TRIVANDRUM, 30 April 2005 — India’s first budget airlines, the Air-India Express, took to the skies yesterday in a simultaneous launch from the Kerala capital and Cochin to Abu Dhabi.
Governor R.L. Bhatia “flagged off” the flight from the Trivandrum airport with Chief Minister Oommen Chandy and Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel on board.
The flight took off 45 minutes behind schedule at 9.15 a.m. after the inaugural function was delayed. The Cochin flight took off at 9.30 a.m. And the flight from Calicut to Dubai was scheduled to leave at 9 p.m. The airline will have a three-tier fare structure with ticket prices ranging from Rs.3,250 to Rs.6,500 for a one-way trip to Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
Around 2.4 million Indian passengers fly each year to the Gulf and the number is rising. “This service will be very successful. Low-cost is the future for airlines, especially flying to destinations that can be reached within three hours,” said Subhash Goyal, president of the Indian Association of Tour Operators.
Air-India has leased three aircrafts for operating the budget flights from the three international airports in Kerala. It will operate 31 weekly flights from the state — six from Trivandrum, 14 from Calicut and 11 from Cochin.
The total seating capacity of the Boeing 737-800 aircraft is 181, but Air-India Manager R. Ghosh did not divulge the exact number of passengers on board the inaugural flight from here.
“I can’t divulge such details to the press,” said Ghosh.
It is learned that close to 50 passengers, including politicians and some mediapersons, were on the flight.
Air-India Chairperson and Managing Director V. Thulasidas said authorities had cleared the Air-India Express budget flight, and the first flight to Muscat would operate on May 3. The Air-India Express has been clouded in controversy with travel agents saying that the prices would be much higher than stated. — Additional input from IANS.
