AirAsia India Hopes To Fly Abroad In Second Half Of 2018

By Shakir Husain NEW DELHI, March 3 (Bernama) -- AirAsia India hopes to launch international flights in the second half of 2018 once it has at least 20 planes in its fleet. The budget carrier, owned 49 per cent by AirAsia Bhd, has eight A320 aircraft at present and will acquire another six by October this year. AirAsia India Chief Executive Officer, Amar Abrol, said by mid-2018, the airline expected to grow its fleet by another six planes. "There is a project team which is already working to get AirAsia India ready for overseas operations, which is likely to commence either from next summer or at the most by autumn," Abrol said here, Thursday. He said the team would would look at international routes within a flying time of less than four-and-a-half hours from India. "The first destination is likely to be in East Asia whenever we fly abroad," Abrol said. An India-based airline must have at least 20 aircraft before it can get approval for foreign flights. AirAsia India operates 58 flights daily from New Delhi and Bengaluru, serving 13 Indian airports. It recently launched flights to Srinagar in Kashmir and Bagdogra in West Bengal. -- BERNAMA