Air Pegasus

Last updated

Air Pegasus
Air Pegasus Logo.png
IATA ICAO Callsign
OP [1] PPL [1] PEGASUS [2]
Founded2014 (2014)
Commenced operations12 April 2015 (2015-04-12)
Ceased operations27 July 2016 (2016-07-27)
Hubs Kempegowda International Airport
Fleet size3 (July 2016)
Destinations8 (May 2016)
Parent company Decor Aviation
Headquarters Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Key peopleShyson Thomas (MD)
Website www.airpegasus.in

Air Pegasus was an short-lived Indian regional airline headquartered in Bangalore and based at Kempegowda International Airport. The airline was a subsidiary of Decor Aviation, an aircraft ground-handling services company. It commenced operations on 12 April 2015 with its inaugural flight between Bangalore and Hubli. The airline suspended operations on 27 July 2016, facing financial difficulties. At that time, Air Pegasus was serving eight airports across South India with a hub at Kempegowda International Airport in Bangalore, using a fleet of three ATR 72-500 aircraft. Their flying licence was suspended by DGCA on 22 November 2016. Managing director Shyson Thomas stated in late 2017 that Air Pegasus would return to the skies in early 2018, as the company had formed a relationship with Dawn Aviation and was about to settle all of its debts. Several cases have been filed against Air Pegasus chairman Shyson Thomas, Shyna Thomas and son Ashwin Thomas who was managing director. Till date no debts have been cleared and Air Pegasus office has been vacated from its MG road address. [ citation needed ]

Contents

History

Air Pegasus took delivery of its first ATR 72 aircraft in September 2014. [3] It received its Air Operators Permit (AOP) on 24 March 2015 and subsequently commenced operations from 12 April 2015 with its inaugural flight from Bangalore to Hubli. [4] [5] [6]

The airline suspended operations on 27 July 2016, claiming the suspension was temporary and due to technical issues. [7] [8] However, the problems were later revealed to be financial in nature. Aircraft lessors approached the Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to deregister their three aircraft leased to Air Pegasus after the airline defaulted on rental payment. [9] Air Pegasus agreed to pay back 50% of its dues to the lessors and said it would pay the remaining in instalments once flights resume. [10]

Air Pegasus' deal with the lessors collapsed, [11] and the DGCA deregistered the airline's entire fleet in October 2016. [12] At the end of the month, however, Air Pegasus managing director Shyson Thomas stated that he was working to obtain an ATR 72 and to resume flights by 15 November. [11]

On 5 October 2016, DGCA issued a show cause notice to Air Pegasus, asking why its AOP should not be suspended for its failure to carry out operations. The regulator had given 15 days for the regional carrier to respond to its notice. As the carrier failed to give assurance on resumption of its operation, DGCA suspended their flying licence on 22 November 2016. [13]

In early 2017, Air Pegasus attempted to work with another airline that had not yet begun operations, FlyEasy; the latter company would buy a 74% stake in Air Pegasus. However, Air Pegasus did not receive the appropriate funds, and the deal collapsed. [14] Towards the end of the year, Thomas announced that Air Pegasus had entered into cooperation with Dawn Aviation, which would take a 60% stake in the airline. He also stated that the company's previous debts were close to being settled. Thomas expected to resume flights in the first quarter of 2018 using leased ATR 72-500s. [14]

Destinations

An Air Pegasus ATR 72 at Kempegowda Airport in December 2015 Air Pegasus VT-APB at Bangalore, Dec 2015.jpg
An Air Pegasus ATR 72 at Kempegowda Airport in December 2015

In May 2016, Air Pegasus was flying to the following destinations in India: [15]

StateCityAirportNotes
KarnatakaBangalore Kempegowda International Airport Hub [6]
KarnatakaHubli Hubli Airport
KarnatakaMangalore Mangalore International Airport
KeralaKochi Cochin International Airport
KeralaThiruvananthapuram Trivandrum International Airport
Tamil NaduChennai Chennai International Airport
Tamil NaduMadurai Madurai Airport

Fleet

Ch-aviation reported in December 2017 that Air Pegasus had come into an agreement with a leasing company for the lease of a single ATR 72-500. The airline plans to obtain an additional two ATRs afterward in 2018 from Vietnam Airlines. [14]

See also

Related Research Articles

Jet Airways (India) Limited, trading as Jet Airways, was an Indian airline based in Delhi, with a training and developmental centre in Mumbai. Incorporated in April 1992 as a limited liability company, the airline began operations as an air taxi operator in 1993. It began full-fledged operations in 1995 with international flights added in 2004. The airline went public in 2005 and in 2007, when it acquired Air Sahara. The airline is expected to re-commence its flight operations by the end of 2024, making it the first Indian airline to be revived after ceasing operations.

Alliance Air is a wholly-owned subsidiary of AIAHL which is a special purpose vehicle formed by the Government of India after the disinvestment of Air India Limited. It was founded in April 1996 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Indian Airlines and mainly operates domestic routes as part of the government's Regional Connectivity Scheme. Government of India notified Alliance Air as Designated Indian Flag Carrier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East-West Airlines (India)</span> Indian private airline

In 1990-91 the entry of private airlines began, after the de-regulation of the Indian Civil Aviation sector. Private airlines were given permission to operate charter and non-scheduled services under the ‘Air Taxi’ Scheme. East West Airlines, head-quartered in Trivandrum was the first national level private airline in India to operate after almost 37 years.

Darwin Airline SA was a Swiss regional airline with its head office in Bioggio, Lugano flying under the brand name Adria Airways Switzerland. It operated scheduled domestic and international services in some western European countries. It used the brand name Etihad Regional from January 2014 to July 2017, when Etihad Airways sold its 33% stake to the owner of Adria Airways. It previously also operated flights on behalf of Alitalia. Its bases were Geneva Airport and Lugano Airport.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cebgo</span> Regional airline of the Philippines

Cebgo, Inc., operating as Cebgo, is the regional brand of Cebu Pacific. It is the successor company to SEAIR, Inc., which previously operated as South East Asian Airlines and Tigerair Philippines. It is now owned by JG Summit, the parent company of Cebu Pacific which operates the airline. The airline's main base has been transferred from Clark International Airport in Angeles City to Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Metro Manila. On April 30, 2017, Cebgo planned to move out from Manila and transfer its main base to Mactan–Cebu International Airport in Cebu City because NAIA has already maxed out its capacity. Currently, it operates an all-ATR fleet, with a total of 16 in service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FitsAir</span> Airline of Sri Lanka

FITS Aviation (Pvt) Limited, DBA FitsAir, is a Sri Lankan airline. It operates scheduled passenger services within Sri Lanka, as well as international cargo flights to several cities in the Middle East, Asia and Africa, and also operates charter flights to India. The company slogan is Friend In The Skies...

InterSky, legally Intersky Luftfahrt GmbH, was an Austrian airline headquartered in Bregenz, which operated scheduled services from its base at Friedrichshafen Airport, Germany, to major cities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, as well as seasonal holiday flights to the Mediterranean from other airports. The airline ceased operations on the evening of 5 November 2015 due to financial difficulties.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Go First</span> Defunct low–cost airline of India (2005–2023)

Go First, founded as GoAir, was an Indian low-cost airline based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is owned by the Indian business conglomerate, Wadia Group. It commenced operations on 4 November 2005 and operated a fleet of Airbus A320 aircraft in an all economy configuration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paramount Airways</span> Defunct airline

Paramount Airways was an airline based in Chennai, India. It operated scheduled services, mainly targeting business travellers until it ceased operations in 2010. Its hub was Chennai International Airport and was the first airline in India to launch the New Generation Embraer 170/190 Family series aircraft. The airline started operations in October 2005 with the company headquartered in Madurai. It operated to regional destinations in south and eastern India until early 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belgaum Airport</span> Airport in Belgaum, Karnataka, India

Belgaum Airport, also known as Belagavi Airport, is a domestic airport serving Belgaum, Karnataka. The current integrated terminal building was inaugurated by the then Minister of Civil Aviation, Ashok Gajapathi Raju on 14 September 2017. Near the airport, there is an Indian Air Force station, where new recruits receive basic training.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simplifly Deccan</span> Defunct Indian airline

Simplifly Deccan, formerly known as Air Deccan, was the first Indian low-cost carrier. Headquartered in Bengaluru, it operated domestic flights from seven base airports using a fleet of Airbus A320, ATR 42 and ATR 72 aircraft. The airline appealed to middle class travellers with low fares and a large route network. It employed several innovative methods to ensure the profitability of its business model. Nevertheless, Simplifly Deccan merged with Kingfisher Airlines in April 2008. Kingfisher replaced the Deccan brand with Kingfisher Red in August 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air Indus</span> Defunct Pakistani domestic airline

Air Indus was a private airline based in Karachi operating as a domestic airline. Its headquarters were located in Defence Housing Authority, Karachi. Air Indus started operations on 28 July 2013. However, it was forced to suspend operations on 1 July 2015 after the Civil Aviation Authority suspended its operations as they were not fulfilling the Pakistani legal requirements of three operating aircraft after two aircraft were damaged in a terrorist attack at Karachi Jinnah Airport on July 9, 2014. Its main base of operations and hub was Jinnah International Airport, Karachi.

AIX Connect, formerly known as AirAsia India, is an Indian low-cost airline headquartered in Bangalore (Bengaluru), Karnataka and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Air India Limited which in turn is owned by Tata Group. The airline was founded as a joint venture between Tata Sons and AirAsia Bhd and commenced operations in June 2014 with Bangalore as its primary operating base. From 2020 to 2022, AirAsia Bhd gradually disinvested its shares in the joint venture and sold them to Tata Sons. In December 2022, after the entire shares of AirAsia India was acquired by Tata Sons, the airline was renamed AIX Connect ahead of its merger with Air India Express.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air Costa</span> Defunct Indian regional airline

Air Costa was an Indian regional airline headquartered in Vijayawada and based out of Chennai International Airport. It was owned by Indian business company LEPL Group. The airline commenced operations as a regional airline in October 2013 using two Embraer E-170 aircraft, with the first flight taking off from Chennai on 16 October 2013. The airline received a permit for pan-India operations in October 2016. The airline focused on connectivity between tier II and tier III cities in the country, and invested 600 crore (US$72 million) as of 2015. Air Costa operated 32 daily flights to nine destinations from its focus cities Chennai and Vijayawada as of 2015. The airline had a maintenance center in Chennai. On 28 February 2017, it suspended operations until further notice.

TruJet was an Indian regional airline based at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad. The airline commenced operations in July 2015 and ceased all operations in February 2022. At its peak, the airline had seven aircraft, and was India's longest serving regional airline.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Air Carnival</span> Defunct Indian regional airline based in Coimbatore

Air Carnival was an Indian regional airline based at Coimbatore International Airport with a hub at Chennai International Airport. Air Carnival was promoted by the Coimbatore Marine College (CMC) Group. It was founded in 2013 as a charter airline but transitioned to scheduled operations within South India, which were launched in July 2016.

Quikjet Cargo Airlines Pvt. Ltd., branded as Quikjet Airlines, is an all-cargo airline based in Bangalore, India. In December 2022, Quikjet resumed operations with a new AOC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ventura AirConnect</span> Indian Airline

Ventura AirConnect is an Indian nonscheduled airline operating flights in the state of Gujarat with Cessna 208 Caravan aircraft in its fleet. Initially operating flights within Madhya Pradesh, the airline shifted to Gujarat upon being acquired by a group of Gujarati diamond merchants in 2014. After suspending operations several times, it resumed its operations in January 2022 and made Surat International Airport its operating hub.

Zexus Air Services, doing business as Zooom Air, is an Indian low-cost regional airline headquartered in Gurugram, Haryana, India. It operates from its base at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, with a fleet of 5 aircraft.

Ghodawat Enterprises Pvt. Ltd. doing business as Star Air, is an Indian commuter airline based at Kempegowda International Airport in Bangalore, Karnataka. It started operations in January 2019, offering flights within Karnataka state as well as to neighboring Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana & Maharashtra, as part of the Central Government's UDAN scheme. The airline makes use of Embraer 145 LRs and Embraer 175 for its services.

References

  1. 1 2 "Air Pegasus". ch-aviation. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  2. "JO 7340.2G Contractions" (PDF). Federal Aviation Administration . 5 January 2017. p. 3-1-13. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
  3. "India's Air Pegasus takes delivery of first aircraft, an ATR72". ch-aviation. 29 September 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  4. "Air Pegasus starts commercial operations". Live Mint . 12 April 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  5. "About us". Decor Aviation. Archived from the original on 12 November 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  6. 1 2 "Air Pegasus 3rd airline to take off from Bangalore". The Times of India . 21 January 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  7. Giriprakash, K (27 July 2016). "Air Pegasus suspends services, denies shutting down operations". The Hindu Business Line . Retrieved 3 August 2016.
  8. Chowdhury, Anirban; Mishra, Mihir (27 July 2016). "Regional airline Air Pegasus cancels flights indefinitely, cites technical glitch". The Economic Times . Retrieved 3 August 2016.
  9. "Lessors approach DGCA to get 3 Air Pegasus planes deregistered". Business Standard . 29 July 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  10. "Air Pegasus in talks with PE fund to restart operations". The Hindu Business Line . 24 August 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  11. 1 2 "India's Air Pegasus aims to resume ops by mid-4Q16". ch-aviation. 24 October 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  12. Phadnis, Ashwini; Giriprakash, K. (13 October 2016). "DGCA grounds entire Air Pegasus fleet for non-payment of lease money". The Hindu Business Line . Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  13. "Flying licence of Air Pegasus suspended". Deccan Herald. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  14. 1 2 3 "India's Air Pegasus secures funding; to resume ops in 1Q18". ch-aviation. 1 December 2017. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  15. "Low cost airline Air Pegasus to scale up operation". The Economic Times . 18 May 2016. Retrieved 14 January 2017.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Air Pegasus at Wikimedia Commons