Alliance Air launches Delhi-Kanpur-Kolkata flight
May 24th, 2011 - 7:00 pm ICT by IANSNew Delhi/Kanpur, May 24 (IANS) National carrier Air India’s budget subsidiary, Alliance Air, Tuesday started a hopping flight between the national capital to Kolkata with a 30-minute stopover at Kanpur.
“Alliance Air today introduced a new flight connecting Kanpur to Kolkata in its sustained efforts to strengthen connectivity between major cities of the country,” the company said in a statement.
According to an official, travellers from New Delhi would be able to get low fares on their flights to Kolkata, while passengers from Kanpur would be able to avail a non-stop service to Kolkata.
The inaugural flight was flagged off by Civil Aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi and Coal Minister Sriprakash Jaiswal, who is also MP from Kanpur, from the city’s Chakeri airport.
The national carrier said the new flight was part of its sustained effort to focus on innovative regional routes, including tier-two and tier-three cities, which would help shore up domestic market share and revenues.
“We will focusing on these attractive routes in the coming days to gain back our market share by providing the cheapest possible fares on them,” a senior official with the flag carriers’ operations arm told IANS.
He said the company expects the regional sector to be the growth driver for the Indian aviation industry as more and more of the tier-two and tier-three cities require connectivity to major metros.
“This sector is such that there will be a scarcity of seats rather than scarcity of demand,” the official said, adding that he expected 85 percent seat occupancy rate.
The flight will be operated by a CRJ (Canadian Regional Jet) which can carry 70 passengers.
On the revenue side, the cash-strapped airline expects to gain lost ground by offering lower fares, especially on major metro routes that have stopovers at cities like Kanpur.
“The average fare for a Delhi-Kokata direct flight is Rs.6,000 and goes up as the seats are booked. We are offering Rs.4,000 on the Delhi-Kanpur-Kolkata route and there is very little chance of fare escalation,” the official said.
The company said the new flight AI 9801/9802 would be operated on all days except Sundays.
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Tags: air india, alliance air, aviation industry, canadian regional jet, carrier air, civil aviation, direct flight, domestic market share, flag carriers, inaugural flight, indian aviation, jaiswal, kanpur, kolkata, metro routes, national carrier, occupancy rate, regional routes, three cities, vayalar ravi