent and we hope to ride on this momentum in the coming fiscal as well,” Mr. Sundar said.
During the period, its revenue went up by 10 per cent to about Rs. 2,600 crore while its passenger carriage improved by 13.8 per cent to 3.10 million. For the current fiscal, the airline is targeting to increase the operating revenue by about Rs. 200 crore.