The
airline, which would be based on the low-cost, no- frill model, would
launch its operations with three to four Airbus A-320 aircraft and
"scale up (the fleet) quickly thereafter," AirAsia CEO Tony Fernandes
said in a global teleconference from Malaysia on Thursday.
The airline would be based in Chennai and in the initial phase concentrate on destinations in South India where AirAsia already operates, he said.
AirAsia's
initial investment in the airline, which would be run through a joint
venture that includes the Tata Group and Arun Bhatia of Telestra
Tradeplace, would be about USD 50 million.
Asked
by when the new airline would take to the sky, Fernandes said "it is in
the hands of the Indian regulator ... but most likely it will start by
the fourth quarter" of this year or the winter season.
"It will have a fleet of A-320s. We plan to start with three to four planes and scale up quickly after that," he said.
While
the board of the airline would be dominated by Indians, Fernandes said
the name of the CEO would be announced in the next few weeks and that of
the airline's senior management soon thereafter.
The
Malaysian budget carrier on Wednesday announced that its investment arm
AirAsia Investment (AAIL) "has submitted an application to the Foreign
Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) to seek approval for AAIL to invest 49
per cent in a proposed joint venture with Tata Sons and Arun Bhatia of
Telestra Tradeplace".
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