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India will have its tenth domestic passenger airline operating feeder routes from December 14.
After initial delay owing to pilot shortage and government clearances, Indus Air is all set to fly from next week with smaller Bombardier CRJ jets.
In its first phase of operations, Indus Air will have two aircraft - Bombardier CRJ 200 (50 seater) and CRJ 900 (90 seater). Operating out of New Delhi, Indus will be a full-service airline, serving foods and other facilities during travel.
Indus Air is promoted by chairman and managing director of Mohan Meakins with an initial investment of Rs 100 crore (Rs 1 billion). Other board members of the airline are Krishnan Gopal Beri of Beri and Beri Cold Storage and General Mills, NRI Lakhanpaul and Baldev Seth.
Sources said the airline was planning to start by December 7, connecting New Delhi and Mumbai to Chandigarh.
"At present, the airline has received necessary clearances from government including Directorate General of Civil Aviation. Now there is no obstacle before us to start commercial operations," a senior airline executive said.
They pointed out that Indus Air has tied up with another scheduled airline Air Sahara for deploying their CRJ pilots.
"DGCA has cleared CRJ pilots of Sahara to fly Indus Air flights. The company will be having a fleet of five CRJ for feeder operations," they added.
In its second phase, Indus Air is exploring the options for bigger jets and it is in talks with US-based aircraft manufacturer Boeing Company. "The airline is looking at acquiring 10 Boeing B737-800 aircraft to serve more routes," sources said.
With CRJ jets, Indus Air has plans to connect Delhi-Jodhpur, Delhi-Goa and Mumbai-Udaipur.