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AirAsia India seeks international flights exemption
April 7th 2017
India's Ministry of External Affairs has received a petition from the AirAsia Group which has requested exemption for AirAsia India from the requirement to operate at least twenty aircraft before it can launch international services. Read More »
If the exemption was granted, the AirAsia Group said it would take AirAsia India "probably three months” to start international services. The Indian LCC operates eight A320ceo to 15 destinations in India.
The carrier’s CEO, Amar Abrol, had previously gone on record saying AirAsia India would likely pass the 20-aircraft threshold in mid-2018.
Vistara, another relatively recent Indian market entrant, expects to add international flights during the second half of 2018. Vistara CEO, Sanjiv Kapoor, said the SIA controlled airline intends to launch short-haul regional services before expanding onto the long-haul segment, possibly with B777Xs from SIA’s order book.
Narendra Modi's government last year revised the rules governing the allocation of international traffic rights. India-registered airlines are allowed to launch international flights provided they allocate twenty aircraft or 20% of their total capacity (whichever is higher) on domestic routes.
