New Delhi: It is raining airlines now. After Tata Sons' JVs with Singapore Airlines and AirAsia, smaller players are now aiming for the Indian sky too.
Alok Sharma, the face of Air Sahara till it was sold off to Jet Airways in 2007, has been given a no objection certificate (NOC) by the aviation ministry to start a regional airline. He plans to start a full service airline Air One in the first quarter of next year. Along with Air One, two other startups have been granted NOCs to start airlines.
"Our paid-up capital for the airline is well over Rs 100 crore. We are going to have a fleet of either Boeing 737 or Airbus A-320 aircraft. Due to obvious business reasons, it will not be possible for me to divulge all our plans. All I can say at this stage is that it will be a full service airline India will be proud of and that it should begin flying by next March," Sharma, who left Sahara in 2010, told TOI. He claims the new airline has nothing to do with the group.
According to industry insiders, armed with this NOC, Sharma will now aim to get a foreign investor, most likely an airline, to begin operations under a joint branding.
22/07/14 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India
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Alok Sharma, the face of Air Sahara till it was sold off to Jet Airways in 2007, has been given a no objection certificate (NOC) by the aviation ministry to start a regional airline. He plans to start a full service airline Air One in the first quarter of next year. Along with Air One, two other startups have been granted NOCs to start airlines.
"Our paid-up capital for the airline is well over Rs 100 crore. We are going to have a fleet of either Boeing 737 or Airbus A-320 aircraft. Due to obvious business reasons, it will not be possible for me to divulge all our plans. All I can say at this stage is that it will be a full service airline India will be proud of and that it should begin flying by next March," Sharma, who left Sahara in 2010, told TOI. He claims the new airline has nothing to do with the group.
According to industry insiders, armed with this NOC, Sharma will now aim to get a foreign investor, most likely an airline, to begin operations under a joint branding.
22/07/14 Saurabh Sinha/Times of India
