Air Costa is a regional airline which is based out of Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh. This airline launched in October 2013 and is one of the major domestic airlines in Southern India. The airline launched with an employee strength of 300 which included the pilots and engineers when they kick-started their operations with just two Embraer E-170 aircrafts. The first flight took off from its hub at Chennai on October 16, 2013.
Air Costa is owned by the Indian business company LEPL Group. The airline focuses on connectivity between tier II and tier III cities in the country. Air Costa announced its decision to acquire Embraer Jets at the Paris Air Show in June 2013. They ordered 50 Embraer E-Jets E2 aircraft worth US$2.94 B during the Singapore Airshow on 13 February 2014. On 28 February 2017, Air Costa suspended operations until further notice stating financial difficulties regarding the lease of aircraft. It planes to re-launch its services in the 3rd Quarter of this year (2017). Air Costa will take the first delivery their $2.94 B order in the early 2018 and plans on a smooth sailing from there on.
The airline plans to link underserved markets with more direct flights, increasing frequencies and routes, thus serving growing metropolitan areas, as well as key secondary and tertiary business centers. Future cities will include Goa, Pune, Madurai too.