After a gap of over four years, Air India Express, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Air India, will resume two of its flights connecting Kolkata with Singapore and Dhaka from November 20.
Announcing these direct flights from Kolkata to Singapore and Dhaka here today, Air India Express CEO K Shyam Sundar told reporters the decision was taken to meet the long-standing demand of the national carrier's connectivity between Kolkata and South East Asia.
With this, Kolkata stood as 15th domestic destination and Dhaka as 14th international destination of the airline.
While a return ticket on Kolkata-Singapore sector would cost only Rs 16,000 including taxes, it would cost only Rs 7,000 including taxes on the Kolkata-Dhaka sector, he said.
"In line with AIE's policy of offering cost effective travel, we will be offering the most competitive and affordable fares on the services to and from Kolkata," he said adding "we maintain 100 per cent schedule reliability and the on-time performance of the airline is around 85 per cent."
A 189-seater Boeing 737-800 aircraft would fly from Singapore to Kolkata and then to Dhaka after a stopover here. The return flight from Dhaka would arrive here and leave for Singapore after a stopover, he said.
Flight IX-922 on the Kolkata-Singapore sector would depart Kolkata at 9 PM and arrive in Singapore at 3.30 AM next day (local time).
On the return leg, flight IX-921 would depart Singapore at 3 PM (local time) and arrive in Kolkata at 4.30 PM.
On the Kolkata-Dhaka sector, flight IX-912 would depart Kolkata at 5.20 PM and arrive in Dhaka at 6.40 PM (local time).
In the return direction, IX-911 would depart Dhaka at 7.30 PM (local time) and arrive in Kolkata at 7.50 PM.
Both Singapore and Dhaka services would be available four times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
Sunder said Air India Express has already procured six
Boeing 737-800 aircraft on dry lease, expanding its fleet from 17 to 23, to make its plan effective.
In the next three years, Air India Express would go for further expansion of its fleet to 36 aircrafts, the CEO said.
Air India Express, with a turnover of Rs 2,900 crore in 2015-16, has registered a net profit of Rs 362 crore for the first time since its inception.
With introduction of new routes and expansion of the fleet size, revenue of the airline was expected to grow by about 25 per cent in the current financial year.
"Though the airline follows the market principles of a low cost carrier, Air India Express offers complimentary tea, coffee and light meals on board as its USP," he said.
The airline also offers its customers the additional facility to buy a special meal of their choice online on selected sectors against a payment of about Rs 250 to Rs 300.
For excess baggage beyond the standard 20 kg, passengers have to pay Rs 750 for the first 5 kg and Rs 1,500 for next 5 kg, he added.
To a question, Sunder said Air India Express has a massive expansion plan in the pipeline, which included connection to various important destinations like Dubai, Hongkong, Guangzhou, Bangkok, Kathmandu and Yangon.
The country's first international budget carrier, Air India Express currently operates over 550 flights per week, connecting 14 Indian cities to 13 destinations in the Middle East and South East Asia.
