GoAir will enter into code-share agreements with foreign airlines: CEO

GoAir will enter into codeshare partnerships with foreign airlines for its overseas routes, the airline's Chief Executive Officer Cornelis Vrieswijk said on Thursday.

The Wadia group-owned airline on Thursday announced its maiden international flights to Phuket and Male from Mumbai and Delhi from October. Plans are underway to connect Bengaluru to the two destinations.  

“We are looking at codeshares to get passenger feed from foreign airlines on our international routes,” Vrieswijk said. GoAir has 36 Airbus A320 planes in its fleet at present, including 19 A320Neos. It will induct 13 A320Neo planes by December end.

The airline's network expansion has been impacted due to ongoing technical issues with its engines. The latest issue affecting the planes is excessive vibration, and engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney  (PW) is investigating the complaints. Two of GoAir's 19 A320Neo planes are grounded as they are awaiting replacement engines.

Vrieswijk added that the airline is in discussions with Airbus and PW for compensation. The airline has 144 A320Neos on order and has selected PW engines for 72 planes. He said the airline is studying the performance of both PW and CFM engines and is not in a hurry to finalise the engine order.

“Oil and currency are hurting business significantly and costs have gone up. We are looking to optimise network and improve crew utilisation,” he said, adding that the airline will focus on profitable growth and will go for a controlled expansion. The airline's FY 2018 profit is not available as it is not listed.

The spike in fuel cost has also forced the airline to mull leasing out its old A320 Ceo aircrafts to save fuel and earn additional revenues. The airline plans to use new deliveries for replacing its old A320 fleet. The A320 Neo offers 15 per cent fuel saving over the conventional A320 planes.