If you’ve been planning a vacation and the sky-high airfares have grounded your plans – you won’t be entirely wrong in blaming the duopoly of IndiGo and the Tata Group that are dominating the Indian skies. A new contender is now reportedly taxiing on the runway… but will it shake things up?
No, we’re not talking about another big conglomerate making its way into the highly capital-intensive airline business, but a travel services operator hailing Kerala that has now obtained the nod to take off.
According to a report by CNBC-TV18, Kerala’s Alhind Group has just received the Civil Aviation Ministry’s initial green light to start its very own airline — Alhind Air. If everything goes according to plan, they could be up and running by the end of this year.
Alhind Group as one of the big names in travel and tourism sector, not just in India but also abroad. It’s also the General Sales Agent or GSA for several airlines, and claims to have a whopping ₹20,000 crore turnover with more than 130 offices spread across India and overseas.
So what’s the plan for Alhind Air?
According to the report, the airline will kick off with three ATR-72 turboprop planes, with an initial investment of around ₹200 crore to ₹500 crore. The idea is to start small, connecting regional routes in the southern part of the country— Cochin to Bengaluru, Thiruvananthapuram, and Chennai, among others.
But they’re not stopping there. Once they’ve got their regional operations up and running, Alhind Air plans to spread its wings across the country, evolving into a full-fledged domestic carrier. They’ll also be adding narrow-body passenger planes to their fleet as they grow.
Alhind Air will soon start the hiring process for pilots, cabin crew, engineers, and other ground staff. So, we’re looking at a lot of new job opportunities in the aviation sector.
The timing might just be perfect. The aviation industry in India has seen some major players crash and burn in recent years, but it’s still on a growth trajectory. By the fiscal year 2027-2028, it’s expected to account for half of the country’s international traffic, up from the current 43%. This surge is driven by a shift in spending patterns and an increasing appetite for international leisure travel among Indians.
On the domestic front, giants like IndiGo and Air India are expanding their networks, getting into codeshare agreements, and boosting domestic connectivity. All of these moves are fueling the growth of Indian airlines.
Passenger traffic is also on the rise. Credit ratings agency ICRA reported that domestic air passenger traffic in India in May was 14% higher than pre-Covid levels. In the FY24, domestic air passenger traffic hit 154 million, and this upward trend is expected to continue.
Right now, the Indian aviation market is dominated by two major players, with a few smaller budget carriers in the mix. As of May 2024, IndiGo leads the pack with a 61.6% market share, followed by Air India at 13.7% and Vistara at 9.2%—both under the Tata umbrella. But with Alhind Air set to enter the scene, the skies over India are about to get a lot more interesting.
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Great news. Good luck to the well experienced Al Hind group