Bengaluru, April 1 (IANS): City-based Decor Aviation Ltd., which secured permit from the regulator to fly in the southern region, is launching its maiden service to Hubbali in north Karnataka on April 12 under its brand name Air Pegasus.

"We have received the air operators' permit from the DGCA (Director General of Civil Aviation) to start our service in the southern states connecting tier-one cities with tier-two cities like Hubbali," Air Pegasus managing director Shyson Thomas told reporters here.

Hubbali is about 400 km from Bengaluru.

Using the hub-and-spoke model, the airline will operate daily a 66-seater ATR-72 turboprop aircraft between Bengaluru and Hubbali and between Bengaluru and Thiruvananthapuram in coastal Kerala from April 13.

"We have taken delivery of two aircraft on lease for launching the service for which booking opens on April 4. We are pricing tickets from Rs.1,234 onwards using a dynamic fare system for both the cities," Thomas said at a preview.

The company, which has been providing ground-handling services to state-run and private airlines at dozen airports across the country, is investing Rs.100 crore to launch the air service, with 3:1 equity-debt ratio.

"We will induct four more ATRs in the coming months to expand our network to other tier-two cities such as Belagavi and Mangaluru in Karnataka, Chennai, Madurai and Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kochi in Kerala and Rajamundry in Andhra Pradesh," Thomas pointed out.

The airline has permit to launch service to and from any of the 22 airports across south India, connecting tier-two and tier-three cities with cities and metros like Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad.

"We want to be a truly regional airline brand with connectivity in regions which are underserved and provide air connectivity to tier-two and tier-three cities across the southern states," Thomas added.

Air Pegasus is the ninth carrier in the country and third new airline to launch service after Air Asia and Vistara during the last 12 months.