AirAsia India

AirAsia India operates flights to 21 destinations in India incl. Amritsar, Bagdogra, Bengaluru (hub), Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Imphal, Indore, Jaipur, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Nagpur, Ranchi, Pune, Srinagar, Surat and Vizag carrying a total of 4.4 million and nine million passengers in 2020 and 2019 respectively.

Air India

Air India's fleet includes Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, Boeing 747-400, Boeing 777 and Airbus A319/A320/A321 aircraft flying to destinations across four continents extending from San Francisco in the west, Stockholm in the north, Tokyo in the east and Melbourne in the south. Air India earned a total revenue of ca ₹ 222 billion during 2016-17 with a total loss of ₹ 57 bn. and carried almost 21.2 million passengers (excl. Air India Express) in the same year. Air India carried 16.1 m passengers on domestic routes in 2019. A major divestment/restructuring plan (upto 95 % divestment) is underway for Air India although the ongoing pandemic has delayed the process. The final deadline for financial bids was extended to Sep 15 '21. Tata Sons (Tata Group was the original founder of Air India prior to its nationalisation in 1953) will take over Air India and Air India Express in a deal worth around ₹ 180 bn incl. a substantial amount of debt to be cleared.

Above pic: An Air India Airbus A310-300 (no longer operated) at Hong Kong's Chek Lap Kok international airport. Air India now operates Boeing 787 aircraft to Hong Kong. Air India Boeing 777-337/ER REg. VT-ALO "Karnataka" taxiing at Frankfurt am Main Airport - © Timir Mozumder

Air India Express

Air India's low cost airline subsidiary, Air India Express, flies to 18 Indian cities and 13 international destinations incl. Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Al Ain, Muscat, Salalah, Bahrain, Doha, Kuwait, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Dhaka and Colombo with a fleet of 24 Boeing 737-800 aircraft. The airline carried 4.36 million passengers in 2018-19 (182 000 passengers on domestic routes in 2019) and reported a total revenue of ₹ 42 bn and a net profit of ₹ 1.7 bn for the same year.

Above pic: An Air India Express Boeing 737-800 at Chennai Airport.

Air India Regional (Alliance Air)

Airline Allied Services Ltd. was formed in 1983 as an Indian Airlines subsidiary. Alliance Air (brand name) flight operations began in 1996 and its current fleet includes ATR-42 / ATR-72 turboprop aircraft. Alliance Air (rebranded as Air India Regional) carried 1.66 m passengers on domestic routes in 2019.

Above pic: An Alliance Air Boeing 737-200 parked at Delhi Airport. These classic series 737's have been phased out from scheduled passenger routes.

Air India Regional ATR 42-320 Reg. VT-ABO Taxiing Past Terminal 1D at Delhi IGI Airport, India © Timir Mozumder

Air Taxi

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Go First

Go First (previously GoAir), promoted by the Wadia Group operates ca 330 daily flights to 36 destinations. Go First's fleet consists of 56 Airbus A320-200/neo aircraft and the airliner carried 15.3 m passengers on domestic routes in 2019. Go First launched international operations with air services to Phuket and Malé in Oct '18 and presently serves nine overseas destinations.

GoAir Airbus A320-214 Reg. VT-WAE Taxiing at Delhi IGI Airport - © Timir Mozumder

IndiGo

IndiGo, India's largest airline and the eight largest in the world based on the number of weekly seats available (1.44 m in early Jan '21), operates a growing fleet of approx. 270 Airbus A320/A321 and ATR72 turboprop aircraft. Indigo carried over 64.7 million passengers in 2018/19. The airline operates ca 1 500 daily flights to over 70 destinations including 17 international destinations. IndiGo placed large orders for a total of 430 A320neo jets in 2011 and 2014, deliveries of which commenced in March 2016. Later on 25 of the ordered Airbus A320neo aircraft were converted to Airbus A321neo jets. In Nov 2018 the airline converted a further 125 nos of the earlier ordered Airbus A320neo aircraft to the higher capacity and longer range Airbus A321neo aircraft. The first Airbus A321neo jet was delivered in late '18 and delivery of all the 430 ordered Airbus jets is estimated to be completed by the mid-2020's. IndiGo's orderbook also includes upto 50 ATR72-600 turboprop aircraft for regional routes. IndiGo's total income for 2018-19 increased to ₹ 298 billion.

IndiGo Airbus A320-232 Reg. VT-INR Taxiing at Delhi IGI Airport - © Timir Mozumder

SpiceJet

SpiceJet flies to 54 Indian and 10 international destinations. The airline carried 21.5 m and 2.75 m passengers on domestic and international routes respectively in 2019 and currently operates around 630 flights daily. SpiceJet operates a fleet of Boeing 737-700/800/900ER/MAX 10 and Bombardier Q400 NextGen turboprop aircraft. The Boeing 737 MAX jets are presently grounded. Spicejet placed an order for 20 (+20 optional) Boeing 737 MAX 10 aircraft in Jun '17 for which delivery commenced in Oct '18. Spicejet also ordered 50 (incl. purchase rights for 25 Q400s) Bombardier Q400 turboprops in Sep '17. These aircraft are configured with 90 seats. The airline posted revenues totalling ₹ 78 bn in 2017-18.

SpiceShuttle commenced a seaplane (Viking Air DHC-6 Twin Otter) passenger service connecting Ahmedabad with the Statue of Unity located at Kevadiya (Gujarat) in Oct '20.


Left pic: SpiceJet's VT-SPF "Coriander" Boeing 737-800 at Delhi IGIA.

SpiceJet Boeing 737-8GJ Reg. VT-SPP "Rosemary" Taxiing at Delhi IGI Airport (VIDP/DEL). SpiceJet operates a fleet of 68 Boeing 737 aircraft. The airline recently ordered an additional 27 Bombardier Q400 turboprops. © Timir Mozumder

TruJet

Hyderabad based TruJet operates flights to the following destinations (as of Nov '20): Ahmedabad, Aurangabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Cuddapah, Goa, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaisalmer, Jalgaon, Kandla, Kolhapur, Mumbai, Mysuru, Nanded, Nasik, Probandar, Rajamahendravaram, Salem, Tirupati, Vidyanagar (Jindal Vijyanagar) and Vijayawada. The airline carried 376 000 and 766 000 passengers in 2020 and 2019 respectively.

Vistara

Vistara flies to 33 destinations within India and a few international/regional destination and operates over 200 flights a day with a growing fleet of Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 aircraft. The airline commenced international services in Aug '19. It's main hub is at Delhi IGIA. Vistara carried 5.62 million passengers in 2018. The airline placed an order for 13 Airbus A320/A321 neo jets and six Boeing 787-9 aircraft in July '18. The airline recorded a total revenue of over ₹ 21 bn during fiscal '18 and a net loss of ₹ 4.3 bn.

Star Air

Star Air flies to Ahmedabad, Belagavi, Bengaluru, Ghaziabad, Hubballi, Indore (wef Jan 20), Kalaburagi, Mumbai and Tirupati. The airline operates three 50-seater Embraer E145 regional jets. Star Air carried 91 000 passengers in 2020.

Zoom Air

Zoom Air operated earlier on a few regional routes using 50-seater Bombardier CRJ200 jet aircraft. The airline carried approx. 27 000 passengers during 2017/18. The airline was grounded in mid-2018 but is reported to have introduced a flight service between Delhi and Agra in 2019.

Air Carnival, a Coimbatore based airline, operated a few regional services within South India. The airline ceased operations in April 2017.

A regional airline based in Vijayawada launched commercial service in Oct 2013 with flights connecting the following eight destinations in India: Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Tirupati, Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada. The airline operated some 16 daily flights until operations ceased in March 2017.

Air Pegasus operated regional flights within South India from its base at Bengaluru Airport. The airline carried 117 000 passengers in 2015 but had its flying license suspended in Nov '16.

Indian Airlines

Indian (earlier Indian Airlines) was a major government owned airline providing an extensive domestic air network. Indian carried approx. 6.6 million passengers in 2008 (770,000 in Oct '09) while total revenues amounted to ₹60.5 bn in 2005-06. Indian operated upto 325 daily flights and carried approx. 1.7 million passengers on its international routes.

Indian Airlines (old livery) Airbus A320-231 Reg. VT-EPS Taxiing at Delhi IGI Airport (VIDP/DEL) - © Timir Mozumder

An Indian Airlines Dornier Do228 at Cochin Airport in 2005. The airline has now phased out the Dornier aircraft and does not currently serve Agatti.

An Indian Airlines Airbus A320

Jet Airways

Jet Airways' fleet included long-range widebodied Boeing 777, Airbus A330-203s, Boeing 737s (700-, 800-, 900-series and MAX 8) and ATR-72-212A/500's turbo-props. Total revenues of the airline amounted to ₹ 252 billion (net loss ca ₹ 6 bn) while 29.9 million revenue passengers (incl. approx. 8.5 million passengers on international routes) were carried during 2017-18. Cargo airlifted totalled 220 000 tons during 2015/16. Jet Airways acquired Air Sahara in April 2007 and subsequently renamed the 100 per cent subsidiary as Jet Lite. Jet Airways Konnect, a new all-economy low-cost service, operated over 100 daily flights. The airline had ordered a total of 225 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft.
Jet Airways suspended all operations in Apr '19 due to financial constraints.

Above pic: A Jet Airways B737 at Mumbai's Sahar Airport Terminal IB, used by private airlines.


Jet Airways Boeing 737-71Q Taxiing Past Terminal 1D at Delhi IGI Airport, India © Timir Mozumder

JetKonnect (Jet Airways)

Jet Airways acquired the ertswhile Air Sahara in April 2007 and renamed it as JetLite which was rebranded in 2012 to JetKonnect. JetKonnect has now integrated with Jet Airways.

Left pic: An Air Sahara Boeing 737 (now JetLite) featuring the old livery at Mumbai Sahar Airport.

JetLite Bombardier (Canadair) CRJ-200 Taxiing at Delhi IGI Airport. © Timir Mozumder

Kingfisher Airlines, one of India's major airlines, suspended all flight operations in Oct '12.

Kingfisher Airlines Airbus A320-232 Reg. VT-ADV Taxiing to Gate at Delhi IGI Airport (VIDP/DEL). © Timir Mozumder

A cabin view of a Kingfisher ATR-72 turboprop. ATR aircraft plied on shorter low-density routes covering mainly tourist destinations and 2nd and 3rd-tier cities.

The vegetarian meals served on Kingfisher Airlines flights were tasty and hot meals were served even on shorter flights, a rarity eg on shorter intra-European flights. A nice touch is the printed menu served to all passengers.

Gurgaon-based MDLR Airlines offered flights between from Delhi to Chandigarh, Kullu, Ranchi, Lucknow, Kolkata and Goa. MDLR's fleet comprised of tthree British Aerospace Avro RJ70 jet aircraft, the only Avro jets (RJ70) ever to be operated by an Indian carrier. The 70-seater aircraft were configured in a two class layout, 6 business and 64 in economy class.

Simplifly Deccan (earlier Air Deccan), later on rebranded as Kingfisher Red, was India's pioneering low-cost carrier when launched in 2003. The airline operated a large fleet of ATR-42-320/500 / ATR-72-212A series turbo-props and Airbus A320 aircraft.

Above pic: An Air Deccan ATR-42 at Bangalore Airport. The new Simplifly Deccan livery resembles that of Kingfisher Airlines' red colour dominated livery. Vijay Mallya led UB Group of companies holds an almost 46 per cent stake in Deccan.

Left pic: A cabin view of an Air Deccan Airbus A320. Air Deccan aircraft are all-economy and snacks and beverages are sold for a nominal price. The airline has a policy of free seating.

Left pic: An Air Deccan Airbus A320. Simplifly Deccan currently operates 22 A320s configured with 180 seats on high density routes to 27 destinations across India. Simplifly Deccan carried around 7.3 million passengers in 2007.

Paramount, a regional airline, was headquarted in Chennai and served upto 50 daily flights, mainly to destinations located in South India. Paramount's fleet included Brazilian 70-seater Embraer 170 regional jets.

Above pic: A Paramount Airways Embraer 170 jet taxiing at Chennai airport.

An air freight company currently operating five converted Being 737-200's and two Boeing 757 freighters.

Above pic: Blue Dart Boeing 737 Freighter at Kolkata NSCB.

Pawan Hans operates a fleet of 42 helicopters comprising of 17 Dauphin SA365N18, 14 Dauphin AS 365N3, 3 Bell 206L4, 3 Bell 407, 2 AS 350 B3 and 3 Mil Mi-172. Jal Hans is a seaplane service operating a Cessna 208A in the Andaman Islands. Revenues amounted to ₹ 4.6 billion in 2017-18.

Offers helicopter charter services. Deccan Aviation's chopper fleet includes of 5 Bell 206, 1 Bell 212, 2 Bell 407, 2 Ecurueil AS 355, 1 Eurocopter AS355F2 helicopters and two fixed wing single turboprop Pilatus PC-12 aircraft. The company launched in 2003 India's first low-cost regional airline, Air Deccan (see Simplifly Deccan above)..

Operates one Hawker 125-700B executive jet and one King Air C-90A turbo-prop.

Operates two Ecureil and one M-172 helicopter.

Million Air offers a fleet of three helicopters and one Cessna Citation aircraft for charter.

Operates 2 Beech 99, one Piper Seneca-IV aircraft, 2 Bell 206 and one Bell 407 helicopter

Fleet includes two Falcon 2000 jets.

UB Air has a fleet of two Bell 212s and one Alouette helicopter.

A Chennai based air charter service provider with a fleet of Piper Seneca III, Beechcraft King Air and Beechjet 400

A Chennai based air charter service provider with a fleet of 4 Bell 212, 2 Bell 412 and 2 Sikorsky S76 helicopters.

Provides fractional aircraft ownership with a fleet five Cessna Citation Excel's and Citation CII's, three Eurocopter EC135's and one turboprop.

Specializes in mountain flying with a chopper fleet of two Cheetah/SA 315B and one Chetak SA 316 B.

India's newest freighter operator under the brand Deccan 360 plans to fly (wef May 27) 5xweekly on a route covering Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Hong Kong and Dubai with Airbus A310F equipment. The company also plans to acquire smaller capacity ATR aricraft for domestic cargo operations.