Kochi airport plans JV to fuel low-cost flight plan

Mumbai: Cochin International Airport Ltd (CIAL) is looking at forming a joint venture (JV) to kick off its much awaited low-cost carrier (LCC), Air Kerala.
A company official said CIAL has put aside its plan to fly to the Gulf and Middle East and plans to concentrate on domestic operations. The domestic operation would be launched with a partner since the company doesn’t have enough funds to go it alone, the official said, adding, it could be “an existing domestic airline who shows interest or preferably a new regional airline company.”
Three new regional airlines in the South— Air Dravida, Star Aviation and Emric Air - are gearing up to start operations, even as others like the Bird group and Megha Airways also plan to fly as regional airlines.
A regional airline is allowed to operate flights from its designated region to all airports in any other region other than the metros. However, regional airlines flying in the south would be allowed to connect the three metros including Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore.
14/09/07 Shweta Bhanot/Daily News and Analysis

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Categories: Airports Sep 2007, Foreign Sep 2007, Low Cost General Sep 2007, New Sep 2007