Business & Finance

FLY91 Plans to Grow Workforce to Over 1,000 as It Expands Fleet and Routes

By Dipali Banka, Abhishek Law

Goa‑based regional airline FLY91, which began operations less than three years ago, is preparing to increase its staff to more than 1,000 within the next two years, up from about 550 today, founder, managing director and CEO Manoj Chacko said in an interview. The airline currently operates six ATR 72‑600 turboprops across 13 stations and is hiring for cockpit crew, cabin crew, engineering, technicians, flight dispatch and airport operations. The ATR 72‑600 is a propeller‑driven aircraft suited to short trips and smaller airports, allowing FLY91 to serve cities that lack demand or infrastructure for larger jets. It competes with other regional carriers such as Star Air and Alliance Air, and IndiGo also uses turboprops on some routes.

Chacko said the airline is adequately staffed for its core functions for the next two years of planned growth, with incremental hiring tied to aircraft induction and new station openings. Each new aircraft requires about 25 additional employees, excluding technicians, bringing the total to roughly 30 people per aircraft. New stations add another 10–14 employees, depending on flight and shift schedules. At a projected 70 employees per aircraft, FLY91’s staffing level would be lower than the employee‑to‑aircraft ratios of larger Indian airlines.

Equirus Securities analyst Jainam Shah noted that FLY91’s hiring plan is reasonable if it follows fleet expansion. With a target of 70 employees per aircraft, a workforce of 1,000–1,100 would require around 15–16 aircraft. Hiring well ahead of aircraft entering service could strain costs.

The airline has already added Tirupati and Navi Mumbai to its network and plans to add five or six stations a year while increasing frequencies on existing routes. Chacko said the airline will connect each destination to at least three to four cities daily. FLY91 has ordered 40 ATR 72‑600 aircraft, with deliveries starting in 2027. Before those arrive, it plans to acquire aircraft from the secondary market, bringing its fleet to 12–14 aircraft by late next year, and aims for about 60 aircraft over five years.

FLY91’s expansion comes as it works to improve its financial position. Just UDO Aviation Pvt. Ltd., the parent company, reported operating revenue of about ₹127 crore and a net loss of ₹67.6 crore in FY25, its first full financial year. About 55 % of revenue came from the government’s UDAN regional connectivity scheme. The airline aims to break even in FY27 and expects FY28 to be its first fully profitable year. Reducing dependence on subsidised routes will be critical as it scales.

The airline is backed by private‑equity firm Convergent Finance and investors including Ramesh Damani and other high‑net‑worth individuals. Convergent and its funds provided the initial ₹200 crore investment, and the company is completing a ₹250 crore equity raise. Chacko said ₹63 crore has already been raised through compulsorily convertible preference shares from existing investors, with the balance being raised from external investors under due diligence. The airline is evaluating sale‑and‑leaseback arrangements, bank financing and consortium financing for its aircraft. Shah cautioned that proposed funding should not be treated as cash already available.