Dragon Air will reinstate its daily flights between Hong Kong and Bangalore from March 28.
A member of Cathay Pacific group, the airline, which commenced operations between the two cities with daily flights in June 2008, had cut the frequency to four flights a week in January 2009 because of drop in load following the recession.
Bangalore is the only city in India from which Dragon Air flies.
“Bangalore is an important market for us, as there is significant demand from the city. Markets are improving since people have started travelling again, especially those working in the IT, ITeS (IT-enabled services), FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) and manufacturing sectors,” Tom Wright, Dragon Air General Manager (India. Middle East, Africa and Pakistan), told presspersons here on Tuesday.
The daily flights, he pointed out, would provide better connectivity to destinations in North America, Australia, Japan and China.
Terming 2009 as a “terrible” year for civil aviation, he said the global recession had impacted the business, forcing them to cut flight frequency. He, however, said that the Indian market fared much better than many others during the recession.
“We expect to record double digit growth this year in the passenger segment, and about 30 per cent in cargo business,” he added.
On increasing the frequency and adding new destinations in India, Mr. Wright said the airline had exhausted its quota under the bilateral code sharing agreement. Besides, Cathay Pacific operated from Chennai, Mumbai and Delhi, he said.
