A Dubai- based businessman is trying to resurrect an airline for expats from the Southern- Indian state of Kerala.
Founder of Smart Travels, Afi Ahmed, said he is analyzing different ways to make the project Air Kerala a reality. Last month, the entrepreneur remunerated another local company a whopping Dh1 million for the domain named airkerala.com.
He told Khaleej Times, ” I was seeking a domain for my B2C project. I wanted to start an aggregator website, and I was reviewing for a catchy name when I saw that airkerala.com was available for purchase; I was shocked, as Air Kerala is a project that was declared by the Kerala government in 2005, and it has been a topic of discussion among Keralites all over the world for around two decennia.”
A proposed airline by the Government of Kerala, Air Kerala was registered as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cochin International Airport Limited( CIAL) in 2006.
The domain name airkerala.com was bought by the domain-selling portal Executive Bachelor.com in 2000. In 2005, the website was valued to be around Dh2.5 million. Since then, although many people have approached the company, this is the first time Executive Bachelors.com has been selling the coveted domain name.
Sat Mar Al Karan from the company said, “I have waited for more than 20 years for the right client to come by”.
Meaningful Impact
First floated by the Congress-led government, the project has been postponed as the ruling parties of Kerala changed. The airline once again became a topic of discussion when, last month, Air India replaced many of its flights to Kerala with Air India Express flights. Besides, the local travel agencies called the development disappointing. They said it would be a setback for the Indian community, as Air India Express cannot carry wheelchairs and stretcher-bound passengers.
Afi said that he has reached out to Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who is visiting UAE on May 7, and said, ” I have mailed him and sent word through many well-known personalities, and I am hoping to get a positive response from him.”
Outpouring of Support
Afi said he would hand over the domain name to the Kerala government if the project takes shape. He stated,” I do not intend to profit from it; I know how much of a difference this project will make for Malayalis in the UAE. If I can play a role in making it happen, I want to do so.”
However, he concluded he had a backup plan if none of his efforts worked out. He said, ” If I am not able to meet the Kerala Chief Minister or I fail to gather enough support by the end of next month, I will launch my aggregator service on the same domain, but I sincerely hope that it won’t come to that, and Air Kerala will become a reality.”
