New Delhi: Start-up carrier Tata-SIA Airlines plans to launch its flights from September one this year with Delhi as its hub and proposes to operate to 87 cities in the first year.
The full-service carrier, a 51:49 joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines (SIA), plans to fly from Delhi to Mumbai, Goa, Patna, Chandigarh, Srinagar, Hyderabad and Bengaluru in its first year of operations, according to its application for a flying licence filed with the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).
Its plans are to operate 87 flights in the first year, with leased Airbus A-320s, and scale it up to 301 by the fourth year of operations.
Initially, the carrier plans to operates two flights a day to Mumbai, with one of them going further to Goa. The initial phase would also see two flights a day each to Bengaluru, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad.
Besides the major metros, the proposed airline would also connect Srinagar, Patna, Chandigarh and Jammu.
Under its aggressive expansion plans, the Tata-SIA Airlines proposes to add destinations like Chennai, Pune, Lucknow, Varanasi, Jaipur, Kolkata, Amritsar, Bagdogra, Indore and Cochin within the first four years of operations.
With the application in hand, DGCA has issued a public notice seeking objections, if any, to the grant of the Air Operators Permit (AOP or flying license) to the proposed carrier. It has asked those having any objections or wanting to make suggestions to submit their viewpoints to DGCA within 20 days.
A similar notice was issued under the Aircraft Rules of 1937 before flying licence was granted to AirAsia India. DGCA had rejected the objections submitted and granted the license to AirAsia India on Wednesday.
A few of those who had raised objections to granting of AOP to AirAsia India, including the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) and BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, had later moved the courts where the matter is still pending.
The Delhi High Court today refused to stay the DGCA’s grant of flying licence to AirAsia India, saying there was no urgency as the permit would be subject to the outcome of the petition challenging the approvals. The matter is slated to come up for hearing on July 11.
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