Top 10 Airlines in India

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Top 10 Airlines in India

Airlines are large companies that operate aircrafts to provide air transportation services for passengers and cargo. They specialize in moving people/goods from one city/state/country to another. While some airlines provide scheduled flights with fixed timetables and routes, some operate on a charter basis and provide flights on demand.

In this blog post, we shall discover the top 10 airlines in India. If you are a frequent airplane traveller or planning your first trip via airplane, it’ll be helpful for you to choose the right airline!

List of Top 10 Airlines in India

The list of top 10 airline companies in India, as of 2025, is mentioned below. All of the airlines mentioned in the list are well-known companies in the aviation industry and are regulated by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).:

1. IndiGo

Year of Establishment: 2005

Founded in 2005, InterGlobe Aviation Ltd, doing business as IndiGo, is the largest airline company in India by passengers carried and fleet size. It was established as a private company by Founders Rahul Bhatia and Rakesh Gangwal. It is headquartered in Gurgaon and is one of the top 10 airlines in India. As of April 2025, the airline company has a 64% domestic market share. It is also the second-largest airline in Asia and one of the largest globally. It carried over 31.9 million passengers in the fourth quarter of 2025. 

As of June 2025, IndiGo operates more than 2,200 daily flights to 127 destinations, incl. 91 domestic and 36 international locations. Also, the airline company provides cargo services through its subsidiary, IndiGo CarGo. Its primary hub is located at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi. The airline took delivery of its first aircraft in the month of July in the year 2006 and began operations a month later on 4 August 2006. 

In December 2012, IndiGo became the largest Indian carrier by passenger market share. In October 2015, it went public via IPO launch. In 2022, it was ranked the 15th most punctual airline globally by OAG and is recognized as the 6th busiest airline in the world, according to data from RadarBox.

2. Air India

Year of Establishment: 1932

Air India is one of the best airlines in India. It was founded in 1932, and back then, it was known as Tata Airlines. Its headquarters is located in Gurgaon. The company is owned by the Tata Group (74.9% stake) and Singapore Airlines (25.1%). Until the year 2022, the company was a central public sector undertaking under the ownership of the Government of India and administrative control of the Ministry of Civil Aviation. 

Air India Limited was incorporated on 30 March 2007, as the National Aviation Company of India Limited to manage the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines. Then, three years later, it was renamed Air India Limited on 26 October 2010. Next year, in October 2021, Air India Limited was privatized and sold to the Tata Group. Tata Sons paid Rs. 180 billion to the Government of India and also assumed Rs. 153 billion of Air India's debt as part of the transfer deal. The remaining debt of Rs. 462.62 billion was transferred as well. 

In April 2022, the Tata Group requested approval from the Competition Commission of India to merge AirAsia India and Vistara with Air India Limited. This request was granted on 14 June 2022. After the completion of the merger b/w Vistara and Air India in 2024, Singapore Airlines acquired a 25.1% stake in Air India Ltd. In the year 2023, on the anniversary of the birth of the airline's founder, Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata, the inauguration of its headquarters in Gurgaon took place.

3. SpiceJet

Year of Establishment: 1984

Another airline in our list of top 10 airline company in India is SpiceJet. It was formerly known as Royal Airways, and was founded in 1984 by Indian industrialist S. K. Modi. It is a budget airline based in India, and operates a fleet of over 100 planes, incl. Boeing 737 and Q400 aircrafts. SpiceJet is based in Gurgaon, India. 

In 2004, Indian entrepreneur Ajay Singh acquired the company and changed its name to SpiceJet. In total, the company services 63 destinations, incl. 53 domestic and 10 international routes. Each day, it runs approx. 250 flights. It transports over 20 million passengers in a year. 

In 2019, the company took over 30 aircrafts grounded by now defunct Jet Airways. The major hubs of SpiceJet are in Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad. To offer logistics solutions, the airline has a cargo division known as SpiceXpress. 

4. Air India Express

Year of Establishment: 2004

Air India Express is one of the top low cost airlines in India. It was inaugurated on 29 April 2005 with the launch of three flights. It is Air India’s wholly owned subsidiary, and is headquartered in Gurugram. Per week, the airline operates approx. 2000 flights across 45 destinations across India, Southeast Asia and Middle East. 

The operating bases of this low cost airline are in Delhi, Kannur, Kochi, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Kozhikode, Thiruvanathapuram, Tiruchirappalli and Mumbai. The motto behind launch of this airline was to provide a convenient connectivity to short haul international routes for the Indian expatriate population. 

Air India Express was established as Air India's response to the increasing popularity of low cost carriers both globally and locally. As a low-cost airline, it operates point-to-point flights with multiple hubs within India. In January 2013, Air India relocated its headquarters to Kochi and set up a new maintenance base in Thiruvananthapuram. Despite ongoing financial losses faced by its parent company Air India, the airline continued to maintain profitability in the following years.

5. Akasa Air

Year of Establishment: 2021

Akasa Air, registered as SNV Aviation Private Limited, is a low cost Indian airline founded in 2021. Its headquarters are in Mumbai, Maharashtra. The Founders of Akasa Air are Vinay Dube and Aditya Ghosh. On 7 August 2022, after receiving the first Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft, the airline commenced its commercial operation via its first flight service from Mumbai to Ahmedabad. The Airline’s CEO Vinay Dube said the airline will have approx. 72 aircraft fleet size within a period of 5 years. He stated that initially the airline will have services from metro cities to tier-2 and tier-2 cities and operating flights to major cities in the country.

As of October 2024, Akasa Air operates 29 aircraft serving 27 destinations, with an order for an additional 197 aircraft. Currently, the airline flies to a total of 25 destinations, which includes 20 domestic and 5 international locations. According to a report from April 2025, Akasa Air plans to establish Noida International Airport and Navi Mumbai International Airport as its long-term strategic hubs. By the end of the year, the airline aims to base 5 to 7 aircraft at each of these airports. 

On 6 February 2025, Akasa Air announced the successful completion of its strategic investment transactions. This was achieved after receiving all necessary regulatory approvals. The airline welcomed its new investment partners into the Akasian family, marking a significant step in its growth journey. 

The new investors include Premji Invest, a leading global investment firm whose returns primarily support the work of the Azim Premji Foundation; funds managed by 360 ONE Asset, a prominent asset management firm; and Claypond Capital, the investment office of Dr. Ranjan Pai. Additionally, there was a capital infusion from the Jhunjhunwala family, who are already existing investors in Akasa Air.

6. Alliance Air

Year of Establishment: 1996

In April 1996, the airline company Alliance Air was founded as a wholly owned subsidiary of Indian Airlines (a state-owned airline that later became Air India Limited’s division before ceasing operations). Back then, it was known as Air India Regional. It is one of the top 10 airlines in India 2025. The parent company intended to maximize its Boeing 787 fleet’s use. Therefore, it wet-leased 12 of such aircrafts to Alliance Air. The first flight operated by the subsidiary company was on 15 April 1996.

At present, Alliance Air is owned by the Government of India (GoI) and serves as the Designated Indian Flag Carrier. On 15 April 2022, Air India disinvested from Alliance Air. After this, Alliance Air ceased to be a part of Air India and became an independent business unit under the Indian Government. 

Currently, Alliance Air is the only airline under the control of the Indian Government. It primarily operates domestic routes under the government's Regional Connectivity Scheme UDAN. As of May 2024, Alliance Air flies to 57 destinations across India using a fleet of 21 aircraft: 18 ATR 72-600s (72-seater), 2 ATR 42-600s (48-seater) and 1 Dornier 228 (17-seater). 

The airline operates under a hub-and-spoke model. It has hubs in several major airports across the country like Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai, etc. 

7. Star Air

Year of Establishment: 2017

The aviation arm of Sanjay Ghodawat Group, Star Air, was founded in 2017. Star Air is a regional airline having its main base located in Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru. The flight operations of the company commenced in January 2019 when flights were offered within Karnataka. Later on, the operations expanded to other parts as part of UDAN. At present, the airline brand operates an all-Embraer fleet of ERJ 145LRs and E175s.

To operate Star Air, the Sanjay Ghodawat Group took Central Government’s permission in March 2017. Then, next year in the month of June, it launched its first aircraft, i.e., Embraer 145LR. In early January of the next year, the airline obtained its Airline Operator’s certification and announced it would operate flights under UDAN scheme that aims to improve regional connectivity within the country. 

The airline’s first flight made its first departure on 25 January in 2019 from Bengaluru for Hubli. In May 2023, the airline inducted Embraer E-175 aircraft and became the first operator to provide a business class product on UDAN routes. As of August 2025, Star Air operates flights to 23 domestic destinations within India. Its main hubs are located at Kempegowda International Airport and Rajiv Gandhi International Airport. 

The states with the highest number of destinations are Karnataka and Maharashtra, each with five destinations, followed by Gujarat, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, which each have two destinations.

8. Fly91

Year of Establishment: 2023

Just Udo Aviation Pvt Ltd, conducting business as FLY91, is a low cost regional airline based in India. It is headquartered in Ribandar, Goa. The base of this airline is at Manohar International Airport in Mopa, North Goa district. It has a fleet of three ATR-72 aircraft. 

The founders of FLY91 are aviation veterans Harsha Raghavan and Manoj Chacko. Harsha Raghavan was Fairfax India’s former head and Manoj Chacko was Mumbai-based WNS Global Services’ vice-executive. They were a part of the Kingfisher Airlines that stopped operations due to bankruptcy in October in 2012.

The commercial operations of the company began from 18 March 2024 to Sindhudurg, Bangalore and Hyderabad from its base at Goa. From April 2024 onwards, it operated flights to Lakshadweep, Jalgaon and other regional cities. 

9. FlyBig

Year of Establishment: 2020

FlyBig is an Indian regional airline based in Gurugram, Haryana. It is promoted by Big Charter Private Limited, also located in Gurugram. In the year 2020, the airline commenced operations in December. The company focuses on connecting tier-2 cities throughout the country. At present, FlyBig operates in the northern and northwestern regions of the country.

The airline obtained a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Ministry of Civil Aviation and its Air Operator's Certificate (AoC) on December 14, 2020. Both of these certificates are essential for starting commercial operations. When FlyBig began its operations, it had a single ATR-72-500 aircraft. 

The airline’s primary goal is to serve tier-2 cities and it plans to expand its fleet with additional ATR-72s and Viking/DHC Twin Otters as it aims to reach a total fleet size of 20 aircraft. Before launching scheduled flights, FlyBig secured its first route under a government tender to serve Shillong from Delhi. 

The flights began on 21 December 2020. To meet its operational requirements, the airline wet-leased a DHC-8 Q400 aircraft from SpiceJet. Prior to this, the airline conducted proving flights on 4 December 2020 and operated its first scheduled flight on 3 January 2021 from Indore to Ahmedabad. As of March 2024, FlyBig serves 11 destinations with a fleet of three aircraft covering three states.

10. IndiaOne Air

Year of Establishment: 2022

IndiaOne Air is a regional airline based in Ahmedabad, India. This airline holds the distinction of being the first scheduled airline in the country to operate a single-engine aircraft. The airline successfully conducted its proving flight on 22 June 2022 and was granted its Air Operator Certificate (AOC) on 24 June 2022. 

IndiaOne Air connects Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities to metropolitan areas to provide safe, efficient, cost-effective and timely services. Initially focusing on Eastern India, the airline offers both inter-state and intra-state scheduled flights. It has vision to link more underserved cities that are otherwise challenging and time consuming to access by road/rail. 

The airline operates a fleet of brand-new aircraft. For enhanced safety and reliability, IndiaOne Air is the only airline in the country within this aircraft class to equip its planes with a black box. The aircraft also feature a state-of-the-art navigation system and comply with GPS-aided GEO augmented navigation. This allows for all-weather operational capability. 

IndiaOne Air is dedicated to promote local tourism, support businesses and enhance connectivity for the general public. The seating on their aircraft is designed to provide the experience and comfort associated with a private jet. Its seat pitch is greater than that found in the business class of most airlines. 

Conclusion

In this blog post, we discussed the top 10 airlines in India. They are: (i) IndiGo, (ii) Air India, (iii) SpiceJet, (iv) Air India Express, (v) Akasa Air, (vi) Alliance Air, (vii) Star Air, (viii) Fly91, (ix) FlyBig and (x) IndiaOne Air. While some of them operate internationally, some of them operate across regions in India. 

Disclaimer: This blog post discusses the top 10 airlines in India. The ranking reflects the personal opinion of the author and may not represent the views of the general public, institutions or organizations.

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