Air India Express is an Indian low-cost airline headquartered in Kochi, Kerala. It is operated by Air India Express Limited (AIEL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Indian flag carrier airline Air India. It operates around 649 flights per week to 33 destinations including the Middle East and Southeast Asia. The airline carries around 4.3 million passengers every year connecting 140 city pairs. It has secondary hubs in Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode and Mangaluru airports.
Air India Express came into existence on 29 April 2005, with the launch of three flights that took off simultaneously from Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi and Kozhikode. The airline was launched as a low-cost carrier (LCC) with the objective of providing convenient connectivity, to short-haul international routes, in the Middle East and Southeast Asia for the Indian expatriate community. Air India Express was Air India's response to the growing popularity of LCCs worldwide and within the region. Being an LCC, the airline operates point-to-point flights with multiple hubs all over India.