Low cost carrier Air India Express has announced introduction of a new service on the Tiruchi-Kuala Lumpur-Tiruchi sector and direct services to Singapore and Dubai from Tiruchi, effective September 13.
The airline will position a Boeing 737-800 aircraft at Tiruchi and upgrade its station here to introduce the new services. With the introduction of new services, the airline's total number of flights to foreign destinations from Tiruchi will go up to 32 from 25 a week. The Tiruchi-Kuala Lumpur service will be operated daily, with the flight (IX 622) departing from here at 1.10 a.m. In the return direction, the flight (IX 621) will arrive here at 10.40 a.m.
Services to Singapore and Dubai will be operated as direct flights under the new schedule as the airline has decided to de-link them from Chennai, which is currently the station of origin. The daily Tiruchi-Singapore flights (IX 682) will depart at 1.10 a.m. In the return direction, the flight (IX 681) will arrive here at 10.40 a.m.
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The Tiruchi-Dubai flights (currently a daily service) will be operated six days a week, except Tuesdays.
The flights (IX 611) will depart from here at 1.50 p.m. and in the return direction (flight IX 612) will arrive here at 11.20 p.m.
The airline will also operate twice-a-week service on the Chennai-Tiruchi-Abu Dhabi sector to a revised schedule.
The flights (IX 613) will depart from Chennai at 4.35 p.m., arrive here at 5.35 p.m. and leave for Abu Dhabi at 6.25 p.m. on Thursdays and Saturdays. In the return direction, the flights (IX 614) will arrive here from Abu Dhabi at 3.45 a.m. and leave for Chennai at 4.40 a.m. on Fridays and Sundays
The airline will continue its daily service to Chennai and the flights IX 621 will depart from here at 11.40 a.m.
The introduction of the flights to Kuala Lumpur would add a new daily flight on the Chennai-Tiruchi sector too. The flights will leave Chennai at 11.05 p.m. and arrive here at 12.10 a.m.
New domestic service
This apart, a new domestic service on the Tiruchi-Thiruvananthapuram-Tiruchi sector will be operated on Tuesdays, as aircrafts will have to be sent Thiruvananthapuram for weekly maintenance. The flights will leave for Thiruvananthapuram at 1.20 p.m. and arrive here at 11.55 p.m.
The positioning of the aircraft and delinking of services from Chennai will enable the airline to carry the aircraft's full complement of 181-186 passengers a flight. It will also enable the airline to carry more cargo.
The airline will be able to carry up to 1.50 to 2 tonnes of cargo, especially perishables, a flight, T.H.Radhakrishnan, Station Manager, National Aviation Company of India Limited, Tiruchi, told The Hindu . The airline fares will also be competitive, Mr.Radhakrishnan said and added that the one-way fare to Kuala Lumpur will be Rs.7,620 (including taxes).
The positioning of an aircraft here is also seen as a strategic move by the airline as it plans services to more routes, including on the Tiruchi-Colombo-Tiruchi sector. Tiruchi is the only station in Tamil Nadu, other than Chennai, where the airline has positioned an aircraft, sources said.