Air India Express: The New Low-Cost Airline Born From the Merger With AirAsia India

History and positioning

Born as the international low-cost subsidiary of the old Air India, the carrier changed scale with the Tata group's acquisition of AirAsia India and the subsequent operational and legal merger into a single company, completed in October 2024 with the approval of the Indian civil aviation authorities.

The fleet

The unified fleet has risen to about 88 aircraft, with the stated goal of exceeding 100 by the end of the fiscal year, the result of integrating Air India Express's historic Boeing 737/737 MAX aircraft with the Airbus A320s inherited from AirAsia India. A plan is in place for more than 50 new 737 MAX aircraft to be delivered, with the configuration progressively harmonized to all-economy.

Routes and network

The network covers short-haul Indian domestic connections, mainly a legacy of the former AirAsia India, together with the historic international routes to the Persian Gulf and Southeast Asia typical of the old Air India Express brand, in a network now run under a single code, IX.

Fares and baggage

The fare model remains low-cost, with checked baggage as a surcharge on base fares and price positioning designed to compete directly with IndiGo and SpiceJet on the same routes, both domestic and to the Persian Gulf.

Air India Express makes sense for those looking for a cheap fare on Indian domestic routes or to the Persian Gulf and Southeast Asia, especially in the current phase in which the fleet is being renewed with newer aircraft. It is less suitable for those booking far ahead expecting a stable cabin configuration, because post-merger fleet harmonization is still a work in progress. A practical tip: during the transition phase always check whether the flight is operated with an ex-Air India Express or ex-AirAsia India aircraft, because the seat configuration can still differ between the two.