Saturday, May 16, 2009

more flights at Calcutta airport

Good news Less than three months after both British Airways and Gulf Airways withdrew operations from the city, Kingfisher started its international operations from Calcutta to Dhaka on Friday.

On Friday, the Kingfisher Red flight took off with 22 passengers at 1.35 pm. The return flight reached here at 4.15 pm.

"Besides catering to travellers from Calcutta, this daily flight is expected to cater to the flyers to other destination of South-East Asia. Travellers flying in from Dhaka will now have the added advantage of convenient connectivity to onward destinations in India," said Siva Ramachandran, vice-president (global sales), Kingfisher Airlines Limited.

In the domestic sector, Paramount Airways doubled its operation from the city since Thursday, less than a fortnight after the airline introduced services in the East with flights connecting Calcutta to Chennai, Guwahati and Agartala.

The Kingfisher Red service features complimentary food and a choice of beverages, reading material, frequent flier privileges and multiple check-in facilities. "It's good to see Kingfisher starting an international service. I hope the in-flight services will be better than the domestic services," said Dr Basudev Chatterjee, who was the first to get the boarding pass on the inaugural flight.

On Thursday, the first Paramount flights from Chennai touched down at Calcutta at 9.10 am; the second flight landed at 8.50 pm.

The return flights from Calcutta took off at 1.30 pm and 9.25 pm. Announcing the launch of the second daily service, Paramount Airways managing director M Thiagarajan said the carrier was overwhelmed by the response. "The double daily flights will offer increased flexibility and convenience, making it ideal for business travellers," Thiagarajan said.

The second flights will offer convenient connections to Coimbatore, Madurai, Hyderabad, Cochin, Pune, Ahmedabad and Goa. The first flight already connects Calcutta with Trivandrum, Trichurapally and other south Indian cities via Chennai.

Paramount Airways operates new jets with luxurious seating, gourmet cuisine and value-added services. From August, it plans to introduce on-board Internet services, a first by a domestic carrier.