KOLKATA: SpiceJet will make Kolkata its hub both for domestic and international flights, airline chairman & managing director Ajay Singh said on Monday . The city will be the low cost carrier's third hub after Delhi and Hyderabad and will be a base for both Boeing B 737-800 and Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 aircraft. Emerging from a meeting with chief minister Mamata Banerjee, Singh who had started the airline in 2004 and scripted its turnaround after it went into a tailspin and crash-landed in 2014, said the airline was now ready for expansion and had decided to start with Kolkata as the mar ket was under-served and offered great potential.
"We are looking at expanding domestic and international network from Kolkata. In the immediate future, departures will go up 40% from 15 to 21. Apart from adding two more frequencies to Guwahati, we will connect to Aizwal, Sil char and Gorakhpur from October 4. We will also connect Vizag and Jaipur from November-December. The CM has requested for connec tions to Durgapur and Bhubaneswar. We will examine the former proposal but the latter looks feasible," Singh said.
While Bombardier aircraft will be used for regional connections, Jaipur and Vizag markets are likely to be serviced by Boeing planes.
Apart from the surge in regional connectivity, SpiceJet is also firming up plans to increase its international operations from Kolkata that is currently restricted to a daily Bangkok flight. The airline plans to increase the frequency on the Kolkata-Bangkok sector to twice daily from December and daily to Dhaka and Chittagong with Bombardier from the same month.
"We are also evaluating flights to Yangon, Dubai and Sharjah from Kolkata. There is a good demand for low-cost flights to these cities from Kolkata," said Singh. At present, full service carriers Emirates, Qatar and Etihad operate to the Gulf.
She also requested Singh to introduce a direct flight to Europe and Far East from Kolkata. Speaking to TOI, the airline boss said the airline did not have planes to do the distance. "We will continue to explore possibility in shorthaul flights in a 4-hour radius. That restricts us to West and South-East Asia," Singh pointed out.
"We are looking at expanding domestic and international network from Kolkata. In the immediate future, departures will go up 40% from 15 to 21. Apart from adding two more frequencies to Guwahati, we will connect to Aizwal, Sil char and Gorakhpur from October 4. We will also connect Vizag and Jaipur from November-December. The CM has requested for connec tions to Durgapur and Bhubaneswar. We will examine the former proposal but the latter looks feasible," Singh said.
While Bombardier aircraft will be used for regional connections, Jaipur and Vizag markets are likely to be serviced by Boeing planes.
Apart from the surge in regional connectivity, SpiceJet is also firming up plans to increase its international operations from Kolkata that is currently restricted to a daily Bangkok flight. The airline plans to increase the frequency on the Kolkata-Bangkok sector to twice daily from December and daily to Dhaka and Chittagong with Bombardier from the same month.
"We are also evaluating flights to Yangon, Dubai and Sharjah from Kolkata. There is a good demand for low-cost flights to these cities from Kolkata," said Singh. At present, full service carriers Emirates, Qatar and Etihad operate to the Gulf.
The issue of exemption of landing and parking charges for sub-80 seater regional aircraft at Kolkata airport. Though a policy exists, it is not enforced in metro airports. Offering her assurance, Mamata said her government would extend full support to the airline.
She also requested Singh to introduce a direct flight to Europe and Far East from Kolkata. Speaking to TOI, the airline boss said the airline did not have planes to do the distance. "We will continue to explore possibility in shorthaul flights in a 4-hour radius. That restricts us to West and South-East Asia," Singh pointed out.
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