India’s Air Kerala plans to launch by late Q1 2025.

Bullish shareholders of Air Kerala (Kochi International) say the start-up should be operating profitable flights by the end of the first quarter of next year. The announcement follows meetings in Delhi over the past week between investors and officials from India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation and the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

As previously reported in ch-aviation, Air Kerala plans to operate as a low-cost carrier, initially focusing on domestic sectors to smaller cities in India before expanding into regional markets. In July, after receiving a no-objection certificate from the DGCA, Dubai-based Afi Ahmed, chairman of Zett Fly Aviation Private Limited, trading as Air Kerala, said it intends to start flights with three ATR72-600s.

Air Kerala is promoted by Afi Ahmed and Ayub Kallada. Ahmed is also the chairman of travel firm Smart Travels and paid $272,250 to buy the AirKerala domain name last year. Dubai-based Kallada is the chairman and managing director of Kallada Food Industries. This week, DGCA and ministry officials “expressed confidence” in Air Kerala’s ability to meet regulatory requirements to obtain an air operator certificate by the target date of March 2025.

Separately, Ahmed confirmed the appointment of Harish Kuti as CEO of Air Kerala. He is said to have over 35 years of experience in the aviation sector, including stints in senior roles at British Airways (BA, London Heathrow) and Air Arabia (G9, Sharjah).