New low-cost carrier AirAsia India launched its operations with its maiden flight to Goa from this tech-hub Thursday and plans to fly on non-metro routes to tier-two and tier-three cities.
"Our first service onboard A-320 of Airbus is going full, as we have sold all 180 seats within minutes after booking was opened on our website May 30," AirAsia India chief executive Mittu Chandilya told reporters at the Bangalore international airport.
As part of promotional offer, the budget carrier sold 40 percent of tickets at Rs.999 and 10 percent at Rs.5 per ticket and remaining were sold up to Rs.1,999 per ticket.
"We will continue to charge on average Rs.990 per ticket on most of our routes to compete with Indian Railways than with other low-cost carriers," Chandilya asserted.
The no-frills airline also operated a return flight to Bangalore from Goa late Thursday.
"We will soon announce the new routes we will operate after our second flight to Chennai from Bangalore commences June 19," Chandilya said on the occasion.
Over the next three months, the airline plans to connect nine regional cities with Bangalore, including Hubli and Mangalore in Karnataka and Jaipur in Rajasthan.
"We have given a list of cities that will be connected to the regulator (DGCA) and are waiting for its approval. We will announce the schedule next week," Chandilya said.
The $30-million Indo-Malaysian joint venture of AirAsia Berhad (49 percent), Tata Sons (30 percent) and Telstra Tradeplace (21 percent) is taking to skies a month after the regulator DGCA (Director General of Civil Aviation) granted permission May 7 to launch its budget operations across the country.
Though a late entrant in the budget-carrier sector, the airline will be competing with its established rivals such as IndiGo, SpiceJet, Jet Lite, Go Air and the state-run Air India to garner a market share to sustain its business.
"Our fares will be 35 percent lower than the market rates. At this rate, we believe we can sustain. Going forward, we intend to reduce tariff further as we are sure we can make revenues with stable operations," Chandilya noted.
The airline's introductory fare has triggered a price war among budget carriers, with IndiGo and SpiceJet announcing promotional and discounted fares on many routes they operate.
"Our long-term goal is that every Indian should have an opportunity to fly," Chandilya said.
The airline plans to connect 10 cities with 10 A320 family aircraft in the first year of its operations, with majority of services in southern India, connecting metros with tier-2 and tier-three cities.
The airline has about 300 people on rolls to commence its operations.
The airline's parent company Air Asia operates direct flights from Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and Bangkok in Thailand to Chennai, Bangalore, Kochi, Tiruchirappalli and Kolkata.
