AirAsia India gearing up to start international flights

AirAsia India aims to scale up to a fleet of 20 planes by September-October and commence international operations thereafter, its CEO Amar Abrol said on Tuesday.

Any domestic airline with a fleet size of at least 20 aircraft will be eligible for international operations under India’s aviation policy. AirAsia India currently has a fleet of 10 Airbus A320 planes.

Abrol said the initial international destinations in the airline’s plan would naturally be those in Southeast Asia, the stronghold of its parent AirAsia Berhad.

As a precursor of sorts, the airline is launching Fly-Thru, a service which facilitates seamless check-in for passengers through to the final destination. Abrol said it is in its testing stages.

He said AirAsia India would stick to its earlier target of doubling revenue and passenger traffic this year although he declined to give any projection on profitability.

He said the airline is almost every month clocking passenger ticket revenue of Rs 100 crore, double the amount in the same period last year.

AirAsia India posted a net loss of Rs 40.4 crore in the quarter ended March, down from Rs 46.89 crore a year earlier, thanks to foreign exchange gains. Its operating loss for the quarter widened to Rs 53.91 crore from Rs 46.86 crore, according to unaudited filings in Bursa Malaysia, the Kuala Lumpur stock exchange.