Air India Express readies flights to take 2nd spot
Air India Express has chalked out an aggressive expansion drive deploying 50 Boeing 737 Max planes by the end of 2024. The airline is aiming to corner a firm second place, behind market leader IndiGo, in the cut-throat Indian domestic market, people aware of the development said.
Air India Express, which currently has 25 aircraft, is in the process of being merged with AirAsia India, which has 28 Airbus A320neo planes.
With the addition of 50 more aircraft, the combined entity will become the second largest low-cost airline in the Indian market.
The people said the addition of aircraft will be in two phases. While the first aircraft will join by this October, it will add 25 planes by June next year.
The second phase of expansion will be from August to December 2024.
The airline has been a big beneficiary of frosty US-China relationships due to which US aerospace major Boeing has yet to resume deliveries of the 737 Max aircraft to China. Fifty of those already built planes designated for Chinese airlines are being taken up by Air India Express, leading to a faster-than-normal delivery timeline.
«The airline will initially strengthen its network in existing routes in both domestic and international rather than spreading too thin.
We have a strong product position in the India-Gulf market, which has some of the busiest routes in India. After network densification, the second phase of expansion will be done in multiple domestic destinations,» said an airline executive.
The airline plans to expand to 30 international destinations including Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Turkey and Vietnam.
Air India Express is the only profitable airline in the salt-to-steel Tata Group's aviation stable.
