The Hindu : Front Page : Air Deccan to operate Madurai-Bangalore service

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Wednesday, Oct 25, 2006
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Air Deccan to operate Madurai-Bangalore service

Special Correspondent

Fare will range from Rs. 6 to Rs. 2,500

Madurai airport

MADURAI: Air Deccan, on Tuesday, announced the launch of the Madurai-Bangalore flight from October 30. This will be its second service from the city.

R. Krishnaswamy, Chief of Corporate Planning, told journalists that Air Deccan, which had doubled its capacity, had flown 3 million passengers in the first half of 2006-07. The airline carried the same number of passengers in 2005-06.

Mr. Krishnaswamy said the carrier wanted to reach out to places that no airline covered. By November third week, it would operate flights from all airports in Tamil Nadu. An Air Deccan flight would be introduced from Salem in November second week.

Immense potential

He said the Indian aviation sector had immense untapped potential, but airport infrastructure and facilities should grow in tune with the growth witnessed in this sector in recent years.

The introduction of a Tuticorin-Chennai flight was successful, with an average passenger load of 90 per cent. "Tuticorin is one of the most successful stories for us," he said. An additional flight for Tuticorin could be considered if night landing facility was provided at the airport.

Madurai had the potential to become an international airport soon. Air Deccan would introduce A320 service by 2007 summer from here if the development works at the airport were completed in time. Air Deccan also planned to connect Madurai with Mumbai, he said.

The fare for the Madurai-Bangalore flight would be between Rs. 6 and Rs. 2,500, under the airline's `dynamic bucket system.'

The Chennai-Madurai flight enjoyed good patronage, with a 90 per cent load factor.

He was confident that the Bangalore service would provide a fillip to the business and leisure and tourist traffic.

The objective of the airline, he said, was to "take out the exclusivity of airline flying and make it a common mode of transport."

That was the reason for tapping tier two cities. Air Deccan would soon have a state-of-the-art hangar and an engineering facility in Chennai. It planned to acquire 77 aircraft by 2010.

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