Summary
- FLY91 focuses on regional connections in India.
- Acceptance and proving flights are required before FLY91 can receive an Air Operator Certificate (AOP).
- FLY91 faces tough competition in India’s aviation landscape post-UDAN, requiring strong financial preparedness.
FLY91, an Indian carrier whose number “91” denotes the country’s code and which prioritizes regional connections in India, operated its first flight on March 2, 2024. The airline took to the skies from Manohar International Airport in Goa and landed in Bengaluru in Karnataka.
![An ATR aircraft flies at low attitude and beautiful sunset behind](https://static1.simpleflyingimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/shutterstock_1821717611.jpg)
Airline Startup Of The Week: India’s FLY91 Reveals First Look
The regional carrier plans to begin operations towards the top of this yr.
A transient dive into the history of FLY91
The Economic Times (ET) published a report claiming that Manoj Chacko, the previous executive vice chairman at Kingfisher Airlines, had partnered with Harsha Raghavan, the airline’s co-founder, to advertise FLY91. Chacko had set his sights on places in Maharastra resembling Latur, Singhdurg, Nanded, and Solapur as having potential for business development and, subsequently, operations of FLY91 in such tier 2 and three towns can be apt.
Photo: Denver International Airport
FLY91’s airline code is ‘IC.’ This is identical as that of the previous state-run carrier – Indian Airlines, which operated from 1953 until 2011. FLY91 began gearing up for flight activity in January amid the delivery of two ATR-72 aircraft. Unlike other latest carriers, FLY91 has appeared to have kept a low-key approach – whether in unveiling its livery or promoting its brand.
The last of the most important Indian carriers to start their operations was Akasa Air, which began regular flights in the summertime of 2022 after receiving an NOC a yr before its operations.
FLY91 still must care for a couple of things before full-fledged operations
Any airline that wishes to start its passenger flights is required to perform acceptance flights.
FLY91’s acceptance flights
It was reported by Hindustan Times that in its acceptance flight, FLY91 maneuvered its solution to drawing number “91” within the skies near Hyderabad. Acceptance flights are accomplished to make way for customer acceptance flights. Along with verifying various aspects, resembling the satisfactory performance of engines and fuel indicators, pilots make sure that climb performance, flaps, and slats adhere to aviation standards. Sometimes, airline representatives are also on board the aircraft, performing acceptance flights.
Regulators also conduct a Principal Base Inspection (MBI) to ascertain for flight readiness. After the aircraft ticks all of the boxes, this offers solution to proving flights.
Proving flights
In keeping with the decree of India’s aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), any latest carrier (that features FLY91) may also need to perform five proving flights before it gets an Air Operator Certificate (AOP). Such flights needs to be a minimum of 10 hours long and must be conducted on the intended routes. In special circumstances, nevertheless, DGCA can approve an AOP with no proving flight.
Generally, AOPs are handed out in per week’s time after the successful completion of proving flights. That is followed by a request for clearance of slots on the airports where the carrier will operate, allowing the scheduling of flights.
Stiff competition awaits FLY91 on its path forward
In 2018, India launched a program that had plans to make flights accessible to all Indians. After the implementation of this Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS), which was called UDAN (which, along with being an acronym, can also be the Hindi word for “taking to the skies”), regional connectivity in India has seen a boom. With the recognition of low-cost carriers resembling Akasa and IndiGo soaring high, it can be interesting to see how far FLY91 will prosper within the Indian aviation scene.
Photo: B. Forenius | Shutterstock
After the COVID-19 pandemic hit, some regional carriers in India, resembling Air Deccan and TruJet ceased operations. Although something as great in magnitude as COVID-19 has historically hit the globe just once in a century, cases resembling those call for robust financial preparations for any (latest) carrier like FLY91.