Air Deccan to connect 7 more tier-II cities

Aiming to expand air connectivity on feeder routes, particularly those connecting small cities to a metropolis, low cost carrier Air Deccan will launch flights to seven new destinations soon.

This initiative will help tap market opportunities in regional routes, G R Gopinath, MD of Air Deccan, said in Pathankote this morning. The private carrier is launching a commercial flight to this city from today.

"We are starting our flight service to Dharamsala, Jamshedpur, Bodhgaya, Kuchbihar, Mysore, Salem and Ludhiana. The facility will be in place within 2-3 month time," he said.

Gopinath said the feeder routes have remained unexploited. About 60% of the country's aviation revenue is from the Delhi-Mumbai route. Now less than 2% of the country's population travels by air, he said.

"You cannot have a Mumbai-Delhi economy. You have to look for the entire country and see that people from all parts get air connectivity. If the feeder routes are activated, they will supplement to the trunk routes," he said.

Air Deccan has presently services to 61 airports. It has dropped its service on three routes due to "technical problems."