Paramount Airways to focus on tier II, III cities

The number of aircraft to be increased to 20 from 5 presently

Paramount Airways, a Chennai-based business class carrier, is planning to focus on tier II and III cities as part of its expansion plan. The airline plans to increase its number of aircraft to 20 from the present five by inducting Airbus, Embraer and turboprop. While the Airbus is expected to cater to those travelling abroad, Embraer and turboprop will cater to tier II and III cities.

M Thiagarajan, managing director, Paramount Airways, said as part of the expansion the airline would focus on tier II and III cities like Salem, Puducherry, Bellary, Mysore, Ranchi and other similar cities in the country. The airline is planning to commence service to these cities from the last quarter of 2010. First service will start from Chennai to Tuticorin and other tier II cities will be followed in phased manners.

“We are planning to acquire 8-10 turbo planes, which will cater to these cities.” The company is looking at leasing these aircrafts, which will have a seating capacity between 48 and 75. Presently, the airline flies to 17 destinations and is planning to increase it to 40 by the end of 2011.

Commenting on its overseas expansion, Thiagarajan said the company had placed orders for 10 Airbus A-321s, valued around $1.5 billion. The first Airbus is expected to come on board in October 2010.

“Initially our focus would be neigbouring countries including Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and to West Asia.” The airline is also planning to get into seat sharing and other arrangements. In terms of employment opportunity, for every aircraft the thumb rule is 65-70 people will be employed, Thiagarajan noted.

The airline is also planning to launch holiday packages through Paramount Holiday, said Thiagarajan. The focus would be high-end business travelers who are looking at leisure travelling. “We have already had a soft launch and full launch would be next year,” he added.

When asked whether the airline would get consider to enter into hospitality on its own, Thiagarajan said, “We have not closed our mind to get into the hospitality sector.”

“With the domestic expansion the airline had set a target to increase its market share to 10 per cent by end of 2010, from the present 2 per cent,” said Thiagarajan.