The Curious Launch of Air Mantra

Wednesday, 1st August 2012 at 03:05am

Launching an airline during crisis in the aviation industry seems to be a paradox.

But that seems to be not an issue for the Religare Group when they made a surprising announcement that they are launching a regional airline that would start flying next week. The announcement was made on the very same day when the shares of the troubled Kingfisher Airlines Ltd. fell below its face value of 10 rupees.

Starting July 23, Air Mantra will have its maiden flights connecting the cities of Amritstar and Chandigarh in northern India. Air Mantra will become the first airline to serve the two Indian cities with direct flights between them.

The one-way fare during the inaugural flight will cost each passenger 4,850 rupees from Chandigarh to Amritsar on a 50-minute trip. In contrast, the 4-hour long trip by rail between the two cities costs only a mere 385 rupees or about seven U.S. dollars. It was not confirmed, however, whether the cost of the inaugural ticket will go up during its regular service.

The new airline currently has a couple of small planes in its initial fleet operating on the route. The Beechcraft 1900D turbo-propelled light aircraft has a capacity of up to 17 passengers.

The group is aiming at regional routes currently not served by any airlines. An airline executive said that it will seek to serve smaller cities which do not have air links at the moment like the northern states of Jammu & Kashmir as well as Himachal Pradesh whose air services are limited.

Industry analysts observe that regional routes in India show promise of potential growth in the aviation sector.

Sharan Lillaney, an analyst at Mumbai-based Angel Broking boldly predicted that growth will be coming from smaller cities in India as the traditional market has become fully saturated and business is not showing more room for growth. While Air Mantra is poised to make profits on serving the regional yet unserved destinations, it will also become a magnet for other budget players if they prove to be successful in their venture.

Whether the new airline will become successful in their endeavor, it is still unknown.

Air Mantra is part of the Religare group 's business expansion for its Religare Voyages Ltd, which already operates charter flights using its fleet of 10 light aircraft and 2 helicopters. Its travel subsidiary likewise operates a flight training academy as well as provide aircraft engineering services on top of its core business.

By: Pete Lee.