GoAir to launch direct services from Hyd

Low-cost carrier, GoAir, is planning to launch direct flight services from Hyderabad to Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata besides a couple of non-metro cities.

"At present, we are evaluating the prospects of launching these new services from Hyderabad and will firm up plans in the next one-and-a-half months,"Jeh Wadia, managing director of GoAir, said here today.

Addressing the media here, Wadia said, "Our aim is to bring down the price of the air ticket on par with AC three-tier rail fares."

According to him, about 7 million of the 15 million railway passengers travel in AC coaches each day and they would make a huge chunk of potential air travellers on low-cost airlines.

On the company's efforts to further reduce the air ticket prices, which are 37 per cent lower than the full service airlines, Wadia said the present rules that forbid outsourcing of ground handling and engineering services were proving to be a hindrance.

Fuel edging, which also helps an airline reduce costs, was expected to be implemented in two months from now, he added.

Maintaining that the equity requirement for the present and immediate future was entirely taken care of by the Wadia family, he said the company was considering other options as well for the $1.64-billion deal entered into with Airbus Industrie for 20 aircraft recently.

With a fleet of its four leased Airbus services, GoAir currently runs 28 flight services covering 13 airports, including Hyderabad with two of its services connecting Mumbai and Chennai from here. According to Wadia, the company is planning to add four more Airbus services to its fleet by the year end.