The Kolkata-Dhaka service of Air India Express, the low-cost carrier of Air India, made a disastrous debut on Sunday with the inaugural flight carrying just one passenger to the Bangladesh capital.
And the 186-seater Boeing 737-800 arrived at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport from Dhaka in the morning with only four passengers, according to The Telegraph.
"It took off from Calcutta (Kolkata) at 2:05pm with two passengers. One of them was making an onward journey from Bangkok," the newspaper quoted an immigration official as saying.
Md Moazzem Hussain, a 58-year-old Australian citizen, was the only passenger to board the flight from Kolkata. According to airline sources, there are very few bookings for the next two days.
A Boeing 737-800 aircraft burns around three tonne of aviation turbine fuel (ATF), which costs around Rs 2.4 lakh, for a round trip between Kolkata and Dhaka.
The flight will operate throughout the week, except Saturday, with a minimum fair of about Rs 3,000. It is an extension of the airline's services on the Singapore and Bangkok sectors.
"We expect the passenger load to increase soon," said an Air India Express official. "The travel agents were not informed. There was no awareness drive."
Industry watchers feel the Kokata-Dhaka route is currently not viable. Before Air India Express came in, Biman Bangladesh, Jet Airways and GMG Airlines shared around 300 seats daily. Less than half the seats are being filled up, said an airport official.
"Passengers coming for treatment to Kolkata and those taking flights to Southeast Asia are likely to avail themselves of the service," said an airline spokesperson.
Air India Express's inaugural flight to Singapore last October carried 28 passengers to the island state and returned with only two passengers. The low passenger count was blamed on delayed start to bookings.
"The passenger load to Singapore has picked up since then. The flights often go full," said an airline official.
Reported on - The Independent 2008-07-22
No comments:
Post a Comment