AirAsia India adds 18th plane, to expand services from Kolkata

AirAsia India has expanded its fleet size to 18 planes with the induction of a new Airbus A320, which will help it add new routes and enhance the frequency between Kolkata and Bagdogra.

The 18th A320 aircraft will be stationed in Kolkata, which is the third base for the Tata Sons-AirAsia invested domestic carrier, a release said today.

Bengaluru and New Delhi are the two other bases of AirAsia India besides Kolkata, which serves as the gateway to its North-East operations.

With the induction of 18th plane in the fleet, AirAsia India will launch new daily flight services from Kolkata to Visakhapatnam, Imphal, Guwahati, Pune and Bagdogra, starting May 11, the release said.

"We are happy to be expanding our presence in Kolkata with these new routes connecting tier-II/III cities. This year continues to be exciting for us and we look forward to enabling many more people to experience affordable air travel," AirAsia India managing director and chief executive Amar Abrol said.

The Bengaluru-based airline, which will be completing four years of operations in June this year, flies to 19 destinations covering Kochi, Goa, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Pune, Guwahati, Imphal, Visakhapatnam, Hyderabad, Srinagar, Bagdogra, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, Nagpur, Indore and Chennai from three bases.

Bookings for all the new routes open from early morning tomorrow, the airline said, adding that it is offering promotional fares as as low as Rs 1,699 for flights connecting Kolkata to Visakhapatnam, Imphal, Guwahati and Rs 3,499 for the Kolkata-Pune services.