Fly91’s struggles show why airline startups struggle in India

It was sometime last year. An unusual display of rival bonhomie played out in the corridors of Indian aviation. Goa-based regional airline Fly91 signed an agreement to lease one of its ATRs, on a short-term basis, to Kerala-based startup Al-Hind, which was struggling to get aircraft.But nothing moved for months and the plane continued to be parked in Goa.

In the interim, Just Udo Aviation-led Fly91 decided to sell the ATR aircraft and approached the regulator for approvals, eventually landing at the DGCA office in the Capital. That’s when a twist in the tale emerged.
“The DGCA asked how Fly91 could sell someone else’s plane,” an official familiar with the matter who did not wish to be named recalls. “The aircraft was already in Al-Hind’s name.”