The new full service carrier, Tata-Singapore Airlines, will take 20 aircraft on lease to launch its service on domestic routes. However, it is yet to get a flying permit from the aviation regulator.
“Tata-SIA has placed orders for leasing of 20 Airbus A320s with us,” Claire Leow, Head of Investor Relations of Singapore-based BOC Aviation Pvt Ltd, told Business Line on the sidelines of the ongoing IATA annual general meeting here.
The delivery of these aircraft is expected to begin from September-October.
The airline proposes to start operations in the second half of this year with Delhi as a hub. In the beginning, the carrier plans to operate two flights a day to Mumbai, with one of them going further to Goa.
The initial phase would also see two flights a day each to Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Hyderabad. Besides the major metros, the airline would also connect Srinagar, Patna, Chandigarh and Jammu.
Expansion plans Under its aggressive expansion plans, Tata-SIA proposes to add destinations such as Chennai, Pune, Lucknow, Varanasi, Jaipur, Kolkata, Amritsar, Bagdogra, Indore and Cochin within the first four years of operations.
Tata-SIA is a 51:49 joint venture between Tata Sons and Singapore Airlines.
In April, the company submitted application for Air Operator’s Permit (flying licence).
After receiving the application for flying permit, the Department of Civil Aviation last month issued a public notice seeking objections, if any, to the grant of flying permit to Tata-SIA. A similar notice was earlier issued under the Aircraft Rules of 1937 before the licence was granted to AirAsia India, after the regulator rejected the objections raised primarily by the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) and BJP leader Subramanian Swamy.
Swamy, along with the FIA, had moved courts where the matter is still pending.
Last week, the Delhi High Court had sought replies from Tata-SIA and the Government on a plea filed by the FIA seeking a stay on the commencement of air operations.
The court had dismissed the plea, saying there was no urgency as the permit would be subject to the outcome of the petition challenging the approvals. The matter is slated to come up for hearing again on July 11.