Vinay Dube, the former chief executive officer of GoAir airlines and now-defunct Jet Airways is mulling to launch a budget domestic airline by the end of this year, reports said. On Wednesday, Dube met officials of the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation regarding the matter.
Dube has roped in his former colleagues, Praveen Iyer and Nikhil Ved for the venture, Business Standard reported. Both Iyer and Ved have worked at Jet Airways. The report added that Dube has also held discussions with aircraft manufacturers Airbus and Boeing.
The report quoted a source as saying that the Union ministry has been approached for a no-objection certificate. “A lot of groundwork has been done and the team is looking for investors to raise funds,” the source said.
Dube had joined GoAir as its CEO in February 2020 and quit the post in August. His stint with Jet Airways began in 2017 and ended in May 2019, a month after the airline shut down due to financial problems.
In addition to these, he has worked with Delta Airlines for a decade, and also with American Airlines and Sabre Inc, CNBC-TV18 reported.
The Hindu BusinessLine quoted sources as saying that the discussion between Dube and civil aviation ministry officials was not just about the proposed airline. “There are many independent reasons for him to meet the Ministry, besides the airline itself, however, the progress on the airline was one of the reasons for the meeting,” the report quoted a source as saying. The report, however, did not specify the details of the discussion about other agendas.
The report added that Dube conveyed a “premature, yet firm” plan to launch the new airline. “The sources had also added that the airline was likely to be a low-cost-carrier,” the report said.