FLY91, India’s newest scheduled commuter airline, today flagged off its operations with a special flight between Goa and Agatti in the Lakshadweep islands and announced the sale of tickets to four towns in Phase one. The airline’s commercial operations will begin on March 18 with its first commercial flight scheduled to take off from Goa’s Manohar International Airport, Mopa to Kempegowda International airport in Bengaluru. It will also operate a flight between. Bengaluru and Sindudurg on the same day.
To mark the milestone, Union Minister for Civil Aviation, Jyotiraditya Scindia virtually flagged off a symbolic flight from Goa’s Manohar International Airport.
Chief minister of Goa Dr Pramod Sawant, who extended his wishes to the entire FLY91 team, was present to flag off the first flight. The event was also graced by the presence of Union Minister of State for Tourism Shripad Naik, Tourism Minister, Government of Goa Rohan Khaunte, Hon MP Rajya Sabha, Sadanand Tanavade and other dignitaries.
“Today marks a major milestone for FLY91 in our effort to make air travel more accessible as part of our vision for Bharat Unbound. We reiterate our commitment to our customers that FLY91 is aligned with the goal towards offering last mile connectivity and making air travel in India accessible, safe and reliable. We aim to be part of India’s ongoing economic transformation by creating robust regional connectivity which is crucial to economic growth,” said Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, FLY91 Manoj Chacko.
A veteran of the travel industry, Chacko has earlier worked in senior leadership roles at Emirates Airlines, Kingfisher Airlines, American Express, SOTC and WNS.
The latest entrant in the country’s aviation sector, opened bookings for ticket sales of its first commercial flights. In the inaugural phase, the regional airline will offer weekly flights between Goa’s Manohar International Airport and Bengaluru and Hyderabad as well as connectivity between Sindhudurg to Bengaluru and Hyderabad. All flights are open for sale with immediate effect.
Subsequently, FLY91 will introduce flights to Agatti, Pune, Jalgaon and Nanded.
“FLY91 is extremely delighted to be able to offer our flights for sale. We are excited to offer last mile connectivity with a focus on unserved and underserved routes to fliers in the country. Our customers can be assured of a reliable and dependable service and we look forward to welcoming passengers on our flights,” said Chacko.
FLY91 received its Air Operator Permit (AOP) from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Ministry of Civil Aviation on March 6, after successfully completing the rigorous regulatory compliances. To prove the airline’s operational readiness, FLY91 successfully conducted its proving flight under the DGCA’s supervision.
FLY91 received its first ATR 72-600, one of the two aircraft leased from Dubai Aerospace Enterprise in the first week of February 29. The aircraft flew in from Hyderabad to be part of the regional airline’s fleet, which will be based out of the Manohar International Airport, Mopa.
The airline has been allocated its first set of routes under the government's Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) UDAN. The routes include Sindhudurg, Jalgaon, Nanded in Maharashtra and Agatti in Lakshadweep, along with other business and leisure destinations, namely Bengaluru, Goa, Hyderabad and Pune.
Just as the country code ‘+91’ unifies India, FLY91 aims to unite Indians through accessible air travel and enhancing last-mile connectivity.
A pure-play regional airline, FLY91 aims to be a catalyst for connectivity across India's tier 2 and tier 3 towns and will coexist with other carriers within India’s aviation landscape.