Phuket beckons: GoAir to become sixth Indian airline to fly in international skies

Mumbai: Nearly 13 years after commencing domestic operations, Wadia group-owned GoAir on Thursday announced international services with the first flight to Phuket in Thailand starting from October 11.

The no-frills airline, which is all set to start direct flights from New Delhi and Mumbai to Phuket, would become the sixth Indian carrier to go international.

"We announce the commencement of our maiden international operations to Phuket in Thailand from New Delhi and Mumbai from October 11," GoAir Chief Executive Officer Cornelis Vrieswijik said.

GoAir would be flying overseas nearly 13 years after it started domestic operations in November 2005. From October 14, the airline would also start flights to Male from Mumbai and New Delhi, Vrieswijik told reporters here.

Going forward, GoAir would also connect Phuket and Male with Bengaluru.

GoAir would join the league of Air India, its low-cost subsidiary Air India Express, Jet Airways, IndiGo and SpiceJet to become the sixth domestic airline to have overseas services.

"Phuket and Male are the key tourist destinations and hold a lot of promise. The airline's international schedules have been planned to allow quick and convenient connections for customers," Vrieswijik said.

It would operate three direct flight services per week between Mumbai and Phuket, while the New Delhi-Phuket services would be twice a week.

Similarly, the Mumbai-Male operations would be thrice a week and New Delhi-Male twice a week, the airline said.

GoAir also announced all-inclusive return fare starting from Rs 18,999 for the Mumbai-Phuket and New Delhi-Phuket flights.

For the Male-Mumbai flight, the all-inclusive return fare start from Rs 17,999, while for Male-New Delhi flights, it would be start from Rs 18,999, GoAir said.

Two years ago, GoAir became eligible to fly overseas when it took delivery of its 20th aircraft which was also the first A320 neo plane for the airline.

As of now, it operates 230 daily flights to 23 domestic destinations, with a fleet of over 35 aircraft. This includes 19 A320 neo planes.

Vrieswijik said that the airline was looking at code sharing pacts and interline arrangement with other international airlines.

Code sharing allows an airline to book its passengers on its partner carriers and provide seamless travel to destinations where it has no presence. An interline arrangement refers to a pact to issue and accept tickets for flights that are operated by the partner airline.

When selling an interline ticket, the operating airline's own flight numbers are used.

In August 2016, GoAir was granted rights to operate flights to nine countries, including China, Vietnam, Maldives, Kazakhstan, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

It had planned to launch services on the international routes in October last year but the plans were deferred due to the grounding of some of its A320 neos following Pratt & Whitney engine issues.

Vrieswijik said that GoAir was looking to accelerate growth, both in domestic and international markets.

However, he did not provide any time line or number of destinations with respect to the airline's international expansion plans.

Earlier, a source had said that the airline was aiming to serve three to four international destinations by March next year.