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The first aircraft of Air Asia India, a joint venture between Tata Sons and Air Asia, landed here on Saturday. The Airbus A320-216SL, registered VT-ATF, which left the Airbus factory in Toulouse, France, on Friday, arrived here via Turkey.
The flight received a water canon salute at the airport here. Painted red and white, it had the words ‘Now Everyone Can Fly’ on one side and AirAsia’ on the other. The new Airbus A320 is equipped with sharklets, wing-tip devices that help aircraft reduce fuel burn and emission. Powered by CFM engines, the aircraft has an all-economy layout, with 180 seats.
Airbus has confirmed AirAsia India will be delivered nine more aircraft for its initial fleet of A320s. The fleet will be drawn from the 475 A320 aircraft ordered by the AirAsia Group.
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The A320 is the world’s best-selling single-aisle aircraft. So far, about 10,200 such aircraft have been ordered and about 6,000 delivered to operators worldwide.
Within 30 minutes of the aircraft landing here, AirAsia chief Tony Fernandes tweeted, “AirAsia India’s first aircraft arrives in India…in Chennai. Wow!”
Mittu Chandilya, chief executive of AirAsia India, said the arrival of the first aircraft signified the airline was a step closer to its “dream” to create a new benchmark in the low-cost air travel category. With the entry of AirAsia India, the Indian aviation sector would soon see a prodigious overhaul, he said, adding air traffic in India was growing at an impressive rate and AirAsia India’s business model suited this market.
With Chennai as its hub, AirAsia India will focus on connecting tier-II cities.
The airline said its model would be based on low fares. Earlier, Chandilya had said the airline’s fares could be 25-30 per cent lower than those charged by other airlines. He had expressed hope AirAsia India would commence operations in May.
Currently, AirAsia India is awaiting an air operator permit (AOP). Recently, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had disposed of all objections against the proposed low-cost carrier, an important step before an AOP is issued. The DGCA had received about 20 objections from the Federation of Indian Airlines, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy, etc, who argued foreign direct investment (FDI) by foreign airlines had been allowed into existing Indian airlines, not for creating joint-venture start-ups.
While Tata Sons has a 30 per cent stake in the venture, AirAsia owns 49 per cent; Arun Bhatia of Telestra Tradeplace holds the remaining stake. The $30-million venture was the first after FDI norms in the aviation segment were changed. Subsequently, the Tata group had announced a tie-up with Singapore Airlines for a full-service airline.
Apart from AirAsia India and Tata-SIA, two-three start-ups are reportedly awaiting licences to commence regional operations.
“In the next 20 years, for the first time, more people will travel by air in India and China than anywhere else,” said John Leahy, chief operating officer (customers), Airbus. He added India’s domestic air transport growth would ensure the country was one of the largest civil aviation markets by 2032.
