India has undergone a huge economy boom in last 15 years. This has changed the lifestyle of people here and their preferences have been changed in many aspects of life. Travelling is one such aspect which has changed a lot in last 15 years in India. Today more and more people want a faster as well as economical travel option. This has increased the demand of flight services in India. No-frills services started by major airlines companies proved to be a boon for travelers in India. These no-frills services are meant for those travelers who just want to reach their destinations and don’t need the luxurious facilities of regular flights to India. As the fares of these low cost flights are similar to the first class compartments of India railways, people are choosing flights over trains.
Here are some of the domestic flight services in India that I have used in past.
1. Jet airways- One of the most well known and esteemed air carriers in the country, it is the country’s second largest airline after Air India. A leader in the domestic aviation sector, it is based in Mumbai. It operates to about 400 destinations worldwide from 80 destinations. It is frequently showered with awards and accolades and is one of the best long-haul carriers in the world. It also operates two low cost airlines; Jet Lite and Jet Konnect.
The airline was established on 1 April 1992 as an air taxi operator. While it’s commercial operations started from 5 May 1993. Its international operations began in March 2004 with flights to Sri Lanka. It also bought out rival air Sahara in one of the biggest deals in the Indian aviation industry. Its flights connect 44 domestic destinations across the country.
The airline has a huge fleet of aircrafts which is mainly dominated by the airbus. Overall, it has 12 airbus A330-200and 63 Boeing aircrafts. And it has 43 orders pending for delivery.
The carrier also offers various types of cabin classes to suit every need. The in flight entertainment is terrific. And if you are a frequent flier, you will become a member of jet’s award winning frequent flier program. It also has code sharing agreements with key international fliers.
2. Kingfisher Red: Kingfisher red, formerly Air Deccan, is a low cost airline operated by Kingfisher airlines. It is headquartered in Mumbai, India. It has a specialty that the fliers of Kingfisher Red can also earn frequent flier miles, part of Kingfisher Airline’s frequent flier program. The carrier was founded by Captain G.R Gopinath and on August 23 and its first flight took off from Hyderabad to Vijaywada. It was the first Indian airline to venture into second tier cities. But it could not earn the expected profits and instead posted huge losses.
On 19 December 2007, it was merged with Kingfisher Airlines and was renamed as kingfisher red. The merger became effective from April 2008 and Dr. Vijay Mallya became its chairman and CEO while captain Gopinath was named its vice chairman. The airline is a venture of kingfisher airlines in budget flying and extends its area of service.
3. Jagson Airline – It is an airline that is based in Delhi and has flights to Nepal and Bhutan. It began its operations in November 1991. It has 5 aircrafts in service and has expansion plans in the near future. Although it is not very famous, but facilities and regularity of their flights is really impressive. It connects some of the major cities in South India which includes Bangalore, Hyderabad, Cochin etc.
These three airlines are the backbone of India aviation industry. Every day thousands of visitors travel by these airlines to reach their destinations in India.