AI budget arm Air India Express's New Delhi-Dhaka service takes off

Air India Express, the international budget arm of Air India, has launched Delhi- Dhaka service on Thursday.

Flight IX 132 on Delhi – Dhaka sector departed Delhi at 12.56 PM, twenty minutes prior to its scheduled departure time of 01.15 PM carrying 77 passengers on its maiden flight to arrive in Dhaka at 04.00 PM (local time).

Ashwani Lohani, CMD, Air India inaugurated the service and presented first boarding passes to Abdulla Mamun and Ameena Akter from Bangladesh in a function held at Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi.

K. Shyam Sundar, CEO, Air India Express, Meenakshi Dua , Executive Director, Air India (Northern Region), HR Jagannath, CEO, AIESL, and Pushpinder Singh, COO, Air India Express were also present.

Delhi-Dhaka service will be available four times a week on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Air India Express has a codeshare with AI on this route. With Delhi being AI's hub, the flight will provide a feed from interior points in India to Dhaka. Air India Express also plans to provide code share connections on Air India flights from UK and USA to Dhaka and vice versa via Delhi.

In the Dhaka- Delhi secdtor, flight IX 131 will be operational from February 17 and will depart from Dhaka at 07.30 AM (local time) and arrive in Delhi at 09.05 AM on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Air India Express will also provide connections to passengers from Dhaka to Dubai via Delhi. After arriving in Delhi from Dhaka at 09.05AM, the connecting flight will depart from Delhi at 01.45PM and arrive in Dubai at 03.55PM.(local time).

"In line with AIE's policy of offering cost effective travel, we will be offering competitive and affordable fares on both sectors", said K. Shyam Sundar, CEO, Air India Express.

"We maintain 100% schedule reliability and the on time performance of the airline is above 80%," Sundar added.

The country's first international budget carrier, Air India Express is a wholly owned subsidiary of Air India Limited. It has 535 departures per week , and currently connects 15 Indian cities to 15 international 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.

"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," Shyam Sundar, added.

The airline now offers passengers 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 other online option to buy excess baggage.

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