India's first no-frills airlines Air Deccan on Sunday said it is expecting revenues of $120 million in the current fiscal.

"We expect revenues of $120 million during 2004-05 fiscal and have positive cash flows in the last two months while the average occupancy is 83%," managing director G R Gopinath told reporters in Mumbai at the inauguration of the Mumbai-Surat and Surat-Bhavnagar-Mumbai flights.

The airline, which was launched nine months ago, would induct eight 48-seater ATR aircraft by March 31, 2005 taking the total ATR fleet to 15, he said adding five ATRs, which would be inducted in September, would be deployed on the Delhi-Dehradun, Delhi-Ludhiana, Delhi-Agra, Agra-Jaipur and Delhi-Kanpur sectors.

It would launch the 180-seater Airbus services connecting major metros by the end of July and has plans to induct 11 Airbuses, of which six would be purchased and five would be on lease.

It will in due course start services to Kolkata, Jamshedpur and Ranchi in the eastern region and also Ahmedabad-Bhuj flights. With the launch of its Airbus services, Air Deccan would operate about 60 flights per day.

Also Read Air Deccan plans 'very low-cost' flights

The company has adopted the dynamic pricing under which fares could be as low as Rs 500 while the highest fares would still be 25% cheaper than the regular airline fares, he said adding the rate of tickets would depend on the number of days in advance they are booked and on a first-come-first-serve basis.

On the Delhi-Bangalore sector, where the fare on a regular airline is Rs 10,300, about 45 seats in the 180-seater Airbus would be available between Rs 500-Rs 4,900, about 45 seats at Rs 5,000 while the balance between Rs 5,000-Rs 8,000.

The tickets could be booked up to an hour before the flight, he said adding passengers can book tickets directly through the Internet or via call centres, which would help in bringing down the costs.

The company would generate revenues through advertisements in the interior and exterior of the aircraft and during in-flight entertainment. The international no-frills airlines Ryanair generates about 15% of its revenues through in-flight sales.

External Link: Air Deccan