Mohan Meakin to foray into aviation
By Our Corporate Bureau | 15 Jan 2005
New
Delhi: Mohan Meakin yesterday announced the launch
of a new low-cost domestic airline, Indus Airways. The
airline is being launched in association with Krishna
Gopal Beri of Beri & Beri Cold Storage and General
Mills, P Lakhanpall, a London-based NRI and Baldev Seth,
a garment exporter.
Former senior pilots of a public sector carrier will
manage the operations of the new airline.
Indus Airways, which has received the required government
approvals, is expected to commence services in April
2005. The carrier is expected to inter-connect northern
Indian cities and later operate on the trunk routes
with leased aircraft.
"The company has already got all the necessary
clearances and is now awaiting the final nod of the
civil aviation ministry. We hope to launch our services
from April with five leased 50-seater Embraer RJ-145
aircraft," said Kapil Mohan, chairman of Mohan
Meakin.
He said Indus Airways will be a low-cost but all-frills
carrier. Mohan also said the airline will have Chandigarh
and Delhi as its main centres of operation, and inter-connect
Jammu, Amritsar, Shimla and some other major northern
cities.
At
a later stage, the airline would start operations to
Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai.