Monthly subscriptions for 'unlimited flights' - India's Prince Air floats the idea

Dubai: An aviation startup in India may have a solution for the current crisis in the industry – a monthly subscription-based airline that allows unlimited flying.

“We’ve already started pre-selling memberships and are taking commitments as of now,” said Sanket Raj Singh, founder of Prince Air. “If we have about 10,000 to 12,000 members across Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru, we want to begin operations. We can end up starting operations in about 6 to 8 months from now”

A subscription rate of $747 (Dh2,743) for unlimited trips is a “bargain” for frequent fliers. “We’ve signed up few thousand members and are also selling to corporates, who will be our biggest buyers,” he added.

The airline, which will be utilizing four Airbus A320 or A321 private jets with a complete Business class cabin, will expand into the Middle East “sometime soon” and offer private jets for a “fraction” of the cost, according to Singh.

Who’s Sanket Raj Singh?

Starting an airline is a big leap for Singh, who started off in the fashion and apparel sector. “I left India in 2008 and lived and worked in London for almost two years, which was when the e-commerce industry in India started attracting investments and went big,” said Singh. “I always wanted to come back.”

Singh’s first trysts with private jets happened during his frequent trips to US for business meetings. “That’s when I thought we need to bring a revolutionary business model with private jets to India that will change the dynamics of the Indian aviation. I’ve been working on this with my partner in US since 2016.”

Government support

Often, the aviation regulators of a country are often the last to get on board with innovative ideas. However, in the case of Prince Air, the government has been quite supportive.

“The government and regulators have been very encouraging and helpful - I think our present government understands the importance of aviation, which needs to grow in India,” said Singh.