Air Costa
 | ||||
| ||||
| Commenced operations | 15 October 2013 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hubs |
| |||
| Secondary hubs | Vijayawada Airport | |||
| Focus cities | Visakhapatnam International Airport | |||
| Fleet size | 4 (+50 on order) | |||
| Destinations | 9 | |||
| Company slogan | Happy Flying! | |||
| Parent company | LEPL Group | |||
| Headquarters | Vijayawada | |||
| Key people |
L.V.S Rajasekhar (Director & CEO, LEPL Group) Captain K.N Babu (CEO, Air Costa) | |||
| Employees | 740 | |||
| Website | Aircosta.in | |||
Air Costa is an Indian regional airline based in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. The first flight was on October 2013, from Chennai which is one of their main operating and maintenance hubs.[1][2][3] It is part of the LEPL Group, a Vijayawada-based company, and has started with 300 employees including expatriate pilots and engineers[4] and commenced scheduled operations in October 2013 using two Embraer E-170 aircraft.
The airline plans to focus on improving connectivity between tier II and tier III cities in India and has announced an investment of 150 million dollars by 2015.[5] The airline also plans to set up a Aircraft Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility at Vijayawada Airport by 2015.[4] The airline currently has a maintenance centre at the Chennai International Airport.
History
The LEPL group received a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Ministry of Civil Aviation in February 2012.[6] The airline initially planned to start operations with a fleet of Q400 aircraft. However, Air Costa's decision to acquire Embraer Jets was made public at the Paris Air Show in June 2013.[7] Air Costa received its Air Operators’ Permit (AOP) from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in September 2013.[8]
Destinations
Air Costa flies to the following destinations, as of April 2015:
| Country (State) | City | Airport | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| India (Andhra Pradesh) | Vijayawada | Vijayawada Airport | Hub | |
| India (Andhra Pradesh) | Visakhapatnam | Visakhapatnam International Airport | Focus city | |
| India (Andhra Pradesh) | Tirupati | Tirupati Airport | ||
| India (Gujarat) | Ahmedabad | Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport | ||
| India (Karnataka) | Bangalore | Kempegowda International Airport | ||
| India (Rajasthan) | Jaipur | Jaipur International Airport | ||
| India (Tamil Nadu) | Chennai | Chennai International Airport | Hub | |
| India (Tamil Nadu) | Coimbatore | Coimbatore International Airport | ||
| India (Telangana) | Hyderabad | Rajiv Gandhi International Airport |
Fleet
Air Costa commenced operations with a pair of Embraer E-170 jets leased from ECC. Another two E-190 jets were delivered in December and January respectively. It will add two more E-190 aircraft by September 2015.[9] The airlines aims to have a total of 25 aircraft by 2018.[4]
| Aircraft | In Service | Orders | Options | Passengers | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J | Y | Total | |||||
| Embraer E-170 | 2 | 8 | |||||
| 7 | 60 | 67 | Leased from ECC | ||||
| Embraer E-190 | 2 | 13 | |||||
| 0 | 112 | 112 | Leased from GECAS | ||||
| Embraer E190-E2 | — | 25[10] | 50 | TBA | Deliveries starting 2018. Asian Launch customer. | ||
| Embraer E195-E2 | — | 25[10] | TBA | ||||
| Total | 4 | 71 | 50 | ||||
Air Costa ordered 50 E-Jets E2 aircraft from Brazilian manufacturer Embraer worth $2.94 billion,on 13 February 2014, as per a joint statement that both companies have announced.[10]
The deal with Air Costa also includes purchase rights for another 50 aircraft, was announced at the Singapore Airshow. Air Costa will become the first customer of the E-Jet E2 in the Indian market when it takes the first delivery in 2019.
References
- ↑ "Air Costa takes off from Chennai today". The Hindu. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
- ↑ "First Air Costa flight flagged off by Kiran (Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh State)". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
- ↑ "Air Costa, India's newest airline, takes flight today". Business Today. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "LEPL to invest Rs 600 cr in Air Costa". Business Standard. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
- ↑ "Air Costa takes off to connect towns". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
- ↑ "Air Costa to be launched soon". The Hindu. Retrieved 23 February 2012.
- ↑ "India’s Air Costa Acquires three E-Jets".
- ↑ "Air Costa gets DGCA permit". Business Standard. 20 September 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
- ↑ "Air Costa to add 2 E-190s in 2015". The Times of India. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 "India’s Air Costa places a firm order for 50 E-Jets E2s".