FLY91, a recently established airline led by seasoned aviation professionals, has been allocated its initial set of routes under the Indian government’s Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) UDAN. The routes, granted under UDAN 5.0, will enable FLY91 to connect the cities of Sindhudurg, Jalgaon, Nanded, and Agatti with prominent business and leisure destinations such as Bangalore, Goa, Hyderabad, and Pune.
The Indian government announced on July 25 that start-up carrier Fly91 (Goa Dabolim) has been allocated ten routes under its UDAN Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS). This round of UDAN route announcements aims to connect tier-two cities (with populations between 50,000 and 100,000) and tier-three cities (with populations between 20,000 and 50,000) with larger tier-one cities. The UDAN scheme involves subsidizing fares on specific routes to designated airports, primarily for aircraft with passenger capacities ranging from 20 to 79 seats, and other larger aircraft with capacities of 80 or more. The government’s objective is to establish scheduled passenger services to at least 50 underserved regional airports and introduce around 1,000 new regional routes. FLY91, planning to commence scheduled operations by the year-end, has been granted the following routes:
- Jalgaon – Pune
- Jalgaon – Goa Dabolim
- Jalgaon – Hyderabad
- Malvan (Sindhudurg) – Pune
- Malvan (Sindhudurg) – Bangalore
- Malvan (Sindhudurg) – Hyderabad
- Nanded – Goa Dabolim
- Nanded – Bangalore
- Agatti – Pune
- Agatti – Bangalore
CEO Manoj Chacko of FLY91 expressed his enthusiasm for the allocation, considering it a significant milestone for the startup. He stated, “We are committed and on track to launch our commercial operations, subject to regulatory approvals, later this year from our home base Goa.” Although the airline is yet to obtain its air operator’s certificate, it has already secured a no-objection certificate from India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). FLY91 intends to begin operations with two ATR72-600 aircraft, each with a capacity of 76 passengers, with plans to expand to a fleet of six aircraft within the first year of operation.
