Regional aviation is close to my heart and while it has its challenges in India, I always hope and pray for the survival and growth of the regional carriers. It has been a brutal business with skeletons all around. This March, the airline started commercial operations and now has two ATR 72-600 aircraft in its fleet. VT-FIB and VT-FIC are configured with 70 seats in standard 2 x 2 seating of the ATR, with new overhead bins and leather seats.
With its Headquarter in Goa, it became the first Goan airline and is based out of Manohar International Airport, Mopa, Goa. Since I could not find a written review of the airline, with all reviews being either on instagram or youtube, I decided to write one.
The airline opted for its IATA code as “IC” which was used by Indian Airlines in the past and its ICAO code is “GOA” while its call sign is “GOAN”. Fly91 is based on India’s country code “+91”.
Booking/Web-site/Web check-in
The airline has a very simple website, with a listing of airports it operates to. The Pune – Sindhudurg – Pune flight is part of RCS-UDAN and thus subsidised. The fares start at INR 1991 (+ INR 250 convenience fee) each way. Four emergency row seats with extra leg room (Row 1) have a seat selection fee of INR 1000, while 10 other seats with more legspace have a selection fee of INR 500. The rest are free to select. I took seat 10A. There is a 15kg baggage allowance, though I did not utilise any of it on my flight.
Tickets come via whatsapp, and so do the boarding passes – which come in while booking itself and there isn’t a separate window for web check-in. This was to be the first flight and hence there was no history. With limited planes in fleet, limited slots at Pune – the airline has curtailed 1 weekly frequency between Hyderabad – Sindhudurg, Bengaluru – Sindhudurg to start twice weekly Pune – Sindhudurg. Thus, the airline has reduced flights between Mopa – Hyderabad and Mopa – Bengaluru, added flights between Mopa – Pune and Pune – Sindhudurg and kept the SIndhudurg departures the same.
Airport Experience
Cut to the day of departure, Fly91 is operating from the old terminal at Pune and will eventually move to the new terminal. There was a whatsapp message in advance about the gate number. With the terminal transition in process, there isn’t any heavy branding of Fly91. The check-in counters were empty when I went in. The staff is cost conscious till the last person in the hierarchy. Since I had the boarding pass with me on the phone and no baggage to check-in, a new one was not printed. Security was relatively quick, with the only other flight operating at that time was a delayed Spicejet. The airline staff was helpful with the information and looking forward to the new flights.
The inbound aircraft arrived at 0753 hours and parked right in front of Gate#5 where the passengers had already gathered. Most were from Sindhudurg and surrounding areas, wanting to be part of the first flight. The flight had a load factor of just over 50%. Surprisingly, the inbound flight from Mopa at that early on a Saturday had a higher load factor and I later learnt that the outbound to Mopa was full.
I enquired if there is any function for the first flight and the cost mindfulness of the airline is ensuring there is none, but a smooth launch. Boarding soon started with wheel-chair passengers and at 0811 hours, the all on board announcement was done. We pushed back at 0814 hours, a turnaround of 21 minutes.
The two member crew comprised a lady and a gentleman and the lady was fluent in Marathi / Konkani and helped passengers be seated in either of them. I haven’t flown many RCS-UDAN routes but this was the true essence of RCS-UDAN which I got to see and the crew knowing the local language and dialect was perfect for the route.
The airline already connects Pune to Jalgaon, another RCS route and in a state where intra-state connectivity is a challenge, now offers two such routes from Pune.
Flight Experience
As we pushed back and taxied to runway Two Eight, candies were offered, which was totally nostalgic. This was followed by a safety briefing when we were ready for takeoff. The same drill was repeated for the return flight as well. Sindhudurg airport is a nice small airport, with a modern building but old world charm.
ATR’s relatively lower flight levels is a sight to behold in most cases, but it was cloudy all throughout and hence views were visible closer to landing. This part of Maharashtra is extremely beautiful and blessed with natural beauty. The same was also evident on the return flight as well which gave good views of the coast and Sindhudurg fort.
Product
The seats were nice leather seats and clean on both flights. I saw cleaners at both Pune and Sindhudurg doing a quick round before boarding, in the 20 minute turnaround. Amar Chitra Katha magazines are on board with the ability to buy at INR 100 from the crew. The seat pocket had a safety card, menu, magazine and sickness bag. Over my two flights, I opted for Ragi Chips with Kokum juice and Cashew nuts (Caramel) with Jamun juice. The Kokum juice was the highlight of the meal.
Summary
Overall, it was a hassle free experience. Good service, almost on-time flights, affordable food options, clean aircraft, affordable prices (RCS-UDAN route). It will have to build up a reputation of being on-time and dependable, especially since most of its routes are those which are either high demand (non UDAN) or have monopoly. I am already working towards a family trip in the Winter schedule, as and when the flights open for sale.
The aircraft operates Mopa – Pune – Sindhudurg – Pune – Mopa on Saturdays and Sundays. While this gives a perfect timing for Pune – Goa on Saturday in absence of other flights, the Pune – Sindhudurg timing for Saturday departure is great too. The return for Sunday could be a challenge for passengers who can otherwise spend a nice weekend in Tarkarli or Malvan. It would be great if they operate the Mopa – Pune – Sindhudurg – Pune – Mopa in the second half on Sunday. This will offer two benefits, a good timed Mopa – Pune for Sunday check-out and a good weekend getaway timings for Pune – Sindhudurg – Pune.
The airline has plans of expansion but currently it is stretched too thin with just two planes, something which it will have to look at in terms of consolidation soon.
Published by Ameya
A management professional with interests in Aviation, Public Transport, Travel & Food
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Published
September 2, 2024September 2, 2024