Zoom Air - India's Newest Airline - To Begin Operations Soon: Things To Know

Zoom Air, India's newest full-service commuter airline, is set to commence commercial operations from February 15, 2017, with a flight to Durgapur via Kolkata from New Delhi. With this, Gurgaon-headquartered Zoom Air will become the 12th operational carrier in the domestic aviation market. The Zexus Air Services-promoted carrier's inaugural flight took place on February 12, 2017.

Here are a few things to know about Zoom Air:

1) Zoom Air received a scheduled operator permit - which allows it to operate pan-India - from the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), the country's aviation regulator, earlier this month. 

2) Zoom Air's inaugural flight, using a CRJ 200 LR aircraft, landed at the Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport, Durgapur, at 1:39 pm on Sunday, February 12, where it was accorded the traditional water canon salute.

3) Analysts say the entry of Zoom Air will intensify competition in the domestic aviation market, as it will compete with other domestic airlines Air India, Jet Airways, Vistara, IndiGo, SpiceJet, GoAir and AirAsia India.

A search on Zoom Air's portal showed a one-way flight from Delhi to Kolkata a month after commencement of operations is priced at Rs. 2,850 (inclusive of base fare and fuel charge ofRs. 1,972).

4) The airline "operates to multiple capitals in India hubbing over New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Hyderabad in initial stages offering convenient daily connections between city pairs," as per its website. With a fleet of three dry-leased CRJ 200LR planes, Zoom Air would operate flights to Amritsar, Surat and Bhavnagar from Delhi in its first phase of operations. It will also connect the national capital to Aizawl, Aurangabad, Chandigarh, Dharamshala, Dimapur, Durgapur, Hyderabad, Jorhat, Kolkata, Mumbai and Shillong in Phase 1, it added.

Zoom Air connects, for the first time, Durgapur, West Bengal with daily multiple direct frequencies to Kolkata, New Delhi and Mumbai with premium service on board. Also, for the first time "Meghalaya gets direct Air connectivity Daily to Kolkata and then further to Mumbai, New Delhi and major cities", as per the airline's portal zoomair.in.