Two airlines have announced new routes into India and a third is to increase the number of seats as the sub-continent continues to see growth despite the troubles of the country’s flag carrier Air India.
AirAsia is to start daily direct flights to the West Bengal capital of Kolkata, and Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) in Kerala from Kuala Lumpur in November.
Meanwhile, Qatar Airways has added its ninth Doha to India service with the opening of a new route to the Punjabi city of Amritsar, four times a week. This gives Qatar 60 flights a week to India from its Doha base.
Qatar Airways, chief executive officer, Akbar Al Baker said: “Amritsar is highly underserved by international airlines so we are pleased to be filling a void with our award-winning service to and from this highly popular destination in north India.”
Thai Airways international’s winter schedule sees no additional routes or greater frequencies but will see increased capacity on the airline’s Bangkok routes to Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad.
Air India has been hit be outbreaks of labour unrest, including a recent co-ordinated “sickness” strike by executive pilots.
Kenny Coyle
