Air Costa Hyderabad Press Meet

Air Costa, the first regional airline from Andhra Pradesh is promoted by LEPL Group, Vijayawada with Mr. L. Ramesh, Chairman and Mr. LVS Rajasekhar as its Managing Director. The Airline received its initial "No Objection Certificate" (NOC) for commercial operations on 23rd Jan 2012.

The Airline has obtained all the formal approvals from DGCA and is set to launch commercial operations from 14th Oct 2013. Air Costa aims at redefining the experience of flying for its guests by offering them convenient schedules with comfortable seating options.

Air Costa would fly the contemporary Embraer E-jets (170/190) for its scheduled operations as they are safe, efficient and economical, offering the same comfort of a larger jet aircraft. It will start operations with four aircrafts in a phased manner. It has taken delivery of two E- 170 jets with twin cabin configurations and will add 2 more E-190 jets in November 2013. In addition to the above, Air Costa plans to add ten E-190 jets by the end of 2014.

The mission is to make a niche in the growing air travel market linking metros to tier II and tier III cities through direct point to point connectivity. Air Costa will initially connect Vijayawada, Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Jaipur and Ahmedabad and spread its wings to other cities such as Madurai, Visakhapatnam, Goa, Trivandrum, Mysore etc.

LEPL Group is planning to invest over $100 million during the next 2 years in the airline business. Air Costa will provide a unique value proposition to its target market through a mix of its superior equipment, high reliability, convenient schedule and point-to-point connectivity. The cabin is much quieter with generous seat spacing / leg room along with the luxury of "no middle seat". Passengers on board Air Costa would enjoy the luxury of reaching their destination faster compared to turboprop aircrafts of same capacity deployed in these feeder routes. Air Costa will provide convenient connections and day return flights to tier II and tier III cities.

Air Costa has a clear operational strategy that is designed after rigorous analysis and help reap higher yields. With favourable government policies and passenger projections, air travel in India is poised to grow steadily making it the third largest aviation market in the world. Air Costa's timely entry into the market will allow it to capitalise on this surge in demand. Government initiative to modernize many of the tier II and III airports is indeed a big boost to the airline's strategic expansion plans. Air Costa will follow a flexi- fare system which is dynamic and market driven.

Air Costa to its advantage, has an efficient, experienced and dedicated management team. Today, there are about 300 employees including foreign pilots and foriegn engineers. The team is well trained to provide the finest experience to its customers.

Air Costa has a proven and user- friendly reservation system and tickets can be booked online through the company's website (www.aircosta.in). Facility is provided to buy ticket through the company's 24X7 call centre through IVRS. Tickets can also be booked through authorized travel agents and portals. Ticketing offices are available at every operating airport. To cater to the growing smart phone user base, Air Costa will shortly launch its mobile booking application. Air Costa also plans to have a dedicated Engineering complex at Gannavaram Domestic Airport, Vijayawada shortly for Maintainence Repair Overhaul (MRO) purposes.

Along with the benefits accruing due to fleet rationalization by operating single category of aircraft, Air Costa will adopt time tested industry's best practices to increase its profitability such as Maximising Aircraft Utilization, Quick Turnarounds, Disciplined Cash Flows, Stringent safety measures, High Standards of Training, Thorough Network Overlook, Innovative Cost Control Techniques, Strict enforcement of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), Passenger Friendly Approach and Excellent Service Quality.

Air Costa will focus on Safety, On-Time-Performance (OTP), and Prompt service as the key levers to business sustenance while redefining air travel to non-metro cities and providing a "happy flying" experience to all on-board Air Costa.