Daijiworld Media Newtwork - Kannur
Kannur, Jan 24: The Air India Express is all set to strengthen its network between Gulf and Kerala, and will expand its operations in its ‘Summer Schedule 2019’, which shall commence on March 31, 2019.
The Air India Express in a press release states that the airline operating with a fleet of 25 Boeing 737-800 NG aircraft will have 653 weekly departures in the new schedule, as against 621 departures per week currently. The increase in operations will be achieved through capacity addition and by increasing aircraft utilisation, which is poised to go up from about 13.3 hours currently to 13.4 hours per day per aircraft in the summer schedule.
With the new schedule, the Kannur-Sharjah will become a daily service, as against the present four weekly flights.
Two additional flights will be introduced on Mondays and Fridays between Kannur-Abu Dhabi sector. With this the total flights on this route will be five per week.
Three weekly flights between Kannur and Muscat will be launched. The flight IX 713 on the Kannur-Muscat route will be operated on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays with departure from Kannur at 5.35 pm and arrival in Muscat at 7.50 pm. In the return direction flight IX 714 departs Muscat at 8.50 pm and arrives in Kannur at 2.05 am the next day.
Two weekly flights will be launched from Kannur to Kuwait via Bahrain. The flight IX 789 on the Kannur-Bahrain-Kuwait route will be operated on Wednesdays and Saturdays with departure from Kannur at 7:10 am; arrival / departure Bahrain at 9:10 am/ 10.10 am; arrival Kuwait at 11:10 am. In the return direction, the flight IX 790 departs Kuwait at 12:10 pm and arrives in Kannur at 7.10 pm.
An additional flight will be introduced on Fridays on the Kannur-Doha sector bringing the total operations to five per week.
The airline has applied for necessary slot approvals for all the above mentioned new operations and enhancements planned from Kannur, states the release.
The airline will also operate five flights on the Kozhikode-Riyadh sector in the Summer Schedule 19 instead of the present four services per week. The additional flight will operate on Fridays at the existing timings.
Surat joins Air India Express network as 20th Indian destination
Air India Express will inaugurate its first-ever international service to Surat International Airport with an aircraft based in Sharjah to operate Sharjah-Surat-Sharjah service. The maiden service to Surat will begin on February 16, 2019.
Flight IX-172 will depart from Sharjah at 7:35 pm and arrive in Surat at 11:45 pm on Mondays and Saturdays. Flight IX-171 from Surat to Sharjah will depart from Surat at 12:30 am (half past midnight) with arrival into Sharjah at 02:15 am on Tuesdays and Sundays. This service will be upgraded to four flights a week in the summer schedule. The Sharjah-Surat service will be on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays and in return direction, the service will be on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays.
Surat- Sharjah will be the 47th non-stop direct connection of Air India Express between destinations in India and the gulf region.
Turnover to cross the Rs 4,000 crore
The Airline expects its turnover to cross the Rs 4000 crore mark in FY 2018-19. Despite the challenges posed by high fuel cost in the first eight months of the year, the airline expects to generate net profit in the region of Rs 250 crore. The airline has been reporting net profit consecutively during the last three financial years.
The year 2018 witnessed addition of two more aircraft, bringing the total fleet strength of the airline to 25 Boeing 737-800 NG aircraft. The airline has plans to further expand its fleet for which necessary approvals are in the process of being obtained.