GoAir plans to start international operations post July next year after three more planes are inducted into its fleet, taking the tally to 20, CEO Giorgio De Roni on Saturday.
Speaking at the sidelines of an aviation event, De Roni said the airline will induct three A320 planes to its existing Airbus fleet during February, April and July 2014. ?We are currently working on plans to kickstart international operations,? he said, adding the routes, which haven?t been finalised yet, would depend on the airline obtaining traffic rights on the respective sectors.
De Roni also indicated the airline is looking to start-off its operations on short haul international destinations from India.
One of the mandatory conditions for an Indian airline to fly overseas is that it should have 20 aircraft in its fleet and five years of operational experience in the country. This could, however, be waived off in the near future.
The 5/20 rule for an Indian airline to start international operations could be scrapped in the next three months, CAPA?s Kapil Kaul had said recently, paving the way for further investment in the sector.
De Roni said: “We don’t have to wait for the government to waive off the mandatory conditions anymore as we would have 20 aircraft in our fleet by July 2014.”
Wadia Group-owned GoAir, which started its operations in 2005, currently has 17 planes. The airline had in June 2011 placed an order for 72 Airbus A320neo planes for $7 billion that would be delivered to them post 2016, after the French manufacturers roll out their fuel-efficient planes.
De Roni told FE in June that the airline had initiated the process to look for a strategic foreign investor/partner after the government, in September 2012, cleared foreign carriers to pick up to 49% stake in Indian carriers. ?Finding a strategic investor is very important. But it might take us time to find a partner,? De Roni said on Saturday. The airline also has no immediate plan to get into a codesharing agreement with foreign airlines, he added.
Go Air had posted a net profit of R104.3 crore during FY 2013 on the back of gains from aircraft lease rent, compared with the R133.7-crore loss in the previous year.
De Roni said the privately-owned airline recorded its best first quarter results during FY 2014. “Though our Q2 in FY14 was weak, we made profit in Q3,” he added.
