AirAsia India hopes to start flying by January

Chennai: AirAsia India is likely to commence flying by January. “We are working out everything possible from our end to ensure that we start operations by January,” said AirAsia India’s CEO Mittu Chandilya.
The challenge is getting the fare so low that everybody gets an opportunity to fly. “We expect nearly 60 per cent of our travellers to be virgin travellers,” he told newspersons on the sidelines of the 12th All India Management Students Convention here on Friday.
AirAsia has been rated the world’s best low-cost airline five years in a row by SkyTrax World Alliance, a UK-based consultancy. “Indian operations are going to test us further,” he said.
“We are entering the sector at a time when the government is deregulating the sector. The obstacles are many and keeps me excited,” he said. The low-cost airline recently received a No Objection Certificate from the Ministry of Civil Aviation and has applied for Air Operating Permit (AOP) to kick-start operations. With Chennai as its headquarters, the airline, a joint venture of AirAsia, Tata Group and Telestra Tradeplace, plans to start flying with three aircrafts.
The airline has already recruited 300 crew members who are currently undergoing training in Malaysia, Chandilya said.
Read news in full 25/10/13 TE Rajasimhan/Business Line