AirAsia India (Bengaluru International) is on track for a September launch date provided it completes and obtains all necessary government checks and approvals, Bo Lingam, AirAsia's Chief Operating Officer, has said. A joint venture between AirAsia (AK, Kuala Lumpur International) and India's Tata Group, AirAsia India plans to base two A320-200 aircraft in Chennai with the nascent carrier now recruiting cabin crew in anticipation of its inauguration. The airline is unique in that AirAsia is the first foreign airline to enter into a joint venture with a local Indian company after the civil aviation sector was thrown open to overseas investors (albeit with a 49% shareholding cap) by the Indian government in 2012.