Damania Airways

Damania Airways was an Indian airline headquartered in Mumbai, that operated from 1993 to 1997. It was promoted by the Damania brothers, Parvez and Vispi.

Parvez Damani at the Manish Malhotra Southern Command Polo Cup

History

Damania Airways was founded in 1992 and began flying on March 10, 1993 with two leased Boeing 737 aircraft leased from TAP Air of Portugal. With its base in Bombay (Now Mumbai), the airline had regular flights to Delhi, Calcutta, Madras, Bangalore, Goa and Indore. An additional two aircraft were leased later.
This was a very competitive period for Indian aviation. The domestic aviation sector had been reopened to private participation after many years, and the monopoly status enjoyed by the government-owned Indian Airlines came to an end. The government designated the new airlines as 'air taxis'. Some of the prominent airlines of that time were Jet Airways, East West, ModiLuft, Continental.
Parvez Damania's intention to bring an 'international' standard of flying to domestic Indian aviation made the airline a big draw among domestic flyers. The airline was extremely successful and its superior in-flight service soon became the standard for Indian aviation. By the end of 1992, the airline carried over 200,000 passengers even though they accounted for just 2 per cent of traffic. ^[1] In 1994, the Indian Government granted scheduled domestic airline status to nine private air-taxi operators including Damania Airways. ^[2] Damania Airways was the first airline to make use of permission granted by the Aviation Ministry and offer alcohol in-flight.^[3]
In 1995, under pressure from Indian Airlines to ensure a level playing field, the Aviation Ministry mandated that the private airlines must fly a certain number of flights on'secondary' routes to 'qualify' to fly to the major, profitable routes. The Aviation Ministry also delayed approvals to obtain smaller aircraft for the secondary routes. This completely altered the financials of flying and many airlines succumbed to the impossible stipulations. Damania Airways's superior draw helped the airline stay aloft for longer than most other airlines, but the delay in permissions to bring in smaller aircraft and the restrictions of destinations became a two-pronged pressure.
The Chennai-based NEPC group, owned by the Khemkas, expressed interest in buying Damania Airways and acquired management control in May 1995. Skyline NEPC's fleet was composed entirely of Fokker turboprop aircraft, and their network covered only small towns. This would have allowed the airline to claim credit for the flights flown to secondary towns while reserving the 737 jets for the major cities. With a view to capitalising on the Damania Airways brand draw, Skyline NEPC flew the Damania Airways aircraft with their original Damania livery. Within a few months the entire airline was renamed Skyline NEPC.
^[4] NEPC Airlines and its subsidiary, Skyline NEPC, were grounded 2 years later in 1997. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) suspended them for non-payment of dues, following which they were taken off the computerised reservation system (CRS).^[5]

References