Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

AIE to operate 11 non-stop flights to Gulf countries

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Air India Express (AIE), the no-frills airline of the national carrier Air India, will operate 11 non-stop flights a week from Thiruvananthapuram international airport to Dubai, Abudhabi and Sharjah with effect from Monday.

Announcing this at a press conference here on Saturday, Air India manager H.A. Munaff said this had been made possible with the opening of a new aircraft base of AI at the airport and by delinking Thiruvananthapuram-bound flights that were being operated now with aircraft originating from Kochi and Kozhikode.

“Till now, the city was a transit point for 17 out of the 64 international flights operated from Kerala to the Gulf. We will be parking an aircraft in the base on Wednesday and Saturday to make the flight operations hassle-free,” he said.

As per the summer schedule of AIE coming into effect from February 18, there would be five weekly flights from here to Abudhabi, four to Sharjah, three to Muscat, one to Bahrain & Doha and two to Dubai. The total seats on the AIE flights from here to the Gulf countries would go up from the present 1,530 to 2,395 seats, an increase of 56 per cent.

Of this, 2,035 seats are exclusively for Abudhabi, Sharjah and Dubai. AIE will also increase the seats from Kozhikode from the present 5,705 to 6,605, an increase of 900 seats. From Kozhikode, AIE will operate 14 non-stop flights a week to Dubai and seven non-stop flights to Sharjah and Abudhabi.

Mr. Munaff sad the total number of flights from Kerala to Gulf countries would increase from the present 64 to 76 per week, an increase of 2,220 seats. The flights from Kerala to Doha and Bahrain had been increased to seven a week. AIE, which operates 50 per cent of the total capacity on the Kerala-Gulf sector, would commence flights from the airports in the State to Dammam and Kuwait.

The AI manager said delinking of Thiruvananthapuram from Kochi and Kozhikode would enable passengers to save almost two hours of flying time.

AIE would also become the single largest international carrier to operate from the premier international airport of the State. The number of weekly flights in the Thiruvananthapuram-Abu Dhabi sector would come down from seven to five.

But, the number of seats would go up from 630 to 925. Airline sources said the increase in seats was due to the decision to operate the flights from here to Abu Dhabi without touching the Nedumbassery and Karipur airports.

The number of flights from Thiruvananthapuram to Dubai would get reduced from three to two. But, the number of seats would go up from 270 to 370. The seats from here to Sharjah would go up from 270 to 740. The number of flights would also go up from the present three to four.

The existing three flights (270 seats) to Muscat and weekly one flight to Doha and Bahrain (90 seats) would continue. The number of flights from here to Abudhabi would come down from seven to five. But the number of seats to Abudhabi would go up from the present 630 to 925.

To a query, Mr. Munaff said the AI summer schedule would come into effect from March and the capacity offered by AI from the State capital had not been reduced. The fares in AIE were cheaper by 25 per cent and the 90 per cent load factor showed the people’s faith in the carrier, he added.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

AIE to operate 11 non-stop flights to Gulf countries
Amendments to town planning Act mooted
K. Govinda Pillai dead
Drop hartal plan, UDF told
New hospital
A novel experience for schoolchildren
VS’ convoy disrupted
Poor response to motor bandh
Control room opened
Aircraft maintenance base work from March 1
University centre at Karyavattom burgled
Demystifying the art of diplomacy
In Thiruvananthapuram Today

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu