Air India Express launches flights to Singapore, Dhaka

Air India Express on Sunday launched its direct, non-stop flight from Kolkata to Singapore and Dhaka.

Flight IX-922 on the Kolkata – Singapore sector departed from Kolkata at 9 pm and arrive at Singapore at 3.30 am next day (local time).

In the return direction, flight IX 921 departed Singapore at 3.00 pm (local time) and reached Kolkata at 4.30 pm.

Earlier, on the same day flight IX 912 departed Kolkata at 5.20 pm to land in Dhaka at 6.40 pm (local time).

In the return direction, IX 911 departed from Dhaka at 7.30 pm (local time) and arrived in Kolkata 

at 7.50 pm.

The flights were formally inaugurated by K Shyamsundar, CEO, Air India Express, who lit the ceremonial lamp, in the presence of senior officials of Air India and passengers. A cake was cut to mark the momentous occasion as well, which was applauded by everybody.

Both the Singapore, as well as Dhaka services, will be operated with a brand new 180-seater Boeing 737-800 aircraft and would be available four times a week on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

“This fulfils a long-standing demand for the National Carrier’s connectivity from Kolkata to South East Asia after a hiatus of over six years,” said the Kolkata spokesperson of Air India.

“In line with Air India Express’s policy of offering cost effective travel, we are offering the most competitive and affordable fares on the services to and from Kolkata”, said Shyamsundar.

“We maintain 100 per cent schedule reliability and our on-time performance is around 85 per cent,” he added.

The country’s first international budget carrier, Air India Express is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Air India Limited.

The budget carrier currently operates over 550 flights per week, connecting 14 Indian cities to 13 destinations in the Middle East and South East Asia.

The airline has a fleet of 23 Boeing 737-800 NG aircraft, six of which are brand new having joined the fleet recently on dry lease.

These new aircraft are equipped to carry more capacity and come with lighter seats and higher performance capabilities.

Air India Express, with a turnover of Rs 2,900 crore in 2015-16, has registered a net profit of Rs 362 crore for the first time in its inception.

With the introduction of new routes and expansion of the fleet size in the current fiscal the revenue is expected to grow by about 25 per cent in the current financial year. 

“Though the airline follows the market principles of a low cost carrier, Air India Express offers complimentary tea, coffee and meals on board as its USP”, Shyamsundar added.

The airline now also offers its customers the additional facility to buy a special meal of their choice online on selected sectors.

Air India Express also offers passengers the ease of reserving their seat of choice online along with the option to buy excess baggage online.

Responding to market needs, the airline has enhanced its presence in various social media platforms and its Facebook page, facebook.com/AirIndiaExpressOfficial is used to share information and to respond to customer feedback.