Air India Express

History

Air India Express was launched as a subsidiary of Air India on 29 April 2005. The airline was launched as a low-cost carrier focused on routes from South India to the Middle East and Southeast Asia. As a low-cost carrier, the airline operated point-to-point flights with multiple hubs all over India. Initially headquartered in Delhi, it was relocated to Kochi in 2013. While its sister entity Air India ran into operational losses in the 2010s, the airline continued to remain profitable. However, the airline operated with a fixed fleet of 24 aircraft for years, with no plans for expansion or modernisation.

On 8 October 2021, Tata Sons acquired Air India along with Air India Express and fifty percent of AISATS, a ground handling company, in a deal valued at . With the acquisition, the company became a part of Air India Limited. In 2023, the Tata Group sought to consolidate its holdings in various airline companies. It resulted in the group acquiring full control of AirAsia India, which was rebranded as AIX Connect, and proposed to be merged with Air India Express post the approval by authorities. In March 2023, the Tata Group announced the integration of both the airlines.

Post the acquisition and merger, the services operated by Air India Express were optimised to focus on low cost routes and complement the Air India network. On 18 October 2023, the airline was rebranded with a new logo and livery. In late 2023, the company moved its headquarters to Gurgaon.{{cite web

Corporate affairs and identity

Air India Express is headquartered at the Vatika One-on-One complex in Gurgaon, which also houses the head office of Air India.

Livery

In the earlier branding, the aircraft featured a predominantly white color scheme with the brand name written in red in English on one side and Hindi on the other side, and a stylised red wavy design on the aft fuselage. Each aircraft featured a unique tail art, with each side of the tail painted with various designs related to India. The new livery introduced in 2023, consists of the airline's updated logo, and the underbelly and engine casings painted in orange. The tail consists of a mix of grey, orange and turquoise, with the tail art reflecting traditional art patterns found in Indian textiles and indigenous art.

Business trends

** In FY2024, Air India Express Limited (standalone) reported ₹7,537 crore revenue and a ₹163.1 crore net loss, excluding AIX Connect (formerly AirAsia India). Following their merger in October 2023, the combined airline carried 40.7 million passengers with an 85% load factor. Consolidated financials for the merged entity will begin from FY2025.*

Destinations

Main article: List of Air India Express destinations

Air India Express focuses on routes dominated by low cost carriers and which have a higher component of leisure customers. , the airline flies to 45 domestic destinations and 17 international destinations with primary hubs located in Bengaluru, Delhi, and Mumbai. It flies to international destinations mainly in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.

Air India Express has codeshare agreements and interline agreements with Air India, and Scoot.

Fleet

, Air India Express operates the following aircraft:

Fleet information

During the 2023 Paris Air Show, Air India placed an order with Boeing for 470 aircraft, which included 190 737 MAX aircraft. The order was later transferred to Air India Express with deliveries commencing from October 2023. Subsequently, Air India Express revealed its plan to have a fleet of 170 aircraft within the next five years. The airline accepted deliveries of MAX 8 aircraft that were originally manufactured for a different airline. Of these, 29 aircraft had business class seats which are planned to be eventually phased out as such configurations are not part of the airline's standard seating. On 29 December 2025, the airline received its first MAX aircraft fitted specifically for the airline with an all-economy seating, and the 51st overall. It was assigned the aircraft registration VT-RNT in the honour of Ratan Tata.

Services

Air India Express operates as a low cost carrier, and features an all economy class seating in most of the aircraft. In 2025, the airline unveiled a new cabin with all economy class seats in a 3-3 seat configuration. The seats featured a beige colour scheme except for the front and exit row seats, which are orange. The soft leather seats manufactured by Collins Aerospace, were fitted with armrests, tray tables, lighting and charging ports. It offers different fares on the same service, including hand baggage only fares. The airline does not offer inflight meals as a standard, and offers heated meals on demand.

Accidents and incidents

• On 22 May 2010, Air India Express Flight 812, a Boeing 737–800 (registered as VT-AXV) flying in from Dubai overshot the runway on landing at Mangalore, 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 5 September 2017, Air India Express Flight 452, flying from Abu Dhabi to Kochi with 108 occupants, suffered a runway excursion after landing at its destination. No casualties were reported and the plane returned to service after repair.

• On 12 October 2018, Air India Express Flight 611, a Boeing 737-800 (registered VT-AYD), sustained a tailstrike on takeoff before colliding with the localiser antenna and boundary wall at Tiruchirappalli International Airport, resulting in structural damage to the aircraft. While the flight continued to fly towards Dubai initially, it was rerouted to Mumbai and landed safely. The aircraft was repaired and returned to service.

• On 7 August 2020, Air India Express Flight 1344, a Boeing 737–800 (registered as VT-AXH), suffered a runway excursion on landing at Kozhikode. The aircraft fell into a valley after overrunning the table-top runway at the airport, killing 21 people on board including both pilots, and injuring at least 167 passengers and crew.

• On 11 October 2024, Air India Express Flight 613, a Boeing 737NG flying from Tiruchirappalli to Sharjah, suffered a hydraulic failure in its landing gear assembly after take off. After engaging in a holding pattern over Tiruchirappalli for over two hours to burn excess fuel, the flight with 114 passengers landed back safely.

References

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