A United Arab Emirates-based entrepreneur is working on a plan to launch an airline specifically catering to expatriates from the South Indian state of Kerala. Afi Ahmed, the founder of Smart Travels, is currently exploring various strategies to turn the Air Kerala project into a reality. In a recent development, he invested AED 1 million to purchase the domain name airkerala.com from a local firm.
Afi Ahmed mentioned to Khaleej Times that he was seeking an appropriate domain for his business-to-consumer (B2C) venture. He had planned to initiate an aggregator website and was searching for a memorable name when he discovered airkerala.com was available for purchase. He expressed his astonishment, given that Air Kerala had been a project announced by the Kerala government in 2005 and had been a popular topic among Keralites globally for nearly two decades.
Air Kerala, a proposed airline by the Government of Kerala, was registered as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) in 2006. The airline's primary objective was to offer relief to Keralites residing in the UAE from exorbitant ticket prices and a scarcity of available flights. Despite being a widely debated subject for years, Air Kerala has been postponed on numerous occasions.
The domain name airkerala.com was initially purchased by domain selling portal Executive Bachelors.com, a subsidiary of UAE-based investment company 1971, in 2000. In 2005, the website's estimated value was around AED 2.5 million. Although numerous parties have expressed interest in the domain since then, this marks the first time Executive Bachelors.com has sold the sought-after domain name. Sathar Al Karan, a representative from the company, mentioned that he had been waiting over 20 years for the right buyer to come along.
Significant impact
Afi conducted a feasibility study and believed that the airkerala.com domain name was worth the investment. He didn't need to allocate any budget for marketing since the Air Kerala name was already well-known. After acquiring the domain, Afi recognized the unique opportunity he had to make a significant impact and decided to work on reviving the airline.
Initially proposed by the Congress-led government, the project has been delayed as the ruling parties in Kerala changed. Last month, the airline returned to the limelight when Air India replaced several of its flights to Kerala with Air India Express flights. Local travel agencies deemed the move disappointing, stating it would negatively impact the Indian community since Air India Express lacks the capability to accommodate wheelchair-bound and stretcher-dependent passengers.
Afi has attempted to contact Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who will visit the UAE on May 7. He has emailed him and also communicated his intentions through several prominent individuals, hoping for a positive response.
Support from the community
Since announcing his intent to revive the airline, Afi has received overwhelming support from the Malayali community in the UAE. Numerous businesspeople have approached him, pledging financial contributions to kickstart the project. Additionally, several airline industry experts have expressed their solidarity with him.
Afi is willing to transfer the domain name to the Kerala government as long as the project progresses. He has also offered to work as a consultant on the project for a year without compensation. Afi has no intention of profiting from the project, as he understands the difference it could make for Malayalis in the UAE. He wants to play a role in making the project a reality.
However, Afi has a contingency plan in case his efforts do not succeed. If he is unable to meet the Kerala Chief Minister or Dubai-based entrepreneur aims to resurrect plans for new Indian airline targeting Kerala expats; invests AED 1 million in domain name acquisition
A United Arab Emirates-based entrepreneur is working on a plan to launch an airline specifically catering to expatriates from the South Indian state of Kerala. Afi Ahmed, the founder of Smart Travels, is currently exploring various strategies to turn the Air Kerala project into a reality. In a recent development, he invested AED 1 million to purchase the domain name airkerala.com from a local firm.
Afi Ahmed mentioned to Khaleej Times that he was seeking an appropriate domain for his business-to-consumer (B2C) venture. He had planned to initiate an aggregator website and was searching for a memorable name when he discovered airkerala.com was available for purchase. He expressed his astonishment, given that Air Kerala had been a project announced by the Kerala government in 2005 and had been a popular topic among Keralites globally for nearly two decades.
Air Kerala, a proposed airline by the Government of Kerala, was registered as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) in 2006. The airline's primary objective was to offer relief to Keralites residing in the UAE from exorbitant ticket prices and a scarcity of available flights. Despite being a widely debated subject for years, Air Kerala has been postponed on numerous occasions.
The domain name airkerala.com was initially purchased by domain selling portal Executive Bachelors.com, a subsidiary of UAE-based investment company 1971, in 2000. In 2005, the website's estimated value was around AED 2.5 million. Although numerous parties have expressed interest in the domain since then, this marks the first time Executive Bachelors.com has sold the sought-after domain name. Sathar Al Karan, a representative from the company, mentioned that he had been waiting over 20 years for the right buyer to come along.
Significant impact
Afi conducted a feasibility study and believed that the airkerala.com domain name was worth the investment. He didn't need to allocate any budget for marketing since the Air Kerala name was already well-known. After acquiring the domain, Afi recognized the unique opportunity he had to make a significant impact and decided to work on reviving the airline.
Initially proposed by the Congress-led government, the project has been delayed as the ruling parties in Kerala changed. Last month, the airline returned to the limelight when Air India replaced several of its flights to Kerala with Air India Express flights. Local travel agencies deemed the move disappointing, stating it would negatively impact the Indian community since Air India Express lacks the capability to accommodate wheelchair-bound and stretcher-dependent passengers.
Afi has attempted to contact Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who will visit the UAE on May 7. He has emailed him and also communicated his intentions through several prominent individuals, hoping for a positive response.
Support from the community
Since announcing his intent to revive the airline, Afi has received overwhelming support from the Malayali community in the UAE. Numerous businesspeople have approached him, pledging financial contributions to kickstart the project. Additionally, several airline industry experts have expressed their solidarity with him.
Afi is willing to transfer the domain name to the Kerala government as long as the project progresses. He has also offered to work as a consultant on the project for a year without compensation. Afi has no intention of profiting from the project, as he understands the difference it could make for Malayalis in the UAE. He wants to play a role in making the project a reality.
However, Afi has a contingency plan in case his efforts do not succeed. If he is unable to meet the Kerala Chief Minister orgather enough support by the end of the following month, he plans to launch his aggregator service on the same domain. Nevertheless, he sincerely hopes that it won't come to that and that Air Kerala will eventually come to fruition.