Kingfisher to start 7 int'l routes this summer

I / Berlin March 15, 2010, 14:16 IST

India's second largest private carrier Kingfisher Airlines will launch seven international routes this summer, which include a daily non-stop flight between New Delhi and London starting March 28 and one between New Delhi and Hong Kong beginning April 7.

The two services are part of seven new international routes, for which Kingfisher Airlines received traffic rights from the Indian government last month, Kingfisher Airlines Commercial Administration and Industrial Affairs General Manager Arjun Dasgupta said at the ITB Berlin 2010-- the world's largest tourism fair.

The other routes include New Delhi-Bangkok, New Delhi-Dubai, Mumbai-Colombo, Mumbai-Bangkok and Mumbai-Dubai. In an interview to PTI here Dasgupta said wide-bodied twin-aisle Airbus A330-200 aircraft configured in two classes will be deployed for flights to London and Hong Kong.

No dates have been set for the other flights, but they are expected to be launched this summer. They will be served by Airbus A320 aircraft, Dasgupta said, adding that the company's expansion plans abroad and its efforts to consolidate its share of the domestic market were at the centre of its marketing campaign at the five-day ITB Berlin.

Tour operators and trade visitors from Europe and other regions have responded positively to the airline's intentions to step up its international services and evinced interest to cooperate in different areas, he said.