Air Pegasus

Not to be confused with Pegasus Airlines.
Air Pegasus
IATA ICAO Callsign
OP PPL PEGASUS
Founded 2014
Commenced operations 12 April 2015
Ceased operations 27 July 2016
Hubs Kempegowda International Airport
Fleet size 3
Destinations 8
Parent company Decor Aviation
Headquarters Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Key people Shyson Thomas (MD)
Website www.airpegasus.in

Air Pegasus was an 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.[1]

History

Air Pegasus took delivery of its first ATR 72 aircraft in September 2014.[2] 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.[3][4][5]

The airline suspended operations on 27 July 2016, claiming the suspension was temporary and due to technical issues.[6][7] 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.[8] 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.[9]

Air Pegasus' deal with the lessors collapsed,[10] and the DGCA deregistered the airline's entire fleet in October 2016.[11] 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.[10]

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.[1]

Destinations

Air Pegasus flew to the following destinations at the time it suspended operations:

Country (State) City Airport Notes Ref.
India (Andhra Pradesh) Kadapa Kadapa Airport Terminated [12]
India (Goa) Goa Goa International Airport [13]
India (Karnataka) Bangalore Kempegowda International Airport Hub [3]
India (Karnataka) Hubli Hubli Airport [3]
India (Karnataka) Mangalore Mangalore International Airport [14]
India (Kerala) Cochin Cochin International Airport [15]
India (Kerala) Thiruvananthapuram Trivandrum International Airport [15]
India (Tamil Nadu) Chennai Chennai International Airport [15]
India (Tamil Nadu) Madurai Madurai International Airport [15]

Fleet

An Air Pegasus ATR 72-500 at Kempegowda International Airport in December 2015

At the time it suspended operations, Air Pegasus operated the following aircraft:[11]

Air Pegasus fleet
Aircraft In service Orders Passengers Notes
Y
ATR 72-500 3 — 66[2] —
Total 3 0

See also

References

  1. 1 2 New Delhi, Nov 22, 2016 (PTI). "Flying licence of Air Pegasus suspended". Deccanherald.com. Retrieved 2016-11-22.
  2. 1 2 "India's Air Pegasus takes delivery of first aircraft, an ATR72". ch-aviation. 29 September 2014. Retrieved 30 September 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 "Air Pegasus starts commercial operations". Live Mint. 12 April 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
  4. ↑ "About us". Decor Aviation. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  5. ↑ "Air Pegasus 3rd airline to take off from Bangalore". The Times of India. 21 January 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  6. ↑ Giriprakash, K (27 July 2016). "Air Pegasus suspends services, denies shutting down operations". The Hindu Business Line. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
  7. ↑ Chowdhury, Anirban; Mishra, Mihir (27 July 2016). "Regional airline Air Pegasus cancels flights indefinitely, cites technical glitch". The Economic Times. Retrieved 3 August 2016.
  8. ↑ "Lessors approach DGCA to get 3 Air Pegasus planes deregistered". Business Standard. 29 July 2016. Retrieved 29 July 2016.
  9. ↑ "Air Pegasus in talks with PE fund to restart operations". The Hindu Business Line. 24 August 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  10. 1 2 "India's Air Pegasus aims to resume ops by mid-4Q16". ch-aviation. 24 October 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2016.
  11. 1 2 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.
  12. ↑ "Air Pegasus investing Rs 100 crore to expand operations". The Times of India. 14 April 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2016. 'We have suspended our service (weekly thrice) to Kadapa in Andhra Pradesh from Bengaluru due to poor patronage on the route,' Thomas admitted.
  13. ↑ "Air Pegasus to launch flights to Cuddapah in Andhra Pradesh". The Times of India. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  14. ↑ "Air Pegasus begins operations from Mangaluru". The Hindu. 24 August 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  15. 1 2 3 4 "Air Pegasus Destinations". Retrieved 16 April 2016.

External links

Media related to Air Pegasus at Wikimedia Commons

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