India is soon going to have three more non-scheduled airlines. Vijay Mallya's Kingfisher, Punj Lloyd and Satish Sugars have been given permission by the government to start non-scheduled air services in the country.
These companies, according to civil aviation ministry sources, have been given permission to import aircraft and the no-objection certificate by the government's aircraft import committee last week.
Two non-scheduled airlines -- Royal Club One and Jagson -- are already operational in the country.
To start an airline, a company needs permission from the aircraft import committee of the government to bring in aircraft as well as a no-objection certificate.
Government sources also said the companies have indicated that they will want to import jets and other passenger aircraft to operate services between multiple cities. For example, Kingfisher wants to import an Airbus corporate jet A 319-133 for this purpose.
With this license, these companies will be able to operate services between any city in the country without sticking to a timetable.
The only difference between a scheduled and a non-scheduled airline is the fact that the scheduled airline operates between airports governed by the route dispersal guidelines and a pre-approved time-table.
The equity norms and other regulatory requirements are same for both the categories.
As per industry estimates, of the domestic aviation market worth about Rs 20,000 crore (Rs 200 billion) a year, non-scheduled operators have a share of about 10 per cent.
"There is a huge market of non-scheduled and air taxi operators in the country. For existing airlines such as Kingfisher, this is a natural business extension. Besides, a model like this will also help them tap new market," said an aviation analyst.
