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
Showing posts with label Air India Express. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Air India Express. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Monday, July 14, 2008
Air India Express to launch Dhaka-Kolkata Flights on 20th July 2008
Air India Express, an Indian government owned airlines, will launch six flights a week from Dhaka to Kolkata with effect from 20th July. S.R.Premkumar, Country Manager of Air India Express, Bangladesh announced it at a press conference at Sheraton Hotel in the capital on Sunday 13-July-2008."Besides lower fares, an important feature of Air India Express is the internet based reservations system. Interested persons may visit www.airindiaexpress.in for reservation and information. This system is very customer-friendly and passengers can make reservations from home, offices or through appointed travel agents. Passengers have access to fares and availability of seats, which makes it an extremely transparent system." said Premkuar while addressing the press.
He also said the flights will arrive in Dhaka at 04:15 hrs (Local Time) and depart for Kolkata at 05:50 hrs (LT), reaching Kolkata 06:00 hrs (LT), adding, the flights will offer convenient connections to Bangkok and Singapore. Flights to Bangkok will operate three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Passengers will arrive in Bangkok at 11.00 hrs (LT), he also added.
He mentioned that the flights will also offer convenient connections to Singapore, operate three times weekly on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, arriving at Singapore at 13.30 hrs (LT). Additionally there will also be one direct flight weekly to Mumbai, on Fridays, departing at 19.30 hrs and arriving at 21.50 hrs (LT). He also mentioned that Dhaka is the 14th international destination of Air India Express, which like all other destinations will be served with state-of-the-art Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
"In keeping with its objective to provide convenient connectivity on the short haul routes at affordable prices, Air India Express fleet has a single, economy class configuration," he said. He also said Air India Express serves its passengers snacks and a soft drink in pre-packed boxes. While tea/coffee and drinking water are served complimentary, alcoholic drinks are sold at a nominal price. An important feature of the schedule is the convenient timings offered as a result of standardisation of flight departures, he added.
"The tail designs are an innovative and novel feature of the Air India Express aircraft. These tail designs depict different facets of traditional and contemporary India which represent the heritage values and ethos of the country," he said. He informed that with the induction of the new flights, Air India Express will now have 164 weekly International/Domestic Flights between 14 Indian cities, viz, Kozhikode, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai, Trichy, Mangalore, Mumbai, Nagpur, Kolkata, Jaipur, Lucknow, Delhi, Amritsar and Hyderabad and 14 International stations viz Dhaka, Kuwait, Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Muscat, Al Ain, Salalah, Bahrain, Doha, Colombo, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok on the network, which include the new flights introduced to Kuwait from Kozhikode, Kochi and Mangalore from July 14, 2008.
Staff Correspondent Ppublished on The Bangladesh Today dated 14 July-2008
He also said the flights will arrive in Dhaka at 04:15 hrs (Local Time) and depart for Kolkata at 05:50 hrs (LT), reaching Kolkata 06:00 hrs (LT), adding, the flights will offer convenient connections to Bangkok and Singapore. Flights to Bangkok will operate three times a week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Passengers will arrive in Bangkok at 11.00 hrs (LT), he also added.
He mentioned that the flights will also offer convenient connections to Singapore, operate three times weekly on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, arriving at Singapore at 13.30 hrs (LT). Additionally there will also be one direct flight weekly to Mumbai, on Fridays, departing at 19.30 hrs and arriving at 21.50 hrs (LT). He also mentioned that Dhaka is the 14th international destination of Air India Express, which like all other destinations will be served with state-of-the-art Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
"In keeping with its objective to provide convenient connectivity on the short haul routes at affordable prices, Air India Express fleet has a single, economy class configuration," he said. He also said Air India Express serves its passengers snacks and a soft drink in pre-packed boxes. While tea/coffee and drinking water are served complimentary, alcoholic drinks are sold at a nominal price. An important feature of the schedule is the convenient timings offered as a result of standardisation of flight departures, he added.
"The tail designs are an innovative and novel feature of the Air India Express aircraft. These tail designs depict different facets of traditional and contemporary India which represent the heritage values and ethos of the country," he said. He informed that with the induction of the new flights, Air India Express will now have 164 weekly International/Domestic Flights between 14 Indian cities, viz, Kozhikode, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai, Trichy, Mangalore, Mumbai, Nagpur, Kolkata, Jaipur, Lucknow, Delhi, Amritsar and Hyderabad and 14 International stations viz Dhaka, Kuwait, Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, Muscat, Al Ain, Salalah, Bahrain, Doha, Colombo, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok on the network, which include the new flights introduced to Kuwait from Kozhikode, Kochi and Mangalore from July 14, 2008.
Staff Correspondent Ppublished on The Bangladesh Today dated 14 July-2008
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