Air Costa (Vijayawada) will only consider an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in 2017 despite forecasts showing it could turn a profit as early as April this year. On the back of its strong performance, Chairman Ramesh Lingamaneni told Bloomberg news that unnamed investors had already approached the airline with a view to investing.
“The airline will probably post a profit in the financial year beginning 1 April as it adds more destinations and keeps costs low,” chairman Ramesh Lingamaneni said in an interview. “The carrier, based in Vijayawada in southern India, has been approached by investors and will decide on selling a stake after some time,” he added.
Launched in October 2013, Air Costa currently operates a fleet of two E170s on flights covering Ahmedabad, Bengaluru International, Chennai, Hyderabad International, and Jaipur. Further destinations will be added once its other aircraft - a pair of E190s - are approved for service by the Indian authorities.
In February, it placed a firm order with Embraer (EMB, São José dos Campos U.E. Stumpf International) for fifty E-Jets E2s with an additional fifty purchase rights.
