Misplaced Pages

Air India Express

IATA ICAO Call sign IX AXB EXPRESS INDIA
Commenced operations	29 April 2005; 19 years ago (2005-04-29)
Operating bases	Bengaluru Delhi Hyderabad Kochi Kolkata Mumbai
Focus cities	Tiruchirappalli Kozhikode Mangalore Kannur Thiruvananthapuram
Frequent-flyer program	Tata NeuPass
Fleet size	93
Destinations	47
Parent company	Air India Limited
Headquarters	Gurgaon, Haryana, India
Key people	Campbell Wilson (Chairman) Aloke Singh (CEO)
Revenue	₹7,537 crore (US$900 million) (FY2024)
Net income	₹−163 crore (US$−20 million) (FY2024)
Employees	7,000 (as of September 2024)
Website	www.airindiaexpress.com

Air India Express is an Indian low-cost airline and a wholly owned subsidiary of Indian flag carrier airline Air India. Currently, it is headquartered in Gurgaon, Haryana.

It operates more than 2000 flights per week to 45 destinations across India, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. It has operating bases in Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kannur, Kochi, Kolkata, Kozhikode, Mangaluru, Mumbai, Thiruvananthapuram and Tiruchirappalli.

History

Foundation

Air India Express came into existence on 29 April 2005, with the launch of three flights that took off simultaneously from Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode. The airline was launched as a low-cost carrier with the objective of providing convenient connectivity to short-haul international routes in the Middle East and Southeast Asia for the Indian expatriate community. Air India Express was Air India's response to the growing popularity of low-cost carriers worldwide and within the region. As a low-cost carrier, the airline operates point-to-point flights with multiple hubs all over India.

In December 2012, Air India ratified the proposal to move the headquarters to Kochi in January 2013 and to establish a new maintenance base at Thiruvananthapuram. Despite rising losses for its parent entity Air India, the airline continued to thrive in the following years with constant increase in revenue while managing to stay profitable.

Privatisation

On 8 October 2021, Air India, along with its low-cost carrier Air India Express and fifty percent of AISATS, a ground handling company, were sold for ₹18,000 crores (US$2.5 billion) to Talace Private Limited, a Tata Sons' special-purpose entity. The airlines were later handed over to the Tata Group.

During early 2023, reports emerged stating that the Tata Group was seeking to consolidate its 4 airlines into 2 airlines, one full service carrier and one low-cost carrier. The group acquired its remaining stake in AirAsia India, which was rebranded as AIX Connect, and talks began to merge Air India Express and AIX Connect. The group later confirmed the merger and applied for a merger request with the necessary authorities. The merger was later approved by the Competition Commission of India. AIX Connect started to transfer its aircraft and crew to Air India Express in preparation for the merger.

Rebranding and merger

The airline began focusing more on non-trunk routes and began to pull out of routes requiring high business capacity, which would be taken over by Air India. The airline and Air India also began to stay away from each other's routes, with Air India Express connecting smaller cities and feeding on Air India's long-haul network.

The Tata Group launched the rebranded Air India Express logo and livery on 18 October 2023, promising a fresh, vibrant and visually engaging airline targeting India's budget-friendly aviation market. A new rebranded website also went live with new branding. The first flight after the rebranding, IX 5101, took off from Mumbai to Delhi on 19 October 2023. The airline later began attempts to diversify its revenue streams. It began focusing more on ancillary services by retrofitting all its aircraft with hot ovens to offer hot meals, and started selling handbag-only fares called "Xpress Lite Fares". The airline aims to increase its ancillary revenue to over 20% of its total revenue within the next few years.

The merger of AIX Connect and Air Indian Express was declared complete on 1 October 2024. By the time, the fleet size is to reach 88 aircraft and eventually 100 by 2024-end. As of September 2024, the airline has 7,000 employees.

Corporate affairs and identity

It began operations at the Vatika One-on-One complex, which also houses the head office of its parent company, as of 2024.

Business trends

The key trends for Air India Express are (as at the financial year ending 31 March):

Destinations

Initially, Air India Express focused on providing international flights from Tier II cities in India, to the Persian Gulf region and Southeast Asia. After the privatization and merger, the network of Air India Express was structured to complement Air India's routes, filling gaps where the parent airline does not operate. The carrier focuses on routes which have a higher component of leisure and price-sensitive customers.

The airline flies to 45 destinations as of July 2024, with primary hubs located in Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Delhi. The airline announced Agartala in Tripura as the airline's 46th destination in July 2024.

The airline plans 55 destinations by March 2025.

Codeshare agreements

Air India Express has codeshare agreements with the following airlines:

• Air India

Fleet

As of December 2024, Air India Express operates the following aircraft:

Fleet information

During the 2023 Paris Air Show, Air India placed an order for 470 aircraft which included an order for 190 737 MAX aircraft. The airline later transferred its 737 MAX order to Air India Express with deliveries commencing from October 2023. The airline revealed its plan to have 170 aircraft within five years.

As of 10 September 2024, the Air India Express' Boeing 737 MAX 8 fleet consists of white tail aircraft, that is, the aircraft were originally manufactured for a particular airline and later taken by another airline (Air India Express). Of these aircraft, 29 offers business class seats which are planned to be eventually phased out as such configurations are not part of the airline's model.

As of 9 November 2024, the airline has 93 aircraft which is to expand to 110 aircraft by March 2025.

Accidents and incidents

• On 22 May 2010, Air India Express Flight 812, a Boeing 737–800 (registered VT-AXV) flying on the Dubai–Mangalore route, overshot runway 24 on landing at Mangalore Airport, killing 152 passengers and six crew members of the 166 people on board. The aircraft crashed into a wooded valley at the end of the runway and burst into flames. There were only eight survivors.
• On 9 July 2012, an Air India Express Boeing 737-800 skidded on landing, during heavy rain at Calicut International Airport. The aircraft's landing gear impacted with runway beacons, breaking them. There were no casualties on board.
• On 5 September 2017, Air India Express Flight 452, flying from Abu Dhabi International Airport to Cochin International Airport with 108 occupants, suffered a runway excursion after landing at its destination. All 108 occupants onboard survive and the airframe was repaired and returned to service.
• On 12 October 2018, Air India Express Flight 611, a UAE bound Boeing 737-800 (registered VT-AYD), suffered a tail strike on takeoff before colliding with the localiser antenna and boundary wall of Tiruchirappalli International Airport. This resulted in severe structural damage to the undercarriage, landing gear, flight control surfaces and engine cowling. The crew continued to fly towards Dubai contrary to Boeing's tail strike checklist, reassured by normal instrumentation. When the plane was nearing the Middle East, the pilot was ordered to fly to Mumbai, India. It landed uneventfully and was repaired at a substantial cost.
• On 7 August 2020, Air India Express Flight 1344, a Boeing 737–800 (registered VT-AXH), suffered a runway excursion on landing, fell into a valley and broke into three pieces after overrunning the table-top runway at Calicut International Airport. 21 people on board were killed, including both pilots, and at least 167 were injured.
• On 11 October 2024, Air India Express Flight 613, a Boeing 737-800 flying from Tiruchirappalli to Sharjah, suffered a hydraulic failure in its landing gear assembly. After engaging in an Holding pattern over Trichy for over two hours, the flight with 114 passengers landed safely.

See also

• AIX Connect
• Air India Cargo
• Air Kerala
• Alliance Air (India)

References

1. "Air India Express". airindiaexpress.com. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
2. "Air India Express on ch-aviation.com". ch-aviation.com. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
3. ^ Kaur, Lavpreet. "Merged Air India Express finds new HQ in Gurugram". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
4. ^ "Tata Sons FY24 Annual report" (PDF). Air India. 6 September 2024. p. 6.
5. ^ "Tata LCCs' merger to complete on October 1; mega AI Express to have 100 aircraft by year end". The Times of India. 9 September 2024. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
6. "Air India to achieve fiscal targets". The Hindu. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
7. Krishnan, Janaki (11 December 2023). "Air India leases 6.3 lakh square feet space in Gurgaon". BusinessLine. Retrieved 8 April 2024.
8. ^ "Air India Express". Air India Express. Retrieved 27 December 2023.
9. "India's common man flies". The Asia Times Online. Archived from the original on 24 May 2005. Retrieved 20 September 2016.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
10. Ramavarman, T. (14 December 2012). "Shifting of Air India Express headquarters to Kochi gets nod". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 15 June 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2013.
11. "Air India Express route scheduling from city soon". The Hindu. 7 January 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2016.
12. "Air India Express reports highest ever net profit at Rs 412 crore". 29 October 2020.
13. "Tata Group Onboards Air India | Tata group". www.tata.com. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
14. "Air India Group completes integration of Air India Express and AirAsia India". cnbctv18.com. 28 March 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
15. Sharma, Anu (25 July 2023). "AirAsia seeks early merger with AI Express". mint. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
16. www.ETTravelWorld.com. "Air India Express unveils new brand identity & livery alongside network expansion plans - ET TravelWorld". ETTravelWorld.com. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
17. Mishra, Mihir; Sharma, Anu (16 August 2023). "AI, AI Express integration: Code share, route recast". mint. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
18. Naik, Yogesh (18 October 2023). "Air India Express unveils new brand identity and aircraft livery". Hindustan Times.
19. "New offer from Air India Express: how do 'hand baggage-only' fares work?". The Indian Express. 22 February 2024. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
20. Service, Express News (23 June 2023). "Air India Express cooks up unique in-flight menu with Gourmair". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
21. Gandhi, Forum (28 January 2024). "Air India Express' ancillary revenue goes up to 15%; airline aims to grow it further". BusinessLine. Retrieved 1 April 2024.
22. "Air India Express-AIX Connect merger complete; to serve as benchmark for upcoming Air India-Vistara merger: DGCA". The Indian Express. 1 October 2024. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
23. "Air India Express moves to new campus, joins Air India in Vatika One-on-One complex in Gurugram". The Economic Times. 18 June 2024. Retrieved 30 August 2024.
24. Mishra, Mihir (3 September 2016). "Air India Express turns profitable for the first time". The Economic Times. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
25. R, Venkatesan (29 June 2017). "Air India Express nets Rs 297 cr profit in FY17". BusinessLine. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
26. "Air India Express reports profit in FY18". The Times of India. 9 November 2018. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
27. "Air India Express reports highest-ever net profit at Rs 412.77 crore".
28. Air India Annual Report 20-21 (PDF) (Report). Air India. Retrieved 20 November 2023.
29. "Air India Express incurs loss first time in seven years due to Covid". The Economic Times. 21 September 2022. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
30. Majumder, Arindam (9 August 2023). "Tata Sons-owned airlines post a loss of Rs 15,530 crore in FY 23". The Economic Times. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 5 February 2024.
31. "Air India Express sets new course! Shifts focus on price-sensitive routes and leisure travellers". The Financial Express (India). 23 October 2023. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
32. "Summer timetable 2017: 26th March 2017 to 28th October 2017" (PDF). Air India Express. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 September 2017. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
33. "Madurai-Singapore flight service to start from September 15". The Times of India. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
34. "Air India Express airline profile". CAPA Centre for Aviation. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
35. "Air India Express adds Agartala to its network as its 46th destination". Deccan Herald. 25 July 2024. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
36. ^ "AI Express plans more international flights; aims for 110 planes by Mar '25". Business Standard. 9 November 2024. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
37. "Air India begins Air India Express codeshare partnership from Dec 2016". Airlineroute. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
38. "Air India Express Fleet". flightradar24.com. Retrieved 16 December 2024.
39. "Air India Express Fleet". planespotters.net. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
40. "Air India Express To Get 20 Airbus A320 Planes From Parent Company". Free Press Journal. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
41. Phadnis, Aneesh (7 July 2024). "Air India to beef up AI Express fleet with 20 Airbus planes". BusinessLine. Retrieved 8 July 2024.
42. Sinha, Saurabh (1 January 2024). "Air India Express seeks final NCLT nod for AIX merger". The Times of India. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
43. "Air India Selects Up to 290 Boeing Jets to Serve Its Strategy for Sustainable Growth" (Press release). Boeing. 14 February 2023.
44. Sharma, Anu (18 October 2023). "New Air India Express eyes 170 planes in 5 years". mint. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
45. PTI. "Air India Express to phase out business class seats next year; to have around 100 planes by year-end". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 10 September 2024.
46. "Jet crash kills 158 in India; 8 survive". 23 May 2010. Archived from the original on 24 May 2010. Retrieved 23 May 2010.
47. "Indian official: 158 dead in Air India plane crash in Mangalore". BNO News. 22 May 2010. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
48. "Air India flight from Dubai crashes in India". NBC News. 21 May 2010. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
49. "Casualties feared in Air India crash". CNN. 22 May 2010. Retrieved 22 May 2010.
50. "India plane crash in Mangalore leaves nearly 160 dead". BBC News. 22 May 2010. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
51. "Accident Boeing 737-8HG (WL) VT-AYB, Tuesday 5 September 2017". asn.flightsafety.org. Retrieved 9 September 2024.
52. Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 737-8HG (WL) VT-AYD Tiruchirappalli-Civil Airport (TRZ)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
53. "IX1344". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 26 July 2024.
54. "Live News: Air India Express flight from Dubai over shoots table top runway". The Economic Times. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
55. "Both Pilots Among 18 Killed In Air India Express Plane Crash In Kerala: Updates". NDTV.com. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
56. "Air India Express flight faces snag, lands after circling Trichy airport for two hours". The Indian Express. 11 October 2024. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
57. "Exclusive: How Air India Express Pilots Handled Mid-Air Scare Over Trichy". NDTV.com. Retrieved 12 October 2024.

External links

• Media related to Air India Express at Wikimedia Commons
• Official website

• India
• Companies
• Aviation

v t e Members of Star Alliance
Current members	Founder members Air Canada Lufthansa Thai Airways International United Airlines Full members Aegean Airlines Air China Air India Air New Zealand All Nippon Airways Asiana Airlines Austrian Airlines Avianca Brussels Airlines Copa Airlines Croatia Airlines Egyptair Ethiopian Airlines EVA Air LOT Polish Airlines Shenzhen Airlines Singapore Airlines South African Airways Swiss International Air Lines TAP Air Portugal Turkish Airlines Affiliate members Air Canada Express Jetz Rouge Air India Express Air Japan Air New Zealand Link Airlink ANA Wings AJet Avianca Costa Rica Ecuador El Salvador Express Guatemala Honduras Copa Airlines Colombia Lufthansa Regional Olympic Air TAP Express Uni Air United Express
Joint partners	Intermodal Deutsche Bahn Connecting Juneyao Air
Former members	Adria Airways Ansett Australia Blue1 British Midland International Continental Airlines Mexicana de Aviación Scandinavian Airlines Shanghai Airlines Spanair TAM Brasil Paraguay US Airways Varig

v t e Tata Group
Divisions and subsidiaries	Information technology & engineering Tata Consultancy Services Tata Elxsi Tata Research Development and Design Centre Tata Technologies Airlines Air India Limited Air India Air India Express AIX Connect Vistara (51%) Steel Tata Steel Europe Netherlands Automotive Tata Motors Tata Motors Cars Jaguar Land Rover Daimler Company Lanchester Chery JLR Rover Tata Daewoo Tata Hispano Tata Hitachi Construction Machinery Consumer & retail Tata Consumer Products Eight O'Clock Coffee Good Earth Tea Kanan Devan Tata Salt Tetley Tata Chemicals Tata Chemicals Europe British Salt Tata Chemicals Magadi Tata Swach Trent Landmark Westside Titan Company brands Tanishq Fastrack CaratLane Tata Digital Cromā BigBasket Tata 1mg Tata CLiQ Tata Neu Voltas Voltas Beko Infrastructure Tata Power Generation Mundra UMPP Maithon Power Distribution Tata Power Delhi Distribution Limited TP Central Odisha Distribution Limited TP Western Odisha Distribution Limited North Eastern Electricity Supply Company of Odisha (51%) Other Tata Power Solar Tata Power SED Other Tata Housing Development Company Tata Projects Financial servcies Tata Capital TATA AIG Aerospace & defence Tata Advanced Systems Tata Power SED Tourism & travel Indian Hotels Company Limited Ginger Hotels Taj Hotels TajAir Vivanta The Pierre The Newbury Boston Telecom & media Tata Communications DishnetDSL VSNL International Canada Tata Business Support Services Tata Teleservices Tata Play Tejas Networks Trading & investments Tata Investment Corp
Joint ventures	TATA AIG (74%) Tata Hitachi Construction Machinery (40%) Tata Starbucks (50%) Vistara (51%)
Former holdings	CMC Favre-Leuba New India Assurance Piaggio Aerospace (33.3%) Tata Coffee Tata Interactive Systems Tata Docomo Tata McGraw-Hill Tata Oil Mills Company Lakmé Cosmetics Tata Steel BSL Tata Textiles Tayo Rolls
Sports	JRD Tata Sports Complex Tata Football Academy Telco Club Ground Jamshedpur FC Tata Steel Chess Tournament
Institutions	TIFR TIFR, Mumbai NCRA - TIFR, Pune TIFR, Hyderabad CAM Bangalore HBCSE Bangalore NCBS Bangalore Other Bhabha Atomic Research Centre Homi Bhabha National Institute Indian Institute of Science The Energy and Resources Institute TERI School of Advanced Studies Tata Institute of Social Sciences Tata Management Training Centre Tata Theatre Tata-Dhan Academy
Hospitals	Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital & Research Centre Tata Memorial Centre Tata Medical Center
Trusts	Sir Dorabji Tata and Allied Trusts Sir Ratan Tata Trust
People	Group chairmen Jamsetji Tata Dorabji Tata Nowroji Saklatwala J. R. D. Tata Ratan Tata Cyrus Mistry Natarajan Chandrasekaran (incumbent) Current Board of Tata Sons Natarajan Chandrasekaran (Chairman) Venu Srinivasan Ajay Piramal Ralf Speth Harish Manwani Group companies Noel Tata Surya Kant (TCS) Subramaniam Ramadorai T. V. Narendran (Tata Steel) Guenter Butschek (Tata Motors) Thierry Bolloré (JLR) Tata trusts Ratan Tata (Chairman) R. K. Krishna Kumar Venu Srinivasan Ajay Piramal Vijay Singh Pramit Jhaveri Prafulla Desai Mammen Chandy Former Tata family Naval Tata Simone Tata Ratanji Dadabhoy Other Cyrus Mistry Pallonji Mistry Nowroji Saklatwala R. Gopalakrishnan Jamshed Jiji Irani Ishaat Hussain Sumant Moolgaokar Karl Slym Ardeshir Dalal Russi Mody B. Muthuraman F. C. Kohli S. Jaishankar Rajesh Gopinathan
Other	Bombay House Round Oak Steel Terminal Tata Centre Tata family Tata Sons TCS Amsterdam Marathon TCS NYC Marathon
Category

• Air India
• Airlines established in 2004
• Low-cost carriers
• Tata Group subsidiaries
• 2004 establishments in Kerala