Zoom Air looking to spread its wings to B'desh, Myanmar

Zoom Air is looking to fly to nearby international destinations like Yangon and Chittagong, from Kolkata, a top official of the airline has said.

Last week, Zoom Air launched daily flights between Kolkata and Tezpur in Assam, under the Centre"s regional connectivity scheme (RCS).

"We are planning to operate flights to international destinations such as Yangon and Chittagong from Kolkata. These destinations are likely to be connected with one or two destinations in the North East," CEO cum MD of Zoom Air, Koustav M Dhar told PTI.

"We will be able to introduce international flights from Kolkata, because from now on, we will park two aircraft in the city at night," Dhar said.

At present, only one aircraft is parked at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport (NSCBIA) in Kolkata at night, and very soon the airline is going to park its new, the fifth aircraft, in Kolkata as well, he said.

"The routes on the international sectors are yet to be finalised. The options are Kolkata to Yangon via Guwahati and Kolkata to Chittagong via Guwahati. We are looking at these routes since there is a demand," Dhar said.

Dhar also said that the airline is planning to start flights between Mumbai and Delhi with a stopover in Durgapur.

"We are planning to start flight operations to Durgapur and the route will be Delhi to Mumbai via Durgapur. The Delhi-Durgapur-Mumbai flights are expected to start from August this year," Dhar said.

Zoom Air had started flights to Durgapur in February 2017 but withdrew from it in August 2017 citing bird hit in one of its aircraft.

At that time, the flight was being operated between Delhi and Kolkata via Durgapur, Dhar explained.

He also said that a late night flight between Delhi and Kolkata is also on the cards.

"The Delhi"Kolkata"Delhi flight will not be under the RCS scheme. It will leave Delhi at midnight and reach Kolkata after two hours approximately," Dhar said.

Zoom Air is a full service carrier.

The airline at present has five 50-seater Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet (CRJ200) long range (LR) aircraft.