Domestic Airlines in India

The airline industry is existing in India since a long time, and flights are available in domestic and international sectors. However, in this decade the domestic market of airline has seen a rapid growth in India. Thanks to Captain Gopinath, the man behind the attractive concept of Low Cost Carrier (LCC) Air Deccan that changed the whole domestic market in India. In fact, the air travel that was mainly restricted to elite group people slowly become the favourite mode of transport for middle-class people. With the passage of time many other airlines introduced the cheap flights in the domestic routes of India including second-tier cities. From government owned Air India and privately owned Jet Airways in the 2000s, many airlines came into existence in India that include Kingfisher Airlines, Kingfisher Red, IndiGo Airlines, GoAir, SpiceJet, Paramount Airways, MDLR Airlines, Jagson Airlines and JetLite. Whether you are a dometic traveler or a foreigner, you can rely on India’s domestic airlines and enjoy a hasslefree air travel with access to in-flight amenities and on ground service.

Air India

India’s flagship carrier Air India was started by JRD Tata in the year 1932. Air India was previously known as Tata Airlines. It was only in August 1946 that Tata Airlines was converted into a Public company under the name of Air India. From 1948 that Air India started its international operations. In early 1950's due to the declining financial conditions of various airlines, the government decided to nationalize air transport. This gave birth to two autonomous wings - Indian Airlines and Air India International. The Indian Airlines was formed by the merger of eight domestic airlines whereas Air India International was established to operate the overseas services. However later the word' International' was dropped. Since then the company has been called as Air India Limited. Air India's network today covers 29 destinations (excluding subsidiaries) all over the world with a fleet consists of 31 aircrafts.

Indian Airlines

Indian Airlines now known as Indian is one of the premier airlines of India. It is fully owned by the government and was established in 1953. It provides its services in India as well as in other neighboring countries. It was only after the nationalization of eight private airlines that Indian Airlines came into being. At the time of nationalization Indian Airlines inherited a fleet of 72 aircrafts (excluding subsidiaries). Since then the fleet has been in a mode of continuous up gradation. Indian Airlines covers around 63 destinations.

Air India Express

Air India Express is a low-cost carrier subsidiary of Air India that operates mainly to the cities of Middle East and Southeast Asia. A fully owned subsidiary of National Aviation Company of India Ltd., Air India Express operates around 100 flights per week, mainly from its bases in Kerala and other south Indian states. Established in May 2004, Air India Express commenced its operation on April 29, 2005. Currently with a fleet of 21 aircrafts, Air India Express offers its service for 31 destinations.

Air India Regional

Initially started as Alliance Air, Air India Regional is a lost-cost subsidiary of Indian. Founded in 1996, Air India Regional has its main hub at IGI Airport in New Delhi. Currently Air India Regional has a fleet of 11 aircraft that include ATR 42-320 (7) and Bombardier CRJ-700 ER (4). Air India Regional offers its flight services for 27 domestic destinations.

Jet Airways

Jet Airways is one of the premiere private airlines of India. It operates over 400 flights daily to around 67 destinations in 19 countries across the world. It operates daily international flights to many destinations in Asia, Europe, Africa and North America. Established on April 1, 1992, Jet Airways commenced its operation on May 5, 1993. Jet Airways has its main hub at Chhtrapati Shivaji International Airport, while Brussels Airport, Chennai International Airport and IGI Airport Delhi are its secondary hubs. Owned by London-based billionaire Naresh Goyal, Jet Airways has 90 aircraft in its fleet.

Jet Konnect

Jet Konnect is a lost cost brand of Jet Airways, which was launched on May 8, 2009. The airline shares the same airline code and callsign like Jet Airways, only the in-flight amenities have been curtailed. Now passengers travelling in Jet Konnect flight need to buy meal on-board while travelling to any destination. Jet Konnect operates a mix fleet of ATR 72-500 and Boeing 737-800s flights.

JetLite

Another subsidiary of Jet Airways, JetLite was actually established as Sahara Airlines on September 20, 1991 and began operations on December 3, 1993 with two Boeing 737-200 aircraft. Due to financial Sahara Airlines that was rebranded as Air Sahara on October 2, 2000, was taken over by Jet Airways chief Naresh Goyal on April 12, 2007. Air Sahara was renamed as JetLite on April 16, 2007 and now mainly targets second tier cities of India. Currently JetLite has a mixed fleet of Boeing 737 Next Generation and Bombardier CRJ-200 ER aircraft.

Kingfisher Airlines

Kingfisher Airlines, a leading private airline of India is based in Bangalore. It is owned and managed by the liquor baron Vijay Mallya. The operations of Kingfisher Airlines started in May 2005. The chief Indian destinations covered by the airlines are: Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Cochin, Pune and many other Indian destinations. In a short span of time, Kingfisher Airlines has come a long way. Several unique facilities are offered to the customers flying by Kingfisher Airlines. It was the first airline of India to operate with all new aircrafts. Kingfisher Airlines operates over 375 daily flights to 71 destinations with regional and long haul international services. Currently Kingfishr Airlines has a fleet of 66 aircrafts and the airline has placed order for 130 more aircraft including 5 Airbus A380-800.

Kingfisher Red

Formerly known as Simplifly Deccan or Air Deccan, Kingfisher Red is a low-cost subsidiary of Kingfisher Airlines mainly focusing to second-tier cities of India. Headquartered in Mumbai, Kingfisher Red is the only low cost carrier that offers complimentary in-flight meals to air travallers. Kingfisher Red has a fleet of 21 aircraft and offers its service for more than 60 destinations in India.

GoAir

GoAir is a low cost budget airline that is based in Mumbai. The leading Indian brands of Bombay Dyeing and Britannia are the promoters of the airline. GoAir is the brainchild of Jeh Wadia, who is also the Managing Director of the airline. The services offered by GoAir totally quality based, punctual and affordable. The airlines theme line is 'Experience-the Difference'. Currently the airline covers 13 destinations. Some of them are: Hyderabad, Delhi, Goa, Jaipur, Jammu, Pune, Mumbai and Srinagar.

Spice Jet

Spice Jet like is a low cost airline based in New Delhi. The main motto of Spice Jet is to become no.1 low cost airline of India by offering lowest airfares to the middle class customers. It's objective in a nutshell is to provide the benefits of travelling by air to everyone. The Spice Jet Airlines began its operation in 2005. Earlier it was known as Royal Airways. The fleet of aircrafts that it owns promises excellent technology and trend. It currently flies to 11 destinations - Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, Jammu, Kolkata, Mumbai, Srinagar.

IndiGo

IndiGo Airlines is one of the new entrants in the aviation industry. Its inaugural flight took off from Delhi to Imphal in August 2006. The airline targets those class of people who are cost conscious and look for affordable, punctual and hassle free services. It has a fleet of certain aircrafts that are technological advanced. The IndiGo Airline has plans to serve around 30 Indian cities with a fleet of 40 Airbus A - 320 s by 2010. The cities on which they are concentrating are: Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Kolkata, Guwahati, Bangalore and Nagpur.