Vijayawada-based regional

carrier Air Costa plans to become a pan-India player by the first quarter of next fiscal as it looks to target smaller towns and cities. It is also looking to fly international routes by 2018.

Speaking on the occasion of its first anniversary, Ramesh Lingamaneni, chairman, said, “We are looking at operating pan-India flights by the first quarter of the next fiscal. We have submitted our application for securing a pan-India flying licence to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).?

The DGCA is expected to give its approval next month. It has extended the airline’s operator permit (AOP) for another four years, from September 2014 to 2018, he said. To fund its expansion plans, Air Costa will be soon be de-merged from its holding company, the LEPL group, into a separate company. It is likely to explore an IPO as well.

Following an approval from the Andhra Pradesh High Court for its de-merger, the company will be exploring options to raise funds. ?Once the company is de-merged, we will explore options for raising funds, which may include tapping the capital market. This will help get us the right kind of valuation from investors,? Vivek Choudhary, CFO, said.

The airline posted operational profit in October and hopes to post net profit by the end of the current financial year, he said.

Further, the company will be introducing two more flights from Vijayawada from January 2015. At present, it operates 38 daily flights to nine cities including Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Coimbatore, Visakhapatnam and Tirupati. It plans to induct four aircraft each year till it starts getting deliveries of its own planes from the Sao Paulo-based

Embraer.

Meanwhile, the airline, which started last October, also plans to fly international routes and is expected to either buy or lease an Airbus or a Boeing. It has placed orders for 50 Embraer aircraft for $3 billion and has another 50 on-options with deliveries starting 2018. A maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facility is also on the cards following expansion of the Vijayawada airport.

?We are waiting for the announcement of the new civil aviation policy for further tie-ups with international carriers

and domestic airliners,?? Choudhary said.