India’s pure-play regional airline FLY91 has strengthened its leadership team with two senior appointments as it continues to expand its regional network. The airline has appointed Martin Aeberli as Chief of Staff and elevated Captain Prateek Agarwal to Vice President – Operations, reinforcing both strategic execution and operational leadership as the airline scales its footprint.

As Chief of Staff, Aeberli will work closely with the CEO and the leadership team on key initiatives, helping drive alignment and execution across cross-functional priorities. He will also lead selected projects across the organisation and support leadership in translating strategic direction into effective execution as the airline continues to grow.

Aeberli brings over three decades of global aviation experience across network and regional airlines. Most recently, he served as Chief Commercial Officer at Caribbean Airlines. Prior to that, he was Chief Commercial and Strategy Officer at Royal Brunei Airlines for over six years. Earlier in his career, he held senior roles at Etihad Airways, Jazeera Airways and Qatar Airways, and also worked with Luxair, Swiss International Air Lines and Swissair. Over the course of his career, he has worked across Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and the Caribbean.

“It is a privilege to join FLY91 at an exciting stage of its journey. I look forward to working with the CEO and the leadership team to support the airline’s growth plans, strengthen coordination across the organisation and contribute to building a strong foundation for the next phase of expansion,” Aeberli said.

Alongside this leadership addition, FLY91 has elevated Captain Prateek Agarwal to the role of Vice President – Operations. Agarwal, who previously served as Director of Training at the airline, will now oversee both Operations and Training, aligning operational delivery, regulatory compliance and pilot training standards.

A trained pilot with 15 years of aviation experience, Agarwal has been part of the airline’s founding team and has played a key role in establishing the airline’s operational and training frameworks. He is also an ATR Examiner, reflecting his deep technical expertise on the aircraft type. In his expanded role, he will be responsible for strengthening operational efficiency, maintaining safety and compliance standards, and advancing pilot training programmes as the airline continues to grow its regional network.

Commenting on his appointment, Capt. Agarwal said, “It has been a privilege to be part of FLY91 from its early days. I look forward to working with our teams across operations and training to maintain the highest standards of safety, professionalism and operational reliability as we continue to expand.”

Chacko said the appointments reflect FLY91’s focus on strengthening leadership capability as the airline grows its regional operations while maintaining a philosophy of measured expansion.

“Martin brings deep global aviation experience and further strengthens our leadership bench. His decision to join FLY91 reflects the airline’s growing ability to attract high-calibre aviation talent as we continue to build a strong organisation for the long term. At the same time, Prateek’s elevation reflects both his experience and our confidence in the leadership we have developed internally. His understanding of airline operations and commitment to safety and training excellence position him well to lead this function as FLY91 continues to expand regional connectivity and grow its footprint.”

After commencing commercial operations in March 2024, FLY91 currently serves nine destinations including Mopa (Goa), Sindhudurg, Solapur, Jalgaon, Kochi, Agatti, Pune, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. The regional airline plans to expand its network to Rajahmundry, Vijayawada, Hubballi, Nanded, Indore and Dabolim in South Goa. Final schedules will be updated in the reservation system in due course.