AirAsia India, the proposed low-cost carrier of the tripartite joint venture between AirAsia Berhad, Tata Sons and Telestra Tradeplace owned by Arun Bhatia, is inching closer to beginning operations after the country’s aviation regulator DGCA completed aircraft inspections and conducted ‘proving flights’ of AirAsia India’s Airbus A320. This was the last remaining inspection before the Directorate General of Civil Aviation could grant an air operator’s permit to AirAsia India.
On Thursday afternoon, AirAsia India’s CEO Mittu Chandilya tweeted pictures of aircraft inspections and an aircraft parked in Bangalore and Cochin as part of the proving flight. Chandilya also tweeted that the ‘proving flights’ is not just about the potential routes of the airline, but also about all aspects of operations of the airline. The proving flight undertaken on the aircraft registered VT-ATF, an Airbus A320, carried non-revenue passengers and cargo on board along with DGCA officials. Among the airline’s staff, two pilots and four cabin crew conducted the flight while the rest acted as passengers. DGCA officials checked the airline staff’s handing of normal events while AirAsia Berhad, the promoter company’s ground staff handled the AirAsia India proving flight in Cochin and Bangalore.
The proving flights to Bangalore and Cochin are an indication of AirAsia India’s planned destinations. However, their final schedule and route network will need to be cleared by the DGCA after getting the operator’s permit. In its application to obtain the permit, the airline had also mentioned Trichy, Madurai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Pune as ‘line station’ locations for maintenance.
Line maintenance stations are where airlines carry out scheduled checks that do not require specialised training and equipment. Such stations are also used for preparing and readying an aircraft for flight as well as maintenance on an en-route aircraft that are stopped before their next flight.
A senior DGCA official said that realistically the airline can start operations sometime in June. “We still have to go through the report of the proving flight,” said the official. “Assuming there’s no problem and we provide them the permit next week, they will still have to finalise their route network and schedule which would take another couple of weeks to approve. After that, the airline will start to take bookings, thus the first official flight is likely only in June.”
The validity of the air operator’s permit will be subject to the verdict of the Delhi High Court, which is hearing a public interest litigation filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, which claims that AirAsia India’s approval will violate the foreign direct investment regulations for the civil aviation sector.
The case, which was heard on Thursday, will now be heard by a special bench constituted by the Delhi High Court on July 11.
Last week, the Delhi High Court allowed Swamy’s plea to implead DGCA as a respondent to the PIL.
The special bench will also hear the PIL filed by the Federation of Indian Airlines and Swamy, which seeks to stay any approvals given to Tata SIA Airlines, the joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines.
It has already been over a year since Malaysia’s AirAsia Berhad promoted by Tony Fernandes announced its partnership with Tata Sons and Telestra Tradeplace owned by Arun Bhatia to start a low-cost airline in India. After getting an approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board in March 2013, the airline applied for a no-objection certificate from the ministry of civil aviation in July. After getting the NoC in the last week of September 2013, the airline applied for an air operator’s permit on October 18, 2013, and ever since that it has been waiting for a permit.
On Thursday afternoon, AirAsia India’s CEO Mittu Chandilya tweeted pictures of aircraft inspections and an aircraft parked in Bangalore and Cochin as part of the proving flight. Chandilya also tweeted that the ‘proving flights’ is not just about the potential routes of the airline, but also about all aspects of operations of the airline. The proving flight undertaken on the aircraft registered VT-ATF, an Airbus A320, carried non-revenue passengers and cargo on board along with DGCA officials. Among the airline’s staff, two pilots and four cabin crew conducted the flight while the rest acted as passengers. DGCA officials checked the airline staff’s handing of normal events while AirAsia Berhad, the promoter company’s ground staff handled the AirAsia India proving flight in Cochin and Bangalore.
The proving flights to Bangalore and Cochin are an indication of AirAsia India’s planned destinations. However, their final schedule and route network will need to be cleared by the DGCA after getting the operator’s permit. In its application to obtain the permit, the airline had also mentioned Trichy, Madurai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Jaipur and Pune as ‘line station’ locations for maintenance.
Line maintenance stations are where airlines carry out scheduled checks that do not require specialised training and equipment. Such stations are also used for preparing and readying an aircraft for flight as well as maintenance on an en-route aircraft that are stopped before their next flight.
A senior DGCA official said that realistically the airline can start operations sometime in June. “We still have to go through the report of the proving flight,” said the official. “Assuming there’s no problem and we provide them the permit next week, they will still have to finalise their route network and schedule which would take another couple of weeks to approve. After that, the airline will start to take bookings, thus the first official flight is likely only in June.”
The validity of the air operator’s permit will be subject to the verdict of the Delhi High Court, which is hearing a public interest litigation filed by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, which claims that AirAsia India’s approval will violate the foreign direct investment regulations for the civil aviation sector.
The case, which was heard on Thursday, will now be heard by a special bench constituted by the Delhi High Court on July 11.
Last week, the Delhi High Court allowed Swamy’s plea to implead DGCA as a respondent to the PIL.
The special bench will also hear the PIL filed by the Federation of Indian Airlines and Swamy, which seeks to stay any approvals given to Tata SIA Airlines, the joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines.
It has already been over a year since Malaysia’s AirAsia Berhad promoted by Tony Fernandes announced its partnership with Tata Sons and Telestra Tradeplace owned by Arun Bhatia to start a low-cost airline in India. After getting an approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board in March 2013, the airline applied for a no-objection certificate from the ministry of civil aviation in July. After getting the NoC in the last week of September 2013, the airline applied for an air operator’s permit on October 18, 2013, and ever since that it has been waiting for a permit.
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