Air Deccan to start new flight from Bhavnagar

Air Deccan, a unit of Deccan Aviation Pvt Ltd, will start operating flights between Mumbai and Bhavnagar via Surat from Sunday.

The move is part of the company's initiative to connect Mumbai with Gujarat and rest of Maharashtra at lowest fares, the company said.

The Mumbai-Bhavnagar flight via Surat is expected to depart from Mumbai at 3 pm and arrive Surat at 3.55 pm. It will leave Surat at 4.10 pm and reach Bhavnagar at 4.40 pm.

However, the airline is yet to get approval from the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), for its new service.

"The airfare between Mumbai and Surat will be Rs 1,600 and that between Mumbai and Bhavnagar will be Rs 1,800, which would be the lowest airfare available in the industry," John Kuruvila, chief revenue officer and head, commercial, Air Deccan, said on Tuesday.

The airline has started its Ahmedabad-Mumbai, Ahmedabad-Bhuj, Vadodara-Mumbai, Bhavnagar-Mumbai, Mumbai-Belgaum, Mumbai-Goa, Mumbai-Kolhapur and Kolhapur-Belgaum flights from April 26.

The company already has a strong presence in south India. The airline started operations with two flights in August last year and at present is operating over 40 flights daily. After expanding its operations in the western region, the company will target the northern and eastern parts of the country.

The company connects all important destinations of south India including, Belgaum, Hubli, Mangalore, Coimbatore, Madhurai, Rajahmundry and Vijaywada with Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai.

The company has a modern fleet of 48-seater ATR aircraft, one of the finest and most efficient turbo prop aircraft, the company said.

ATR is a European joint venture between Alenia and Eads. The ATR 42 has become a reference aircraft among airlines around the world by offering a safe, easy to maintain and comfortable aircraft operating on the regional market with the best economics on short haul sectors, the company said.

Till date, ATR has sold over 650 aircraft to more than 100 operators in 73 countries around the world.

Deccan Aviation Pvt Ltd is a private heli-charter company.

Formed in 1995, Deccan Aviation has a reputation for providing speedy and reliable heli-services for company charters, tourism, medical evacuation and off-shore logistics, the company said.